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A superintendent pharmacist who failed to verify that an online prescribing service was regulated and safe before dispensing medicines for it has been warned by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

The regulator’s investigating committee found Sajid Khan Rasool did not check if there were written prescribing procedures and policies in place, if the service managed and recorded clinical interventions, if it continuously monitored patients’ treatment and effectively managed overprescribing and suitability of products which might be misused.

The committee also found Rasool failed to check how the service verified patients’ identification and medical history.

His pharmacy, which dispensed medicine for the online prescribing service between June 2023 and July 2024, did not have access to consultation notes and did not know it could access patients’ completed questionnaires.

He also failed to check what consent was obtained concerning the sharing of details about the prescribing decision with GPs or other NHS prescribers and did not establish if the system allowed pharmacists to see patients’ full medical history.

The committee heard Rasool did not carry out risk assessments and audits of his dispensing on behalf of the online service and did not ensure it gave him enough information so he could establish medicines were clinically appropriate and if patients were being properly monitored.

The committee found he breached three standards covering pharmacy professionals providing person-centred care, working in partnership with others and using their professional judgement.

“Mr Rasool is warned that dispensing medicines for an online prescribing service which is not regulated and whose processes he is unsure of, must not occur unless robust systems and checks are in place which put patient safety at the forefront of their operation,” the GPhC said in its report on the hearing.

Warning him that similar conduct in future “will likely result in further regulatory intervention”, the GPhC gave him a warning which will be published on the register for 12 months.