Concerns have been raised over a ‘worrying trend’ in the number of companies looking to employ pharmacists to sign off on weight loss prescriptions based solely on a patient questionnaire.

Asynchronous prescribing of weight-loss medication, based purely on a patient questionnaire without a face-to-face consultation, has previously been described as ‘inappropriate’ by the pharmacy regulator.

Founder of the networking platform The Pharmacist Cooperative, Tohidul Islam has now reported what he suggests is a 'worrying trend' of increasing numbers of companies wanting to employ pharmacists 'to just sign off on questionnaires' in online weight loss clinics.

Mr Islam told The Pharmacist that in the last few weeks, he had been approached by as many as five companies asking him to share job adverts for remote weight loss clinics – compared to just one or two in the previous year.

He warned that pharmacists responding to such adverts could be held responsible for unsafe practices.

'I think it's getting to the point where people are just cutting corners and expecting pharmacists to take the blame [and] to take responsibility for it,' he said.

While he said he encouraged pharmacists to be entrepreneurial, set up private clinics or take on ownership within a pharmacy, he stressed that this had to be done 'properly'.

He also said he had seen discounts on weight loss injectables advertised to patients on Black Friday, with an increase in adverts ahead of the Christmas period, particularly targeting young women.

Responding to concerns raised by Mr Islam, a spokesperson for the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) said: ‘People need a prescription to get medicines used for weight management legally.

‘To get a prescription, it is necessary to have a consultation with a prescriber who will decide, based on the information provided, whether or not to issue a prescription.'

The GPhC added: ‘People should not use unregulated, illegally operating sites to obtain medicines used for weight management.’

They warned ‘medicines could be fake or not appropriate for them, and could cause them serious harm’ and encouraged people to ‘check if the service they are using and the healthcare professionals working there are registered with UK regulators’.

Meanwhile, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) director for England Dr James Davies, said: ‘We’re concerned about reports of pharmacists being pressured to process clinical transactions within tight timeframes.

‘The priority should always be patient care, not commercial interests.’

He added: ‘The growth in weight loss services highlights the importance of prescribers being fully aware of their obligations and the potential risks involved.’

He urged prescribers to adhere to GPhC guidance and lean on tools and support from the RPS to ‘ensure safe and effective practices’.

And he reminded those who ‘do see an advert for a prescription only medication on social media’ to report it to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The Pharmacist recently reported that fake online pharmacies are targeting vulnerable patients whose medicines are in short supply, including obesity drugs, ADHD medication and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The MHRA said such fraudulent supply was the work of 'organised criminal gangs', while the GPhC warned that there was 'no way of knowing' what drugs from these websites contained, which could cause serious harm.