Supervision and Workflow Changes in Community Pharmacy
From 7 January 2026, important changes to the Human Medicines Regulations will allow trained and authorised pharmacy team members to hand out medicines that have already been clinically checked, accuracy‑checked, and bagged, even when the pharmacist is temporarily absent or not interruptible. These changes are designed to support smoother workflow in community pharmacies while maintaining patient safety.
Under the new framework, pharmacists may authorise team members to supply these pre‑checked medicines, although clinical checks, accuracy checks, and any supply requiring counselling will still always require a pharmacist. Pharmacies must ensure robust risk assessments, updated SOPs, and appropriate training so that staff understand their responsibilities and know when to refer patients back to the pharmacist.
Higher‑risk medicines and situations, such as newly started treatments, dose changes, controlled drugs, medicines requiring monitoring, and vulnerable patient groups, will continue to need direct pharmacist involvement. Pharmacies are also expected to continually monitor, review, and improve their processes to ensure the system remains safe and effective.
This update represents a significant step in modernising pharmacy practice, improving accessibility for patients while ensuring that professional judgement and patient safety remain at the centre of all activity.
To help our members with these changes, we have produced some useful resources: