NMC seeks views on remote prescribing of non-surgical cosmetic medicines

We’re reviewing our current position on the remote prescribing of injectable cosmetic products. This includes certain anti-wrinkle and weight loss injections, and aesthetic emergency kit items.

We want to strengthen our guidance around this as part of our regulatory role and commitment to protect the public. This will also help us to better align our position with other healthcare regulators who require professionals to carry out face-to-face consultations before prescribing non-surgical cosmetic medicines.

Why are we seeking people’s views?

Many professionals in the field of cosmetics provide safe and effective care to people every day. However, there is inconsistent regulation around non-surgical cosmetic practice.

There are particular concerns around the remote prescribing of prescription-only medicines for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Unlike many other areas of prescribing, this can be done without adequate access to medical records or any direct contact between the prescriber and the person in their care. This limits the prescriber’s ability to assess people holistically when deciding whether it’s safe and appropriate to prescribe certain medicines.

Who do we need to hear from?

We’re seeking input from members of the public, professionals, employers, and our stakeholders from across the UK. We would particularly like to hear from:

• regulated health and care professionals who prescribe non-surgical cosmetic medicines
• non-prescribing, regulated health and care professionals who administer non-surgical cosmetic treatments
• unregulated practitioners who administer non-surgical cosmetics treatments such as beauticians
• cosmetic businesses including pharmacies
• people who have undergone non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

Gathering these views will help us to understand the impact any potential changes may have on those administering and receiving non-surgical cosmetic medicines. It will also ensure any changes we make are in the best interests of the public, and support professionals to deliver the high standard of care people have the right to receive.

It’s important that people and communities can help us to shape this work, and we’ll be hosting a round table event and focus groups from October to understand people’s views. If you would like to get involved, you can express your interest by emailing educationandstandards@nmc-uk.org.

You can also keep an eye on our website and social media channels over the coming weeks, and subscribe to our newsletters to stay informed.

Anne Trotter, NMC Assistant Director of Education and Standards, said:

“Nurses and midwives are integral to the safe and effective delivery of person-centred care, including the prescribing and administration of medicines. They are entrusted to provide high-quality care that is evidence-based and in line with our Code and standards – but we know concerns remain about the remote prescribing of non-surgical cosmetic medicines.

“We’re clear that remote prescribing is unlikely to be suitable for injectable cosmetics. However, we want to strengthen our position on what safe and effective prescribing practices look like, so that we can deliver on our primary purpose of protecting the public.

“We look forward to hearing from the public, employers, professionals and our stakeholders, and we’ll provide more information over the coming weeks about how people can engage with us.”

Further information:

• The Code is available on our website.
• We adopted the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Prescribing Competency Framework as our standards of competency for prescribing practice.
• The jointly-agreed High level principles for good practice in remote consultations and prescribing set out the good practice expected of healthcare professionals when prescribing medication online.
• Useful information for prescribers is available on our website.
• The General Medical Council’s remote consultations flowchart offers helpful guidance on the factors to consider around consulting remotely.

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