Yes. The Department of Health has amended the
Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations 2003(as amended), to enable the recognition of prescriptions written in the UK by registered medical practitioners, registered dentists and registered nurse prescribers, including midwife prescribers, for dispensing in the State. The Regulations came into effect on 1 January 2021. This is on the provision that the prescription has not been issued with a view to enabling the supply of a medicine by mail order and the prescription has not been issued by means of information society services (Further information can be found below).
The prescription must meet the same legal requirements, as those already in place for a prescription issued by a relevant practitioner practicing in another EEA state.
In accordance with the
Code of Conduct for Pharmacists, a pharmacist must always put the patient first and make their health, wellbeing and safety his or her primary focus. As well as the requirements detailed in the legislation, the pharmacist must be satisfied as to the authenticity, content and, more importantly, that it is safe and appropriate to dispense the medicine for the individual patient. If the prescription does not meet the legal requirements or you are not satisfied that the medicine is appropriate for the patient, you should explain this to the patient and refer them to another appropriate healthcare professional or service for further care.
In addition, please note:
- The original prescription must be presented in the pharmacy. A fax or scanned copy of a prescription is not a legally valid prescription. Electronic prescriptions are not currently supported by the current legislation in Ireland.
- Products classified as schedule 2, schedule 3 or schedule 4 part 1 controlled drugs may not be prescribed by practitioners registered in the UK for dispensing in Ireland, and such prescriptions may not be used to authorise the supply of any such controlled drug.
- The product prescribed must be licensed in Ireland.