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Technology making things worse!

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lizzypopbottle Fri 25-Apr-25 20:23:47

I take levothyroxine for my underactive thyroid. It's on a repeat prescription.

Time was when I could call in at the surgery, pick up a paper prescription, take it to my nearest pharmacy and get my medication. All on the same day!

Now, with the 'more efficient', electronic system, when my medication gets low:
Day 1: I phone the surgery and leave a message with name, d.o.b., medication and preferred pharmacy.
Day 2: The duty GP signs it off and the request goes to the pharmacy. The pharmacy let's me know by text they've received it.
Day 3: (if I'm lucky) the pharmacy let's me know it's ready to collect.

This week, I requested on Monday. By Thursday I'd had no word from the pharmacy so I called the GP surgery. I was told the GP would sign it off that day but to phone the pharmacy in case they had to order it. I was lucky because they had one pack and put it on one side specially for me. The surgery requested it mid afternoon and the lovely, helpful, caring pharmacy assistant phoned me but I live ten miles from the pharmacy so I collected it today. I had one tablet left.

Once recently, I requested my prescription on Monday, the surgery failed to send the request to the pharmacy at all so it took a phone call, an abject apology, a promise I could collect that day (a Friday) but I couldn't get there before closing time. I made a special trip next day, only to be told that I couldn't have it because a robot dispenses medications on Saturdays! Bizarre! So it was Monday before I got it! A full week!

Of course, if I request my medication too soon, it's refused...

Anyone got a 'technology has made things word's story?

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M0nica Fri 09-May-25 21:15:13

Our surgery is a dispensing surgery for those of us living in rural areas. But, as we have discovered, it can only dispense medications prescribed by doctors in the practice.

DH attended the Heart Failure clinic, which is in a seperate building, but on the same site as our surgery. The nurse changed his prescription, and gave him a prescription for a new medication, so we crossed the site to the surgery to get it dispensed, to be told that the surgery couldn't dispense it because their GPs hadn't written it and we must go and find a pharmacy.

I thought the dispensary was in the surgery to provide a dispensing service for all of those who do not live close to a pharmacy, why does who wrote the prescription make a difference. We couldn't get to another pharmacy today as we had the CH serviceman coming. Instead DH will make a 10 mile round trip to get his new medication, which he has been told to start taking on Monday.

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