Online Prescription in Ireland: What It Covers, and How to Get One Safely
What CareCall's Order Treatment service actually treats, why it is different from the illegal online medicine sellers HPRA warns about, and how to get a prescription from €24.99 with no appointment.
You know what is wrong. It is the hay fever that comes back every May, the acne that flares before a specific event, the repeat medicine you have taken for years and simply need reordered. You do not want a GP appointment for something you can already name. You want to know if getting it online in Ireland is actually legal, actually safe, and actually covers your condition.
The quick answer: yes, if the service is a genuine doctor consultation rather than a medicine seller. A registered doctor reviews your questionnaire, and if it is safe and clinically appropriate, sends a prescription to a pharmacy you choose. At CareCall this covers a named list of everyday conditions, costs from €24.99, has no appointment to book, and is usually reviewed within about an hour.
One line before anything else: this is for conditions you already recognise. If you are unwell in a way you cannot explain, getting worse, or unsure whether you need urgent care, an online questionnaire is the wrong tool. Call your GP, your local out of hours service, or in an emergency 999 or 112.
This is not the same as buying medicine online
Ireland's medicines regulator is blunt about this: it is illegal to sell prescription medicines online, and buying them that way is dangerous, because there is no way to know what is actually in the package or whether it was tested for human use at all. That is the Health Products Regulatory Authority's own warning, and it is worth taking seriously.
A legitimate online doctor service is not selling you a medicine. It is a consultation. A doctor reviews what you have told them, decides whether treatment is appropriate, and if so writes a prescription that is filled at a real, registered pharmacy, the same way a prescription from any private GP would be. The distinction matters because the two look similar from a search results page and are not similar at all in what they actually do. If you want to check any Irish pharmacy is genuinely registered before you trust it with a prescription, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland keeps a public register you can search yourself.
What Order Treatment covers
CareCall's online prescription service, called Order Treatment, is built around a fixed list of everyday conditions rather than an open-ended "ask us anything" form. As of 2026, the list covers:
General health
- Asthma
- Migraine
- Hypothyroidism
- Hay fever and allergies
- Cold sores
Men's health
- Erectile dysfunction
- Premature ejaculation
- Male hair loss
Skin conditions
- Acne
- Rosacea
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- Fungal or skin thrush
Travel and lifestyle
- Anti-malaria medication
- Weight management
- Stopping smoking
- Sleep disorders
Women's health
- Contraception (pill, patch or ring)
- Period delay treatment
- Genital thrush
- Bacterial vaginosis
- Cystitis and UTI
- Menopausal vaginal dryness
- Excess facial hair
That is 24 named conditions across five groups. If what you need is not on this list, the honest answer is that this service is not the right route for it, and a GP visit is.
What it will not do, and why that is deliberate
Three things are excluded on purpose, not by oversight. CareCall does not issue controlled drugs under any circumstances, including anxiolytics, strong painkillers, sedatives and hypnotics. It does not prescribe injected medications. And it does not take on anything that genuinely requires a physical examination the doctor cannot do through a screen or a phone call.
None of this is a guarantee. Booking a request does not guarantee that treatment will be issued. The doctor reviews your answers and decides, and if remote treatment is not appropriate for your situation, that is what they will tell you rather than force a fit.
How it actually works
There is no appointment to book. You fill in a condition specific questionnaire, choose the pharmacy you want the prescription sent to, and a registered doctor reviews your request. Reviews typically take about an hour. If the doctor approves treatment, the prescription goes straight to your chosen pharmacy for you to collect.
This is not an improvised process. It is what the Irish Medical Council's own guidance to doctors on telemedicine describes as standard practice: the doctor lets the patient know their prescription will be sent securely and electronically to their nominated pharmacy, where they collect their medication. The same guidance is direct about the standard that applies: using telemedicine does not alter a doctor's ethical, professional or legal obligations at all, whatever the format of the consultation.
Where you can actually collect it
CareCall's pharmacy network covers at least 1,460 pharmacies with a recorded location, spanning every one of the 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland. Wherever you are booking from in the country, there is a good chance a participating pharmacy is within reach rather than a long drive away.
Cost and speed
Order Treatment costs from €24.99, a flat price with no appointment fee added on top. Reviews run to about an hour during normal hours. Consultation and referral prices are on CareCall's services page, including our earlier piece on getting a GP referral letter online, if it is a specialist referral you need rather than a repeat prescription.
Tell your own GP too
One thing the Medical Council's guidance is explicit about: patients get the best outcomes when their care is coordinated, and should tell their regular GP about any treatment or advice they get from another doctor, whatever the format. An online prescription is a real prescription, and your GP should know about it the same way they would want to know about anything else you are taking.
If you use online consultations occasionally but want a fuller picture of how they fit around your usual care, our guide to how CareCall's consultations work covers the rest of the booking process.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to get a prescription online in Ireland?
Yes, when a registered doctor reviews your case and decides treatment is appropriate. What is illegal is a website simply selling prescription medicines with no doctor and no review at all.
Is it safe?
It is safe when the service is a real consultation with a doctor registered with the Irish Medical Council, and the prescription is filled at a pharmacy registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. Both are checkable, and worth checking if you are unsure about a service you have not used before.
What conditions can CareCall treat this way?
The 24 conditions listed above, grouped under general health, men's health, skin conditions, travel and lifestyle, and women's health. Anything outside that list needs a different route.
How long does it take?
Requests are usually reviewed within about an hour. There is no appointment slot to wait for.
Can I get a repeat prescription this way?
Yes, if the condition is one CareCall treats and the doctor is satisfied it is appropriate to continue. Each request is still reviewed individually rather than auto-approved.
What if the doctor decides online treatment is not right for me?
Then you will be told that directly, rather than issued something unsuitable. Your own GP practice or an in-person appointment is the next step in that case.
Written by the CareCall team. This article is general information about how online prescriptions work in Ireland. It is not medical advice, and it does not replace a consultation with your own doctor. Last reviewed 3 September 2026.
