Me again...I go to the hospital for my blood tests as it's just easier. The GP however is responsible for issuing it.
Today I had an email saying " You are due your yearly routine blood tests for your annual medication review. Please call the surgery.'
Last year the pharmacist just called me. Not sure why this year it's also including a blood test? Will they do the blood test and call me for the review afterwards?
You will probably find the gp bloods will include things like cholesterol and kidney function. Yes, I would think once the bloods are done, they will contact you to review your meds, check when booking bloods though, as they may book an appointment knowing blood results are generally back after 24-48hrs.
Our annual review is done by a clinical pharmacist who appears not to know why I am taking the drugs I am taking. A blood test was never mentioned, & when I said was coming in to collet my prescription maybe we could have a chat…she agreed to that…but sadly on the appointment day…she wasn,t there.
I gave up at that point..but there really should be a more efficient system.
Mine used to be the gp, but last year it was the pharmacist. She just ran through all my meds to make sure I was still taking them, and mentioned my anticholinergic score was high, but that I needed all the meds that contributed to the score. The only cholinergic symptom I get is dry mouth. This year I was sent a text with a link to a questionnaire and haven’t heard anything. So fingers crossed they’ll leave me alone 🤞
I asked…purely out of Devilment …if anything I took was likely to react with Rituximab…she said No..lbut a little too quckly…I think she had no idea I was on it, as GP has nothing to do with my RA.
Which to my mind…. makes a scrip review pointless!
I agree, it does seem pointless. Although mine is prescribed by the hospital. My gp has my benepali at the end of my repeat prescription, so it flags up if they prescribe something that interacts with it. It’s the reason that I flagged up, and received all the letters and enrols about being at high risk of covid. You can get the bnf app free, which will let you know of interactions. The other option is one of the online sites which will tell you about interactions.
I had an annual review with the pharmacist last year. He was very pleasant and we had a lovely chat but it was completely pointless. The only medication I take is for RA. All my DMARDs are prescribed by the hospital and the things the GP prescribe are on advice of the rheumatologist. Like your experience, he clearly had no idea what Rituximab was but he seemed fascinated and asked lots of questions about it and how it worked. So I guess the review had some point -I educated the pharmacist!
I refused to take part this year.
We have no choice….if we don’t have the review …..my oh so not charming GP refuse to issue prescriptions.
In my previous practice one of the GPs asked if I had Rtx infusions every month. I explained when it is prescribed for RA it is usually every 6 months …..she just said “oh that’s interesting.”
I don’t know about anybody else, but if I were a GP and knew that my patient was on Rtx I think I might have made some sort of investigation to see how it worked?
As the saying goes “GPs ain’t wot they used to be” The above was pre Covid, so for once that can’t be used as an excuse.
Our GP has contracted out pharmacy reviews and the pharmacist rang me but I caught her out, she asked me to prove who I was and I said “no you’ve rung me so tell me my nhs no.” After a battle when she told me of the risk of AZA to kidneys etc I got cross and told her to contact my Nephrologist as she only had cut down bit of my records. I then made a formal complaint to Gp, got an apology and promise no further calls will be made offering advice about medications, prescribed and reviewed by consultant Nephrologist. I think they got frightened when I pointed out that they had prescribed a medication Alendronic Acid not licensed for patients with a GFR under 30 so now I run all new medication prescriptions past the Renal Pharmacist in Canterbury you know “ just in case”. As the Nephrologist tells ad patients too. I think all this is just ticking boxes !
No doubt the GP gets a fee for every completed review?
But the review I had…like yours …was conducted by a young pharmacist who maybe a whizz at knowing what is in each drug…but appeared to have no information on why a patient is prescribed it.
I am seriously thinking of changing GP…but this present practice is only a 5 min drive…but I would not want to use them except for my prescription drugs prescribed by my rheumy. I have only seen a doctor there about 4 times in nearly three years…& she just sat and looked at me & when I explained why I was there ….she was virtually monosyllabic…saying,’since when,’ & ‘ how do you know that’ ?
I stayed hoping for some sort of input..none came so I left.
When I got the telephone call from the doctor to review my medication that is also prescribed by consultants at the hospital, the first thing she did was ask me why I’m on these medicines? She then told me it’s not good to be on them and said I should have an ECG every year, I’ve only been on them over 5 years. While she was on I did bite her ear and was on for about 20 minutes because doctors don’t seem to listen to me and I get no help for my food allergies. If it was just a tick list for doctors, I feel I got my moneys worth. Maybe she won’t call me again, after all they can’t take you off medications that consultants have prescribed. Such a waste of her time and ours.
