regular prescribed medicine

[Idle Days]

On 19/02/2022 at 18:51, cheshire~rose said:

Why increase the load for our overworked health professionals if you can get a reliable answer from someone who already knows how it works? 

Most Doctors will not know the answer, which is available on the NHS website.

 

We use the NHS App to order our prescribed medicine from our Doctor. There is the provision within that to specify which Chemist you want the prescription issued to. If you select one of the national chains then you can instruct them where you want to collect it from. 

I believe you can request two months worth of medicines at a time, which reduces the problem.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Idle Days said:

Most Doctors will not know the answer, which is available on the NHS website.

 

We use the NHS App to order our prescribed medicine from our Doctor. There is the provision within that to specify which Chemist you want the prescription issued to. If you select one of the national chains then you can instruct them where you want to collect it from. 

I believe you can request two months worth of medicines at a time, which reduces the problem.

 

This is another area where practice policy varies.

 

Ours for instance will allow us to request three months routine meds at a time. Though this can depend on the type of meds.

[BlueStringPudding]

2 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

This is another area where practice policy varies.

 

Ours for instance will allow us to request three months routine meds at a time. Though this can depend on the type of meds.

 

And mine will only allow one month at a time, even if you're going away on holiday or the prescription  runs out over Christmas while they're closed! Total pain. 

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

And mine will only allow one month at a time, even if you're going away on holiday or the prescription  runs out over Christmas while they're closed! Total pain. 

 

I find the same. My suspicion is they get paid the same for any prescription which explains the trend to issue only a month at a time. 

 

I'm bloody certain when I first got told to take blood pressure medication they used to give me six months' worth at a time.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

I find the same. My suspicion is they get paid the same for any prescription which explains the trend to issue only a month at a time. 

 

I'm bloody certain when I first got told to take blood pressure medication they used to give me six months' worth at a time.

 

Your suspicion is incorrect.

 

GPs do get paid on certain things but writing an individual prescription is not one of them.

 

The limit is more to do with avoiding drug wastage if medication has to change as medication already prescribed and issued cannot be re issued to another patient. 

[BlueStringPudding]

9 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

The limit is more to do with avoiding drug wastage if medication has to change as medication already prescribed and issued cannot be re issued to another patient. 

 

That doesn't make any sense for patients taking medication for chronic conditions, like me. My medications have remained the same for decades and will continue to do so for the foreseeable, so there won't be any wastage. There must be something else behind the policy. 

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

That doesn't make any sense for patients taking medication for chronic conditions, like me. My medications have remained the same for decades and will continue to do so for the foreseeable, so there won't be any wastage. There must be something else behind the policy. 

 

I can only speak from my experience of having two GP practices under my wing when I was working. From memory both ours settled on two months max. as a compromise.

 

The ammount of wasted medication in the NHS was huge (and I presume it still is). Other practices may do it for different reasons but I cant think of one TBH.

[blackrose]

14 hours ago, Loddon said:

When we were at Ringstead we were with 

http://www.nenevalleysurgery.co.uk/

Dr Nicolson was great. Didn't have the NHS app then but they had their own that worked just as well.

I think you may be just about in their area, worth changing if you can.

 

Thanks Julian, I'll look into it.

[frangar]

It is of course possible that the doctor has some sort of side hustle going….the practice manager at my last gp where it was hard to get a couple of months prescription was prosecuted last year for a rather large fraud from the practice…I do wonder what else was going on there at the same time….

[blackrose]

1 hour ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

That doesn't make any sense for patients taking medication for chronic conditions, like me. My medications have remained the same for decades and will continue to do so for the foreseeable, so there won't be any wastage. There must be something else behind the policy. 

 

Well it does make sense really. As far as avoiding waste is concerned, it would probably be difficult to implement one policy for chronic patients and a different policy for everyone else. Plus where's the exact dividing line between long term/chronic and medium/short term?

 

I've been taking the same medication for nearly 10 years so I doubt it's going to change but I still have annual tests and reviews. Is that chronic or not, I don't know, but I don't think it's a good policy to put people on medication and then just leave them to it without annual review, there would be so much waste. One can't just take one's own example and use that to show that a policy doesn't make sense. It has to make sense for the whole country. If that means individuals in long term medication have to collect prescriptions on a monthly basis to avoid waste overall I'm all for it. 

