We have two ways of ordering prescriptions online

1. If you are registered with Patient Access please order your prescription by clicking here.
2. For those patients that have previously ordered their prescriptions through this website, this area can now be accessed by clicking here.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS

If you are taking the same medication on a regular basis, you should be able to obtain a repeat prescription(s) for this without having to see a clinician.

REQUESTING PRESCRIPTIONS

Prescriptions can be requested in the following ways:

1. In person at Reception
2. In writing by either:
   - Handing a request into Reception or posting it through our red prescriptions boxes, located on the wall as you enter the outermost door into the Health Centre
   - Returning the counterfoil from the previous prescription to Reception or by posting it through our red prescriptions boxes, located as above
   - Either of the above methods by post (see the ‘Contact Details’ section of our website for our correspondence address)
3. By telephone through the Prescription Ordering Direct service on 02476 246025*.
4. Through our Patient Services website via the link entitled ‘Order Your Repeat Prescription Online’ at the top of this page**. This website also allows you to book your routine appointments online. More information about GP Online Services can be found here.
5. By filling in the online form via this link.

*The previous telephone number for prescriptions, 02476 640268, and the prescriptions option on our main surgery telephone number (02476 315432) are still active, however a recorded message asking you to call the POD service will be played.

To help us identify you on our computer system, please provide or have to hand at least one of the following pieces of information:
- Full name
- Postcode
- Date of Birth
- Vision identifier (also known as a Computer Number) – this can be found on the counterfoil of your previous prescription (see below image):

Please ensure that requests are clear and legible, and that all of the items you require are marked correctly if requesting a prescription using the counterfoil from the previous prescription. It is also a good idea to request the staff member repeat back to you what you have requested to limit the possibility of any communication breakdown. We also suggest taking the name of the member of staff that you speak to so that you have a contact name to go back to, if you have any problems.

COLLECTING YOUR PRESCRIPTION

Prescription requests take TWO WORKING DAYS to be processed. Please leave enough time for your prescription to be processed when making a request (especially when ordering on a Thursday or Friday – due to the weekend, requests received on these days will not be ready until Monday or Tuesday). Requests for urgent prescriptions (i.e. to be processed before two working days have passed) will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Your prescription can be collected in one of three ways as follows:

1. From the Reception desk
2. If you are signed up for the ‘Electronic Prescription Service’ (EPS), from your nominated pharmacy (click here for more information)
3. If you provide us with a stamped addressed envelope, we can post your prescription to you – please be aware that whilst the prescription will be processed within two working days, it may take longer than this to reach you due to postal times, which are obviously outside of our control

MEDICATION REVIEWS

For medication that you are taking on a repeat basis, you will need regular reviews. A reminder will be highlighted on the counterfoil of your prescription, when you order the last issue of an item before a review is due. If you use the EPS, the clinician will send an electronic note to the pharmacist, to inform you of the need for a medication review. It is the responsibility of the pharmacist to inform you of the need for these reviews. However, please take responsibility for your medication and keep track of the number of issues you have left (e.g. if the Doctor prescribes six month’s supply, when you order in the sixth month, please check whether you have received one of these reminders - if not, please ask a member of staff who can check with the Doctor on your behalf).

Please book in for these reviews in good time to avoid any problems when you are running low on medication.

PRESCRIPTION FEES

The current charge for a prescription is £9.00 per item (or £17.60 per pair of elastic hosiery).

It you have medication on a regular basis, it may be cheaper for you to purchase a ‘Prescription prepayment certificate (PPC)’. A PPC is a set charge that covers for you for an agreed period and entitles you to unlimited prescriptions during the agreed period for the equivalent of roughly £2 per week:

• A three monthly PPC currently costs £29.10 and could save you money if you need more than three prescribed items in a three month period.
• A 12 month PPC currently costs £104.00 and could save you money if you need more than 12 prescribed items in a year. A 12 month PPC is available to purchase on an interest free basis over a ten month period if you pay by Direct Debit.

Much more information with regards to prescription charges is available on the ‘NHS’ website. The page relating to prescriptions can be accessed here.

ORDERING PRESCRIPTIONS ONLINE

Already signed up to GP Online Services? Click here to request your repeat prescription.

We have two facilities available to order your medication online. The first is via ‘Patient Services’, our GP Online Services provision. This can be accessed through this link. Please note, at this time we are unable to take requests for ‘acute’ medication (non-repeat medication) through Patient Services, although we can take requests for repeat prescriptions as normal through this service. Requests for acute items should be made via the usual channels (i.e. verbally over the telephone or in person at Reception). Ordering prescriptions online through this service is extremely easy. Our GP Online Services provider, INPS Vision, have some useful 'How To' guides on their website in relation to Prescriptions and also some other guides surrounding other topics in relation to GP Online Services. The following links will point you in the right direction:

• Order your Medication Online - A Video Guide

• How to request Repeat Prescriptions online - User Guide

• Understanding my Prescription request status - User Guide

• Other Prescriptions guides

• Patient Services - Frequently asked questions

• Patient Services Support Homepage

There are more details available about GP Online Services, including instructions on how to register, on the ‘GP Online Services’ page, underneath the ‘Clinics & Services’ tab at the top of this page.

You can also book and cancel your appointments online using GP Online Services. The 'Book Online' page, underneath the 'Appointments' tab above, has more information.

