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How do online pharmacies work with GPs?
Private online pharmacies may sometimes inform your GP about any prescriptions you get from them. They’re not doing this to ask for permission. It’s simply to make sure the treatment is safe for you and to keep your medical records up to date.
For most treatments, it’s your choice whether to share the treatment you get from us with your GP. However, Treated recommends that you allow us to notify your GP about any treatment you get from us to ensure that all your healthcare providers have a current picture of your health.
Medically reviewed by
Sanjeda Chowdhury, Superintendent Pharmacist + Independent Prescriber
When is your GP told about your private prescription?
It depends on the medication and the online pharmacy you’re using, but here’s what typically happens at Treated when you place an order:
As to the actual timing:
- If your prescription is approved before 4 pm, we’ll ship it the same day.
- If it’s after 4 pm, it’ll be shipped the next working day.
- If you place an order on a non-working day, it’ll be processed on the next working day, and shipping will follow from there.
Treated notifies your GP after your medication is shipped, usually within a few days. For most conditions, we only notify your GP if you tell us that you want us to. But for some long-term conditions, Treated is required to inform your GP when prescribing medication. These include:
- Asthma
- COPD
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Hypothyroidism
- Morning sickness
This is because these conditions often need ongoing monitoring, and the treatments can interact with other medications or carry serious health risks. So keeping your GP in the loop helps make sure your health is managed safely and effectively.
If you consult about a condition where GP notification is required, we’ll always inform you before you submit your consultation for review.
Are GPs ever informed or contacted before a prescription is issued?
In some cases, a clinician prescribing for a private online pharmacy may contact your GP to double-check certain details that are relevant to the prescription you’ve requested. But they’ll only do this if you’ve given them consent for this.
More commonly, though, they’ll ask for your permission to access your Summary Care Record (or NHS Health Record). They’ll do this if they feel like they need more background info about your health to make a safe and informed prescribing decision.
When is notifying your GP mandatory?
Consent to inform your GP is required for certain treatments, usually those that need close monitoring or are used to manage chronic conditions, and have been prescribed in the past by an NHS doctor.
At Treated, we will inform your GP when you receive treatment for the following conditions:
- Asthma
- COPD
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Hypothyroidism
- Morning sickness
Example of medications that don’t require GP notification include:
- Erectile dysfunction treatments
- Oral contraception
- PrEP
- Treatments for sexually transmitted infections, like chlamydia
- Weight loss treatments
- Smoking cessation treatments
That said, we still recommend letting us notify your GP or doing it yourself. Again, this is to ensure your GP is aware of your treatments, so that they can spot any potential medication interactions and monitor your health effectively.
Does your GP have to give permission for a private prescription?
No, they don’t need to approve it. You can receive the treatments you need from an online provider even without your GP’s permission. Even when we notify your GP, this is purely a safety check, not a request for permission. Once notified, though, your GP can flag any reasons why a particular medication may not be safe for you.
Why is it important that private prescriptions are in your medical record?
Adding private prescriptions to your health record can be helpful for a number of reasons, including:
- Emergency care: If you ever need hospital treatment, the medical staff will see exactly what you’re taking. This helps them choose treatments that are safe for you and avoid any serious health risks.
- Ongoing care: May help your GP make better-informed decisions about your health and avoid potential medication interactions. For example, privately purchased weight loss medication can make the contraceptive pill less effective. If your GP knows you’re taking these injections, they can give you the right advice on contraception.
- Medication safety monitoring: It can help identify previously unknown interactions between medications, which can then be reported through the Yellow Card scheme.
- Treatment planning: May help guide future decisions on surgeries or other medical procedures. For example, if someone takes corticosteroids purchased online long-term, this can increase the risk of wound complications after surgery. Recording the medication in the patient’s medical record allows doctors to delay the procedure until it’s safe or pause the medication beforehand.
- Future private prescriptions: May inform future prescribing by other private clinicians and avoid potential interactions with future treatments.
What information is shared with the GP?
The type of data shared with your GP can vary depending on the private provider. With Treated, if you consent to GP notification, we’ll share:
- The name and dose of the prescription requested
- The date the prescription was issued
- Whether it’s a one-off prescription or a repeat
- When the next repeat prescription is due for renewal
- Any allergies you’ve disclosed
You can read more about this in our data handling and cookie policy.
What if I am given a letter to give to my GP and don’t send it?
Clinicians usually send a letter directly to your GP, but sometimes they give the letter to you to pass on yourself.
If you‘re issued a letter to share with your GP, the pharmacy will usually explain (and may ask you to confirm that you understand) that you’re assuming responsibility for passing on the letter to your GP.
Nothing will happen if you don’t send it, but not informing your GP when advised could affect the quality of care you receive in the future and, in some cases, may even put you at risk, because your GP won’t have a full view of the treatments you’ve had.
For example, certain weight loss medications or thyroid treatments can interfere with prescriptions for heart or blood pressure conditions. In these cases, it’s best if your GP knows about the medications you’re taking so that they can give you the right advice and make necessary adjustments to your current treatment.
Can my GP hold up my medication?
Usually, no. Most of the time, a private pharmacy won’t ‘wait’ for a GP to respond before fulfilling a privately issued prescription, unless they have a specific safety concern and have requested further information from a GP. If your GP is notified after the prescription has been issued, and your GP then raises safety concerns, the pharmacy might decide not to dispense the medication.
Can my GP speed up being prescribed medication?
Sometimes, yes, but only in a minority of cases. If an online pharmacy needs to check something with your GP to safely issue your prescription, a swift response from them can help speed things up.
Can my GP take over my prescription afterwards?
Not necessarily. Your GP isn’t required to prescribe the particular medication suggested by a private clinician and might not do so if:
- The medication isn’t usually prescribed on the NHS.
- It doesn’t follow national or local guidelines.
- It isn’t licensed in the UK, or it’s being used in a way that’s not included in its UK licence.
- Your GP doesn’t think the medication is right or necessary for you.
| Medication / Treatment | Will GP usually continue it? | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Weight loss injections | No | Typically, there are many steps that need to be followed before they’re prescribed on the NHS. Being prescribed online doesn’t let you skip them. |
| Antibiotics (e.g. for tonsillitis) | No | Your GP probably won’t continue it long-term, since one course of treatment is usually enough. |
| Asthma inhalers | Depends | For emergency supplies (e.g. going on holiday), usually no. For daily use, your GP will usually continue the treatment, but they may switch you to an option that fits NHS guidelines (like a generic if you were using a brand name) as part of your ongoing care plan. |
| Off-label medications (e.g. Acetazolamide for altitude sickness) | Not usually | Not licensed for this use, so your GP won’t usually prescribe them. |
| Oral contraceptives | Yes | Often continued by the GP, as they’re commonly prescribed on the NHS. |
| Erectile dysfunction treatments | Sometimes | GP may continue if clinically appropriate, but not automatically. |
| PrEP (HIV prevention) | Sometimes | GPs may continue under NHS guidelines. |
| Chronic condition meds (e.g. hypertension, diabetes) | Yes, usually | Generally speaking, if the GP agrees with the treatment, they may take over as part of ongoing NHS care. However, at treated we don’t currently initiate treatment for long-term conditions like diabetes. |
| Short-term travel vaccines | No | Usually given privately; GP won’t continue after travel unless needed for ongoing care. |
| Specialist medications (e.g. biologics for autoimmune conditions) | Depends | GP may not prescribe without specialist oversight or NHS approval. |
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