Prescription

[lawbunny]

Hey there, I've had this same problem twice and just wondered if pharmacies can actually do it.

 

My mother had a prescription for 30 tablets, but when she went to a pharmacy they took the prescription but then only gave her 28 tablets. When she pointed this out to them the pharmacy told her that they would only give her 28 tablets because the tablets come in strips of 7 so they would have had to break open another strip to give her extra two, but because they cannot then sell on the rest once the packet is opened they would have to throw it away. They actually said that they were not willing to be out of pocket for it.

 

Second time: mum went to hospital last night for an eye problem and whilst there the doctor gave her a prescription for a month's supply of eye cream. She went to the hospital pharmacy who took the prescription but only gave her two weeks supply. When she asked about this she was told they would only be giving her two weeks supply, despite the prescription saying otherwise, and she would have to go to her doctor after a fortnight and get another prescription and pay another £6 whatever.

 

Both times my mother paid her £6 odd prescription fee but was not given the correct amount, meaning that she will have to incur further prescription charges to make up for the shortfall. Can pharmacies do this? Surely they have to give you whatever the doctor has prescribed?

[GlasweJen]

in short, no. A pharmacist only has the authority to allow the sale of over the counter drugs and to fill a prescription exactly how the GP writes it. If there isn't enough stock they will write you a pre-payment recipet for you to collect the rest when it's delivered. Opening a box to cut a few tablets off the other strips is not illegal - far from it as in most cases tablets come in bulk and are sorted into boxes and labelled by the pharmacist.

 

A hospital pharmacy is slightly different, they are allowed to prescribe only the amount required straight away (because you don't pay at the hospital pharmacy), the rest you get from your local pharmacy after getting a normal prescription from the GP using the letter the consultant gave you. If you meant a chain pharmacy in the hospital (like a branch of boots on hospital grounds) then they have to provide the quantity on the script.

[Rooster-UK]

My experiences have been slightly different.

I found that if you take a prescription to the hopital pharmacy (not a concession pharmacy), the first question I am asked is if I have to pay for my prescriptions.

I normally use the local Co-op pharmacy and all their drugs come factory pre-packed. They don't dispense anything from bulk, now.

All tablets are supplied in blister packs in multiples of 7.

One problem is that all the batch-codes and expiry dates are on the outer packaging. Also each pack contains medication information leaflets detailing reported side effects etc. If packs are split then that information would be lost.

Insulin comes packed in boxes of five. For the reasons already given, they will not split a pack so I always have to have more than I need each month. Then every few months I don't order it to use up the surplus that's built up.

 

Personally, I think that the thirty days supply is a throwback to the days when all medicines WERE dispensed from bulk and pharmacists made up medicines from the "recipes" in their medicines cook-book.

[GlasweJen]

A surprising amount of the more common stuff still comes in bulk, usually beta blockers, the pill etc will come in packs of 28 to make it easier for people who take them, insulin and other injectables are pre-packed by the company but your generic sort of stomach pills, painkillers etc are still in bulk unless you specifically want a brand.

I forgot hospital pharmacies down south charge for prescriptions, I should mention that this is the advice of a scot. Also I was referring to "tide over" prescriptions, if you cash in a normal prescription at the hospital pharmacy they charge you.

[lawbunny]

Hey, thanks for the replies.

 

The reason the first pharmacist gave for not giving the correct number of pills was as said above that the expiry date comes on one half of the strip so they then cannot issue the other half and have to throw it away. The pharmacist said, and I quote "that means we make a loss so we're not willing to open the pack at all".

 

So, what you're saying is they cannot do this? They MUST give you whatever the doctor prescribed?

[GlasweJen]

From what I've learned (as a pharmacy student) the doctor writes a script and we make it up exactly as stated. The expiry can be printed onto the label that is attached to the box, usually in the bottom corner.