Today the GMC are launching a call for evidence on remote consultations and prescribing via online, telephone or video. They are taking this step to understand whether the guidance – Good practice in prescribing and managing medicines and devices – needs to be developed further, given the fast pace of change in remote healthcare services.
Please share your views via our online survey tool before 18 February 2020; or contact us via email if you have any questions about our work in this area.
About our call for evidence
Remote consultations and prescribing can benefit patients who want flexible access to healthcare. However, there are potential patient safety risks, particularly when the remote healthcare provider is not their regular prescriber. In 2013, we expanded our guidance Good practice in prescribing and managing medicines and devices to give advice on remote consultations and prescribing. Since then, there has been a significant increase in the provision of remote prescribing and we want to make sure our guidance is keeping up with new developments.
Our call for evidence will ask for views on a number of topics including what good dialogue between doctors and patients looks like, how our guidance is applied in practice, and if any additional patient safeguards may be needed.
Working together to support safe remote prescribing
This is one of several measures we’re taking forward, in partnership with regulatory and quality improvement partners, to support safe remote consultations and prescribing. These include a joint statement with healthcare regulators and high level principles for good practice, co-authored and agreed by 13 healthcare organisations across the UK.