Two years ago the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced stringent criteria to which online pharmacies had to adhere in order to continue operating legitimately. The process was aimed at weeding out those businesses who were acting in a manner which was not entirely geared towards securing the wellbeing of their patients. Even those online pharmacies who were legitimate had to seriously up their game in order to ensure they met the required standards.
I know this, because my team and I worked tirelessly to secure the all-clear for our business. It was a rigorous and highly stressful process for everyone involved. But it was worth it because, when we received it, we were one of only a handful of online pharmacies with the CQC stamp of approval.
Fast forward to 2019. As concerns over medical supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit increase, online sources of legitimate medication are an obvious solution to the potential problem of supply shortages. Yet, your article (Little advice in place for patients in England if drug supplies dry up, theguardian.com, 22 March) states in no uncertain terms that “no NHS or government body or health charity would support” patients turning to online pharmacies to obtain drugs. Furthermore it claims that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society “strongly advises patients against” taking such action.
If all online pharmacies are to be deemed potential pedlars of fake medication, what was the point of the CQC having gold standards, let alone pharmacies bending over backwards to ensure they ticked the necessary boxes? Surely the message should be that patients should never use unregulated online pharmacies, but instead seek out those with the regulator’s stamp of approval which should be clearly visible on the website?
Stuart Gale
Oxford Online Pharmacy
