GPs have joined forces with pharmacy bodies to call for the Department of Health (DH) to "urgently consider" action against schemes that try to influence where patients collect prescriptions.

Pharmacy Voice, PSNC and the BMA's General Practitioners' Committee (GPC) told the DH they were concerned by "a number of schemes that encourage, or have the potential to be associated with, prescription direction", in a joint letter published yesterday (July 2).

The groups drew attention to C+D's coverage last month of a venture by online prescription business Pharmacy2U, which offers surgeries a stake in its repeat prescription service.GPs and pharmacists had told C+D there would be a "huge temptation" for GPs to make the partnership more profitable by encouraging patients to take their repeat prescriptions to Pharmacy2U.

At the time, Pharmacy2U's managing director Daniel Lee said the part-ownership model met "all regulations" and a healthcare lawyer confirmed the scheme did not break the law.

In their letter, sent to the DH last week, the groups also referred to a scheme in which a prescription delivery business had offered a GP practice a "substantial sum" in the form of a share of its business.

Such schemes could lead to "both regulatory issues and potential loss of income [for practices]", as they could result in prescription direction and contravene rules on rent rebates for surgeries.

The DH told C+D it had not seen the letter yet but was "looking forward to receiving it".

The letter follows a joint statement by the three groups last year, in which they voiced their opposition to prescription direction and called for their guidelines on the issue to be followed.

GMC guidance on conflicts of interest advises GPs that have a commercial interest in a pharmacy or dispensary to ensure they do not influence a patient's choice of healthcare services.

	What evidence are you seeing of prescription direction?