A private GP can review your treatment when a pharmacy cannot supply a prescribed medicine, but a new prescription is only useful if the alternative is safe for you and can actually be dispensed. Start with the pharmacist's stock information, then bring that information and your current treatment details to the prescribing review.
The aim is continuity of care with a clear plan, rather than another prescription for an equally unavailable product. For someone working in London, visiting from overseas or managing several medicines, careful coordination can save a second round of calls and avoid an unsafe substitution.
What to ask the pharmacy first
Ask whether the problem affects that branch, its suppliers or the particular strength and formulation. A local stock problem is not necessarily a national shortage. The pharmacist may be able to order your usual medicine, identify another pharmacy with stock or explain what information your prescriber needs.
Ask how much medicine remains available, whether a partial supply has already been made and what happens to the original prescription. Do not assume you can use the same prescription at several pharmacies after some of it has been dispensed. The answer depends on the prescription and supply arrangements.
If you are offered an alternative product, ask for its exact name, strength and formulation. A photograph of the box or a written stock note can make the discussion clearer. Do not buy an unfamiliar replacement from an unverified website because the usual pharmacy is out of stock.
What a prescribing review should establish
Your doctor needs the reason for treatment, the medicine and dose you actually take, how well it is working, allergies, other medicines and the amount you have left. Recent prescriptions, a repeat list and relevant monitoring results can help. Visitors should bring the generic name as well as any overseas brand name.
A different brand may contain the same active ingredient, but a different strength, release mechanism or route can change how a treatment is used. Modified-release tablets, liquids, inhalers and injections are not interchangeable simply because their names look similar. The prescriber must decide whether an alternative is appropriate and explain any change.
The General Medical Council requires enough reliable information and a suitable mode of consultation before prescribing. A video appointment may be appropriate for some reviews; others need examination, records, tests or specialist input. A paid consultation is an assessment, not an automatic right to a prescription.
Ask The Online GP about a medication review in London. Share the exact medicine, what the pharmacist has said and how many doses remain so the team can explain the appropriate next step and appointment arrangements.
Why the pharmacist may refer you back
Community Pharmacy England explains that an alternative strength, formulation or medicine generally needs an amended or new prescription unless supply is permitted under an active Serious Shortage Protocol. These protocols have specific conditions. They do not give a general permission to substitute any medicine that is unavailable.
A pharmacist can check whether a relevant protocol applies and whether supply under it is suitable. Your agreement is part of that discussion. This guide does not confirm that a protocol is active for your medicine today, or that a particular pharmacy has stock.
Where a new prescription is needed, useful coordination means knowing what can be supplied before the doctor selects an alternative. Even then, stock can change. A clinician's treatment decision and a pharmacy's availability check are separate steps, and neither should be presented as the other.
If you are close to running out
Tell the pharmacist and prescriber the date and time of your last available dose. Ask for advice that fits your treatment rather than rationing, doubling, stopping or changing it yourself. Some medicines need particular care when interrupted or restarted.
If you cannot reach your usual service, NHS 111 can advise about an urgent medicines problem. If you develop a severe or rapidly worsening illness, use the urgent or emergency service appropriate to your symptoms rather than waiting for a routine private appointment. Call 999 for a medical emergency.
Controlled medicines and treatments requiring specialist monitoring can have additional restrictions. An overseas prescription, old medication box or previous diagnosis does not by itself establish that a UK prescriber can issue a replacement. Explain the situation early so the correct clinical route can be identified.
Agree the complete plan and cost
Before booking, ask what the consultation covers, whether a prescription fee is separate, whether the pharmacy charges separately for the medicine and how follow-up is arranged. If tests or specialist review may be needed, ask how those decisions and costs will be explained. No medicine or pharmacy stock is reserved merely by making an enquiry.
The value of a careful review is that it connects the clinical decision with the practical next step: which treatment is appropriate, who will prescribe it, where availability will be checked, how you will take it and when it will be reviewed. That is particularly useful when your usual records and treating team are elsewhere.
Discuss your prescription problem with The Online GP. Appointment type, availability and complete fees are confirmed for your enquiry. Do not send unnecessary sensitive documents until the team explains the appropriate secure route.
Sources and evidence limits
Community Pharmacy England: medicine shortages and the dispensing pathway explains stock checks, Serious Shortage Protocols and when to contact the prescriber.
General Medical Council: deciding if it is safe to prescribe sets the standards for reliable information, consultation suitability and safe prescribing.
NHS: emergency prescription options explains the routes available when prescribed medicine has run out.
General Medical Council: repeat prescribing and prescribing with repeats covers monitoring, review and medicine changes.
Evidence and guidance checked 6 November 2026. This article explains a care pathway, not live stock, a medicine-specific substitution or personal prescribing advice.