How private GLP-1 prescribing works in the UK

Wegovy and Mounjaro are prescription only medicines. Outside the NHS they reach you through a private prescription: a registered prescriber assesses you and decides whether to prescribe, and a pharmacy registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) dispenses and delivers. This article describes those steps so the price table makes sense. It is not a reason to start treatment, and the decision about whether a medicine is right for you belongs to you and a prescriber.

Prescription only, licensed by the MHRA

Both medicines hold a UK marketing authorisation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and both are classed as prescription only. The patient information leaflet and the summary of product characteristics for each are published on the electronic medicines compendium. Prescription only means a registered prescriber has to decide the medicine is appropriate for you before a pharmacy can supply it. In the UK that can be a doctor registered with the General Medical Council, a pharmacist independent prescriber on the GPhC register or a nurse independent prescriber on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register.

The online consultation

A private service starts with a consultation, usually online. You answer questions about your health, your medicines, your height and weight and what you have tried before. Many services ask for your GP's details and your consent to tell them what has been prescribed.

The GPhC publishes guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet. The version published in February 2025 says that for medicines used for weight management the prescriber cannot rely on an online questionnaire alone: they have to verify your weight, height or body mass index another way, for example through a video consultation, in person, from your clinical records or by contacting your GP. If a service asks for a video call or for permission to contact your GP, that is why.

The prescriber's decision

The prescriber reads the consultation and decides. They can decline. If they prescribe, they choose the medicine, the strength and the schedule, and they decide when a repeat supply is appropriate. The leaflet for each medicine says to use it exactly as your doctor has told you, so the prescriber's instructions take precedence over anything a website says, including this one. Repeat orders involve a further review, and the prescriber can ask for an updated weight or stop prescribing.

The Dose Club has no part in any of this. The site lists what registered pharmacies charge. It does not prescribe, does not sell and takes no payment from the pharmacies it lists.

Dispensing by a registered pharmacy

A private prescription is dispensed by a pharmacy. In Great Britain pharmacies are registered with the GPhC; in Northern Ireland the regulator is the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. The GPhC register is public, and a separate article explains how to look a pharmacy up. Every provider page on The Dose Club shows the pharmacy's GPhC registration number, or says that it is still to be verified, because a number is never made up.

The pharmacy dispenses the pen with a label carrying your name, puts the patient information leaflet in the box and delivers it. Both leaflets say the pen is stored in a fridge before first use, so ask the provider how it keeps the medicine cool on the way to you.

What the fees cover

A private supply has up to three parts, and providers bundle them differently.

• The consultation fee pays for the prescriber's assessment. Some providers charge it separately, some include it in the price of the medicine, and some charge it whether or not a prescription is issued. Check before you order.
• The medicine price is what the pharmacy charges for one month's supply at the prescribed strength. There is no fixed private price in the UK; each pharmacy sets its own.
• The delivery fee covers getting the medicine to you. Some providers include it, some charge for it.

Because the parts vary, a headline pen price on one site cannot be compared with a headline price on another. The Dose Club adds the medicine, any compulsory consultation fee and any compulsory delivery fee into one complete monthly cost, and that is the figure in every cell of the price table. A separate article explains the definition in detail.

Questions worth asking a provider

• Who is the prescriber, and which register are they on?
• Is the consultation fee charged if no prescription is issued?
• What does a repeat order involve, and is there a review fee?
• How is the medicine delivered, and what happens if you are out?
• How do they handle a price change on an order already placed?

Sources

• General Pharmaceutical Council, guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet: pharmacyregulation.org
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: gov.uk
• Wegovy and Mounjaro patient information leaflets on the electronic medicines compendium: medicines.org.uk/emc

This article is information, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber about your treatment.