I was on a drug that I & my consultant thought might be causing the nausea I was experiencing….so I told GP I was coming off them for a couple of months to see how things went.
It turned out these drugs were not to blame so my consultant said to restart them.
But when I tried to,order them…. My GP said as they hadn’t prescribed them they wouldn’t restart the prescription …so I had to get my consultant to write to the GP saying to start the drugs again Now if that isn’t wasting time and money …. tell me what is!
Honestly you couldn’t make it up, what a waste of time. I could write a book on mistakes that have been made in the last 9 months. I’ve had to do all the speaking for my husband as he has had major surgery and could not speak. The best one was last week when our GP receptionist asked if I was allowed to speak for my husband, I said I’ve been doing it for months, she told me to hold on till she checked. Honestly I’ve spoke to her practically every week for months, I think she should see a doctor, the mistakes she has been making is atrocious . The GP system needs changing urgently.
I recently had a health check and med review which happened to fall just after my regular bloods. The nurse added the extra tests to it so I didn’t have to have them done again. Things like thyroid, lipids, diabetes etc. , I then got a phone call about meds and results. This was at the GP surgery.
Around here the GPs can’t see blood test results done by hospital unless they actually look as a copy of results isn’t routinely sent.Its a real pain as they can’t stop the reminders like you’ve had, so we have to ring in and say look it up again. It’s down to a funding dispute !
When the NHS was running more smoothly, GP monitored monthly bloods and I had a F2F with a Dr. for annual drug review, plus a separate CV Risk Assessment and they gave results at end.
Now GP Surgery is run by an Agency there are no F2F or telephone drug reviews, just nothing, but occasionally, once a year maybe, the local pharmacy ask if I am having blood tests done, otherwise nobody seems that bothered.
A HCA performed the Q Risk 2 CV Assessment, after Rheumatologist wrote to request it. The result has been posted on the GP online system and is a much higher score than it ever used to be, but not a word from any doctor. I wonder, has the HCA skewed the result by assuming such things as diet 'average' when a qualified nurse/GP used to think my diet was 'good' if so that would put the percentage score higher, or, is it a case of the score is accurate but the doctors at the GP Surgery are not on the ball about checking the results and taking action. My Cholesterol has hovered just over 5 a number of times but not a dickie bird and my BP was higher this year, but is usually less taken at home.
I noticed in the full medical record on my Airmid app, an annual review of my meds had been completed by a GP. I had no idea and have not been contact about it. I've seen the GP who reviewed it in the past, about other things, but they've had no involvement in my RA.
I thought it was a bit weird not to be consulted.
I have the appointment on Tuesday. Just not sure why I suddenly have to do this when haven’t before but must be new policy
We have medicine reviews done by the practice pharmacist now, and it has made more work for the surgery and the patients, not less.
It is one of these things that powers on high think is a good idea, so they pay surgeries to tick the boxes, not realising that there is so much variation with some patients having bloods and medication monitored by secondary care, in other areas it is all done by GP surgeries. (in rural areas it is more often by GPs as hospitals are a long long way away!).
My most recent one was the practice pharmacist telling the receptionist to tell me that I had to come in for a blood test for a drug I was no longer taking. Receptionist wouldn't take no for an answer so I made the appt.
I was going to cancel it but I thought no, I am going, because otherwise they will never understand what they did wrong. So it played out until the pharmacist was contacted by the nurse, and they made up some excuse why they didn't know I wasn't on the drug anymore.
I strongly pointed out to them all that if they had actually listened to me, not to mention read my notes where it was clear I hadn't renewed the MTX for over 6 months, we wouldn't be in this situation of having everyone's time wasted!
This sounds just like our GP’s!!! Methotrexate is no longer on my repeat as it was discontinued 9 years ago. I’m now taking Abatacept which is on my prescription however every time I’ve qualified for Injections like Pneumonia or Shingles I’m told I don’t qualify as I’m only on a small dose of Methotrexate!!
I think the GP has to do an annual medication/prescription review probably part of their funding depends upon it. Might even be the same with the bloods. Mine went through my meds including MTX which I get from hospital as my white cells/ neutrophils are always low. I asked them to add COSENTYX so they were aware in case of drug interactions. It just helps keep your records in order.
I was a good patient and had my 3 monthly blood test ,my blood pressure and urine checked by the practice nurse. All ok so the surgery pharmacist reviewed and renewed all my meds without speaking to me! Apparently I am compliant with my meds so that's ok. Actually I order them as required but I don't always take them as regularly as I should. What is the point of the review these days?
I wonder the same. My bloods were done only in October and been fine....
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