Access to medicines
Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are classified into two legal categories which determine how they can be supplied to the public.
These are:
Pharmacy (P) – Pharmacy medicines do not require a prescription and may be sold or supplied only in a registered pharmacy by, or under the supervision, of a pharmacist.
General sale list (GSL) – GGL medicines are medicinal products that can be sold with reasonable safety without the supervision of a pharmacist, for example in a supermarket or convenience store.
Reclassification of medicines
One of the ways of making medicines more accessible to the public is to change the legal status from prescription only (POM) to a pharmacy medicine (P), or from a pharmacy medicine (P) to general sale (GSL). These are known as POM to P and P to GSL switches.
Since 1983 a steady stream of ingredients have been reclassified, giving people convenient access to safe and effective treatments at no cost to the NHS.
The process to reclassify a medicine is generally initiated by the manufacturing company making an application to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The medicine is then evaluated and has to meet strict criteria in terms of safety, efficacy and quality, including evidence that it can safely be used without the supervision of a doctor.
Further information on the criteria and procedure for reclassification can be found on the MHRA website.
It is also now possible for switches to be authorised through a European route. The first centrally authorised European switch was the weight loss medicine orlistat (Alli) in 2009.
PAGB keeps an updated list of the ingredients which have been switched from
POM to P. To download it click here