The Sale or Supply of Medicines by Dentists

From Volume 36, Issue 8, October 2009 | Pages 490-493

Authors

Christine Randall

BPharm MRPharmS

Senior Medicines Information Pharmacist, North West Regional Medicines Information Centre, 70 Pembroke Place, Liverpool L69 3GF

Articles by Christine Randall

Abstract

The Medicines Act 1968 governs who can supply medicines in the UK. The Act allows dentists to issue any medicine directly to a patient. However, this only applies if patients are receiving private treatment. The current NHS terms of service do not allow dentists to supply any medicines, other than those for immediate use before the issue of a prescription, directly to a patient receiving NHS treatment. A prescription must be supplied for ongoing treatment. If a dentist issues medicines directly to a patient, they must be labelled as a dispensed medicine as directed by the Medicines Act 1968 and the Medicines and for Human Use Regulations (1994).

Article