As many of our clients will have seen, further to the funding announcement made at the end of March, regulatory changes have now been laid before parliament in respect of various matters that will come into effect from 23rd June. One of the major changes relates to Distance Selling Pharmacies (DSPs), otherwise known as internet pharmacies.
The news that will have surprised many people in the sector is that no new DSP applications may be submitted after 23rd June. Anybody who is considering making one of these applications now has a very short period of time in which to do so. Existing DSPs will still be able to operate as usual (subject to the changes discussed below) and owners of DSPs will still be able to relocate to new premises or change the ownership to someone else. However, after being first introduced into the Regulations in 2005, the era of new DSPs is coming to an end.
The other major change is that, from 1st October this year, DSPs will no longer be able to provide advanced or enhanced NHS services to patients from their premises. They have always been prevented from providing essential services on a face-to-face basis but, in the future, this is to be extended to include all pharmaceutical services. The only exception to this is the administration of COVID-19 and Flu vaccinations on the distance selling premises, as part of an Advanced, National Enhanced, or Enhanced service which continues to be permitted until 31 March 2026.
The changes to the Regulations also include further amendments to the process for changing core opening hours. We will provide further information on those changes shortly in a more detailed update.
