Pharmacy First

NowPatient is the UK’s only secure video consultation service. You can use our platform to select the condition you would like treated or would like advice on, and we will connect you to a trained pharmacist, at a time and date that suits you. At the end of the consultation, if you qualify for treatment, then the pharmacist can issue you with an NHS-backed treatment. Treatments are sent securely to your nominated address using a secure, signed-for service.

Yes, as an NHS patient, our pharmacists will be able to access to your GP record including medications, observations, and investigations. This ensures we are able to assess and treat your condition safely and appropriately.

No. You will be able to self-refer to the service, as long as you are an NHS user in England. You can also be referred to our service by NHS 111, your GP, and others.

You will only pay for your treatment if you do not have an eligible NHS exemption. If you have an NHS exemption, then there will be no charge. Either way, nobody will have to pay for the consultation, this is reimbursed by the NHS.

Virtual consultations are suitable for many patients who do not need a physical examination and who can communicate via video. Video consultations might not always be suitable – for example, if you need a test or physical examination. If that is the case, you will need to attend your doctor’s practice. Pharmacists are on hand to offer advice on minor illnesses but are not a substitute for your doctor if you have a serious illness or life-threatening conditions. If at any time during your video consultation, you feel that you would like to end the consultation, you can say that you would like to end the video call.

NowPatient has specific protocols around video consultations. Our service is built using secure video technology that ensures that we are able to provide real-time clinical services that are safe and secure.

Yes, for your safety and to ensure the service we provide you with complies with regulations, our clinicians may request you provide ID at the start of your virtual consultation to verify your identity.

Yes. If they are in the same location as you, it is possible to have someone with you during your video consultation. You should let your pharmacist know if you have someone with you at the start of your appointment.

At the end of the consultation, if you are approved for an NHS-backed treatment, it will be available for viewing on your dashboard, from where you declare an NHS exemption or make payment. You may also be sent a short survey asking you about your experience attending your video consultation. We encourage you to complete this as it provides us with valuable feedback to improve your experience in the future. It’s helpful for us if you point out things that didn’t go well, and suggest ways of improving the experience for you and others. If you would like the clinician to send details of the consultation to your doctor, you can request that we forward any notes.

We not only meet the UK and US standards for data security but we exceed them. We demonstrate this by regularly auditing our systems, both internally and externally.

Our various externally audited accreditations such as ISO27001, DTAC, DSPT, and Cyber Essentials + demonstrate our compliance to global security standards and should give you peace of mind.

NowPatient’s commitment to data residency is a key priority, and to that end, we only house data in validated data centers. We pledge that UK-based data remains solely in the UK, while US data is governed by HIPAA-prescribed data security protocols.

The data centers we use align with the highest security and privacy standards, which is demonstrated by a programme of regular external audits to demonstrate efficacy of safeguards against contemporary threats.

Yes, we follow strict General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which came into force in May 2018. This places legal requirements on ourselves to ensure your personal data is managed securely with utmost confidentiality. Records are maintained of the processing that is carried out and reported when breaches of the regulation do occur. Our platform is also HIPAA compliant which means we are able to handle PHI (Personal Health Information) securely.

No. At the moment, it is only available in the United Kingdom.