A new review by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has set out “targeted actions for improvement” for pharmacies providing weight loss drugs.
The GPhC said the review, published today, highlights the need for “stronger governance, enhanced clinical safeguards and greater transparency” in the supply of weight loss medicines and services.
It added that analysis of pharmacy inspection reports and concerns received between January 2024 and December 2025 showed that “while many pharmacies are delivering these services appropriately, standards were not always consistently met”.
Recommended actions
The GPhC set out several “targeted actions for improvement” for pharmacy owners, pharmacy teams and prescribers, including:
- robust, regularly reviewed risk assessments and standard operating procedures for weight management services
- effective clinical governance and oversight, including appropriate due diligence when working with third-party prescribing services
- independent verification of clinical information, such as weight and height, to determine BMI, in line with GPhC guidance
- individual review of clinical suitability, with specific consideration to guidance available to support vulnerable groups, including individuals with eating disorders
- all consultations and clinical decision-making being thoroughly documented
- providing clear communication and accessible ongoing support
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It said these recommendations “also emphasise the importance of appropriate and ongoing clinical follow-up, as well as the safe and secure supply and delivery of medicines”.
“Together, these measures are intended to help ensure weight management medicines are supplied and prescribed safely, consistently and in a person-centred way,” it added.
Key findings
The GPhC also highlighted key findings from its analysis, including that “one in twenty pharmacy inspection reports” between January 2024 and December 2025 “referenced weight management medicines or services”.
It noted that across these inspections, “106 standards were recorded as ‘not met’ or ‘requiring improvement’”. Common issues included:
- insufficiently documented or outdated risk assessments and clinical governance processes
- poor documentation of clinical consultations and decision-making
- inadequate assurance of safety and safe processes when working with third-party prescribing services
- lack of independent verification or information to determine BMI and inconsistent clinical follow-up
Read more: Criminals ‘cloning’ pharmacy sites to sell fake weight loss meds
Over the same period, it added, the regulator received 1,307 concerns relating to weight loss drugs and services. The key areas of concern were:
- prescribing practice (27%), including unsafe or inappropriate prescribing and poor clinical oversight
- customer service (25%), including delivery delays, refund disputes and a lack of clear communication or accessible complaints processes
- advertising (17%), including non-compliant promotion of prescription-only medicines
- additional concerns (31%) relating to product quality, cold chain failures, dispensing errors and potential unlawful supply
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The regulator also noted that 49% of the weight management concerns received related to online pharmacies, followed by 26% for brick-and-mortars.
And six percent of all concerns “related to the potential misconduct of pharmacists or pharmacy technicians”, it said – adding that “most of these cases are still under investigation” at the time of writing.
“More than compliance”
GPhC chief pharmacy officer Roz Gittins said weight management drugs and services are “a rapidly evolving area of practice, and public interest in these treatments continues to grow”.
She added that the review “will help pharmacies and prescribers understand what is working well and where improvements are needed”.
“This is about more than compliance,” Gittins said. “By strengthening governance, enhancing clinical safeguards and improving transparency, pharmacy teams can ensure that the services they provide are safe, reliable and person-centred”.
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It comes after a National Pharmacy Association survey found that one in 10 online pharmacies have had their websites and social media “cloned by criminals” to “trick patients into buying counterfeit weight loss medication”.
And it follows research by the Advertising Standards Authority revealing that less than half of the UK population is aware that GLP-1 weight loss drugs are prescription-only medicines.
