Less than half of community pharmacies are registered with the UK’s central Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) hub, The Pharmacist has learned.

Just over 6,000 (6,288) of around 14,000 UK pharmacies are fully registered with SecurMed, according to weekly statistics posted on its website on Tuesday (12 February).

Another 3,000 pharmacies are in the process of being issued their user credentials, SecurMed told The Pharmacist.

FMD is a set of pan-European anti-counterfeiting measures that came into force last weekend (9 February). Pharmacists must scan packs of medication that carry special 2D barcodes, which are then checked for authenticity via SecurMed’s technology.

A spokesman for the non-profit organisation said that it is ‘natural’ for some people to have challenges registering because so many pharmacists are being onboarded within a short time frame. Credentials will be issued within 10-15 working days due to a high volume of requests, SecurMed said.

SecurMed refuted that there had been any technical issues with their website – despite The Pharmacist hearing reports of difficulties for some pharmacists.

Pharmacists were last week (7 February) warned by NHS England to proceed with FMD preparations ‘with appropriate caution’ due to no-deal Brexit fears. If Britain crashes out of the EU, FMD requirements will be revoked from UK law.