Services
Repeat Dispensing
Page Contents
Overview
How Does Repeat Dispensing Work?
At least two-thirds of all prescriptions generated in primary care are for patients needing repeat supplies of regular medicines, as such repeat dispensing is an Essential Service within the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF). Originally this service was mainly carried out using paper prescriptions, since then the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) has become mainstream and is much more efficient and convenient for all involved. If you wish to sign-up for our Repeat Prescription service you can do so, either online, using this website, or alternatively, by visiting us at P&S Chemist in person. Under the repeat dispensing service, P&S Chemist's pharmacy team will:
- Dispense repeat dispensing prescriptions issued by your doctor.
- Ensure that each repeat supply is required; and
- Determine that there is no reason why you should be referred back to your doctor regarding your prescription
It is important to remember that any medicines that are repeatedly dispensed are governed by the same regulations, as they would be for regular or one-off prescriptions. For more information regarding these guidelines and regulations please see the information regarding dispensing prescriptions.
How Does Repeat Dispensing Work?
The following information deals with the management and working process of dispensing repeatable NHS prescriptions for medicines and appliances in partnership with you, the patient, and the prescriber, usually your doctor, and our pharmacists at P&S Chemist, who will fulfil your prescription and see if repeat prescription dispensing would be suitable for you.
Our pharmacist, once receiving your prescription, will determine if you need a repeat supply, this is generally the case with medications and appliances that the patient will take regularly over an extended period of time. They will then communicate any clinical issues to your prescriber. This increases your choice and convenience, by allowing you to get your regular prescribed medicines/appliances directly from your pharmacy for a period your prescriber agrees.
This minimises waste by reducing the number of medicines and appliances not required by you and reducing the workload of doctors, by lowering the burden of managing repeat prescriptions.
All our pharmacists at P&S Chemist have undertaken appropriate training and are suitably accredited. The pharmacy is responsible for ensuring the pharmacists we employ are competent to provide the repeat dispensing service. As such, we have systems in place to make locum pharmacists aware of any local agreements, such as arrangements to communicate with prescribers or storage and audit trails of repeatable prescriptions and batch issues.
All our staff will educate patients about the repeat dispensing system and its operation, including the importance of only dispensing those items that are actually required by the patient.
We will securely store at the pharmacy a patient's repeatable prescription and the related batch issues. We will dispense in accordance with the directions given on the repeatable prescription. If the prescriber provides no specific instructions, the pharmacist will use their professional judgment to decide when it is appropriate for the items to be dispensed. An NHS repeatable prescription needs to be dispensed for the first time within six months of being written and can then only be dispensed subsequently for up to a year from being written or until any expiry date specified by the prescriber, whichever is less.
Prior to each repeat dispensing the pharmacist at P&S Chemist will ensure that the patient is taking or using, and will continue to take or use, the medicines appropriately and that the patient is not suffering any side effects from the treatment which may suggest the need for a review of treatment.
The pharmacist will also check whether the patient's medication has been altered since the prescriber authorised the repeatable medication and whether there have been any other changes in the patient's health since the time of the initial prescription.
If a pharmacist is concerned about the safety of dispensing a batch issue, due to a change in the patient's medical condition or medication change, then they may refuse to dispense the item(s). In such instances, the pharmacist will advise the patient to seek an appointment with the prescriber and may contact the prescriber to alert them to the matter of concern.
At P&S Chemist we will maintain records of the dispensing of repeatable prescriptions. So that there is a clear audit trail in place, which will allow pharmacy staff to determine dates and quantities of medicines, supplied during each dispensing episode.
Records of interventions made by the pharmacist or considered by the pharmacist at P&S Chemist to be clinically significant will be maintained in the patient's record. P&S Chemist will then inform the prescriber of these issues that are deemed to be clinically significant by the pharmacist, which may occur in relation to the repeatable prescription.
Page last reviewed: 01/08/2022
Next review date: 01/08/2024