Medicines Act 1968

10 Exemptions for pharmacists. U.K.

(1)F1... the restrictions imposed by sections 7 and 8 of this Act do not apply to anything which is done in a registered pharmacy, a hospital [F2, a care home service] or a health centre and is done there by or under the supervision of a pharmacist and consists of—

(a)preparing or dispensing a medicinal product in accordance with a prescription given by a practitioner, or

(b)assembling a medicinal product [F3provided that where the assembling takes place in a registered pharmacy—

(i)it shall be in a registered pharmacy at which the business in medicinal products carried on is restricted to retail sale or to supply in circumstances corresponding to retail sale and the assembling is done with a view to such sale or supply either at that registered pharmacy or at any other such registered pharmacy forming part of the same retail pharmacy business, and

(ii)the medicinal product has not been the subject of an advertisement]; and those restrictions do not apply to anything done by or under the supervision of a pharmacist which consists of procuring the preparation or dispensing of a medicinal product in accordance with a prescription given by a practitioner, or of procuring the assembly of a medicinal product.

F4(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)Those restrictions do not apply to the preparation or dispensing in a registered pharmacy of a medicinal product by or under the supervision of a pharmacist in accordance with a specification furnished by the person to whom the product is or is to be sold or supplied, where—

(a)the product is prepared or dispensed for administration to that person or to a person under his care, F5...

F5(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)Without prejudice to the preceding subsections, the restrictions imposed by sections 7 and 8 of this Act do not apply to anything which is done in a registered pharmacy by or under the supervision of a pharmacist and consists of—

(a)preparing or dispensing a medicinal product for administration to a person where the pharmacist is requested by or on behalf of that person to do so in accordance with the pharmacist’s own judgment as to the treatment required, and that person is present in the pharmacy at the time of the request in pursuance of which that product is prepared or dispensed, or

(b)preparing a stock of medicinal products with a view to dispensing them as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or subsection (3) of this section or in paragraph (a) of this subsection [F6provided that such stock is prepared with a view to retail sale or to supply in circumstances corresponding to retail sale and the preparation is done with a view to such sale or supply either at that registered pharmacy or at any other registered pharmacy forming part of the same retail pharmacy business];

and those restrictions do not apply to anything which is done in a hospital or a health centre by or under the supervision of a pharmacist and consists of preparing a stock of medicinal products with a view to dispensing them as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) of this section.

[F7(5)Without prejudice to the preceding subsections, the restrictions imposed by section 7 of this Act do not apply to the preparation or dispensing in a registered pharmacy of a medicinal product by or under the supervision of a pharmacist where—

(a)the medicinal product is prepared or dispensed otherwise than in pursuance of an order from any other person, and

(b)the medicinal product is prepared with a view to retail sale or supply in circumstances corresponding to retail sale at the registered pharmacy at which it is prepared, and

(c)the medicinal product has not been the subject of an advertisement.

(6)Without prejudice to the preceding subsections, the restrictions imposed by section 8(2) of this Act do not apply to anything which is done in a registered pharmacy by or under the supervision of a pharmacist and consists of preparing a medicinal product with a view to retail sale or to supply in circumstances corresponding to retail sale at that registered pharmacy.

F8(6A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7)Without prejudice to the preceding subsections, the restrictions imposed by section 8(3) [F9or (3A)] of this Act do not apply to anything which is done in a registered pharmacy by or under the supervision of a pharmacist and amounts to wholesale dealing, where such dealing constitutes no more than an inconsiderable part of the business carried on by the pharmacist at that pharmacy.

[F10(7A)The F11... Ministers may make regulations prescribing conditions which must be complied with if a thing is to be considered for the purposes of this section as done under the supervision of a pharmacist.

(7B)Conditions prescribed under subsection (7A) may relate to supervision in the case where the pharmacist is not at the place where the thing is being done, and in that case the thing is not to be so considered if no such conditions are prescribed.

(7C)In any case, compliance with any applicable conditions is sufficient for the thing to be so considered.]

(8)For the purposes of this section “advertisement" shall have the meaning assigned to it by section 92 of this Act, except that it shall not include words inscribed on the medicinal product, or on its container or package.]

[F12(9)In subsection (1) of this section, “care home service" has the meaning given by section 2(3) of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 8).]

Textual Amendments

F1Words in s. 10(1) omitted (1.10.2006) by virtue of The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2407), reg. 1, Sch. 8 para. 10(a) (with regs. 2(4), 3)

F2Words in s. 10(1) inserted (S.) (1.4.2002) by 2001 asp 8, s. 79, Sch. 3 para. 5(a); S.S.I. 2002/162, art. 2(h) (subject to arts. 3-13)

F3Words added by S.I. 1971/1445, art. 3(a)

F6Words added by S.I. 1971/1445, art. 3(b)

F7S. 10(5)–(8) added by S.I. 1971/1445, art. 3(c)

F9Words in s. 10(7) inserted (14.4.1993) by S.I. 1993/834, reg. 3

F10S. 10(7A)-(7C) inserted (19.7.2006 for specified purposes) by Health Act 2006 (c. 28), ss. 26(1), 83(1)(e)

F11Word in s. 10(7A) omitted (1.10.2006) by virtue of The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/2407), reg. 1, Sch. 8 para. 10(e) (with regs. 2(4), 3)

F12S. 10(9) added (S.) (1.4.2002) by 2001 asp 8, ss. 79, Sch. 3 para. 5(b); S.S.I. 2002/162, art. 2(h) (subject to arts. 3-13)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1Pt. II(ss. 6–50) extended with modifications by S.I. 1985/1403, art. 3(1)

C2S. 10 amended (E.W.S.) (prosp) by 1954 c. 61, s. 13I(1)(b) (as inserted (prosp.) by 1997 c. 19, ss. 1, 2(1), Sch. para. 2)