The marketing lists local GP surgeries that the patient may belong to and informs them that, if they are registered with these surgeries, they could switch to ordering their prescriptions online. Pharmacy2U does include a footnote in its advertising stressing that GPs have not endorsed its communication.

The letters have attracted resistance from GPs. Londonwide Local Medical Committees said it was meeting with Pharmacy2U this month to discuss its concerns over the advertising. A GP surgery in the Croydon area has also written to patients to distance itself from the marketing.

Doncaster and Nottinghamshire LPCs secretary Nick Hunter said some patients in his area had inadvertently signed up to Pharmacy2U, thinking the activity had come from their own pharmacy.

"[The campaign] is causing a lot of worry and taking up a lot of time for my contractors, who are dealing with patients who aren't happy about it," he told C+D. Mr Hunter added that "most GPs" shared local pharmacists' concerns.

Legal view

Noel Wardle, partner, Charles Russell

In general terms, it isn't unlawful for pharmacists to market directly to patients or unethical, even. It used to be the case that the regulator advised against direct marketing to patients, but that went quite a while ago, and it certainly isn't in the General Pharmaceutical Council's code of ethics now. So there aren't the restrictions there used to be.

There's a general regulatory obligation to make sure the letter is fair and doesn't disparage mthe services of others. The marketing must be open, honest and trustworthy.

The NHS says the same sort of thing in its code of conduct for the promotion of NHS-funded services – marketing should be fair and honest.

Pharmacy2U clashes with GPs and pharmacists over advertising

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