Regulation in healthcare

Top ten most popular opinion articles of 2019

The Pharmaceutical Journal wasn’t short of strong views this year — whether it was a criticism of clinical guidance or a defence of the pharmacy profession. Here are the opinions that resonated most with you in 2019.…

GPhC raises concerns after fitness-to-practise complaints reach record high

The General Pharmaceutical Council has raised concerns over a 7% increase in the number of fitness-to-practise complaints brought to the regulator between July 2019 and September 2019.…

My horrific encounter with ‘fitness to practise’

The regulatory process dehumanises those it seeks to protect — it must drastically change.…

GPhC given powers to resolve fitness to practise cases without a full hearing

The General Pharmaceutical Council will be able to conclude fitness to practise cases without a full panel hearing, under new regulation reforms put forward by the government.…

Medical cannabis should not face usual regulatory checks, says former health minister

Medical cannabis products should not be subject to the usual regulatory checks before patients can use them, as cannabis is “the oldest medicine of all”, Sir Norman Lamb has said.…

More than 300 unannounced inspections carried out as part of new system, GPhC says

The General Pharmaceutical Council has carried out 303 unannounced inspections since its new system for the inspection of registered pharmacists was introduced on 1 April 2019.…

Substandard and falsified medicines: global and local efforts to address a growing problem

Substandard and falsified medicines pose a risk to public health all around the world.…

Online pharmacies required to verify patient ID before prescribing, under new GPhC guidelines

Online pharmacies will have to verify the identities of patients they are prescribing for, under new guidance published by the General Pharmaceutical Council.…

GPhC would back CQC move to take on regulation of pharmacist-run online services

Exclusive: The General Pharmaceutical Council has said it would be “fully supportive” of the Care Quality Commission taking on the regulation of pharmacist-run online services outside of a registered pharmacy.…

Advising patients to check practitioners who are not regulated by law

Imagine this scenario. You are chatting to someone in your pharmacy about an ailment and out of the blue they say: “My friend had acupuncture — would you recommend it?” How would you respond? The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) knows, from its research with GPs, that when it…