Online Pill service launched

12 April 2012

Women will be able to get the Pill online without having to visit their doctor under a newly-launched service.

The medical website DrThom is offering three months' supply for £29.99.

The service will initially be offered to women already on the Pill but will soon be expanded to those who have never taken it before.

A spokesman for the firm said patients will have to fill in a health questionnaire and can be asked follow-up questions by a doctor from the website.

But doctors will have to rely on patients accurately reflecting their medical history and telling the truth about other factors, including their age.

The questionnaire includes asking the woman about prior use of the Pill, any side-effects, pregnancy, family history of cancer and blood pressure, weight and height.

Patients wishing to get repeat prescriptions and those who have never taken the Pill before will have to provide specific details of their blood pressure reading.

A spokesman for the service said doctors will rely upon what the patient is telling them about their health, the same as with a face-to-face consultation.

But he said DrThom was unable to "verify anything independently" although it had decided to prescribe to women aged 18 and over.

"A woman has to say how old she is and as part of the registration and will have to supply their date of birth," he said. "But there's nothing to stop somebody who's, say, 17 lying about their age."

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