Online pharmacies must now use more stringent checks to prevent individuals who are already a healthy weight or have a history of eating disorders from purchasing weight-loss injections. The brand names for these drugs include Mounjaro and Wegovy. Online questionnaires and photo submissions will no longer be sufficient for pharmacies to dispense medication. They will now need in-person or video consultations that confirm the client’s BMI alongside GP or medical records. Pharmacies that do not follow these new protocols face potential enforcement actions, including inspections or fitness-to-practise investigations.
The General Pharmaceutical Council warned about both unsafe prescribing by pharmacists and supply issues with online pharmacies pressuring pharmacists to process a certain quota of prescriptions within a specific time frame. Encouragement for active communication between patients’ GPs and prescribers will be emphasized. The GPhC’s chief executive, Duncan Rudkin, expressed optimism that while online pharmacy services offer a valuable service, “through our inspections and investigations, we’ve seen too many cases of medicines being supplied inappropriately online and putting people at risk.”
Weight-loss drugs now are considered “high-risk” medication types, which require additional safeguards due to the history of counterfeiting or misuse. The NHS heavily regulates the criteria under which these drugs are offered. The Semaglutide and tirzepatide weight loss injections provide a weekly treatment for patients used as an aide to weight loss originally intended for type 2 diabetes patients to manage their blood-sugar levels. However, within the past four years, these drugs have also been prescribed as a weight loss aide which led to global shortages and fake products. The drugs work by imitating the intestinal hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which induces a feeling of fullness after eating, combined with Tirztepatide affecting the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), which controls metabolism and regulates energy balance.
Research indicates the use of weight-loss drugs significantly improves heart health, with lower levels of heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, and high blood pressure. Despite this discovery, stricter regulatory guidelines and more considerate controls over online pharmacies are necessary to maintain public health and educate prescribers
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