The report warns clinicians may be missing vital information about a patient's health, including other medications they are taking, because there is no consistent way for independent prescribing organisations to see NHS records or for their prescribing decisions to be recorded within them.

This also means NHS GPs and other healthcare professionals may not be aware of a patient's online prescriptions when making decisions about their care.

Matt Mansbridge, senior safety investigator at HSSIB, said: ‘People are increasingly using independent online services to access medications, but the systems that support safe prescribing have not kept pace with this change.

‘Our investigation found that NHS services and independent prescribing organisations are often working with incomplete information. This creates a risk that patients could be prescribed medicines that are not appropriate or that interact with other treatments.

‘The ambition to introduce a Single Patient Record presents a real opportunity to address these issues, but to hold a truly complete record, it must consider how care provided by non-NHS organisations is included.'

HSSIB has made safety recommendations to national bodies to improve how information is shared, including enabling independent prescribing organisations to access NHS patient information and to mitigate known safety risks for people accessing multiple online prescribing providers.

A spokesperson for The Coalition for Responsible Digital Health (CoRDH), which has closely engaged with HSSIB on its investigtion, said ‘as more patients access care across different parts of the healthcare system, it is essential that all providers, including regulated private prescribers, are involved in designing a system fit for the future'.

The CoRDH highlighted there were no plans for the independent sector to be included in the Single Patient Record programme.