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We guide digital health innovators through the highly complex regulatory and legal framework with dynamic, agile and practical advice.
In this section
Our specialist healthcare and technology lawyers act for several of the UK’s top telehealth and telemedicine providers — providing essential strategy and guidance in this complex and rapidly evolving regulatory and legal landscape.
Our clients include online pharmacies like Pharmacy 2U, LloydsDirect, Chemist4U, Treated.com and Well Pharmacy, as well as other telehealth platform operators such as Sons, UK Meds and Releaf.
As a telehealth innovator, you’re likely to be alive to the significant regulatory issues at play, such as the need to correctly interpret outdated medicines legislation and appropriately apportion risk and liability within your contractual arrangements. These can make or break your business — and regulators and legislation often lag behind the latest technological advances.
This makes the law difficult to navigate and means that there are always ‘grey areas’ to interpret and challenges in your way that the regulators simply haven’t yet considered or been able to address.
Navigating legal & regulatory frameworks
That’s where our experience and legal nous comes into play. Our team contains lawyers with decades of experience in navigating the highly complex and interconnected legal and regulatory frameworks you face, including with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC), Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), General Medical Council (GMC), Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), Care Quality Commission (CQC), Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and many more.
Significant business-limiting pitfalls await the unwary — so we’re here to anticipate issues before they arise with advice that’s always tailored to your attitude to risk. Our knowledge will help you to understand and minimise your liability and ensure that your telehealth business continues to operate in accordance with current legislation and regulatory guidance.
Investigations by regulators into your business activities are often stressful, time-consuming, expensive and have the capacity to distract you from achieving your operational goals. You can, of course, choose to engage with us when confronted with a regulatory or legal investigation. However, we can add the most value to your business when engaged much earlier on. Getting our input and advice at the ground-level on issues of regulatory or legal uncertainty can often spare you from future stress, expense and distraction.
Specialist telehealth regulatory lawyers
Our team is led by commercial and healthcare regulatory lawyer, Richard Hough. Having gained extensive experience in working as a community pharmacist (both in the UK and Australia) for many years before joining us as a lawyer in 2008, Richard is extremely well versed in healthcare regulatory issues — especially those affecting online pharmacies and telehealth and telemedicine providers.
Described by The Legal 500 as “an expert in commercial contracts and healthcare regulation” and acting “for several leading telemedicine businesses”, Richard has been featured in The Lawyer, The Pharmaceutical Journal, Chemist & Druggist and the Independent Community Pharmacist to provide expert commentary and opinion on issues affecting the pharmacy sector.
Richard also works with the likes of Centred Solutions, Habitual Health, Hub Rx, Bullen Healthcare, Charac and Travel Jab.
As a firm, we’re proud members of the Independent Pharmacies Association and the Pharmacy Law and Ethics Association (PLEA).
Our services for telehealth entrepreneurs
- Assistance with navigating the legal and regulatory environment of online healthcare provision.
- Commercial contracts (terms of business with consumers and contracts with remote prescribers, pharmacies and other remote outsourced providers).
- Data privacy, protection and processing advice (privacy policies, cookies policies and data processing impact assessments).
- Doctor and pharmacist regulation and professional conduct.
- Intellectual property (protection, audits, risk analysis and enforcement).
- Employment advice (hiring, contracts, disputes, tribunals and dismissals).
- Immigration law advice (attracting and recruiting overseas professionals and talent).
- Corporate acquisitions and exits.
- Long-term incentive plans (LTIPs, EMI share schemes, etc.).
- Property matters.
- Deal advisory support (identifying funding and investment opportunities).
Trusted by
“Working with Richard Hough has been an exceptional experience for my small business. Richard’s unique combination of legal expertise and pharmacy knowledge makes him an invaluable partner for my business. He's not only incredibly knowledgeable and thorough in his work but also consistently available to accommodate discussions, no matter how complex the matter. His ability to provide clear, practical and tailored advice has been instrumental in helping us to navigate legal challenges with confidence. I would highly recommend Richard to any business looking for expert legal support.”
Director, Travel Jab
“Richard Hough has been a huge help to us with his advice on pharmaceutical regulation and marketing. He really understood the challenges we were facing and provided clear, straightforward guidance that made a complex process much easier to navigate. His expertise and practical approach gave us the confidence to move forward and we are grateful for his support. We’d gladly recommend Richard and Brabners to anyone who needs help with their telemedicine business.”
Director, Habitual Health
“Brabners has supported Chemist4U for over ten years now, both in regulatory and commercial contexts. Richard Hough, Lee Jefcott, Hannah Fawcett and Daniel Finn have always been available and guided and protected the business, as well as being very easy to work with. Brabners has been a great partner to Chemist4U and will no doubt continue to be over the coming years.”
CEO, Chemist4U
“To operate as a dynamic, technologically-reliant and market-disrupting business (such as HubRx) we need strong professional advisors who are willing to give a view based on their knowledge and experience of pharmacy’s (current and future) legal and regulatory landscape. With experienced sector specialists such as Chris Peace, Richard Hough and Kieran Wilkinson providing us with the robust legal advice that HubRx needs for corporate, healthcare regulatory and property matters, Brabners is one of the go-to pharmacy law teams in the country.”
CEO, HubRx
Telehealth & telemedicine law FAQs
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