The other way to order your medication online is through the this link. This is a system operated from this website that allows you to request repeat prescriptions by typing in what you require. Whilst the system does work on a ‘free text’ basis, we respectfully request that you only order repeat medication through this service. Requests for acute items should be made via the usual channels (i.e. verbally over the telephone or in person at Reception). One of the benefits of this system is that the details of your most recent order are saved to speed the process up, next time you require an order. Whilst you can order prescriptions using this service for multiple people, using one e-mail address and set of login details, we strongly recommend setting up a separate e-mail address and website account for each person as soon as practically possible, to not only prevent any confusion but to also make it easier for you when ordering prescriptions this way. The system only remembers the details of the last person for whom a prescription has been requested, therefore if you request prescriptions for numerous people through one account, you will have to repeatedly type in each person’s details separately, every time you want to place an order for a prescription. When ordering your items, it is mandatory to specify your ‘Patient Id’, amongst other things. This is your NHS Number or Computer Number. Both can be obtained from your last repeat prescription or by enquiring at Reception. The image of a Prescription on the ‘Repeat Prescriptions’ page, underneath the 'Prescriptions' tab at the top of this page, shows you where to look for both your NHS Number and Computer Number.

Please be aware, the above two systems are completely separate and independent of each other. If you wish to use both systems, you will need to sign up separately, for each one.

PRESCRIPTION ORDERING DIRECT

In May 2018, some significant changes to the way that patients can request medication from the Practice over the telephone or via a community Pharmacy were made. Unused medications cost the NHS between £4million and £6million per year across North Warwickshire alone. This new service, known as Prescription Ordering Direct (or POD), gives patients control and responsibility of ordering the medications they need. This will save the NHS money, to spend on other important services.

Rather than calling the surgery, patients will now need to call the POD team on 02476 246025*. The POD service is provided by NHS Warwickshire North Clinical Commissioning Group (WNCCG). The call you make will be handled by a dedicated, experienced and fully trained call handler, who will request your consent for them to access your medical record, to process your medication request (patients that do not consent to this, will need to order their medication via one of our alternative channels – please see the ‘Repeat Prescriptions’ page of our website, for more information). The call handler will only access the parts of your medical record that is relevant to your request and this access is fully auditable for the purpose of data protection, security and confidentiality. The call handler will also take the time to answer any queries that you may have with regards to your medication (to the best of their abilities) and can also alert you if a medication review or blood test etc. is required. If you would like someone (e.g. a friend or relative) to order on your behalf, you will need to provide verbal consent to the POD team, the first time you order through the POD service to allow this to take place in the future. If you are unable to order through the POD yourself, and there is no-one able to do it on your behalf, a local community Pharmacy will be able to order for you – please speak to your GP if you require a Pharmacy to do this**.

The POD team will ask you to choose a local community Pharmacy for your prescription to be sent electronically to, using the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) – please see our website for more information on the EPS. Your medication request will be processed as normal by your GP and the prescription will be ready to collect from your chosen Pharmacy, in two working days, as is currently the case (it may take the Pharmacy longer than two days to prepare your medication, however this is something that should be taken up with your chosen Pharmacy as the Practice is only committed to providing the prescription within two working days of the request, not the medication itself). If you have an existing arrangement with a pharmacy to deliver your medication, please speak with them, to ensure this will continue. Patients that wish to collect their prescription in paper format, will still be able to do this but we encourage patients to use the EPS as it saves having to make a trip to both the surgery (to collect the prescription) and the chemist (to have the medication prescribed made up).

*Lines are open between 8.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.

**Please note this is not an ‘optional’ service. Community Pharmacies are only able to order for patients deemed as ‘exempt from using the POD service’ by the GP. Patients wishing for the Pharmacy to order for them for convenience purposes will be unable to do this – as mentioned above, the rationale for the implementation of this service is to give patients control over what medication is ordered with the hope of reducing the chronic medication over-ordering and wastage problems in the North Warwickshire locality.

ELECTRONIC PRESCRIPTION SERVICE (EPS)

The Electronic Prescription Service (or EPS) may be able to save you time and avoid you having to visit the surgery and potentially waiting in a queue, just to collect your prescription. The service makes it possible for prescriptions to be sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice. This means that you will no longer have to collect a paper prescription from the surgery and means you can go straight to a pharmacy of your choosing to collect your medication*.

*Due to the type of medication and possible side effects, certain medication can ONLY be printed and will have to be collected in person from the surgery. If you have signed up to EPS and nominated a pharmacy, if you request a number of medications, and amongst these one or more of them are issued on ‘printed-only’ prescriptions, all of your other medications will be sent to your nominated pharmacy electronically, it will only be the ‘printed-only’ medication prescription that will need to be collected in person from the surgery.

The process of choosing a pharmacy to process your prescription electronically is called ‘making a nomination’ and your chosen pharmacy becomes your ‘nominated pharmacy’. Not all pharmacies use the EPS. If you decide that you want to use the EPS, please approach a pharmacy and ask them if the EPS is available with them. If it is, they will sign you up and the surgery will be notified electronically of your choice of nominated pharmacy. If you want to change your nominated pharmacy, simply approach your current nominated pharmacy and request that they cancel your nomination and then nominate a different pharmacy using the above method. You can cancel the EPS completely at any time either by speaking to your nominated pharmacy and requesting that they cancel your nomination or by speaking to a staff member at the surgery and requesting that your EPS nomination is cancelled. This will revert all your prescriptions to paper format. If there are certain medications that you would like via the EPS and others that you would like in paper format, please speak to a member of staff and we will do our best to accommodate you.

One of the benefits of the EPS is that, by the time you arrive at your nominated pharmacy, they should have received your prescription electronically and may have been able to prepare your items in advance so they are ready for collection on your arrival. Obviously, this is not always possible and will depend on the demand that your nominated pharmacy experiences.

For more information on the EPS please see this page on the ‘NHS’ website.

Combined with our facility to order your prescriptions online, the EPS provides a truly electronic 24/7 service at your convenience, from requesting your prescription through to it being delivered to your door by your pharmacy (if this is a service that they provide).