To think charging for 2 is unfair

[Redouble]

I'm on 20mg of a medication, paying £9.35 every 2 months for the prescription.

The dose has been changed to 30mg - it doesn't come in 30mg so it's been prescribed in 20mg & 10mg - two boxes, same medication.

So now I'm paying double, £18.70 every two months, this seems very unfair. AIBU?

You'd be better off having 3 x 10g a day, surely?! Book a telephone appointment with your gp to explain.

Buying a prepayment certificate is in most people's best interest is they have atleast one prescription every month. I pay monthly, £10.70 I think per month, so it's a tiny bit more than the cost per item is if you pay as you go, but if you need anything else throughout the year, ie antibiotics, painkillers it's all covered.
I got one after I had to take 3 courses of antibiotics in one month, plus painkillers and normal monthly prescription.

GPs generally won't do this. I used to get 3 months supply of all my meds, then all changed to every 2 months. Done to cut down wastage, but of course, means people have to pay 6 times a year rather than 4.

OP: You can get a frequent flyer type card for long-term meds, your pharmacist can hep, or look oh DH website

No that's not correct. I'm guessing this is citalopram which comes in 10, 20 and 40 but not 30. So as a GP if I want the person to take 30, I have to prescribe 10 and 20 tablets. GP may not be happy to give a large amount as if you're needing the dose changed then by definition not yet stable on it and need a review in a month or so.

It's not really fair but I'm not sure there is an answer to this.

Then I suggest you ask the pharmacist if they would speak to the surgery; they can often be quite influential.

That seems terribly unfair.

This is correct, OP, the pharmacist who deals with my repeats has rung my surgery a couple of times when he thinks there's an error.

YABU. You’re getting two prescriptions and, whilst it sucks, it’s probably costing the NHS far more than £18.70 every other month. I agree with others saying get a pre-payment certificate. You never know when you’ll need some other meds anyway.

Thanks everyone, I'll ask beg my pharmacist to speak with the surgery.

I used to be on 30mg citalopram, which went up from 20mg, the pharmacy tried to charge me twice but i just explained it was in two boxes but still only one treatment. Never ended up paying double for it.

DH has the same sort of thing. He is only charged for one prescription, but only if they are prescribed at the same time - initially we had problems because his doctor prescribed the smaller dose in addition when he was halfway through a prescription of the larger one. Once we got the doctor to synchronise them it was fine.

My GP, and as far as I am aware, all other local practices, will only issue a prescription for 28 days medication at one time.
I have queried this and been told it is NHS policy, which clearly isn’t the case if some people are prescribed 2 months at once.

Are the 2 doses ordered in the same form (e.g. both strengths ordered as tablets)? If they are you should only be charged for one. That certainly used to be the case at least. Whereas if one was ordered as tablets and the other as capsules you would be charged twice.

But agree with what everyone else is saying about getting it changed to be ordered as 30mg tablets.

Did the pharmacy agree to only charge 1 even though it was on 2 scripts?

I don't understand why this is a problem, I take a medication only available in 25 and 50mg. I take 125 so ofc I get 50s and 25s within my one prescription. It's one charge as it's one prescription.

The pharmacy can't help needing to process the prescriptions separately.

Do you order your prescription through an app? There is a bespoke request section on my GP's app where I can explain dosage queries or if I need extra due to a holiday or anything. Try putting a message through to gp like that, not through receptionist.

That's definitely wrong. You are charged by number of medications not number of tablets. The pharmacist messed up.

Practice manager is who you need to speak to . In person preferably.One prescription = one charge

I had a telephone follow up and the GP said he would put it through on one script.

Pharmacy said unfortunately its through in 2 scripts.

I phoned the surgery, receptionist checked with a GP (not my usual one) who said that as it's not available in 30mg then it's correct I pay for 2 scripts.

It should be fixable, but as you are getting a computer says no response from them all, I would do what pp said and ask for it to be prescribed all in 10mg doses (ie 3 per day). It means that you have to take an extra tablet but you would definitely only have to pay once then.

Op, sorry I can't quote a post that has a quote?

Anyway, something is not getting through to the GP properly here because you have been prescribed ONE medication. Dose is irrelevant and it absolutely can be on one prescription.

I think you should ask the pharmacist to email or call the surgery and make the request or go down in person to the GP reception.

Your own pharmacy says this is possible, they are the gatekeepers here and know best

I did a Google search for examples of this and found this table on the PSNC website, it also seems to show that one prescription charge can be applied to different strengths of drug IF included as one prescription, not separately (I think listed as say 9mg dose rather than separate for 5mg, 3mg and 1mg

I don't know what medication you're on but I'm on a certain medication for life and so I'm exempt from paying

I'd just like to add to my post where I give an example of same tablet prescribed in different strengths being eligible for a single charge. This would only apply to the SAME formulation of a medication. So if one were slow release that would be a different formulation and so eligible for a separate charge as it's not technically the same medication.

Would a simpler answer to be getting just the 10mg tablets and taking 3?

So you’re going round in circles and being given conflicting information. Could you speak to the practice manager; is there a patient liaison group, or an online complaints form?

OK. OP, so you don't waste your time this is nothing to do with the practice manager, and they can't intervene. On a computer you cannot prescribe 'citalopram 30mg' because you can only prescribe it in the strengths it is available. the only way it could be given as '30mg' is in a handwritten script, which clearly isn't going to happen.

The idea that you get more 10mg tablets and take 3 of them is the only way you'll get one script charge. It's a good idea.