Paragraph 9 Providing ordered drugs or appliancesI1

Where an NHS pharmacist is presented with a prescription form or a repeatable prescription, the NHS pharmacist must only provide the drugs or appliances so ordered—

subject to any regulations in force under the Weights and Measures Act 1985^f1 and the following provisions of this Part.

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If the order is for, or a product to be provided in accordance with a SSP is, an appliance of a type requiring measuring and fitting (for example a truss), the NHS pharmacist must make all necessary arrangements—

If the order is for, or a product to be provided in accordance with a SSP is, a drug or appliance included in the Drug Tariff, the British National Formulary (including any Appendix published as part of that Formulary), the Dental Practitioner’s Formulary, the European Pharmacopoeia or the British Pharmaceutical Codex, the drug or appliance provided must comply with the standard or formula specified therein.

If the order—

and does not prescribe its quantity, strength or dosage, an NHS pharmacist may provide the drug in such strength and dosage as in the exercise of their professional skill, knowledge and care they consider to be appropriate and, subject to sub-paragraph (7), in such quantity as they consider to be appropriate for a course of treatment for a period not exceeding 5 days.

Where an order to which sub-paragraph (6) applies is for—

which is not available for provision as part of pharmaceutical services except in such packages that the minimum size available contains a quantity appropriate to a course of treatment for a period of more than 5 days, the NHS pharmacist may provide the minimum size available package.

Where any drug to which this paragraph applies (that is, a drug that is not one to which the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 applies, unless it is a drug for the time being specified in Schedule 4 or 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001), ordered by a prescriber on a prescription form or repeatable prescription, is available for provision by an NHS pharmacist in a pack in a quantity which is different to the quantity which has been so ordered, and that drug is—

the NHS pharmacist must provide the drug in the pack whose quantity is nearest to the quantity which has been so ordered.

Subject to sub-paragraphs (8B) to (8E) and without prejudice to sub-paragraphs (10) and (11), for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b), a drug is provided in accordance with the order on a prescription form or repeatable prescription if (in addition to where the provision is exactly in accordance with the order)—

In the case of an order for a prescription only medicine, sub-paragraph (8A) only applies if sub-paragraph (8) applies or one of the following applies—

In the case of an order for a drug that is not a prescription only medicine, sub-paragraph (8A) only applies if sub-paragraph (8) applies or the provision of a different quantity to that ordered on the prescription is in circumstances where—

Where the NHS pharmacist may, pursuant to sub-paragraph (8A) and sub-paragraph (8B)(a) or (8C)(a) and (b), provide a different quantity of a drug to that ordered on a prescription form or a repeatable prescription, the NHS pharmacist must consider, in the exercise of their professional skill and judgement, whether it is reasonable and appropriate to do so, having regard to the benefits to patients where they are provided with drugs in their manufacturer’s original outer packaging.

Sub-paragraphs (8B)(a) and (8C)(a) and (b) do not apply to the provision of any drug which is—

In this paragraph, “special container” means any container with an integral means of application or from which it is not practicable to dispense an exact quantity.

Where a drug is ordered by a prescriber, or is to be provided in accordance with a SSP is, in a quantity that is, or is a multiple of a quantity that is, readily available in a pack size manufactured for a marketing authorisation holder for the drug, the NHS pharmacist must provide the drug in an original pack (or in original packs) of that size which have been assembled by a manufacturer of the drug for such a marketing authorisation holder, unless—

Except as provided in sub-paragraph (12), an NHS pharmacist must not provide a Scheduled drug in response to an order by name, formula or other description on a prescription form or repeatable prescription.

Where a drug has an appropriate non-proprietary name and it is ordered on a prescription form or repeatable prescription either by that name or by its formula, an NHS pharmacist may provide a drug which has the same specification notwithstanding that it is a Scheduled drug, provided that where a Scheduled drug is in a pack which consists of a drug in more than one strength, such provision does not involve the supply of part only of the pack.

Where a drug which is ordered as specified in sub-paragraph (12) combines more than one drug, that sub-paragraph must apply only if the combination has an appropriate non-proprietary name, whether the individual drugs which it combines do so or not.

An NHS pharmacist must provide any drug which they are required to provide under paragraph 5, or provides under paragraph 6, in a suitable container.

Where an NHS pharmacist provides a drug or appliance under paragraph 6, the NHS pharmacist must include in the dispensing label on the packaging of the product, for the patient’s benefit, information to the effect that the product is being supplied in accordance with a SSP, identifying the particular SSP.