From today (Wednesday 7th January), patients will be able to obtain their medicines more quickly. A key provision of The Human Medicines (Authorisation by Pharmacists and Supervision by Pharmacy Technicians) Order 2025 comes into effect and allows pharmacists to authorise any member of the pharmacy team to hand out prescriptions that have been checked, bagged, and are ready to go to the patient.
Changes to the law will also mean pharmacists can spend more time delivering frontline NHS care.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA said:
“Changes to supervision laws provide the basis for the greatest evolution in pharmacy practice for 90 years, freeing up pharmacists to spend greater time with patients and deliver more NHS care.
The first of these changes – allowing patients to collect their prescribed medicines, that have already been prepared, checked and bagged up and are ready to go – will deliver tangible benefits to patients and pharmacy teams.
The changes to supervision laws are the culmination of extensive work and stewardship by the CCA dating back to 2018.1 This involved initiating work in 2019 with the NPA and IPA, broadening involvement of bodies representing pharmacy professionals in 2021 and facilitating the creation of the Supervision Practice Group in 2022. The work of the Group ultimately led to a unified vision on supervision changes, via the Group’s report in 2023.2
We are delighted to see this element of community pharmacy practice being brought into the 21st century”.
References
1 – CCA, Statement: Supervision legislation being laid in Parliament, 17 July 2025
2 – Supervision in community pharmacy, Recommendations from the Supervision Practice Group, 1 August 2023