Pharmacy only medicines

The term herbal remedy is defined in section 2 of the Medicines Act 1981. A herbal remedy is a sub-category of medicine that does not contain a prescription, restricted or pharmacy-only medicine, and consists of a substance derived from plant material that has been dried or crushed or derived through any other similar process. It may also be an aqueous or alcoholic extract of the dried or crushed plant material or a mixture of that material with another inert substance. 

Pharmacy-only medicines These may be sold or supplied over-the-counter in a registered pharmacy. 

Section 32 Exemption for naturcd therapists and other persons to supply a medicine to a particular person at the request of, or on behalf of, that person. The medicine supplied may not be a prescription, restricted, or pharmacy-only medicine. 

The legislation requires the licensing of all premises in New Zealand used for the manufacturing, packing and labelling and wholesaling of medicines. Persons who hawk prescription, restricted or pharmacy-only medicines (i.e., medical representatives) must also be licensed. 

A pharmacy-only medicine can be sold or supplied at a registered pharmacy under the supervision of a registered pharmacist without the need for a prescription from a medical practitioner. Examples of pharmacy-only medicine include cough preparations containing codeine, anti-diarrhoeal preparations containing atropine and diphenoxylate. 

Forensic classification (please tick the appropriate box) a) In country of manufacture Prescription Only (POM) Pharmacy Only Medicine (P) General Sale List Medicine (GSL) C ... 

Registered optometrists are allowed to sell or supply all medicinal products on a general sale list (GSL) and all pharmacy-only medicines (P) providing that it is in the course of their professional practice. 

Chloramphenicol eye drops can be sold as pharmacy-only medicines (P) for limited conditions. The prescription-only medicines (POM) pack is for wider licensed use. 

There is also an EU guideline (dated 29 September 1998 and in operation since January 1999) on changing the classification for the supply of a medicinal product for human use. Article 3 predetermines the POM products. Therefore, the criteria in Article 3 have been used as a basis for this guideline. This guideline does not address the different restrictions that may be available for medicinal products not subject to a medical prescription, such as available in pharmacies only following initial medical diagnosis, or available on general sale, as the case may be. 

Regulatory authorities are increasingly receptive to switching hitherto prescription-only medicines (POM) for self-medication (over-the-counter, OTC, sale) via pharmacies (P) or via any retail outlet (general sale). The operation is known as POM-OTC or POM-P switch. It requires particularly exacting standards of safety. 

Anonymous. Traditional medicines. Several Chinese medicines withdrawn due to presence of prescription and pharmacy-only components. WHO Pharmaceuticals Newslett 2003 1 2-3. 

Restricted (or Pharmacist-only) medicines These can only be sold or supplied by a pharmacist in person, in a registered pharmacy. Details of the sale or supply of a restricted medicine must be recorded in a register. 

Preparations classified as Prescription Only Medicine are not allowed to be advertised to the general public but their advertising is permitted in professional journals. The advertisement and sales promotion of pharmacy items and registered genercil sales list items require a permit from the Licensing Authority. 

Pharmacy Only and Prescription Only medicines shall be imported and sold under the direct supervision of a registered pharmacist. 

The vast majority of microorganisms of interest in pharmacy and medicine can be cultivated in the la b-oratory and most of them require relatively simple techniques and facilities. Some organisms are parasites and so can only be grown inside the cells of a host species — which often necessitates mammalian cell culture facilities— and there are a few (e.g. the organism responsible for leprosy) that have never been cultivated outside the living animal. 

The Medicines Act 1968 defines three classes of medicinal products for human use. These are general sale list (GSL) medicines, pharmacy (P) medicines and prescription-only medicines (POM). 

Prescription-only medicines (POMs) (see Section 1.3.3) are usually obtained on the authorisation of a valid prescription form (either an NHS or a private prescription form) written by a recognised prescriber registered in the UK and presented at a registered pharmacy (although exceptions to this do exist, for example, dispensing doctors (see Section 2.3.1), in-patient hospital supply (see Section 4.2.1) and emergency supply at the request of a patient (see Sections 7.2 and 7.3)). 

