Too many prescriptions?

I access my prescription list on the net and order what I need. The doctor approves my request and it's electronically sent over to the pharmacy. Obviously I don't order my anti-histamine until the tree pollens appear in the early spring. I unilaterally halved the quantity of simvastatin I take, so don't need to order that every month - though I'm sure the GP will pick up on that when he reviews my prescription. If it was simply a matter of the pharmacy keeping my prescription list and delivering my drugs monthly, my medicine cabinet would be overflowing. I find that a very extravagant system.

I struggle with the idea of taking anything you don't really need because most (I suspect all) drugs cause some sort of side effect. You could then end up taking more to counteract these effects.

My GP looked at my cholesterol level, which is higher than it should be because I have no thyroid, in-putted it into her PC where it was compared with all my risk factors and decided I didn't need statins as I only had an 8.6% chance of a heart attack or stroke. Apparently if the risk is over 20% they insist on statins, if between 10-15% they discuss it and if below 10% they say there is no need.

I do think lifestyle has so much bearing on our health and that people should take some control for themselves and not just rely on the state to sort them out.

Obviously there are a majority of patients who need their medication to keep well, and that's non-negotiable. As rosequartz says, when they are free then perhaps some people feel less need to consider the cost, and certainly unless you can get hold of a copy of MIMS or a drugs catalogue then we have no idea how much a drug costs.
The problem of antibiotic resistance is a frightening scenario, you only have to read about Multi-Drug Resistant TB to see what is happening, with probably 1/3 of the world's population having TB (it's the third highest cause of death globally).......

Some of the problem is the repeat prescription system used by both dispensing practices and pharmacies. They automatically dispense and deliver everything that's on repeat. When I worked at a surgery, when a patient picked up a repeat I would always ask them exactly what they needed next month. People would often stockpile things like paracetamol, aspirin and [this happened a lot] calcium tablets that they'd been prescribed but didn't like taking. Someone once brought back a load of drugs that his daughter hadn't been taking properly that were worth hundreds of pounds. But it takes time to go through it all with patients and most NHS staff don't have that time. One comment by someone that was obviously stockpiling was, when asked why they did it said 'because I'm entitled to it therefore I shall have it'. Also the cost of drugs changes all the time; sometimes the price of a drug that had been pennies would shoot through the roof and system didn't seem to automatically order a cheaper alternative. Just one person ordering aspirin each month doesn't seem much unless you multiply it by the thousands that are also doing it.

GT
You did say you couldn't fathom why people woukd carry on collecting drugs to just stick them in the wardrobe and I was merely trying to suggest a reason why they might do that.

There could be other reasons, of course, they could be planning to flog them on the black market.

Yes Rose , the statin debate is very interesting. Ben Goldacre was on C4 news last night on the prescription issue and I though he talked a lot of sense about the degree of risk weighed against the degree of benefit. My husband is on statins as a preventative measure because he has T1 diabetes. His risk factors are much higher and so taking the statins makes sense. BG said that the decisions to prescribe need to be more individually tailored and I agree with him. At the moment it's a very wide net that is cast.

Oh - SWEEPING
I must watch that.
Goes away to look up the definition and writes out 500 times:
I must not be sweeping

I would still state that people who carry on stockpiling drugs they do not need or which do not work, as stated in another post, are taking our NHS for granted and if they lived in, say, Australia they would think again before they did so.

It may not be the whole story but it has to be said that many people would not build up stock piles of medications if they were not 'free'.

You wouldn't keep paying £8.05 for something that you no longer take.

While sympathising with those who have no option but to take a plethora of prescription drugs, I also agree with those poster who are saying people need to take far more responsibility for their own health.

A change in some people's lifestyle is long overdue.

The consultant I see is very sceptical about the widespread use of statins.

But Rose you were very sweeping about the connection between medicines being free and not being taken. It really is much more complicated than that

Wright? Try weight!

Nonnie - good point about the role of the pharmacist . They are also professionally responsible for what they dispense - they have to be aware of drug interactions, correct dosages etc and contact the doctor if in doubt. I know of cases where patients have been saved from serious harm by a pharmacist. I agree with you about doctors not pushing hard enough - my sister is very overweight with hypertension and she says the GP never mentions her Wright - on the other hand - maybe she doesn't want to hear?

GrannyTwice I am not suggesting that patients should pay for their drugs and never said so and do not believe so.
If I had to pay for mine I would not be here.
(Do I not make myself clear in my posts? Please tell me, as you often misconstrue what I am saying.)

