[Misc] Repeat prescriptions

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Bear with me here....

I have four meds on repeat prescription. The way it works is they were all set up at different times.
Initially I would have to see a doctor after 12 months to see if any changes were needed.
I would need to make a note in my paper diary and phone to make an appointment.
(Getting an appointment usd to be easy).
With newer meds the rubric changed.
For one, I was given a month supply then told to make an appointment to discuss whether the drugs were OK.
They would then initiate a repeat prescription.
Unfortunately this didn't happen and when I went to pick up the meds they weren't there.
I was told by the pharmacist that if I phoned the pharmacy they could trigger the repeat (the pharmacy kindly did this for me while I was there).
Later when I went to pick up two of my repeat meds, one wasn't there.
I phoned the pharmacy but it went direct to answerphone to say they were too busy to pick up the phone (no option to leave a message).
I phoned the GP surgery today and was told that I needed to call the surgery again on Tuesday as this was the earliest I could arrange to reactivate the repeat prescription for 3 of my meds.
Unfortunately one of the meds was managed by a different team so I was transferred.
I was told that I needed to contact the surgery next February to reactivate 3 of my meds.
By this point I had totally lost the narrative.
The reception person wasn't very coherent, with excessive use of pronouns (which med? 'it' doesn't help).
However, realizing there was no chance I would be able to make sense of any of this, she told me to phone, or go online, or
"I will pop round" I said.
Or pop round and let us know you need the tamsulozin reactivated, I will take care of the rest.

Now, contrary to the perception of some, I am an educated man with a reasonable grasp of things.
OK, I am on the autism spectrum, but I can follow instructions.
I asked the missus how people who a vulnerable would cope with all this.
"They don't get their meds" was her reply.

I have only given half the story here.
Is it this complicated all round the country?

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

Have you got the NHS App? I use this for repeat prescriptions and never have any issues.

 

[Ooh it’s a corner]

Yes H, afraid so - you are not in fact ‘the special one’.

When I was permanently in UK I had 6 items on a regular batch prescription - a batch authorisation should last for 6 months so I didn’t have to refer back to the practice monthly.
It rarely worked like that!

What used to annoy me was that it increased to 3 days notice needed by the doc to renew a prescription so I’d toddle along to the pharmacy only to be told it hadn’t been authorised to then have to wait min 3 days before the surgery acted!

Stay healthy youngsters - far easier!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Bear with me here....

I have four meds on repeat prescription. The way it works is they were all set up at different times.
Initially I would have to see a doctor after 12 months to see if any changes were needed.
I would need to make a note in my paper diary and phone to make an appointment.
(Getting an appointment usd to be easy).
With newer meds the rubric changed.
For one, I was given a month supply then told to make an appointment to discuss whether the drugs were OK.
They would then initiate a repeat prescription.
Unfortunately this didn't happen and when I went to pick up the meds they weren't there.
I was told by the pharmacist that if I phoned the pharmacy they could trigger the repeat (the pharmacy kindly did this for me while I was there).
Later when I went to pick up two of my repeat meds, one wasn't there.
I phoned the pharmacy but it went direct to answerphone to say they were too busy to pick up the phone (no option to leave a message).
I phoned the GP surgery today and was told that I needed to call the surgery again on Tuesday as this was the earliest I could arrange to reactivate the repeat prescription for 3 of my meds.
Unfortunately one of the meds was managed by a different team so I was transferred.
I was told that I needed to contact the surgery next February to reactivate 3 of my meds.
By this point I had totally lost the narrative.
The reception person wasn't very coherent, with excessive use of pronouns (which med? 'it' doesn't help).
However, realizing there was no chance I would be able to make sense of any of this, she told me to phone, or go online, or
"I will pop round" I said.
Or pop round and let us know you need the tamsulozin reactivated, I will take care of the rest.

Now, contrary to the perception of some, I am an educated man with a reasonable grasp of things.
OK, I am on the autism spectrum, but I can follow instructions.
I asked the missus how people who a vulnerable would cope with all this.
"They don't get their meds" was her reply.

I have only given half the story here.
Is it this complicated all round the country?

For me, with a repeat asthma inhaler prescription, it couldn't be more straightforward. These steps may help you H.

1. Load the NHS app to your phone
2. Set up username and password (it might ask for your DOB and NHS number if you know it)

3. Login to NHS app - it should have your repeat prescriptions pre-loaded
4. Set up your prefered pharmacy for repeat prescriptions to be collected from (only need to do this once tho you can change it subsequently)

5. If you want to order a repeat prescription, select it/them from a ticklist if you have more than one prescription
6. Wait a day or two til status of request goes from Requested to Approved
7. Wait another day or two until your preferred pharmacy has had time to action your prescription
8. Pick up repeat prescription medication from your preferred pharmacy (there may even be an option for them to deliver it to your home address)

Hope that helps. Cheers

 

[Is it PotG?]

NHS app, always works a treat.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

For me, with a repeat asthma inhaler prescription, it couldn't be more straightforward. These steps may help you H.

