Pharmacy (P) medicines are the products that make a pharmacy shop worth having online: supermarkets and general retailers cannot sell them, and patients want them. They also carry the one requirement a generic e-commerce platform cannot meet — a pharmacist has to be able to check the sale before it happens. This guide explains what that requirement is and how a shop's checkout should be built to meet it without slowing down everything else.
What the requirement is
P medicines may only be sold from a registered pharmacy under the supervision of a pharmacist. For an online sale, the GPhC's guidance on providing pharmacy services at a distance expects the pharmacy to ensure that:
- A pharmacist can intervene in the sale before the medicine is supplied
- Appropriate questions are asked so the pharmacist can judge whether the product is suitable for the person buying it
- Quantities are limited where a product carries a risk of misuse, overuse or dependence
- The patient receives the information they need to use the medicine safely
- Records are kept of the checks made
The principle is the same as at the counter: the pharmacist supervises the supply. The difference is that online, the "counter conversation" has to be designed into the checkout.
The journey that meets it
- The product is flagged as a P line in the catalogue, with any quantity limit set.
- At checkout, the patient answers a short set of questions for each P item: who the medicine is for, age, whether they have used it before, relevant conditions or other medicines, and whether they are pregnant or breastfeeding where relevant. Keep it to what a pharmacist would actually ask.
- Payment is authorised, not taken. The card is checked and the amount reserved, but nothing is charged.
- The order is held for pharmacist review. The pharmacist sees the answers, the quantity and the customer's order history, and approves, queries (by message or call) or declines.
- On approval, the payment is captured and the order goes for collection or delivery with any counselling information included.
- On decline, the authorisation is released and the patient is told why, with an alternative if appropriate.
- The decision is recorded against the order.
This is "authorise-then-capture", and it is the mechanism that lets GSL and non-medicinal orders flow through untouched while P orders pause for a professional decision. A shop that takes full payment immediately and then tries to refund declined P sales is doing it the hard and wrong way round.
Quantity limits
Set them per product, not per basket. Some limits are legal (pack sizes for certain analgesics), others are professional judgement (codeine-containing products, sleep aids, laxatives). The shop should enforce the limit at basket level and the pharmacist should be able to see a customer's recent orders so that repeated purchases across orders are visible.
Information to the patient
The licensed patient information leaflet is in the pack; the product page should carry the key points from the licence — what it is for, who should not take it, how to take it — and nothing beyond it. If the pharmacist has counselling to add, a note on the order confirmation or a call does it.
Records
Keep the questionnaire answers, the pharmacist's decision and who made it, and the order, for as long as your retention policy for supply records requires. These are health data; they should live in the shop's order system under access control, not in email.
What not to do
- Sell P medicines with no questions and no review — this is the counter with nobody behind it.
- Take full payment before the pharmacist has approved.
- Let the same customer buy the limit repeatedly with no visibility across orders.
- List POMs, or describe P products with claims beyond their licence.
- Ship P medicines outside Great Britain.
Collection vs delivery
Click-and-collect of a P medicine gives a natural moment for counselling at the counter and is the lowest-risk option. Delivery is fine where the questionnaire and review have been done; include any counselling notes with the order, and do not leave P medicines in a safe place without the patient's instruction.
How PharmGrowth's shop does it
On PharmGrowth Plus, P lines are flagged in the catalogue with per-product quantity limits, checkout asks the questions, Stripe authorises the card, the order sits in the dashboard for pharmacist approval, and payment is captured only on approval — with the decision recorded against the order. Details are on the online pharmacy shop page. The wider legal picture is in what a UK pharmacy can legally sell online, and whether a shop is right for you at all in should your pharmacy sell online.