Prescriptions

In response to coronavirus (COVID-19), GPs and pharmacies are moving suitable patients to electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD). You might be suitable for eRD if you get regular or repeat medicines that don’t change. eRD means your GP can send your regular or repeat prescriptions electronically to a pharmacy of your choice. You can then collect your medication from your pharmacy, or ask them to deliver it to your home. 

What eRD means for you

eRD allows your GP to send a series of repeat prescriptions to your pharmacy in one go, so there’s no need for you to order them each time. It’s reliable, secure and confidential. Your regular prescriptions are stored securely on the NHS database, so they’ll be ready at the pharmacy each time you need them.

How eRD can benefit you

If you get regular or repeat medicines, you might be suitable for eRD. Using eRD, you can: 

• save time by avoiding unnecessary trips or calls to your GP every time you need to order a repeat prescription
• order or cancel your repeat prescriptions online (if your GP practice offers this service)
• pick up your repeat prescriptions directly from your pharmacy without having to visit your GP
• spend less time waiting for your prescription in the pharmacy or GP practice, which means you can stay at home and avoid face-to-face contact when you need your repeat prescription during the coronavirus pandemic
• save paper – you won’t need a paper prescription to collect your medicine from the pharmacy

How do I sign up for eRD?

It’s really easy to sign up for eRD – just ask your GP or pharmacist to set it up for you.

Non-repeat prescriptions, known as ‘acute’ prescriptions are medicines that have been issued by the Doctor but not added to your repeat prescription records. This is normally a new medication issued for a trial period, and will require a review with your Doctor either by telephone or in person, prior to the medication being added onto your repeat prescription records.

Some medications are recorded as acute as they require to be closely monitored by the Doctor. Examples include many anti-depressants, drugs of potential abuse or where the prescribing is subject to legal or clinical restrictions or special criteria. If this is the case with your medicine, you may not always be issued with a repeat prescription until you have consulted with your Doctor again.

‘I need to order a repeat for my child. Please could you advise me on how to do it online.’

You can order a repeat prescription for your child in the same ways described under ‘how to order your medication’. The best way to do this is from SystmOnline.

Your child will need their own SystmOnline account. Please speak to your GP practice, they will be able to set your child up with a SystmOnline account or allow you proxy access via your own account if they are under 11 years of age. TPP advise you to get in touch with your GP practice first so you can bring any forms of identification they might require.

28 DAY PRESCRIBING Why your GP practice prescribes medicines at one month intervals

If you are being prescribed medicines on a repeat prescription your GP practice is strongly recommended by NHS Dorset to follow ‘28 day prescribing’, which means that each time you get a prescription, you will receive enough of each medicine to last one month.

What is the reason for 28 days prescribing? Research has shown that a very large amount of medication is wasted when doctors prescribe for two months (56 days) resulting in the loss of millions of pounds of NHS money. The Department of Health & Social Care supports one month prescribing and has said: “A 28 day repeat prescribing interval is recognised by the NHS as making the best possible balance between convenience, good medical practice and minimal drug wastage”.

How will 28 day prescribing affect you? Your practice will prescribe enough of each medicine to last you for 28 days. For example, if you are taking 2 tablets a day you will receive 56 tablets, 3 tablets a day 84 tablets etc.

Are there any exceptions? There are some drugs which are packaged in 3 monthly amounts e.g. contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). These will continue to be supplied in this way.

What are the benefits of 28 day prescribing? You will always start (and finish), the container of each medicine on the same day of the week. In this way, it will be easier to review all of the repeat medicines you are taking and to see if you might be having problems with any of your medicines.

Companies already manufacture a large number of medicines in 28 day ‘calendar packs’ that show the day of the week on the packaging. This packaging allows you to check and monitor that you have taken your medication each day. These packs also have patient information leaflets inside and ideally the pack should not be broken into as they are designed to be supplied with this information included.

28 day prescribing reduces the amount of medicine which is currently wasted when medicines are stopped or changed by doctors. It also reduces the amount which is wasted when partly filled containers are thrown away.

At the moment, a large number of patients make several visits a month to the surgery because their medicines run out at different times. As you will finish your medicines all at the same time, you should only have to visit the surgery once a month to collect your repeat medicines. It will also reduce the likelihood of needing to make an emergency request if you run out of medicine.

Repeat dispensing Where you have a stable repeat prescription and would prefer to avoid ordering your repeat medicines every month, ask your surgery team about ‘repeat dispensing’ and they will assess your suitability for a prescription where you go straight to the pharmacy each month without the need to place an order for an agreed period of time.

Will it cost patients more? The vast majority of patients collecting repeat prescriptions do not pay prescription charges; therefore there will be no difference to these patients in terms of cost. If you do have to pay prescription charges and you need more than 5 prescription items in 4 months (or 14 prescription items in 12 months), the best way to pay for your prescriptions would be to obtain a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC). Visit gov.uk and search ‘prescription prepayment certificate’ or ask at your pharmacy.

Summary 28 day prescribing has important benefits for patients. The way you take your medicine will remain the same, only the amount of medicines you receive on each prescription will change. All medicines should last for the same number of days. If you are running out of some items or have too much of some medication, please tell the practice. Do not stockpile medicines at home; only order those items on your repeat prescription that you need. Return unwanted medication to your local pharmacy for safe disposal.

The NHS have determined that we are only able to provide two months supply of medication in most instances (apart from the Pill and HRT). This is to prevent medication wastage.

If there are any medications you no longer use, please advise the receptionist who will arrange to have them removed from your repeat medications.

The video shown below shows how we can reduce the waste on repeat prescriptions, wasted medication impacts on our NHS services.

 

The first time you are prescribed a medicine to treat a long-term condition, you may be able to get extra help and advice about your medicine from your local Pharmacist through a free scheme called the New Medicine Service (NMS).

 

Further information about the New Medicine Service (NMS) is available from NHS UK