1. Load the NHS app to your phone
2. Set up username and password (it might ask for your DOB and NHS number if you know it)

3. Login to NHS app - it should have your repeat prescriptions pre-loaded
4. Set up your prefered pharmacy for repeat prescriptions to be collected from (only need to do this once tho you can change it subsequently)

5. If you want to order a repeat prescription, select it/them from a ticklist if you have more than one prescription
6. Wait a day or two til status of request goes from Requested to Approved
7. Wait another day or two until your preferred pharmacy has had time to action your prescription
8. Pick up repeat prescription medication from your preferred pharmacy (there may even be an option for them to deliver it to your home address)

Hope that helps. Cheers

Thanks. I need to get more modern. I'll give it a go

 

[chip]

The NHS app is great. I had blood tests yesterday at 9:32 and the results came back at 12:41. Shame the results weren't as good as the app.

So many of my partner's clients (psychiatry) had this problem with their prescriptions that she prepared an instruction sheet about the NHS app for new ones.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Guess l am lucky, my GP surgery, (a 10 minute walk away), also has an in house pharmacy. Everything l need is taken care of there.,

All they ask is that l give them 5 working days notice before l pick up said medication. I will usually get a text before then telling me meds are ready for collection.

 

[Eeyore]

Thanks. I need to get more modern. I'll give it a go

Yes, the NHS online pages and Patient Access are my goto. I order repeats from there and when I turn up at the chemist they are there a couple of days later. The chemist is nominated by you in the app/Patient Access site.

I'm a walking chemist at the moment. Statins, blood pressure meds and now one for a thyroid that has gone on strike.

I had an interesting experience yesterday. The doctor put me on a thyroid med and told me that I no longer have to pay for prescriptions for ANYTHING because I am on this tablet. I'm confused as to how this happens. He was even more confused when I told him that I wanted to pay and not get them free. This is because I have the £11 a month direct debit running that covers any prescriptions. If folk who need regular prescriptions aren't on this I would really encourage them to sign up. I save so much money I felt like a cheating thief by going to free prescriptions thus I declined.

I hope all this is sorted for you. But as you are a very competent chap doing it all online from your own PC will be a breeze. When I was once stuck and in urgent need in Suffolk I manged to change the chemist and get a repeat sent there. So much easier.

 

[BNthree]

Never got the NHS app to work, says "there's a problem connecting to your surgery" and craps out on me. Am I missing much? What is it useful for other than repeat prescription?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

The prescription reviews are done, but you don't need to be physically present. I notice the dates change on my NHS App, which I use to reorder the meds.
I have to a have a blood test for my thyroxine every 12 months or so, but that's about it. The surgery send me a text to ask me to see the nurse.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Never got the NHS app to work, says "there's a problem connecting to your surgery" and craps out on me. Am I missing much? What is it useful for other than repeat prescription?

You get results from tests sent via the Patients Know Best section. Hospital and GP appts are recorded too.

Delete it and download it again. (switch it off and back on again)

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

The prescription reviews are done, but you don't need to be physically present. I notice the dates change on my NHS App, which I use to reorder the meds.
I have to a have a blood test for my thyroxine every 12 months or so, but that's about it. The surgery send me a text to ask me to see the nurse.

Yep same procedure for my missus when she has an annual blood test for her thyroxine levels, a text from the surgery, then the nurse takes care of it. All very efficient really.

 

[BNthree]

You get results from tests sent via the Patients Know Best section. Hospital and GP appts are recorded too.

Delete it and download it again. (switch it off and back on again)

I still get results sent via email and logging directly into the patients know best website.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I still get results sent via email and logging directly into the patients know best website.

Yes, that's another way of doing it.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Never got the NHS app to work, says "there's a problem connecting to your surgery" and craps out on me. Am I missing much? What is it useful for other than repeat prescription?

You can access every doctor's appointment, vaccination, one-off prescription, test, letter they sent you inviting you to shit on a stick - and your response! - etc etc you ever had done going back years. Your entire medical records basically

 

[Brovion]

Never got the NHS app to work, says "there's a problem connecting to your surgery" and craps out on me. Am I missing much? What is it useful for other than repeat prescription?

Yeah, it's worth persevering with. You get all your test results and stuff on it as well, I've found it really really good.

 

[Eeyore]

You can access every doctor's appointment, vaccination, one-off prescription, test, letter they sent you inviting you to shit on a stick - and your response! - etc etc you ever had done going back years. Your entire medical records basically

Mine goes back to 1994, although bizarrely it does have the date of my school inoculation in 1982. BCG or something ?

 

[Flounce]

Have you got the NHS App? I use this for repeat prescriptions and never have any issues.

I use the NHS app for repeat prescriptions and they are sent direct to Asda pharmacy. It works very well. The surgery put in the first date a new prescription will be available on their computer. This tallies with the date on the paper prescription that comes with the medication. If they are not due they don’t show on the NHS app for “repeat prescriptions” until the relevant date. Works very well for me as they are generally available at Asda the day after I request them online.

If I am due a review the surgery phone me and we book a date there and then. They do not leave it up to me.

Sounds like you are having an absolute ’mare Harry

Edit - I seem to have an NHS app and a Patient Knows Best app. Get notifications from both if anything has been updated

 

[Flounce]

Yeah, it's worth persevering with. You get all your test results and stuff on it as well, I've found it really really good.

Yes, that really impressed me. I don’t know what most of them are checking but they flag up anything too high or too low and a quick Google gives me the information. They appear very quickly on the app normally too