It should be noted that although the sale of GSL medicines from a pharmacy does not need to be under the supervision of a pharmacist, GSL medicines must still be sold under the personal control of a pharmacist. The term personal control comes from the Medicines Act 1968 and has never been interpreted in the courts. However, it is generally understood to mean that the pharmacist must be available on the premises. If the pharmacist is not available, no medicines (including GSL items) may be sold at all. For this reason, GSL medicines sold from pharmacies are often treated as pharmacy (P) medicines, which can only be sold from a pharmacy under the supervision of a pharmacist (see Section 1.3.2). Obviously, this restriction does not apply to GSL medicines sold from other (non-pharmacy) establishments. 

A pharmacy medicine is the definition given to medicinal products not included on the Prescription Only Medicines Order or the General Sale List or to products that are supplied outside the GSL package limit or maximum dosage limit. A few medicines are called pharmacy only (PO) medicines these include medicines that would normally be included on the GSL but where the manufacturer has limited the supply of the medicines to pharmacies only (see Section 1.3.1). Examples include ... 

The dispensing procedure for non-NHS (private) prescriptions is similar to the dispensing procedure followed with NHS prescriptions (see Section 3.3). The main differences are that in most cases, an entry detailing the supply will always need to be made in the prescription-only medicines register (see Section 5.1.4) and that the pharmacist or pharmacy technician will not need to check that the item is allowed on the NHS. In summary, the procedure to be followed is as follows ... 

All supplies of medication will need to be entered in the prescription-only medicines register. However, if the supply is a repeat (and the pharmacy where the repeat is being dispensed has previously dispensed the medication), it is sufficient for the new entry in the prescription-only medicines register (which will have a new reference number) to refer to the details of the older entry (by referring to the older entry s reference number). Therefore, it is useful when stamping a non-NHS (private) prescription form... 

Every community pharmacy will have a prescription-only medicines register, along with any other registered pharmacy (for example, a registered pharmacy within a hospital setting). Hospital pharmacies only need to keep such records if the supply of the prescription-only medicine requires registration as a pharmacy. Under the Medicines Act, medicines supplied in the course of the business of the hospital (see Chapter 4) do not need to be recorded. 

For the last repeat of a repeatable prescription, this can be treated as if the prescription was not repeatable (i.e. the prescription form is kept in the pharmacy for two years and an entry will still be made in the prescription-only medicines register). 

In both cases, the pharmacist or pharmacy technician will stamp the prescription with the pharmacy stamp and usually add the prescription-only medicines register reference number to the stamp. Please note that it is common practice to stamp the prescription form above the signature so as to prevent anyone cutting the bottom portion of the prescription form off, thus altering the apparent number of times the... 

It is good practice to make an entry in the prescription-only medicines register at the time of supply it is only a good practice requirement as the requisition will be retained within the pharmacy for two years from the date of supply (the exception to this is for Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 controlled drugs see Section 6.3.6). However, if the request for the supply of a prescription-only medicine (POM) was an oral request (see Section 5.3) the prescription-only medicines register entry would be a legal requirement (as there is no paper requisition detailing the sale to keep for two years). 

The controls over retail sale of medicines do not apply to the above practitioners. A doctor or dentist may offer to supply or sell prescription-only medicines to a patient or patient s carer (and similar arrangements apply to veterinary practitioners/surgeons for animals or herds under their care). Supplies may be obtained from pharmacies by way of wholesale dealing and requested via a written requisition. 

Table 5.2 Pharmacy-only (P ) medicines commonly used by optometrists ...

Endorse prescription Stamp with pharmacy stamp to indicate completion and annotate stamp with the prescription-only medicines register entry number (5.01). 

Records to be made (including copies of the record(sj) A prescription-only medicines register entry will be required, although as the requisition will be kept in the pharmacy, this entry is made as good practice rather than a legal requirement. 

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