Pharmacy Verification Methodology

This page is the pharmacy-listing slice of our full methodology. It answers how a premises gets a profile, what we refuse to invent, and who should not treat a directory card as a clinic.

Where do the 12,946 listings come from?

Every profile is mapped against official public registries. The GPhC premises register snapshot in this build is dated 2026-06-30. Verify a number yourself at https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/registers/pharmacy.

• GPhC Premises Register: premises numbers, trading names, superintendent pharmacists, and registration status for Great Britain community and internet pharmacies.
• GPhC Inspection Reports: published inspection outcomes from inspections.pharmacyregulation.org, when we have a match.
• CQC ratings: for online pharmacies that also offer prescribing services, linked Care Quality Commission ratings where we have a verified match.
• NHS ODS: organisation codes used to attach NHS service flags such as Pharmacy First — only when the match is confident.

Great Britain community and internet pharmacies from the GPhC public premises register. Northern Ireland-registered community pharmacies (PSNI) are not yet listed — NI location pages show GPhC-registered online/distance-selling pharmacies that deliver to NI.

How does distance ranking work?

Location matching uses verified outcode centroids and, where we have them, premises coordinates. Walk-in distance scoring penalises far-away physical pharmacies. Distance-selling (internet) pharmacies are allowed to appear for national postcodes because they are licensed to supply at a distance — that is not the same as claiming they are “near you”.

What will you never invent?

We do not invent opening hours, phone numbers, review scores, or inspection outcomes. If a field is missing, the profile says so. Unverified premises are never assigned a Pharmacy Score. Scores cannot be bought; paid placements are labelled. See the four-pillar weights on the methodology hub.

Who should skip this directory?

Skip it if you need emergency care, a diagnosis, or a medicine supplied today without a consultation. Skip it if you want a Northern Ireland community-pharmacy list — PSNI premises are not in this snapshot. Skip it if you want us to rank pharmacies by who pays us; we will not.

How fresh is the data?

Register snapshots are refreshed quarterly. The current file is 30 Jun 2026. Between snapshots, a pharmacy can close, change superintendent, or fail an inspection — always re-check the GPhC register before you send ID or payment. Factual errors go on the corrections log.