How to check a pharmacy on the GPhC register

Every provider page on The Dose Club carries a line that reads "GPhC registration" followed by a number, or by "to be verified" when a member of the team has not yet confirmed it against the register. The number is the pharmacy's entry on the register kept by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), the regulator for pharmacies in Great Britain. This article explains what the register is and how to use it.

Who the GPhC regulates

The GPhC regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacy premises in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own regulator, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. A pharmacy that dispenses medicines in Great Britain has to be registered, and an online pharmacy is no exception: the medicines are dispensed from registered premises, and the GPhC publishes guidance for pharmacies that provide services at a distance, including on the internet.

What the register shows

The register is public and free to search on the GPhC website. You can look a pharmacy up by name, by registration number or by postcode. The entry for a registered pharmacy shows its name, its address and its registration number. If the search finds nothing, or the name on the entry does not match the business you are dealing with, treat that as a reason to stop and ask questions.

Checking a provider from this site

• Open the provider page and note the GPhC registration number.
• Search for that number on the GPhC register.
• Check that the name and address on the register entry match the business whose website you are using. Groups sometimes trade under one name and register under another, so a mismatch is a question to put to the provider, and it should be answered.
• If the provider page says "to be verified", the team has not yet done this check. Nothing stops you doing it yourself from the provider's own website, which should state its registration details.

Checking the prescriber

The pharmacy register is one half. The other is the person who prescribes. Doctors appear on the General Medical Council's medical register. Pharmacist prescribers appear on the GPhC's register of pharmacists, where the entry notes that the pharmacist is an independent prescriber. Nurse prescribers appear on the Nursing and Midwifery Council register. A provider should tell you who prescribed your medicine, and that name can be checked in the same way.

Why the number is on every provider page

The Dose Club lists GPhC registered pharmacies only. The registration number is there so that anyone can check the claim for themselves, and because a price from an unregistered seller is not a price for a medicine in any meaningful sense. The MHRA publishes warnings about buying medicines from websites that are not registered pharmacies, and the community filters on this site block posts that point to such sellers.

If something is wrong

The GPhC accepts concerns about registered pharmacies and pharmacy professionals through its website. Suspected fake or defective medicines can be reported to the MHRA through the Yellow Card scheme, which covers those as well as side effects. If a provider page on The Dose Club shows a registration number you believe is wrong, use the contact form and the team will check it against the register.

Sources

• General Pharmaceutical Council, the registers and the guidance for pharmacies providing services at a distance: pharmacyregulation.org
• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, including the Yellow Card scheme: gov.uk
• General Medical Council medical register and Nursing and Midwifery Council register

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