Empowering you to meet regulatory and best practice requirements

Wegovy^® is now one of the prescription medicines available via Boots Online Doctor Weight Loss Treatment service. Due to limited stock availability, Boots Online Doctor is currently only offering Wegovy^® to patients who are currently using Saxenda^® prescribed via Boots Online Doctor Weight Loss Treatment service. Wegovy^® is also available from Boots pharmacies for patients with an NHS prescription.

Through Boots Online Doctor Weight Loss Treatment service, patients are supported on their weight loss journey - the price that the customer pays includes an online consultation, a prescription for one month’s supply of treatment and the cost of the medicine, as well as aftercare and support.

Boots Online Doctor Wegovy^® operational guidance has been issued and is available on the Boots Online Doctor BootsLive page. All pharmacy team members should ensure that they are familiar with the process to obtain stock for NHS or private prescriptions; please note that:

• Stock supply for Boots Online Doctor prescriptions is arranged for stores by the Pharmacy Supply team; this is based on the prescriptions that the Boots Online Doctor clinicians issue
• If stock is needed for an NHS prescription, you will need to send a redacted image of the prescription to pharmacy.supply@boots.co.uk and the Pharmacy Supply team will order the stock on your behalf
• Wegovy^® stock has been allocated a Boots-specific PIP code. This means that the stock availability screen on Columbus does not show the correct information. 

Please note that eligible patients who are currently using Saxenda^® (or those that have now been started on Wegovy^®) will be contacted directly by Boots Online Doctor and provided with instructions on how to place their order. 

On 11 October 2023, the law around the dispensing of valproate products changes. From this date, all valproate products (sodium valproate, valproate semisodium and valproic acid) must be supplied in the manufacturer’s original packaging. The Drug Tariff (England) has been updated for October 2023 with new ‘special container’ quantities for valproate products, to now include whole pack sizes (rather than individual blister strips). A split pack must only be supplied by exception and following appropriate assessment of the risks. Please look out for further information via BootsLive Calendar updates. 

For a small number of OTC medicines, such as sildenafil and Cialis^® Together (tadalafil) for erectile dysfunction and desogestrel (Hana™and Lovima^®) for contraception, a checklist is provided to support in ensuring that the medication is suitable for the customer. These checklists are updated when needed, e.g. when a new product becomes available or if there is a change for a product.

Please make sure that you are using the most up-to-date version of each OTC checklist to support your conversations with customers. The latest version of each checklist can be found on the BootsLive ‘Over the Counter (OTC) Medicines Checklists’ page.

Good management of fridge line stock and dispensed fridge items is critically important. This helps to ensure that medication is stored at the appropriate temperature to maintain its effectiveness. Fridge lines that are improperly stored in the fridge may need to be discarded; good fridge management helps to minimise wastage and the associated costs. Effective fridge management where stock is organised and tidy, with dispensed fridge items stored in a designated location in the fridge, also reduces the risk of errors.

If your store is providing the Boots Winter Flu Jab Service, ensure that you are using the Vaccine Location Markers to help segregate flu vaccines appropriately.