Advice on disclosing information for patients' weight loss medication

• Many patients are turning to online pharmacies to get prescriptions for weight loss drugs.
• New General Pharmaceutical Council guidance requires online pharmacies to have more robust safeguards.
• Our advice: do not ignore requests for patient information, and make sure patients have given their consent to share it.

Although weight loss medication is available from the NHS, some people may not meet the criteria set out in NICE guidance or may choose to access the drugs privately.

This has led to an increase in GPs contacting us for advice about disclosing information to online pharmacies when patients are being prescribed weight loss medications.

Examples of the drugs being prescribed include Ozempic, Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide).

Some pharmacies contact the patient's GP, informing them of what has been prescribed and asking if they know of any contraindications that might impact the patient's prescription. Letters are often signed by the organisation rather than a named prescriber.

Here are some of the questions GPs are asking us:

• is it safe to rely on pharmacy's assurance that they have the patient's consent to disclose information?
• can I choose to ignore a request to share information on the patient's medical history, given the work does not fall under the GMS contract?

How to respond to a request to share patient information

Your response to a request to share patient information will depend on the circumstances. Regardless of any approach to information sharing, you will likely need to check the patient record.

If it becomes clear that the weight loss drug has been prescribed to someone with a clear contraindication, then it's probably not an option to simply ignore the correspondence.

Another dilemma arises if the patient has misrepresented their BMI or medical history to the pharmacy. In these circumstances, it is best to check with the patient about whether they consent to the information being disclosed.

The GMC's guidance on confidentiality recognises that, "Patients may be put at risk if those who provide their care do not have access to relevant, accurate and up-to-date information about them." It also explains that, "The duty to share information for individual care is as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality."

Not sure if you can share? Here's our advice

But how do you proceed when you're not sure what information the patient has agreed can be shared, or if the patient refuses to allow you to share relevant information?

Our advice is to consider taking the following steps.

• Contact the patient to make them aware of the request and any concerns you have about the medication in relation to their medical history. Make sure they consent to what you are planning to disclose.
• If the patient withholds consent, explain to the pharmacy that you're aware of information that makes the prescription inappropriate, but the patient has not given you consent to share this. It will then be for the pharmacy to follow this up. You should also make the patient aware that you'll be sending this response.
• Clarify the extent of the records checked with the pharmacy - for example, that only the patient's active and past problem list were checked, rather than an in-depth review of their entire record.
• Consider explaining that a general review of the patient's notes might not capture every relevant consideration that the prescriber may need to know when making their decision to continue to prescribe. The prescriber would need to go through the patient's online records with them so they can satisfy themselves they are prescribing in line with the guidance from their regulator.
• Check if your LMC can provide you with further insights into how other practices are responding.
• This work does not fall under the GMS contract, and you can get advice from the BMA about any charges that might apply.

Warnings for prescribers

Weight loss drugs are prescription-only medicines (POMs) and should only be prescribed by a medical professional.

If there isn't a robust system in place to gather relevant information before a prescription is provided, patients could be put at risk and prescribers might be vulnerable to criticism and medico-legal processes.

If an adverse event arises, the relevant prescriber could be called upon by their regulator, or others, to justify their decision to prescribe. If the prescriber is a doctor, they would need to consider the GMC guidance in 'Good practice in prescribing and managing medicines and devices'.

This states that, "You should only prescribe medicines if you have adequate knowledge of the patient's health and you are satisfied that the medicines serve the patient's needs."

Prescribers must have access to, "sufficient information to prescribe safely, for example if you have access to the patient's medical records and can verify relevant information." the guidance states.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC)'s 'In practice: Guidance for pharmacist prescribers' says, "Pharmacist prescribers are accountable for their prescribing decisions, including when prescribing at a distance.

"They should prescribe only when they have adequate knowledge of the person's health and their full medical and prescribing history: for example, by using the person's medical records and other sources of information to establish any allergies or interactions. They must be satisfied that the medicines serve the person's needs."

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has also raised concerns about people being prescribed weight loss medication inappropriately, such as patients who previously had eating disorders or whose bodyweight was already low.

2025 GPC guidance

In February 2025, the GPC published 'Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet'. This updated guidance requires online pharmacies to have more robust safeguards in place to prevent patients being prescribed clinically inappropriate medication.

Weight loss medications have been added to the list of high-risk medications. As such, a prescriber of these medications will now need to independently verify the person's weight, height and/or BMI.

The GPC explains that independent verification means, "the prescriber uses a different way to verify the information provided to them by the person. This could be through a video consultation, in person, from the person's clinical records or by contacting another healthcare provider such as the person's GP.

"Verifying information helps to confirm that any continued supply is clinically suitable and helps to safeguard vulnerable people. Verifying information through a phone call would not be appropriate when supplying medication for weight loss."

Warnings for advertisers

At the same time, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has issued a warning to businesses and individuals who are targeting members of the public with ads for weight loss prescription only medicines.

It has launched a cross-organisational project whereby it will monitor, investigate and issue enforcement action to tackle non-compliance.

In summary

With the increasing popularity of weight loss medication and the dangers of people trying to access the medication when it would be inappropriate for them to take it, GPs may find they are increasingly asked for information to help protect patients from harm.

Our advice is to not ignore such requests, and to make sure patients have given their consent to share appropriate information. If you need support, our expert medico-legal advisers are on hand to guide you through any dilemmas you face in this area.

This page was correct at publication on 04/02/2025. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.