[BlueStringPudding]

9 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Well it does make sense really. As far as avoiding waste is concerned, it would probably be difficult to implement one policy for chronic patients and a different policy for everyone else. Plus where's the exact dividing line between long term/chronic and medium/short term?

 

I've been taking the same medication for nearly 10 years so I doubt it's going to change but I still have annual tests and reviews. Is that chronic or not, I don't know, but I don't think it's a good policy to put people on medication and then just leave them to it without annual review, there would be so much waste. One can't just take one's own example and use that to show that a policy doesn't make sense. It has to make sense for the whole country. If that means individuals in long term medication have to collect prescriptions on a monthly basis to avoid waste overall I'm all for it. 

You're quoting me but arguing about something else entirely. 🤔

 

I'm all for annual reviews, I've always had them. But for a patient to have no asthma medication over Christmas, for example, because the GP surgery staff are on holiday is ridiculous. There is no logical reason why practices in one part of the country can give up to 2 months of a repeat medication, and another practice won't. Or are you arguing that medications only get wasted by patients in specific practice catchment areas? Of course not. It's the discrepancy in policy between GP surgeries that makes no sense, and can certainly impact on boaters who are travelling. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by BlueStringPudding

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, BlueStringPudding said:

You're quoting me but arguing about something else entirely. 🤔

 

I'm all for annual reviews, I've always had them. But for a patient to have no asthma medication over Christmas, for example, because the GP surgery staff are on holiday is ridiculous. There is no logical reason why practices in one part of the country can give up to 2 months of a repeat medication, and another practice won't. Or are you arguing that medications only get wasted by patients in specific practice catchment areas? Of course not. It's the discrepancy in policy between GP surgeries that makes no sense, and can certainly impact on boaters who are travelling. 

 

But if your asthma medication is set to run out over xmas holidays surely you order a repeat a few days earlier than normal?

 

If you do that and the practice refuses to issue a repeat then yes that is completely unacceptable. Without double checking ISTR the NHS app. allows me to order a repeat up to 14 or poss. only 7 days ahead.

 

But you are correct the inconsistency in policy is not helpful. Practices will to a degree be governed by the local Clinical Commissioning Group who will set a max. number of months they can prescribe but practices will have the freedom to set their own max. below that.

 

 

[Nightwatch]

At the risk of sounding boring and repetitive. I haven’t read the full thread, but this is what we do. 
 

We have been registered with the same GP long before moving onboard nearly eight years ago. We receive three months prescription at a time. We registered with the GP for EPS (electronic prescription service) via the system they use (I think others are available) Patient Access.

 

When we need more drugs we simply go online and request repeat prescription, indicating what we need and our preferred pharmacy. Normally ready for collection within three days. Boots might even send a text when ready. Absolutely nothing more to it than that. (We did find out that the system doesn’t or didn’t work in Welsh Wales.)

We haven’t lived onboard as long as many, but eight years is not a short time either. Anyone can PM me and I will do my best to pass on my experience, right or wrong. I appreciate opinions differ but mine rarely does.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Nightwatch

[mrsmelly]

1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

At the risk of sounding boring and repetitive. I haven’t read the full thread, but this is what we do. 
 

We have been registered with the same GP long before moving onboard nearly eight years ago. We receive three months prescription at a time. We registered with the GP for EPS (electronic prescription service) via the system they use (I think others are available) Patient Access.

 

When we need more drugs we simply go online and request repeat prescription, indicating what we need and our preferred pharmacy. Normally ready for collection within three days. Boots might even send a text when ready. Absolutely nothing more to it than that. (We did find out that the system doesn’t or didn’t work in Welsh Wales.)

We haven’t lived onboard as long as many, but eight years is not a short time either. Anyone can PM me and I will do my best to pass on my experience, right or wrong. I appreciate opinions differ but mine rarely does.

 

A couple of points to assist. Welsh wales has no access to health records from England, they are completely seperate entities. Also anyone who has a damned good GP practice then my advice is to keep them and travel unless you have to go weekly. I travelled from here in Wales to near Oxford for two appointments before changing to the Welsh NHS so I didnt miss my specialist appointments, a four hour each way drive. Whilst ccing over the years in England we kept our GP and travelled, we did change for 3 years when working Nottingham but the GPS were so horrific we re registered back at Adderbury, a superb practice. Another quick point is, Boots have a system where they order my repeats every month and text me when they arrive, I never do anything now to get them, I just pick them up.

