New 90-day prescriptions hope to save time and money

Sunday 16 July 2023

A new law change allowing patients to collect up to 90 days of prescribed medicines will free up time for GP practices and reduce costs for islands, says Government.

Announced as part of a £12 million investment package to support community pharmacies, GPs can now issue prescriptions covering this longer period.

Such prescriptions can be repeated a further three times without patients needing further consultations.

Social Security Minister Elaine Millar said that the benefits of the investment were already becoming apparent through a new service which was giving 800 islanders support from their pharmacy to help them take medicines as prescribed, and now through the new changes to prescriptions.

"This is good news for patients with long term conditions and will give their GP freedom to prescribe to suit the needs of patients," she said.

Pictured: Social Security Minister Deputy Elaine Millar

Adrian Noon, responsible officer for the Primary Care governance team, said that the new maximum period of supply would allow GPs to follow guidance issued by the British Medical Association, that the period of supply for any medicine should be selected considering the circumstances of the patient.

He explained: "Some medicines will still need to be issued over 30-days, particularly in the case of a new medicine which the patient may not tolerate or if the patient has a condition that needs frequent monitoring.

"However, most people receiving routine repeat prescriptions need to be reviewed only annually and would be appropriate for a longer period of supply. This will mean fewer trips to the GP practice and to the pharmacy."

Mr Noon added that they expected the transition from the current 30-day period to take place over the coming months as GPs reviewed patients' records and made appropriate changes.

"I encourage patients to talk to their GPs about their repeat prescription and make sure only the medicines they actually need are being routinely repeated," he said.