Prescription issuing

[ElinoristhenewEnid]

In the good old days you went to the doctor and they issued a prescription which they gave to you and you called in at a pharmacy on the way home to have it dispensed.

Now the prescription is electronically sent to a nominated pharmacy and you are told to wait at least 2 hours before going to collect the medication.

I have been prescribed antibiotics today for a nasty infection at 11 am was told to go home and then visit the pharmacy after an hour to collect it and to take 2 doses today.

Fortunately I phoned the pharmacy to check if it was ready and they had not received it yet and it could be the end of the day before they dispensed it.

Have just checked again - yes they have it but give them 30 minutes to dispense it.

I thought electronic communication was supposed to be quicker!!

AIBU to think that this service has deteriorated?

Now the prescription is electronically sent to a nominated pharmacy and you are told to wait at least 2 hours before going to collect the medication.

I've never been told this, it is almost always ready immediately. The only times it hasn't in my experience is when it is a nurse referring the prescription to be signed off first.

Not just you. I had an appointment on a Thursday evening. It wasn't at the chemist on Monday. I had to chase it up with my surgery.

I think the issue here is the pharmacy you are using . At our GP you can just opt to pick the prescription up and I’m sure that is possible everywhere if you insist .

I was assured by clinician that this was the fastest pharmacy in the area!

For my repeat prescriptions I use the pharmacy next to the surgery and it takes them up to a week to dispense from the date the prescription is sent!