Repeat prescription

[Hammer5372]

Evening all.as a new diagnosis patient I found out to my peril that when the doctor says it's a repeat prescription do not assume its a rolling issue.unless you personally ask for your meds to be available at your chemist etc before you run out they won't be there!! Luckily I was given emergency supply until I could arrange and understand how it works.im on gliclazide now .it was not explained that I personally have to request them every month or it goes undelivered.surely this is a massive flaw in the NHS system as if you are prescribed such drugs its a life thing.your not going to suddenly say I don't need them anymore!surely it would save time and resources to be put on an automatic system rather than people having to look at each one to approve.again and again.any thoughts please?hope you all had a good Xmas and happy new year .

 

[Kaylz]

As doses etc can change they can't tell when your going to run out and them just prescribing things could lead to a lot of waste and/or stockpiling, I'm 30 and this is the system that has been used for general meds since I was a child (which my mum obviously did then) here in Scotland we do have an option of serial prescriptions being dispensed automatically every 4, 8 or 12 weeks but it doesn't work for all medications, on this system my fridge was rather full of insulin as I don't use the same amount all the time and was getting 10 cartridges every 2 months so I opted to have that go back on repeat

 

[gll]

There are some places that support an auto prescription but not sure about where. I think @Kaylz uses it?

Set a reminder on your phone for however far in advance you need to get them ordered and give yourself plenty of time to pick up and allow time for surgery mess ups because they happen all too often

 

[helli]

Whilst I understand your point, not all drugs have a daily dose.
For example, my insulin needs vary depending upon how much exercise I do, whether I am stressed, what I eat, if I am ill, … neither my pharmacist nor my GP knows all these variables.
Likewise, I have other drugs which are taken when i have a “flare up” and I don’t inform the medical community when this happens.

I think the flaw is not telling you this is how it works.

 

[gll]

also you then rely on them actually putting your current medication onto repeat and taking the old ones off...seems to be a little tricky for them to get even that right at the moment 🙄

 

[Kaylz]

There are some places that support an auto prescription but not sure about where. I think @Kaylz uses it?

Serial prescriptions are only available here in Scotland as far as I'm aware but as I said it doesn't suit all medication xx

 

[gll]

they have never offered me that service but I think I would pass to be honest too

 

[rebrascora]

For me, selecting the items that I want when I want them works very well and I wouldn't want to be on an automated system. My 5 cartridges of Fiasp last 2-3 months. My box of 5 cartridges Levemir lasts about 45-50 days. I would end up stockpiling if they were automatically dispensed. Same with needles etc.

As regards your Gliclazide, it's not written in stone that you will need them forever more. There are quite a few people who have adopted a low carb way of eating and come off all medication, including insulin, so don't let the medical staff convince you that this is a progressive one way street. It doesn't have to be if you want to be proactive.

 

[Kaylz]

they have never offered me that service but I think I would pass to be honest too

It works for everything bar my insulin so I'm quite happy to use it as that way I get everything at once rather than bombarding them with different repeat requests at various points xx

 

[Leadinglights]

It depends on what arrangements your GP has with the pharmacy but when medications are recently prescribed, dose adjustments might be required so they don't like to put things on repeat straight away.
The pharmacy I use is adjacent to the GP and they sort out the repeat items on a 2 month basis, it usually works well.

 

[grovesy]

You may also find that your repeats may need reauthorizing too, so you may need to see or speak to someone for a medication review.

 

[mikeyB]

This is actually an unjustified complaint. A repeat prescription simply means it doesn’t have to be approved by the doctor each time. There never has been, and never will be an automatic issue of prescriptions. That would be insanity, for obvious reasons. I have at least three, or four medications that are on repeat prescriptions, and all have variable times or even months when I need them.

If you can’t see when you need a repeat prescription, and ring the surgery in good time to get it, that is entirely your responsibility.

 

[Kaylz]

There never has been, and never will be an automatic issue of prescriptions

Well that kind of depends where you are as that kind of is what a serial prescription is, dispensed automatically before a patient is due to run out every 4, 8 or 12 weeks

 

[Felinia]

I'm lucky as my rural GP has its own pharmacy, so you don't have to drive miles or rely on a delivery service. When I collect I simply tick what I want next time. They also support online re-ordering. Works brilliantly.

 

[Lily123]

I just order my prescription online and just add 3 boxes or however many glucose strips and everything else I need for that month then it goes to the pharmacy which is closer to me than the GP. A prescription going through each month with the exact same amounts on would be not helpful for me

 

[grovesy]

Well online ordering is one of the few things my surgery allow on their online system.

 

[C6H12O6]

If you're in England (I'm not sure about the rest of the UK), Lloyds Direct https://web.lloydsdirect.co.uk/ might be worth a look. Once you've set it up they will send you a reminder about 10 days before you run low, asking you to go on to their web page and choose what you need from your repeat items. They then deliver it to your door. I've used it a few times and it's worked really well.