Can UK doctors legally prescribe drugs online?
<p>The online pharmacy <a href="http://www.kiwidrug.com/regulation/" rel="noreferrer">Kiwi Drug claims</a> to dispense drugs legally from their online NHS-affiliated doctors, who prescribe drugs online. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Kiwi Drug provides an online doctor service through its UK affiliate,
  which is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide
  prescriptions online.</p>
  
  <p>Prescriptions are dispensed by an NHS pharmacy regulated by the
  General Pharmaceutical Council.</p>
  
  <p>Kiwi Drug's affiliate's doctors are GMC registered. Most are
  experienced GPs. They are all trained in providing prescription
  medicine online. The doctors are individually responsible for the
  prescriptions they issue. Registered pharmacists are responsible for
  dispensing.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Assuming the pharmacy's claims are true, is it actually legal for a doctor to give prescriptions based on an online "consultation" in the UK? </p>

<p>Yes, this is correct. The Care Quality Commission is the regulatory body that oversees the adherence of private medical practitioners to health industry standards, regulations and laws.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/uk/legis/num_act/2008/ukpga_20080014_en_1.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Health and Social Care Act 2008</a> confers broad powers on the Care Quality Commission to regulate health and social care services.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/uk/legis/num_reg/2005/20050641.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005</a> provides for electronic prescriptions to be issued. In the definitions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;<strong>electronic  prescription</strong>&quot; means an electronic  prescription  form or an electronic repeatable  prescription ;</p>
<p>&quot;<strong>electronic prescription form</strong>&quot; means a  prescription  which falls within paragraph (b) of the definition of &quot; prescription  form&quot;;</p>
<p>&quot;<strong>prescriber</strong>&quot; means a doctor, dentist, independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber;</p>
<p>&quot;<strong>prescription form</strong>&quot; means-</p>
<p>(a) a form provided by a Health Board, a Health and Social Services Board, a Local Health Board, a Primary Care Trust, an NHS Trust or NHS Foundation Trust, and issued by a prescriber; or</p>
<p>(b) data that are created in an electronic form, signed with a prescriber's advanced electronic signature and transmitted as an electronic communication to a nominated dispensing contractor by the ETP service,</p>
<p>to enable a person to obtain pharmaceutical services or local pharmaceutical services, and does not include a repeatable  prescription;</p>
</blockquote>

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