Independent contractors would be liable for any errors made by a centralised dispensing hub if they could legally operate a hub-and-spoke dispensing model, a leading healthcare lawyer has said.

The Department of Health (DH) announced last month (September 22) that it is "looking into" changing the law to allow independents to operate the model, prompting concerns from readers that pharmacists would be held responsible for mistakes made at a hub.

Addressing these concerns, healthcare lawyer David Reissner confirmed that – if a patient wants to make a claim because they received the wrong medication – pharmacists at both the hub and the spoke would be liable.

“Any pharmacy supplying a service will owe [the] patient a duty of care. When the spoke makes the supply, the spoke will [also] be liable to the patient,” said Mr Reissner, senior healthcare partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys.

This may not be a “big issue” if both the owners of the hub and spoke have the same insurer, he stressed. “They’ll pass any claim on to the insurer, or their professional indemnity provider.”

Only the pharmacist dispensing the medicine at the spoke would face prosecution if the error was deemed a criminal matter, Mr Reissner said. This is because "as the patient is concerned, the supply is made by the spoke", he said.

Any independent pharmacist would have to ensure they are able to check medicines they receive from a hub before operating the model, and seek legal advice to “apportion the responsibilities” of the system, Mr Reissner added.

Last week, the Pharmacists' Defence Association said handing over dispensing duties to central hubs could bring pharmacists out of the dispensary and allow them to deliver more services.

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