prescription amounts and items.

Hi all Im fairly new hear and wondered if anyone else had been restricted by there pharmacy and doctors. Im told now i can only have one inhaler at a time but have to pay full costs for it where as i used to get four to last me longer. I get the making money side of it but can they really do this. Any advice appreciated before i start complaining to head offices etc thanks.

[Annista]

By coincidence I picked up a prescription yesterday and found that instead of my usual 2 inhalers I only got 1. I am most definitely not a happy girlie - cutting down the number of inhalers won't make me use less, it will just cost me more.

It seems as if the NHS is not just cutting costs but actively attempting to increase income by forcing patients to pay twice as much for the same amount of medication - Airdragon, you'll be paying four times as much. It's outrageous. I'll be speaking to the GP who reduced my prescription next week to ask just how this benefits me as a patient.

Good luck with any complaints you might want to make - I'd be very interested to know how you get on.

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To help me with my ridiculous prescription costs (most months would be approx £100) I have a pre-payment certificate which costs me £10.40 per month.

Much more cost effective!!

X

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I wonder if this is anything to do with Asda starting to sell salbutamol inhalers - the NHS is losing money that way so tyring to recoup it in other ways

[yaf_user681_30355]

I think this is all related to the new policy that came in, instructing GPs to prescribe 28 days supply of medication at one time and no more.

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Oh no...is there such a policy?! I can see why for some drugs, but for others, if you are on them as 'maintenance', it seems a bit ridiculous - as Annista says, for something like Symbicort it's a bit stupid.

Is there any way round this - I mean does the GP have any flexibility? Better make sure I correct my Singulair prescription - my GP told me verbally to double it but never wrote that down, so it still says 10mg a day. RBH have confirmed it's 20mg but the prescription says 10mg - glad I have that confirmation as 28 days would only be 14! I also have 2 Symbicorts so I don't have to spend all my time at the pharmacy - though actually that is only 30 days' worth, and now I'm going up to 3x2 only 20 days' worth...

Also ridiculous for relievers - it's surely much better to have too many than not enough! I was going to ask for 2 lots of Atrovent at once because I worry about running out - only get one atm.

[Annista]

JF, thanks for the information about the 28 day's worth of medication rule, which is very worrying as it will financially penalise every patient who is using any medication for the long term. However, at the same time as my inhaler I got a prescroption for something else and was given 2 month's supply - 2 packs with 28 days medication in each. What's going on there?

[yaf_user681_30355]

I think some GPs are still flexible and regarding inhalers they would recognise you would always need a spare in the cupboard and to make allowances when you have to adjust your asthma meds. I believe the rule came in to reduce wastage of medication so for people like us who are on long term medication they would be more flexible. I did smile when they reduced my antihistamine tablets from 30 a month to 28. As they come in a box of 30 the poor pharmacist has to cut 2 out each time!

Philomela, I would increase your symbicort prescription to 3 a month and they should agree because atm that is your first step when your symptoms increase. Since the change I have had to request my repeat every 28 days now which is a bit of a pain but with an annual prepay certificate it doesn't really matter.

I think the policy or prescribing guidelines came in sometime last year.

[Hidden in reply to yaf_user681_30355]

I did smile when they reduced my antihistamine tablets from 30 a month to 28. As they come in a box of 30 the poor pharmacist has to cut 2 out each time!

hehe, it's the same for me. Today I looked in my little bag of boxes to check I'd got the right stuff to see the usual scribble on the antihistamine box crossing out the 30 and writting in 28 next to it.

[Hidden]

Ah I hadn't realised, glad there's still some flexibility! Though not enough clearly with your antihistamines...what a waste of time! That really is a 'bureaucracy triumphs over common sense' thing.

I may ask about getting more at a time with the Symbicort, as I'm trialling being on 3x2 as the regular dose and hoping I don't need to increase. I think I need to as it really is up and down like a yo-yo on 2x2 and I am pretty sure the definition of 'control' doesn't include this.

Now I just need to remember to ask...

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I've just picked up my repeat and still got 4 symbicort and 60 of every tablet which is the norm so nothings changed at my GP thank god!

also picked up Alex's bp meds and that was for 60 at a time too!

Snowy

[Annista]

It's good to see that it's not written in stone, but it's still not nice to feel that every puff of your inhaler is begrudged not only by some pen pusher who's probably in perfect health but also by the GP who's just seen you, knows your situation and STILL thinks it's ok to put you at risk of running out of your medication if you hit a bad patch.

Lordy, lordy, what a stroppy ratbag I'm being today!

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haha i like stroppy ratbag annista!!

[yaf_user681_30355]

Nothing wrong with having a stroppy ratbag day Annista!!

It is interesting how the different GPs differ, some of them obviously don't agree with it. All of my tablets are on 28 day repeats (loratadine, uniphyllin, omeprazole and domperidone) and with 3 symbicorts a month that gives me 2 days spare worth of Symbicort too. It's so time consuming every 4 weeks!

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I hate to think what I would end up having to do. Thankfully (all bar one) all my GPs are fabbo and they give me as much as the pharmacy can legally give!! And every couple of weeks I walk oit with a goog 3/4 bags.

Im sure if this is going to carry on, there will be more that just the three people a day dieing from asthma. Im sure they would restric a diabetics medication from them or a cancer pantient of their meds. I know that prob sounds harsh, but all are equally as life threatening and dibillitating.

I wounder if it is just certain towns ans parishs and if there is a link those said towns etc could write to their local MP as, as soon as they get hold of it they doing anything to fight for their residents.

And who rant and ramble over lol

Xxx

[Annista]

Charlie, that's a really good idea BUT I know for a fact that our MP couldn't give a s*** about local residents. This is the lady that lives 40 minutes away from her constituancy but still felt entitled to get a property here and let her daughter live there rent free while claiming for the full cost on her MP's expenses. She has done nothing of note for the residents of the area and slavishly follows the party line in all things - including all the changes to the NHS.

If there was a local pressure group I'd join it like a shot!

[Hidden]

If you have to pay for prescriptions, the only cheap way now is buy a prescription certificate which you can pay for on a monthly basis. The 28 day rule as some are referring as been around some time and I have been subject to it for at least the past 3 years. And as far as I am concerned I have always had to pay for every single item hence my use of the prescription certificate system.

The following link provides the information necessary to apply for such certificate.

nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx

[Hidden]

Thank heavens my GP has not heard of the 28 day policy... My GP does the majority of my meds 2 monthly although I am still in process of getting a couple of my newer meds to this stage... With 20 meds I don't want to be in the chemist every 5 minutes...

[Annista]

Success! Saw GP again this morning and asked why she'd reduced my meds. She didn't seem to know and has now put things back as they were. Yessssssssss!

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Woop woop!

Comko sense prevails!!!!