Be Excellent To Each Other

Do I have to have a prescription written out explicitly to be repeatable? Or can I just take an empty pillbox along to the pharmacist and say "give me more of these"?

Any ideas?

As far as I know, you just phone the GP's secretary and they print off another slip for you to take to the pharmacy. Some prescriptions can only be repeated a number of times before having to see the GP again.

You phone the Doctors, and tell the receptionist that you want MOARDRUGZ.

Doctor then writes a new script and you pick it up without needing an appointment, unless he is concerned that you are getting through your methadone a bit too quickly.

Depends on your Docs...

My meds are on repeat, i get a slip when I pick the drugs up.

Drop teh slip off at teh docs, 48 hours later get drugs

Yeah, it was a scrip from a consultant though, not a GP. I was hoping to avoid schlepping down there again, plus they're a pain in the arse to ever get hold of.

Yeah it needs to be done by the doc. For example I was recently taken off of uppers and downers and put on a single mood stabliser. I have a months worth and then I go back for a liver function test and assessment (sic, I fucking HATE that word) and then I'll go on a repeat collect if everything is clear

Edit. Although prescribed by my shrink the doc will always call me and ask if that's what I want and which ones I want to stay on. So she sort of gets the final say (well, I do but she gets the pre final say).

Try drinking less coffee

I have Bipolar disorder and Autism. I don't see how drinking less coffee would alter that fact. Especially as I have suffered with mental problems my entire life and only started drinking coffee about five years ago.

Drink more Coffee

So, in what way is it a repeat prescription then? I thought there was some way of making it more convenient?

At my pharmacy the repeat part means I only had to ring them and they'd take the prescription to the doctor's to be signed and the like, so I could just pick up the drugs when convenient for me. But it's most convenient for people on long-term meds, it won't save you from visiting the doc if they want to check that they're working, test anything and so on.

I'll explain - I got a 3 month supply of "stuff that helps you but also kills you a bit" and only a month's supply of "stuff that helps stop the other stuff killing you". I was really just hoping for an easier way to top up the latter rather than trying to get hold of the consultant to write up a new scrip.

A repeat prescription, as I understand it, is generally handled by the office admin staff getting the doctor to sign off a new scrip without seeing you in person. They'll decide to do that based on notes on your file. The convenience is because you don't need to see a doctor, just pop to the office and collect the scrip. That's a ballache if they're miles away though.

Also -- some pharmacies do a service where they go to the doctor's, collect the scrip, fill it, then you go to the pharmacy to collect the drugs. I believe this generally has a maximum range they'll consider though.

Hmm - I wonder if I can get them to get the consultant to write out a new scrip and then post it to me? I might try that.

Or could your GP do a scrip based on the consultant's diagnosis?

Incidentally this is one small area in which US healthcare beats ours. Scrips there are usually fields in a database and not pieces of paper.

Hmm - probably once he's received the letter telling him what they've prescribed. That might work, too.

I'm 99% sure Mrs Grim... does her prescriptions online. It's not been going for long, though.

http://www.repeatscripts.co.uk/ ?

Nice idea, but they don't support hospital clinics/pharmacies annoyingly.

What's really fun and excellent is when a GP (not your regular GP, just whoever happened to be around to sign repeat prescriptions) decides you're not going to get the insulin you need to live because you haven't had a review, even though you have (but of course the computer says you haven't so you haven't).

Rarely have I come so close to swearing down the phone at a stranger.

I've noticed that the Germans get electronic cards from their Krankenkasse (insurance scheme) with all sorts of medical details on, including prescriptions*. It's quite a good idea IMO, but we're collectively apprehensive about that kind of thing in the UK.

* Their prescription costs are quite a bit higher than ours though. Only people with chronic conditions get free or very discounted medications.

If only we had some form of system where our individual details could be easily accessed to facilitate such functionality.

We do almost, the NHS CRS.

Even that's a cop-out. They seem to have watered it down to the point where they have to send you a form to sign every time they want to get to something that isn't just your name.