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Pharmacies will fail their General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) inspection if they do not independently verify a patient’s weight, height and/or body mass index when supplying weight-loss medication, new guidance confirms.
In an updated inspection framework published on 13 January 2026, the regulator outlines the criteria inspectors will use when deciding whether a pharmacy meets GPhC standards.
The 2026 version updates the previous 2019 framework, with additional guidance on supervision and delegation, hub-and-spoke services and prescribing.
The updated framework also introduces new categories that inspectors may highlight, such as instances of good practice and areas for improvement.
Pharmacy websites that offer access to prescribing services must be “clear and transparent about who provides the services”, which includes providing the name of the prescriber, the address of the prescribing service, whether the prescriber is a doctor or a non-medical prescriber, as well as information on how to check the registration of the prescriber and the prescribing service, the updated guidance said.
Under the new guidance, online pharmacies must also demonstrate that they are following GPhC guidance for registered pharmacies that provide pharmacy services at a distance and must prescribe medicines and treatments in line with UK national and best practice guidance.
It also said that when supplying medicines used for weight management, the prescriber must independently verify the person’s weight, height and/or body mass index.
If a pharmacy offers a prescribing service, it must keep a record of the consultation with the patient, the treatment prescribed — including a record of how decision-making was made and if and why treatment was refused — and any follow-up action or monitoring, the updated guidance added.
The new framework also specifies that any targets and incentives must also serve the best interests of people using services, be “applied reasonably so that the pharmacy team can exercise discretion” and be “regularly reviewed to ensure they remain appropriate”.
Prescribers must not have a financial incentive to issue prescriptions that may not be appropriate, it added.
The updated guidance also noted that pharmacy professionals must feel comfortable making professional judgements and must not feel pressurised to compromise their professional opinion.
In addition, any pharmacy premises must: ensure its business continuity plans include potential disruption affecting hub-and-spoke services; ensure the pharmacy team knows what to do in the absence of a responsible pharmacist and have audit trails to identify who was responsible for any professional activity; and demonstrate that it has professional indemnity cover for all its services and that it is sufficient to meet potential claims.
