On the 30 August 2012 the independent regulator of pharmacies supplying medicines for humans in the UK, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), issued a summary of the eligibility and requirements for registering a pharmacy in Great Britain. A pharmacy can only be registered, or have its registration renewed, if the service model includes at least one of the following:

1. the sale of Pharmacy (P) medicines
2. the supply of P medicines or Prescription Only Medicines (POMs) against prescriptions
3. the supply of P medicines or Prescription Only Medicines (POMs) against prescriptions written by veterinary practitioners for the treatment of animals under the ‘cascade’

So basically if the pharmacy only exists to supply medicines authorised by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, then it cannot register with the General Pharmaceutical Council: It would have to register with somebody else.

Any 'pharmacy' not involved in the above activities is expected to complete a "voluntary removal form."

It is difficult to infer from this a huge degree of enthusiasm at the General Pharmaceutical Council for being involved in the regulation of veterinary medicines.

The General Pharmaceutical Council also has a logo for use by registered pharmacies when supplying products on the internet (pictured below). So use of this logo would now be restricted to pharmacies supplying not just veterinary medicines, but also human medicines.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate doesn't offer much advice to pharmacists other than the leaflet on its website here which bears the VMD logo plus the GpharmC internet pharmacy logo. The leaflet also refers to the VMD Accredited Internet Retailer Scheme, but doesn't bear it's logo.

So if only thirteen retailers have signed up to the VMD's AIR scheme and the GPharmC don't want to regulate veterinary pharmacies there's still a job to be done here. Consumers are going to look for veterinary products and services on the internet. They look for information via mobile devices, although don't always buy immediately; on computers they often make decisions on what to buy in seconds.

It seems to me then that someone still needs to make it easy for the consumer to recognise a legitimate online veterinary pharmacy so that they know they can buy with confidence. It's also needed for vets that want to sell medicines online as part of their professional service. More and more owners are buying and searching online and this is a huge opportunity for vet practices.