Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Overview
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the U.K. government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health.

In the U.K., strict legal controls apply to the retail sale and supply of medicines and these controls apply equally to medicines sold via the Internet.

The MHRA is responsible for the regulation and control of medicines on the U.K. market. MHRA takes the view that on-line supply of medicines is acceptable, provided these legal controls are met, but warns patients that products obtained in this way cannot be guaranteed as safe.

Medicines legislation does not prohibit the remote prescribing of prescription only medicines by a prescriber. These prescriptions must meet the usual requirements set down in medicines legislation. The General Medical Council has issued guidance to doctors on good practice concerning prescribing where they are not in face-to-face contact with the patient.

Source

 * Cyber Crime Strategy, at 25.