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CHAPTER 8: CONDITIONS RELATING TO THE RESPONSIBLE PHARMACIST: SUPERVISION BY THE RESPONSIBLE PHARMACIST OF ACTIVITIES IN A PHARMACY WHERE HE OR SHE IS NOT THE RESPONSIBLE PHARMACIST
8.1 The new section 72A inserted in the Medicines Act by the Health Act makes provision for regulations setting out the circumstances in which a pharmacist responsible for one pharmacy may supervise individual transactions relating to the preparation, assembly, sale and supply of medicines in a pharmacy where s/he is not the responsible pharmacist.
8.2 For example, such circumstances might include where a pharmacist responsible for pharmacy A asks the pharmacist responsible for pharmacy B to supervise relevant activities in pharmacy A during his/her absence from the pharmacy. Thus, the pharmacist responsible for pharmacy B will continue to exercise his/her statutory duty in relation to pharmacy B whilst s/he is acting as a supervising pharmacist in pharmacy A. The responsible pharmacist for Pharmacy A will also continue to be responsible for safe working in Pharmacy A whilst s/he is absent from Pharmacy A. Both responsible pharmacists will need to comply with the regulations relating to absence from the pharmacy.
8.3 In addition, a pharmacist may only supervise the preparation, assembly, sale and supply of medicines in a pharmacy where s/he is not the responsible pharmacist, where s/he complies with the supervision requirements in the pharmacy where s/he is the responsible pharmacist. Currently, this may only be where another pharmacist is present in pharmacy B to supervise individual transactions involving the sale and supply of medicines in that pharmacy or the pharmacy must close for the sale and supply of medicines. In future, with the introduction of the pharmacist supervision regulations, the responsible pharmacist will need to comply with conditions set out in these regulations before being able to agree to supervise in pharmacy A. The Government is consulting on the content of the pharmacist supervision regulations later.
8.4 Meanwhile, the Government welcomes views on whether there is a need for the responsible pharmacist regulations to specify conditions, other than those allowing the responsible pharmacist's absence from the pharmacy, as an additional safeguard where the responsible pharmacist for one pharmacy is supervising individual transactions in another pharmacy where s/he is not the responsible pharmacist. For example, such conditions might include:
- That one or both pharmacies should have suitably trained staff working in the pharmacy( eg a registered pharmacy technician)
- That a pharmacist responsible for one pharmacy (pharmacy B) may supervise individual transactions in another pharmacy where s/he is not the responsible pharmacist (pharmacy A) where the pharmacies concerned have the same pharmacy owner. This, for example, would help ensure that the responsible pharmacists in both pharmacy A and pharmacy B are aware of the pharmacy business's operational policies and activity in both pharmacies. It may also help address any potential conflicts of interest presented to a responsible pharmacist in agreeing to supervise in another pharmacy with a different responsible pharmacist and a different owner.
Q. Do you think regulations should specify the need to meet certain other conditions (in addition to those allowing absence from the pharmacy) before a pharmacist responsible for one pharmacy is able to supervise transactions in a pharmacy where he is not the responsible pharmacist? If so, what are your reasons for this?
Q. What are your views on the conditions identified? Are there others that you consider might be included in the regulations and what are your reasons for suggesting these?
Q. If you do not agree with this approach, what do you propose and what are your reasons for this?
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