Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Basic Guide about Private Prescriptions

Private prescriptions are usually requested for the following reasons:

  • For patients away from home who have run out of their medication
  • For items which a patient does not qualify for on the NHS.? For example, Viagra
  • For patients who need a prescription urgently and can?t wait for an NHS appointment
  • For a problem that has just been diagnosed by a pharmacist and needs treatment


Private prescriptions can be taken to any pharmacy to be dispensed just like you would with an NHS one. The difference between an NHS prescription and a private prescription is that the pharmacy will charge the current NHS prescription rate of ?7.40 per item on an NHS prescription (unless you are entitled to get them free). This charge of ?7.40 is not related to the actual cost of the medication.
With a private prescription you pay the cost of the drug plus the chemist?s fee, sometimes it will cost less than the NHS charge. Of course for certain drugs it may cost more than the standard NHS charge.?

A private prescription is not written on an official NHS prescription and this means that it is not paid for by the NHS. An NHS prescription will have the NHS logo clearly visible on the front and on the reverse of the prescription there will be a form that you fill in to show any exemptions that are applicable.

The pharmacy that dispenses the drugs on your private prescription will charge the full cost of the medication plus its own dispensing fee. It is a good idea to shop around as the total cost of your prescription will vary between different pharmacies.

Not all GP?s will charge you for issuing a private prescription but most however do. It is worth checking with your GP whether or how much they charge. The standard fee for a GP to issue a private prescription ranges from ?15-?20 but with a private clinic the fee can start from ?50 upwards.

With a private prescription a doctor is not restricted to offering the minimum amount of medication or the cheapest medication. Some doctors may be willing to offer more than one treatment on the same prescription which can allow a patient to evaluate the different treatments and decide which one is the most suitable.

The Department of Health lists all the drugs that the NHS is prepared to pay for and they are all in a book called the Drug Tariff. This book is updated on a monthly basis and it is likely that most, if not all, the drugs you need are available via the NHS. The Drug Tariff does have exceptions though so it is important to check.

Source: http://prescription.ezinemark.com/the-basic-guide-about-private-prescriptions-7d381c160873.html

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