We've published a call for evidence on the facilitated self-selection of P medicines following changes made by the regulator, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), enabling more pharmacies to adopt this practice.

The call for evidence is open for eight weeks from 12 July-06 September and is the outcome of the national Pharmacy Boards meeting in June, which discussed the current RPS position that "Pharmacy medicines must not be accessible to the public by self-selection", as stated in our guide Medicines, Ethics and Practice. 

The Call asks for submission of evidence of the benefits and harms of a facilitated self-selection model for P medicines in relation to patient care, and any evidence gaps with an explanation of areas where further research is required.

RPS CEO Paul Bennett said: "Following changes brought by the GPhC focusing on an outcomes approach to standards, they have confirmed they no longer prohibit facilitated self-selection of P medicines. As a result, there are pharmacies that are now adopting a more flexible interpretation to providing this group of medicines.

"The GPhC have stated that sale and supply of a P medicine must still take place in a registered pharmacy premises under the supervision of a pharmacist, and that appropritae measures should be in place to ensure that supervision continues.

"The evidence base gathered through this exercise will inform a report by RPS Science and Research to enable us to consider our current position. As the professional body, we are committed to patient safety and the safe development of innovative practice to meet the needs of patients now and for the future. Please share the call for evidence with your networks."

To inform the review, we want to hear from a wide range of pharmacists and pharmacy team members, patient representative bodies, employers, academics, think tanks, pharmacy representative bodies, regulators and other stakeholders and researchers.

Please read and respond to the call for evidence.