Einstein
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Is it just me that finds the repeat dispensing prescription service introduced a few years ago carrying a number of flaws and areas for improvement? Perhaps its been improved in your area as a trial? Do tell!
First, the repeat dispensing service is great for those of us who have the same(ish) items every month, rather than needing to order repeats from the GP each month, the GP raises and signs six (perhaps more) months worth of prescriptions, which we take to our preferred pharmacy. They hold these copies and each month we go in and collect the items that have been prescribed. Six months down the line we spend 10 minutes with our GP and walk out with another rain forest of prescriptions for the next six months. Its great, especially when you're busy, work away from where you live, I have also found it to be good as I have gradually become unable to use the phone over the past 19 months, so no longer need to struggle to make appointments or phone in prescription requests.
Some may find the fact you're tied to one phramacy a problem, I prefer to stay in one place, everything is visible, they know you and you don't need to keep showing your pre-payment card.
I think part of the problem may rest with the fact that some drugs are issued in different multiples, e.g for 28 days or 30 days, insulin, well, it depends how much you consume of both types, needles are supplied in boxes of 100, while lancets are in boxes I recall of 200. Test strips, well they're on their own.
Perhaps its the amount of 'preventative' medication that diabetics are prescribed or the self management that leads to the variation in drug supplies.
Personally, I have one shelf of my fridge dedicated to insulin, tablets and eye drops of all types, then the top of the fridge (its tall) is used to store test strips, needles, sharps bins and lancets. After a few months I am often going one of two ways with insulin and sharps bins specifically, either swimming in the stuff or realising I've just used the last cartridge and oh, there isn't another one left - yes, with insulin there is always a pack of both types elsewhere in the fridge, I've been caught by that one before, I also know there is always a pack of NovaRapid at the office if I really get stuck. And some say I don't learn from experience!!
My pharmacy (Boots, and they are fantastic) always build up my order somewhere around the 13th of the month, let me know when I'm at month 5 so I can order another batch and it works well, except the inflexability in ordering or changing the prescription, sure I can open the big carrier bag and hand back bits I don't need that month, but there are usually a good number of people behind me in the queue who have other places to be. And yes, plank here has handed back stuff only to get home and realise, it was the wrong thing, it was 'that' I'd run out of!
So, I find there is usually a surplus of a few things. My GP and I have somewhere along got close to cracking the fine art of the repeat dispensing prescription order forms by clubbing together on different pages items that sometimes are needed once every two months, and on other pages perhaps every 6 weeks, but better have them every month and then tablets which are every month.
All seems to me to be a very convoluted way of doing a simple task.
Surely an authorisation from my GP to the pharmacy stating I am over the next six months entitled to up to six packs of NovaRapid, nine packs of Levemir, 9 boxes of needles etc with my then being able to order online directly from the pharmacy what I need is a more efficient way of handling regular prescriptions?
The cost of implementing such a system must surely be regained very quickly by the savings in the movement of paperwork, nevermind the wasted drugs that are thrown away every day, week and month by those of us who'd prefer to have exactly what we need and a little in reserve rather than running a stock management system of surplus drugs from the NHS.
The other option, although space becomes an issue is to work out how many packets of needles, lancets, insulin and tablets I am likely to need in six months and to take the whole lot in one batch - need to be careful which car I take as one isn't too good for big shops, then of course is that magical moment where your GP or diabetologist decide you need a change of medication and you're stocked up for the winter and now need to drop 5 months supply in the bin (or otherwise).
Perhaps this should have been under 'rants', it just frustrates me that this system, which on the whole works quite well hasn't been further refined and developed more with users and economy in mind.
David
First, the repeat dispensing service is great for those of us who have the same(ish) items every month, rather than needing to order repeats from the GP each month, the GP raises and signs six (perhaps more) months worth of prescriptions, which we take to our preferred pharmacy. They hold these copies and each month we go in and collect the items that have been prescribed. Six months down the line we spend 10 minutes with our GP and walk out with another rain forest of prescriptions for the next six months. Its great, especially when you're busy, work away from where you live, I have also found it to be good as I have gradually become unable to use the phone over the past 19 months, so no longer need to struggle to make appointments or phone in prescription requests.
Some may find the fact you're tied to one phramacy a problem, I prefer to stay in one place, everything is visible, they know you and you don't need to keep showing your pre-payment card.
I think part of the problem may rest with the fact that some drugs are issued in different multiples, e.g for 28 days or 30 days, insulin, well, it depends how much you consume of both types, needles are supplied in boxes of 100, while lancets are in boxes I recall of 200. Test strips, well they're on their own.
Perhaps its the amount of 'preventative' medication that diabetics are prescribed or the self management that leads to the variation in drug supplies.
Personally, I have one shelf of my fridge dedicated to insulin, tablets and eye drops of all types, then the top of the fridge (its tall) is used to store test strips, needles, sharps bins and lancets. After a few months I am often going one of two ways with insulin and sharps bins specifically, either swimming in the stuff or realising I've just used the last cartridge and oh, there isn't another one left - yes, with insulin there is always a pack of both types elsewhere in the fridge, I've been caught by that one before, I also know there is always a pack of NovaRapid at the office if I really get stuck. And some say I don't learn from experience!!
My pharmacy (Boots, and they are fantastic) always build up my order somewhere around the 13th of the month, let me know when I'm at month 5 so I can order another batch and it works well, except the inflexability in ordering or changing the prescription, sure I can open the big carrier bag and hand back bits I don't need that month, but there are usually a good number of people behind me in the queue who have other places to be. And yes, plank here has handed back stuff only to get home and realise, it was the wrong thing, it was 'that' I'd run out of!
So, I find there is usually a surplus of a few things. My GP and I have somewhere along got close to cracking the fine art of the repeat dispensing prescription order forms by clubbing together on different pages items that sometimes are needed once every two months, and on other pages perhaps every 6 weeks, but better have them every month and then tablets which are every month.
All seems to me to be a very convoluted way of doing a simple task.
Surely an authorisation from my GP to the pharmacy stating I am over the next six months entitled to up to six packs of NovaRapid, nine packs of Levemir, 9 boxes of needles etc with my then being able to order online directly from the pharmacy what I need is a more efficient way of handling regular prescriptions?
The cost of implementing such a system must surely be regained very quickly by the savings in the movement of paperwork, nevermind the wasted drugs that are thrown away every day, week and month by those of us who'd prefer to have exactly what we need and a little in reserve rather than running a stock management system of surplus drugs from the NHS.
The other option, although space becomes an issue is to work out how many packets of needles, lancets, insulin and tablets I am likely to need in six months and to take the whole lot in one batch - need to be careful which car I take as one isn't too good for big shops, then of course is that magical moment where your GP or diabetologist decide you need a change of medication and you're stocked up for the winter and now need to drop 5 months supply in the bin (or otherwise).
Perhaps this should have been under 'rants', it just frustrates me that this system, which on the whole works quite well hasn't been further refined and developed more with users and economy in mind.
David
