Help us work together to save on WASTED MEDICINES which costs NHS Scotland almost £100 million every year.

THINK before you order repeat medicines.  CHECK what medicine you still have - and only ORDER what you need.  (Unused medicines cannot be recycled or used by anyone else).

Reordering Process For Repeat Prescriptions

If it is agreed with your GP, some medication may be appropriate for repeat prescriptions.  When this happens, the pharmacist will put a re-order form in the bag with your dispensed medicines.  On the right hand side of your prescription on the re-order form, can you please tick the items that you require and either

• Post the re-order form back to the practice or
• Place the re-order form in the letter box at the practice, at Thornhill Grocery Shop, Deanston Post Office or Woodside Pharmacy, Doune
• Re-order online at https://patientaccess.com (ask staff for details).

Online ordering of repeat prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions can be ordered via www.patientaccess.com. This is the same system we use for on-line appointment booking.  The system is much safer as it is linked directly to your clinical record at the practice.  Therefore your medication list is always up-to-date and accurate.  If you are not already registered for this service, please see the receptionist at the Health Centre for a registration form.  Items that do not appear on your repeat list should continue to be ordered in your usual way.  You can also order your prescriptions and make appointments via a Smart Phone App.  This can be downloaded via http://www.patient.co.uk/accessap

Please Do Not Order Repeat Medication Over The Telephone.

All prescriptions will automatically be sent to Woodside Pharmacy, Doune for dispensing unless you indicate otherwise on the re-order form.  If you wish the prescription to be posted back to you, please enclose a stamped addressed envelope.

During weekdays please allow 48 hours for the processing of the prescription and, if you wish to pick up your repeat prescription in person, please allow 48 hours after the re-order form has been received by the practice.  Allow an extra day for those prescriptions received on a Friday.

It is both the practice and NHS Forth Valley policy to supply 28 or 56 days of medicines, except in exceptional circumstances.

Please note that you will be required to have a medication review with your doctor on a regular basis and that you will need to make an appointment with your doctor for a repeat prescription for HRT or contraception.  Routine repeat medication can be ordered online as above.

Repeats for long-term conditions

If you have a long term condition and require regular medication you can register with your pharmacy for long term prescriptions prescriptions (also known as serial prescriptions) and the pharmacy will then dispense these at 8 weekly intervals without the need to order your prescription online or at the surgery.

Serial Prescription Information

Managing Medication Costs – Everyone’s Responsibility

It is important that everyone (NHS Staff and patients) do what we can to make sure we make the best use of the money available to us.  We all benefit from the NHS and we all need to do what we can to ensure its longevity.  

Spending over our allocated budget on medicines, means there is less money to spend on other areas of healthcare (including new and innovative medicines).

Medicine changes occur all the time, for a variety of reasons, but increasingly patients may be asked to consider a change to their medicines – to a more cost-effective option - for the overall benefit of the NHS. Such changes will only be considered after careful review of a patient’s medical records (by a GP and/or a pharmacist), and only when the safety and effectiveness of the alternative medicine has been shown to be the same.  Patient care remains paramount. 

Examples of changes could include:

· being asked to switch from a branded to a generic (unbranded) version of your current medicine;

· switching to an alternative drug which works in the same way as your existing medicine, but is less-costly;

· being asked to consider stopping a medicine that may no longer be offering benefit.

These changes may be suggested during a face-to-face consultation with your doctor, a telephone call from the practice, or a letter.  In all cases, patients are invited to contact the practice directly should you wish to discuss the proposed change in more detail. Equally, any patients experiencing problems or issues after a change are encouraged to notify the practice of these (although due to the care involved in screening patients prior to change, this scenario is likely to occur very infrequently).

Prescribing in a cost-effective manner is here to stay. We are grateful for our patients' ongoing support in considering changes to their medicines for the overall benefit of the NHS.  Please be assured that quality patient care remains our primary focus.

Please allow 48 hours, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays, for your request to be processed. Any problems please telephone the surgery.