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Free UK pharmacy comparison. Ratings cannot be bought —how we make money· methodology

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 12,945 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 open data: the NHS England pharmaceutical list and monthly service activity (NHS Business Services Authority) and Public Health Scotland dispenser data — ODS codes, NHS-listed opening hours, phone numbers and the NHS services each pharmacy actually delivered, attached 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?

The directory uses supplied coordinates or postcode-centre estimates, with a broader postcode-district fallback where needed. Distances are approximate straight-line distances, not a walking route. A selected radius applies to physical pharmacies regardless of the sort order. Online services may serve the whole country; use “Visit a pharmacy” to restrict results to physical locations. See the directory policy for opening-hours and location limitations.

What will you never invent?

We do not invent opening hours, phone numbers, review scores, or inspection outcomes. Hours on a profile are copied from the pharmacy’s official store locator, an owner claim, or NHS data — never from Google or a guessed chain template. 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.