LO
ConstraintCognitive automation2019-02-09
In a declared medicine shortage, UK law lets a substitute be supplied without going back to the prescriber only when a pharmacist judges it reasonable and appropriate
Pharmacistoccupation page →
Event date / reported
2019-02-09
Evidence stage
ConstraintFailure, rollback, regulation or cost is suppressing adoption. Can lower an assessment or widen its uncertainty.
Tasks this bears on
Managing supply and shortages
Finding an alternative when the drug is out of stock, negotiating with the prescriber, keeping the patient on treatment.
Still human-led✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
United Kingdom. The regulation lets a prescription-only medicine be supplied under a serious shortage protocol issued by ministers, on condition that the supply is by or under the supervision of a pharmacist who, in the exercise of their professional skill and judgement, is of the opinion that supplying a different strength, quantity, form or medicine is reasonable and appropriate. Inserted with effect from 9 February 2019; read in the version up to date to October 2026. It covers shortages handled under a protocol, not all supply problems.
What this means
In the UK, deciding what a patient gets instead when a medicine runs short is a pharmacist's professional judgement.
What it does not yet show
Only shortages handled under a ministerial protocol; it does not measure pharmacists' time.
What you can check
Open The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, regulation 226A, and find "in the exercise of his or her professional skill and judgement".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. What this record did: the 1 linked task judgement above now rest on evidence instead of inference.
Source
legislation.gov.uk — The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, regulation 226A, Sale etc by a pharmacist in accordance with a serious shortage protocol (inserted 9 February 2019 by SI 2019/62) · verified 2026-10-09 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-10-09 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.