[LadyG]

53 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

A couple of points to assist. Welsh wales has no access to health records from England, they are completely seperate entities. Also anyone who has a damned good GP practice then my advice is to keep them and travel unless you have to go weekly. I travelled from here in Wales to near Oxford for two appointments before changing to the Welsh NHS so I didnt miss my specialist appointments, a four hour each way drive. Whilst ccing over the years in England we kept our GP and travelled, we did change for 3 years when working Nottingham but the GPS were so horrific we re registered back at Adderbury, a superb practice. Another quick point is, Boots have a system where they order my repeats every month and text me when they arrive, I never do anything now to get them, I just pick them up.

Smelly always lands on his feet, lol

[GUMPY]

7 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

But if your asthma medication is set to run out over xmas holidays surely you order a repeat a few days earlier than normal?

Except the system won't let you.

I cannot order medicine until 21 days has elapsed since my last order add on the 2days to get it ready at the pharmacy and that's  5 days before I run out.

[Graham Davis]

That's crazy!! 

[frangar]

11 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Except the system won't let you.

I cannot order medicine until 21 days has elapsed since my last order add on the 2days to get it ready at the pharmacy and that's  5 days before I run out.

Just build up stock over the year for repeat medication....I just keep reordering as soon as I am able meaning I now have a month in hand.....whats more any decent GP can override if requested....and if they dont then talk to the practice or dispensing manager....worked for me and the OH even with the slightly iffy last GP practice. Our new one has had no such issues however...and once I explained that Im working away a lot was fine. 

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Except the system won't let you.

I cannot order medicine until 21 days has elapsed since my last order add on the 2days to get it ready at the pharmacy and that's  5 days before I run out.

 

Depends on which system you are talking about but surely in that scenario one uses common sense and pick up the phone and speak to the practice?

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, frangar said:

Just build up stock over the year for repeat medication....I just keep reordering as soon as I am able meaning I now have a month in hand.....whats more any decent GP can override if requested....and if they dont then talk to the practice or dispensing manager....worked for me and the OH even with the slightly iffy last GP practice. Our new one has had no such issues however...and once I explained that Im working away a lot was fine. 

I have stock about four months worth so for me it's not a problem. I was merely highlighting a possible problem with the electronic system if you don't plan a long way ahead.

[BlueStringPudding]

3 hours ago, Loddon said:

Except the system won't let you.

I cannot order medicine until 21 days has elapsed since my last order add on the 2days to get it ready at the pharmacy and that's  5 days before I run out.

 

Precisely my experience too - except my GP needs 4 working days. And then there's the time waiting for the pharmacist to order the meds in - the brands changing often and the packaging being written in different languages suggest there are often issues with getting them in. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by BlueStringPudding

[MtB]

I think there are two separate aspects in play.

 

1) My last GP used to issue a prescription I suspect, for typically three or four months

2) I could only draw down 28 days' of medication at a time for dispensing from that prescription.

 

I suspect this because when I went onto the website to get what looked to me like a repeat prescription, there was a counter saying I could order 1, 2, 3 or 4 more times. I suspect the prescription itself was for 4 x 28 days, but i had to request dispensing 28 days at a time. An utter ball-ache.

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, BlueStringPudding said:

 

Precisely my experience too - except my GP needs 4 working days. And then there's the time waiting for the pharmacist to order the meds in - the brands changing often and the packaging being written in different languages suggest there are often issues with getting them in. 

 

Hang on a sec.

 

You sound as if you need something particularly special if the pharmacy needs to order it in each and every time you need it.

 

Our local pharmacy gets stuff in the next day if its out of stock.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by The Happy Nomad

[Stroudwater1]

You may need to see a Doctor regarding your aches Mtb as it seems that NHS England think this is a great idea! 

 

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/electronic-prescription-service/electronic-repeat-dispensing-for-prescribers

[Guest]

25 minutes ago, MtB said:

I think there are two separate aspects in play.

 

1) My last GP used to issue a prescription I suspect, for typically three or four months

2) I could only draw down 28 days' of medication at a time for dispensing from that prescription.

 

I suspect this because when I went onto the website to get what looked to me like a repeat prescription, there was a counter saying I could order 1, 2, 3 or 4 more times. I suspect the prescription itself was for 4 x 28 days, but i had to request dispensing 28 days at a time. An utter ball-ache.

 

This is correct.

 

One 'month' in prescribing terms actually equals 28 days, which matches how medicines are normally packaged.