It’s going to be harder to get weight loss injections now – here’s why

Those hoping to purchase weight loss jabs online will soon face more stringent checks and difficulty in shaving off the pounds as pharmacy rules are set to change.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has told online pharmacies they can no longer prescribe the drugs to patients who simply fill out a questionnaire – instead, a consultation must be had with the patient.

The move is intended to make sure jabs such as Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro are prescribed safely.

Pharmacists will be required to verify the person’s body mass index (BMI) through a video consultation, in person, or through accessing GP or medical records.

Previously, the drugs were able to be prescribed through an email chat, from questionnaires or by people sending in photos of themselves.

It comes after reports that some people are getting hold of the drugs without thorough checks.

Some online pharmacies have even set targets for how prescriptions should be processed per hour.

What have pharmacies called for?

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is among those who called for tougher rules after becoming aware of people being wrongly prescribed the drugs who have previously had eating disorders, or whose body weight is already low.

The new rules say the prescriber must independently verify ‘weight, height and/or body mass index’, adding: ‘By ‘independently’ we mean that the prescriber uses a different way to verify the information provided to them by the person.

‘This could be through a video consultation, in person, from the person’s clinical records or by contacting another healthcare provider such as the person’s GP…

‘Verifying information through a phone call would not be appropriate when supplying medication for weight loss.’

The new rules also state that clinicians must ask for details of the patient’s GP and get the patient’s consent to contact them about the prescription.

The prescriber should ‘actively’ share all relevant information about the prescription with other health professionals involved in the care of the person.

‘If the person does not have a regular prescriber, such as a GP, or if there is no consent to share information, the prescriber should then decide whether it is safe to prescribe,’ the guidance said.

What if online pharmacies don’t listen to the new guidance?

Weight-loss drugs have also now been added to the list of ‘high-risk’ medicines requiring extra safeguards.

The new guidance backs up regulatory standards. If pharmacists do not adhere to the guidance, the GPhC’s view is that they are unlikely to be meeting standards and could face enforcement action.

This could include fitness to practise investigations or inspections, conditions being put on the pharmacy and improvement plans.

Duncan Rudkin, chief executive at the GPhC, said: ‘The message of this updated guidance is clear: online pharmacies should only supply a medicine if the prescriber has had an appropriate consultation with the person, and has made sure they have all the necessary information to check if that medicine is safe and suitable for them…’

Weight loss jabs, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing food cravings and are available on the NHS for people with a high BMI.

Hundreds of thousands of people also get their prescriptions privately through online pharmacies.

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