ONLINE PHARMACY COMPLIANCE & REGULATORY SUPPORT

The process should connect prescription validation, dispensing, counselling, patient identification and delivery rather than treating each as a separate system.

Electronic prescriptions need to move through conformant systems, with the Australian Digital Health Agency outlining the requirements for electronic prescribing for dispensers. Delivery records should then provide appropriate traceability, while patient information needs to be protected throughout the digital journey.

Review the entire customer-facing journey, not only the page that triggered the concern.

This can include product pages, condition pages, search results, paid ads, social posts, booking flows and logged-in areas. Similar wording or imagery may appear across several channels, so correcting one page may not resolve the wider issue.

Generally, no. Prescription medicines cannot be promoted directly to the public except in limited circumstances.

An online pharmacy can advertise general dispensing services, but promoting the availability of named prescription medicines or specific medicine classes can breach the rules. The TGA provides detailed guidance on prescription medicine advertising restrictions.

There are limited circumstances where prescription and certain pharmacist-only medicine prices can be published.

The price list needs to meet specific conditions under the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code. The TGA explains the requirements for pharmacy and prescription medicine price lists.

No. An electronic prescription is a digital alternative to a paper prescription, but the usual prescribing and supply laws continue to apply.

Pharmacies also need to account for any state or territory requirements that apply to the medicine being dispensed, including additional controls for some scheduled medicines.

Potentially, but the pharmacy needs to check the medicines and poisons rules applying to the prescription and supply in the relevant jurisdictions.

This is particularly important for controlled medicines because requirements are not identical across Australia. Online pharmacy SOPs should identify when extra checks are needed before interstate dispensing proceeds.

Delivery procedures should cover packing, medicine security, temperature-sensitive products, courier handover, tracking, failed delivery, returns and evidence of receipt where required.

The SOP should also explain what happens when a medicine cannot be delivered as planned, particularly where security or storage conditions may have been compromised.

The pharmacy should know how required storage conditions will be maintained from dispatch until delivery.

That may require suitable packaging, temperature controls, courier arrangements and procedures for delayed or failed deliveries. Records should allow the pharmacy to assess whether medicine integrity may have been affected if something goes wrong.

Online pharmacies handle health information, including prescriptions, medicine history, contact details and sometimes sensitive clinical information.

Privacy controls should cover the website, prescription systems, communications and any third-party platforms handling patient information. The OAIC’s health privacy guidance for providers explains how health information should be handled.

Where an online pharmacy uses video, messaging or other remote communication for counselling or pharmacy services, telehealth pharmacy policies should address patient identification, privacy, consent, clinical records, communication limitations and escalation where remote care is not appropriate.

They should also define when a digital interaction is not sufficient and another form of clinical or pharmacy support is required.