Prescribing by Private Providers
Our Practice Policy
Our Practice has been receiving requests from private providers to review patient notes to ensure it is safe for them to prescribe weight loss medications, including, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Saxenda. Here is what you need to know.
Responsibility and Prescribing
- The responsibility for prescribing sits with the prescribing third party provider.
- When a private provider asks us to review your notes, it implies that our practice would take responsibility for prescriptions initiated by other organisations.
- General Practice is under extreme pressure and cannot take on unfunded, non-contractual work for non-NHS providers.
- General practice cannot take on any liability for items prescribed by a private 3rd
Regulations and Safety
- According to GMC Regulations, it is the responsibility of the prescribing clinician to ensure their prescribing is safe. This includes:
- Taking an adequate history
- Examining the patient
- Conducting and acting on any appropriate pre-prescribing investigations
- NICE guidelines require an examination of the patient, including accurate weight measurement at initial assessment and regular reviews.
Private Providers Responsibilities
- Private providers can not expect NHS GPs to perform private work on their behalf.
- They must not assume that nonresponse from us means there are no contradictions to prescribing the medication.
Access to Medical Records
- Patients can arrange for private providers to have full access to the NHS records via the NHS App.
What can you do?
Private provider – Please contact your patient directly to resolve any queries about their medical history.
Patients- Ensure your private provider has access to your NHS records and ensure the details you provide to any additional questions are accurate.
ADHD Policy
Patients wanting a referral to an ADHD clinic have the right to go privately or to select a provider on the Right to Choose Pathway. Many people make this decision as they can receive an assessment and diagnosis more quickly.
The GP cannot provide recommendations for private providers and the patients must research and select the provider they wish to be referred to.
We are aware that many providers are offering ADHD assessments and then ask GPs to prescribe medication under the NHS through a shared care agreement. At Riverside Medical Centre, we do not provide ‘shared care’ or ‘shared prescribing.’ Most ADHD medications are classed as AMBER dugs in our area which means they must be managed by a specialist.
If you choose to go privately or use a right to choose prescriber, you are entitled to do so but must be aware that any continued monitoring or prescribing must be provided by the Specialist Service and may not be NHS funded. The responsibility to prescribe sit with the prescribing GP and in order to prescribe, the GP must be satisfied that the diagnosis has been made in line with NICE guidance, by appropriately trained clinicians, with timely support available should the patient experience any complications and a system in place to ensure the patient attends their specialist reviews should these no longer be funded by the NHS. Currently if a patient has a diagnosis from a private provider of ADHD, they cannot be re-referred onto the NHS pathway.
Riverside Medical Centre does not take on the prescribing of ADHD medication due to the significant variances in referral quality, concerns regarding the high diagnosis rate at some of the right to choose clinics, the monitoring processes, lack of support for GP prescribers and the volume of requests for shared care that we do not have the capacity to manage.
Some private providers will prescribe for you directly, but it is important to discuss this with the provider. If the providers state that the GP practice will take on the prescribing, this is false.
We appreciate that it can be disappointing to wait longer for a service the practice can prescribe for, but we trust you understand that it is simply not feasible for the practice to deal with multiple different providers with differing policies, procedures, and diagnosis methods.
We will not take over prescribing for new patients to the surgery who have been prescribed medication via a shared care agreement through their previous practice. The Shared Care Agreement is prescriber specific and ends when the Patient ceases to be a patient of that provider.
Patients seeking a shared care agreement for the prescribing of ADHD medications may wish to register with another Practice who are happy to take on the prescribing responsibilities.
I if you have any concerns regarding the above you have the right to discuss these with our local Integrated Care Board (ICB). West Yorkshire ICB, who commission and pay for the NHS services you use can be contacted by:
Email: wyicb.pals@nhs.net
Telephone 01924 552150
Monday to Friday 9-4.30pm, excluding bank holidays.
In writing: West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board Complaints Team, White Rose House West Parade, Wakefield WF1 1LT
Please note you cannot ask the ICB to consider the same concerns or complaints you raised with us.