Online medicine sales and arranged delivery are different
The PSI's internet-supply guidance prohibits online sales of prescription-only medicines in Ireland, including sales from another country to an Irish resident. Its separate delivery guidance concerns medicines lawfully dispensed by a retail pharmacy: the pharmacist must assess the circumstances and comply with supply and delivery requirements. That guidance is not a blanket clearance for cross-border websites.
A collection service does not imply Republic delivery
Corrys' published delivery policy provides a concrete example: Republic residents may attend its Northern Ireland branches for private services and clinically appropriate supply, but it explicitly says it does not deliver to Republic addresses. Its UK retail-delivery terms should not be read as a cross-border medicine service. This describes the published policy, not our verification of a person's prescription or the pharmacy's current registration.
- Corrys: collection and delivery policy, checked 7 October 2026 (corryschemists.com)
Check the actual people, premises and service
Ask for the dispensing pharmacy's exact premises address and PSNI number. Open the PSNI register, choose Pharmacy, and match the current entry to the name, number and address you were given; a chain's name or company office is not enough. Check the named pharmacist separately under Pharmacist. If a name, address or registration does not match, ask the pharmacy or regulator to resolve it before paying. Then ask the pharmacy to confirm the prescription it can accept, attendance requirements and the lawful supply arrangement for a Republic resident. Registration alone does not verify stock or permission to deliver across the border.
Verify the prescriber as well as the pharmacy
Ask who will issue the prescription, their profession, registration number and where they practise; the prescriber may be separate from the NI pharmacy. For a UK doctor, search the GMC register by name or number, select the doctor entry and check their current registration, licence to practise and any published restrictions. For a Northern Ireland pharmacist prescriber, check the PSNI pharmacist entry and independent-prescriber annotation, not just the premises entry. For a nurse or a professional based elsewhere, use that profession's regulator and check the relevant prescribing qualification; the NMC provides the UK nursing register. Confirm unclear qualifications or scope directly with the regulator. A logo or company registration is not a substitute for the individual's current professional entry.
HealthHero versus cross-border routes
HealthHero's public page says prescriptions are issued electronically to pharmacies within the Republic of Ireland and cannot be sent outside the Republic. Do not assume a prescription from one service can be transferred to a Northern Ireland pharmacy. Compare the complete permitted route, including consultation, repeat review, medicine and any confirmed delivery charge; preserve GBP prices separately from dated EUR conversions.
- HealthHero: prescription and pharmacy terms (healthhero.ie)
Using a Republic of Ireland prescription at a Northern Ireland pharmacy
A Northern Ireland pharmacist can dispense a prescription-only medicine on a Republic of Ireland prescription only if the prescriber practises in an approved profession and the prescription meets every condition in regulation 218 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (current text checked 9 October 2026). The UK's approved-country list includes the Republic of Ireland; approved professions include doctors, nurses and pharmacists, and the prescriber must be entitled to issue that prescription in Ireland. A paper prescription must be signed in ink and be indelible. An electronic one must instead be created electronically, carry an electronic signature and be sent to the dispensing pharmacy electronically (regulation 219A). It cannot be dispensed more than six months after it was signed (a repeatable prescription must be first dispensed within that period). Department of Health NI guidance adds that a medicine without a valid marketing authorisation cannot be dispensed on such a prescription. The pharmacist can still refuse, for example if authenticity or clinical appropriateness is in doubt. GOV.UK guidance says these are dispensed as private prescriptions, so the price is the pharmacy's private charge; keep it in the original currency as the next section explains. Department of Health NI guidance also says a pharmacist supplying a patient outside the UK must comply with the destination country's law, so dispensing does not settle the delivery questions above. The prescription must show:
- Patient: surname, first names in full and date of birth.
- The date the prescription was issued.
- Prescriber: surname, first names in full and professional qualification.
- Prescriber's direct contact details, including an email address and a telephone or fax number with the international prefix.
- Prescriber's work address and the country where they work.
- The medicine's common name; its brand name where it is a biological medicine or the prescriber considers the brand medically necessary and gives reasons; formulation; quantity; strength; and dosage.
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012, regulation 218
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012, regulation 219A (electronic prescriptions)
- GOV.UK: approved countries and professions for EEA and Swiss prescriptions
- Department of Health NI: prescriptions from EEA health professionals, 16 December 2020
- Department of Health NI: prescription requirements letter, 14 November 2022
Add currency conversion, travel and repeat costs
For a permitted route, obtain a dated quote for the same prescribed strength, pack and supply period. Keep the original GBP medicine and service charges, then record the exchange rate, conversion date and any card or exchange fee used for your EUR estimate. Add consultation, repeat reviews, required tests and dispensing charges without counting an included fee twice. If collection is required, add the return journey, fares or fuel, tolls and parking, and any accommodation; consider time away from work separately. Calculate the first collection and a normal repeat, because the journey and review frequency may differ. Compare those complete EUR totals with the Republic route, not the sterling headline alone. Confirm the prescription, appointment and stock before travelling; leave any unconfirmed charge marked unknown. The CCPC advises checking card-provider charges outside the eurozone.