Repeat Dispensing In Place Of Repeat Prescription

[Tango2]

A pharmacist mentioned this to me re getting enough medication to go on an extended holiday, which is always a fight with my GP Surgery. Has anyone persuaded their practice to allow this?

[Fruitandnutcase]

My brother and sister in law live abroad for part of the year and every now and again they come home and get enough meds to last them for the long periods they are away - but they live in Scotland and last time I was up there which was a few years ago when I went to their doctor to get a prescription renewed (I had stayed longer than I was expecting to) I was given a prescription for a three month supply of my medicines - I couldn't believe it - at home in the south I can only get one month at a time - even though I have been on some of my present meds for over ten years! Don't know if they still do that up there and I understand good practise is to give a three month supply of thyroid meds so that you get a consistent supply of what you are on and don't end up having to change brands according to what is cheapest for your pharmacy to buy in.

I can get a couple of months supply from my surgery if I am going away on holiday and that isn't a problem.

Don't know about being given several prescriptions at once to use 'as and when' which sounds like what you are after.

Liz

[helvella Administrator in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I have just cobbled together a document to cover some of the issues here:

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...

Very much a work in progress.

Rod

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

I too noted the three month thing. However do GPs or pharmacists have time to read these reports - after all they deal with hundreds of drugs. Would need some kind of special alert. We could all try taking your document to GPs and pharmacists asking them to consider revising their rules!

[helvella Administrator in reply to Hidden]

Of course you are right - there is no way they can keep abreast of everything.

Though we could note that they have managed to take on board the seemingly inappropriate advice to prescribe levothyroxine for no more than 28 days at a time without even realising how badly that can affect people.

We could, perhaps, do with an additional bit of advice in relation to some of these long-term medicines. For example, in BNF and similar there could be something like this "For patients on stable doses, prescribe 56 or 84 days at a time and ensure patient has 28 days of medicine in hand."

For now, I agree, print out the page of recommendations and politely pass it on to anyone who suggests otherwise. I have a feeling that specific formal MHRA recommendations are trumps over many other suggestions and local arrangements.

Rod

[Hidden in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Hi there

I am in Scotland and in a previous practice was always given two months supply (of everything!). In current practice they only give 4 weeks at a time. I am on the repeat dispensing system with my pharmacy. If I need extra for going on holiday what they usually do is put in the repeat request early so I have enough to last until after I get home. However, I've never tried to get enough to cover a really extended period. I do live in quite a small town and the pharmacy staff and pharmacist are good at knowing everyone, so I think it wouldn't be a problem.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Hidden]

Shame they are adopting the one month at a time system like down here. I leave my prescription with the pharmacy next door to our GP practice and they get it ready for me when it is due but this month I had a problem when they seemed to think it wasn't due for another two weeks. Fortunately I had gone in in good time and I wasn't without - I have extra thyroid meds because I had my doses raised and was given more than I needed but I have no spare BP meds at all.

I think they must have got mixed up with the difference between a 28 day packet and a month's supply. It was sorted in the end but it was annoying - fortunately I knew exactly when I had collected stuff etc and I had collected an extra month for my holiday. I can remember asking when they would be ready then saying not to worry I would be back when I ran out if X because I had only the exact number of them

Bad enough having to depend on pills, then having to keep going or them without being made to hated feelthat someone thought I was 'pulling a fast one'

Liz

[helvella Administrator]

I can't for the life of me see how repeat dispensing would help.

Indeed, because the prescriptions are lodged with the pharmacy you can't even take it to the pharmacy next door if your own one runs out entirely!

Rod

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to helvella]

See what you mean by repeat dispensing Rod - no use at all as far as I can see and definitely not if you are going away from home.

What I find interesting is that when I had a hospital prescription from a consultant that was clearly marked to give me 3/12 which I took to be a three month supply - only one month's supply was dispensed with instructions to go to my GP for the rest.

Liz

[Hidden]

Praps we just lucky but never had a problem with surgery giving enough for 3 months away a couple of times a year but was told 3 months is the maximum they allowed to give

[Mazz64]

I get 2 months at a time from chemist, he also tells me when my yearly blood test is due, as he won't give them to me next time unless I have had the test. I also get my other meds on repeat from him.

[Tango2]

thanks for your comments. the pharmacist lead me to believe that he would not be so draconian in dishing out the meds. if i went away for two and a half months half way through a 3 month med cycle he would give me what i needed to last out my trip.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Tango2]

Thanks - that makes some sense.

But not if you go away in the last two months of validity of the overarching prescription!

Rod