Veterinary medicines

Electronic signatures

The pharmacy should make sure they have the original hard copy prescription before supplying the medicine. However, electronic transmission for written prescriptions is acceptable if it is an agreed and familiar practice between the prescriber and pharmacy, or if the product is needed urgently to avoid an animal suffering. 

The VMD has clarified that the following are acceptable as electronic signatures:

• A prescription that is printed out, signed in ink by the prescriber, then scanned and emailed to a pharmacy
• A prescription that is written within a Word document or other suitable document template, then an electronic image (such as a JPEG) of the prescriber’s signature is added by the prescriber before emailing to the pharmacy (an electronic signature cannot be pre-populated on a prescription template and would need to be added by the prescriber, which could be a vet, pharmacist or other Suitably Qualified Person depending on the product being prescribed).

CDs 

• Written prescriptions for schedule 2 and 3 CDs need be signed in indelible ink by the prescriber – they may be hand-written, typed in a computerised form, or computer generated 

Mitigating risks
The VMD guidance on Retail of veterinary medicines has a section on prescription tampering which includes how to reduce or discourage unauthorised alterations for both prescribers and dispensing pharmacies.

Please note: the definition an ‘advanced electronic signature’ is different for prescriptions for human medicines. Further infomration can be found in the MEP section 3.3 Professional and legal issues: prescription‑only medicines.