Technology making things worse!

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.

I put my paper repeat prescription into a letterbox in the Scottish health centre over a week before I need them, & the doctor signs it off & gives it to the pharmacy of my choice which is in the same building. They then text me when it is ready to collect.

I am on quite a lot of prescribed medications. Each Friday morning, I go on to Patient Access (do now need an authorisation code each time). On there have a list of all my prescribed meds. with dates at which they need to be renewed. Just click to tick those that need renewing on or close to that Friday's date. Each time I go to the High Street, etc I pass my little pharmacy - so on Thursday, on my way home from a weekly morning meeting, I go in there and collect those meds.

So impressed with this little pharmacy. Recently I was put on a very high dose of a drug for a short time. Needed extra blood tests whilst on this, as not allowed to be on it for long - pharmacy actually telephoned me just over a week after I had been prescribed this to make sure I was being followed up with tests by Dr.

I use pharmacy 2 U. Never had a problem. Email is sent directly to me to remind me my tablets are due. I order them on their website then within a couple of days delivered to me via Royal Mail. Excellent service.

Thanks everyone. I tried the NHS app a few weeks ago. It told me no repeat prescriptions were registered. (I've been on thyroxine for 14 years) The GP surgery told me this was because I'm due a medication review. A friend gets a text from their GP when their review is due. Mine is supposed to be on or around my birthday, which is in February. I admit I hadn't organised it myself. It's now been organised. Appointment? 13th June! Hey ho... Someone up thread suggested it's the surgery rather than the NHS as a whole. I think that's right.

OP, like many, my prescription access works well.
You asked for a technology has made things worse story. Here’s mine.
Weeks ago, tried to get an appointment for DH and was told to use the NHS app.
“Your request will be triaged by our care team and you will be sent a message telling you how long you will need to wait for a place on a waiting list!”
So far, no message, no waiting list, no appointment.
We used to ring up and get an appointment. Then they wonder why we go to A&E.

Ours is very simple now. We just order via our GP surgery website and the prescription is sent to our local pharmacy for us to collect. The system works well and avoids the need to have to go into the surgery with a paper prescription request then return to collect it.

My meds are on automatic repeat at the pharmacy. When I collect them, they write on the bag the date when the next repeat will be ready and ask me whether it will be the same next time. If I won't need any of the items next time, I tell them and they don't include them. I add the date to my calendar to remind me - it is usually a week or two before the last packs run out, depending on whether I picked them up immediately or a few days later. I think they deliver if needed, and I may soon get them to do that, but I am not quite ready for it yet. The exercise is good for me!!

I have two regular repeat medications. For me it is very simple.

When I have a week's supply left I go on-line to my GP and order it there. Yes, I have to know passwords and now a code sent to my phone to authorise, but it is done in a few minutes.

I wait a few days and the pharmacy message me to say my meds are ready. I then go and collect them. It has worked that way for years and I am surprised and shocked to read that it isn't like that for other people.

Maybe I'm lucky I don't know. In the rare event that I will be away I just put a note on-line to say I need double amount and it is done.

Aldom

I too order my prescription using the NHS app. I usually place the order a week before I need it. The pharmacy email when it's ready for collection.
The system works well for me.

Same here. Technology has saved me a trip to the GP to hand in my repeat prescription slip.

I too order my prescription using the NHS app. I usually place the order a week before I need it. The pharmacy email when it's ready for collection.
The system works well for me.

I order every couple of months on the NHS app, receive the text to say when ready, and collect when I’m next passing the pharmacy attached to the surgery.
Very efficient, much better than having to take a piece of paper to a pharmacy and sitting and waiting as I used to do.

I use the NHS app to reorder and my pharmacy deliver it to me usually 2/3 days. It’s very efficient.

Order mine through the Boots app.

They send a reminder about 10 days before it’s due, I put in the order, they inform me when it’s ready to be collected.

They sort it all out with the surgery, I don’t do anything myself with that.

Do DH’s also, his prescriptions are linked to my orders.

All works well, touch wood.

At my surgery you can order a repeat prescription 10 days before and I do it via NHS app. Usually on a Saturday as that's the day I refill my dosage box. It's always approved by lunchtime on the Monday and it goes straight to the pharmacy who deliver my tablets to me . Usually within 2 days but if they have all my medication in it can be the next day. I live in the north west.

Where I used to live had to take paper prescription into surgery and only 7 days ahead plus had to collect my tablets .

Another one here that uses the NHS app on my phone. GP sends prescription straight to my local chemist who text me when it’s ready to collect. About 4 days altogether

I too use the NHS app. I order one day and generally get a message to next day to say it's ready. I order 2 weeks ahead to allow for hiccups.

I use the NHS app so I can see when it’s been approved, then about 4 days until a txt with a code from the pharmacy arrives. Using the code I can collect from the self service machine outside the pharmacy, available 24/7, I also keep a couple of weeks stock at home.
Technology works well for me.

I send my doctors an email with what I need on it every two months. I do it at the start of the week and pick up my prescription four days later. It's never failed me yet.

When the meds I shall have to take for the rest of my life start to run low, I either take the slip that comes in the prescription bag to the pharmacy (or phone the pharmacy) and they make the request to the surgery.

There’s a three working day turnaround. The pharmacy send me a text me when it’s ready to collect. The only time there had ever been a delay is if I have overlooked the review date on the slip meaning I need a blood test before the docs will repeat the script.

Reading the OP’s complaint, technology has very little to do with it. More to do with surgery workload and human error.

DH uses the local Boots right next door to the surgery. There are continual delays and mistakes. I use the same GPs but a different pharmacy. I never have a problem. In fact in an emergency I can get the prescription at the pharmacy on the same day. It’s all done electronically for both of us.

Interesting, isn’t it?

Could you ask your pharmacy to put it on "automatic repeat"?

Our pharmacy can order repeats for us (say) every month or 4 weeks and we just drop in for it.
They can email the request to the surgery on our behalf. I've used it for ages but recently have opted out as I have a "backlog" through dose changes.

Mine are complicated and vary so I get a monthly phone call, always know when as told month by month from the surgery pharmacists assistant. It gets sent later that day to the pharmacy and is delivered to my home 2 days later.

I do have to chase it sometimes there are blips but on the whole pretty smooth. But if there is a drug shortage of an item and the pharmacy has to order it it can be delayed.

Swings and roundabouts - the GP is some way away, and queues at the chemist can be very long to they are very nice.

I only take one medication and because of my odd location, I’ve opted to use Pharmacy2U. I order online and the meds are delivered by the Postman a few days later. Never a problem or been let down either.

Worse not word's 🤔