UK Expands Pharmacy Role in Drug Provision

The UK government has introduced new pharmacy regulations, which target a greater public health role for the profession to ease the direct burden on the country's health system. In addition to streamlining dispensing fees and other measures, the so-called Contractual Framework for Community Pharmacy

will allow pharmacists to carry out repeat dispensing for prescriptions lasting as long as one year.

A clear aim of the new procedures, along with introducing a more targeted set of health priorities for community pharmacists, will be to encourage self-medication as a substitute for visits to a doctor. The new regulations represent a potential boost for the US$3.4bn OTC market, which has also recently seen new proposals for a relaxation on advertising. Further, greater repeat prescribing without the intervention of a doctor could also boost prescription sales in a market where longer-term disease patterns are already prevalent.