This course teaches a safe, structured approach to telephone, video and online consultations, and to prescribing when you cannot examine the patient in person. It explains the principles shared by UK regulators, shows how to decide when a patient must be seen face to face, and works through examples of good and poor remote practice.
What you will learn
- Explain the shared principles for remote consultation and prescribing agreed by UK healthcare regulators and professional bodies.
- Conduct a structured remote consultation, including identity checks, consent, safety-netting and documentation.
- Decide when a remote consultation is not appropriate and the patient needs to be seen in person.
- Apply safe remote prescribing practice, including for high-risk medicines and medicines liable to misuse.
- Recognise the common causes of harm in remote care and reflect on how to reduce them in your own practice.
Course content
- Remote care in the UK: why it matters (3 min)
- A structured approach to the remote consultation (3 min)
- When the patient needs to be seen (3 min)
- Safe remote prescribing (3 min)
- Documentation, safety-netting and communication (2 min)
- Case study: a missed escalation (3 min)
- Improving your remote practice (1 min)
- Knowledge check (10 questions, 10 min)
- Guided reflection (15 min)
Standards and guidance covered
- High level principles for good practice in remote consultations and prescribing, agreed by UK healthcare regulators and professional bodies including the GMC, NMC, GPhC and HCPC
- GMC: Good Medical Practice (2024) and Good practice in proposing, prescribing, providing and managing medicines and devices
- NMC: The Code (2015, updated 2018), including the sections on prescribing and record keeping
- GPhC: Standards for pharmacy professionals (2017) and guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet
- Royal Pharmaceutical Society: A Competency Framework for all Prescribers
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
Certificate
Courses are free to study. When you pass the knowledge check (80%) and complete your reflection, you can buy a verified certificate showing your CPD time, with a unique ID and QR code that anyone can check on our verification page.
Study free at your own pace on any device.
Practitioner Insight is an independent education provider. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the GMC, MPTS, NMC, HCPC, GPhC or any NHS organisation, and this information is not legal advice. If you have been referred to a regulator, speak to your defence organisation, trade union or legal representative.