Written questions

Pharmacy: Community Health Services

Commons · Question 8740 · Tabled 11 Oct 2024 · Department of Health and Social Care · Official record

Answered 18 Oct 2024

Question

Asked by Rebecca Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing community pharmacists to substitute prescription medication for generic alternatives in cases of medicine shortages.

Answer

Answered by Karin Smyth, 18 Oct 2024

If the generic name is written on the prescription, pharmacists can dispense any supplier’s version of that product. However, where the prescription is written for a brand or a supplier, then the pharmacist is required to supply that specific product. Gen...