Governance England
A superintendent's checklist for remote consultation readiness
A remote consultation service needs a clear operating agreement as well as working technology. Use these prompts to identify evidence, assign owners and record the decision for each site.
Confirm the service and the legal entities involved
List the service, the pharmacy contractor, the organisation employing or engaging each clinician, and where the patient and clinician will be. Record how clinical responsibility, medicines supply, documentation and escalation are divided. Check the current service specification and contractual terms for that precise arrangement.
For NHS services in England, do not assume a model allowed for one service is allowed for another. In particular, review the NMS off-site employment and record-access conditions. Resolve uncertain cross-premises or cross-contractor arrangements before promising activity, income or a start date.
Check people and local responsibilities
Confirm registration, competence, service-specific training and any required authorisations for the duties being performed. Agree the role of the on-site team and the arrangements for clinical escalation. In the Remote Pharmacist model, the Responsible Pharmacist remains on site and the remote service does not supervise dispensing.
Ask each site to demonstrate that it can support the planned sessions alongside its other work. A central rota does not create room availability or staff time locally. Name deputies for operational checks, and explain who can stop new consultations if essential support is unavailable. The GPhC's registered pharmacy standards remain a relevant foundation for pharmacy owners in Great Britain.
Review clinical safety and information governance
Identify the clinical-safety assessment needed for the intended system and use. Request the supplier evidence and document local risks, controls and outstanding matters with the appropriate lead. Use the DCB0129 and DCB0160 guide to prepare questions rather than treating a supplier statement as a completed deployment assessment.
Map the data flows and responsibilities. Check access, hosting, support access, retention, any recordings and the handling of requests or incidents. NHS England's video consultation guidance calls for local risk assessment and consideration of DPIA coverage. Document the actual arrangement, including third-party services, instead of relying on a generic privacy template.
Walk through a patient journey
Use synthetic information to test an ordinary appointment from arrival to the final next step. Check patient identity, privacy, access to the required record, a clear explanation of the remote arrangement and support for communication needs. Confirm how a patient asks for an alternative or a private conversation.
Then test an interruption and an onward referral. The team should know who stays with or assists the patient, how the clinician is contacted, and how unfinished work is recovered. Record what was observed and any changes needed. Avoid treating a successful equipment demonstration as proof that the whole service workflow is safe.
Separate the clinical record from financial administration
Identify the authoritative record and the person responsible for completing it. Confirm the actual route for required notifications and NHS claims, including rejected messages or submissions. Where more than one system is used, define the handover and how the team detects that it has failed.
Give administrators an appropriate role in checking completeness without asking them to manufacture clinical evidence or alter decisions for payment. The records and claims workflow shows how to keep exceptions visible. Do not assume a call recording can replace the required clinical record.
Record a decision that can be reviewed
Keep the readiness decision concise: scope approved, evidence reviewed, conditions, accountable owner and date for review. State which unresolved issues prevent live use and which actions have been assigned for later review. Ensure a condition is not silently treated as complete because the project reaches its planned launch date.
After launch, review incidents, complaints, connection failures, access difficulties and staff workload as well as activity. Revisit the assessment when the service, staffing or software changes. This checklist is an operational aid for the responsible team; it does not appoint a clinical reviewer, grant service authorisation or replace professional judgement.
Frequently asked questions
Can we approve all sites from a single demonstration?
A shared assessment can cover common elements, but each site still needs checks for its own room, staffing, devices, connectivity and escalation arrangements.
Who should own outstanding actions?
Assign a named role for each action and an accountable decision-maker for the readiness assessment. Include a review date and evidence needed to close the item.
Sources & further reading
Checked against the following sources on 1 October 2026. Service rules and payments can change; use the current specification and Drug Tariff when making decisions.
- Community Pharmacy England: NMS and off-site consultation conditions
- GPhC: standards for registered pharmacies in Great Britain
- NHS England: video consultation guidance for information governance professionals
- NHS England: determining the applicability of DCB0129 and DCB0160
This is business and service-planning information. It does not assess an individual patient, authorise a delivery model or replace local clinical and contractual decisions. Source checking is not a claim of independent clinical review.
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