I was just suggesting that some people do not value what comes free.
It was also the GP's fault in the case of the stockpiled drugs that did not work - he/she should be doing a regular review. However patients themselves also have a responsibility not to waste NHS resources.

I should have added that the friend is very overweight.

durham perhaps you should push to have your thyroxin increased as high cholesterol can be caused by an under-active thyroid. I persuaded the GP to increase mine to 125 and my cholestrol level has gone down a little.

I don't think that the government has any intention of charging for prescriptions because the largest proportion of people taking meds are older and we are the ones who vote.

The methodology of this research was to contact a random number of people and send a nurse round to measure height, weight etc and ask them questions. From that they extrapolated the figures.

Our pharmacist keeps an eye on what we are taking in our regular prescriptions which would keep us in check if necessary.

I think that more education about things like weight gain, alcohol and smoking could reduce the amount of prescribing and don't know why GPs don't push people harder. A friend of mine who has type 2 diabetes never gets nagged.

BTW - I belong to a superb practice ( apart from the two obligatory foul receptionists - the others are nice). They really listen and discuss options with you but I do appreciate that I am very articulate and well- informed and not in the slightest in awe of any of them. A GP practice has to be run to cater for all types of patients

Or even their profits

Thatbags - you are wrong to excuse the doctors. There are computer systems and admin staff who send out letters for medicine reviews ( six monthly). The doctors responsibility is to ensure that s/he has systems in place that facilitate that. Usually the practice manager would oversee it. But if a patient were harmed through not having the tests or reviews required, the GMC would not accept the doctors busy stressful life as a mitigating factor. I also think you are being very unrealistic expecting patients to make notes in diaries of expected reviews. The examples given above demonstrate why such regular reviews etc should happen. It's called patient care. I really do wish that more of us were more proactive with our GPs but in RL I know some people who still are in awe of doctors, or lead chaotic lives ( without diaries) for many reasons - mental health issues, stressful personal relationships, huge family responsibilities, poverty - such people are much more likely to suffer ill health and require good medical care. In my very considerable professional experience, badly run GP practices are usually the result of the GPs involved not bring willing to invest in good staff and good computer systems as that would decrease their lrofits

I really dont know what or why this whole story was about apart from another excuse for the health fascists to have another nag at us all.

I was on Painkillers for Bursitis , but I had been to the Doctor with breathlessness and he had got the results of my blood tests and I was Anaemic so have had all sorts of tests to see where I am bleeding so that is why the tablets were stopped

My surgery will not give a repeat prescription if a patient has not had a 6 monthly review. They are very strict about it and after I was discharged having my ankle pinned and plated, I could not get to the surgery for a couple of months so I had to write explaining the reason why I wanted a repeat prescription and I could not make an appointment. I was at least a month over my due date to be seen. It is a superb practice.

durhamjen, it's not just you who had side effects with statins, it is very common and many people stop taking them for exactly that reason. It may be the same with lots of drugs. I was prescribed a steroid inhaler to replace my previous inhaler which worked fine. The steroid one made me feel peculiar and I hated the taste. I looked on the internet and discovered endless lists of, and discussions about, side effects so I stopped using it! I'm interested in reading those of you who have GPs you can discuss things with, you are lucky, not all of us are in the same situation and some people have to fight for months if not years to get listened to and to be properly diagnosed (people with thyroid problems are a case in point).

The other thing that occurs to me about this is something that occasionally gets in the media - the fact that so many people are on medication means that many of these drugs are actually in our drinking water! Probably worse in the larger cities and the water companies play it down, but I remember not so long ago that there was a hoohaa about Prozac and the like affecting fish and birds!

The way things are now, GPs get paid for prescribing certain drugs just as they were recently offered £55 to diagnose dementia early. It's about the power of the pharmaceuticals and the invasion of our lives by government directives. Which is not to say that those who need their drugs to stay alive and well, shouldn't have them or have to pay for them, but it is a more complicated situation than one illness=this drug. Sometimes people see their doctor because they are lonely or depressed but they don't actually get enough time or a thorough investigation because it can't be done in 5 minutes and a quick prescription makes it look as though the person has been dealt with. Hence the person doesn't take their prescribed medication! Such a waste on many fronts.

I guess I'm just saying we shouldn't blame doctors when we could do something ourselves.

vamp, that is good practice.