prescription charges annual certificate

homesonsale · 20 June 2003 at 1:48AM

Savings could be made by the NHS by stopping these so called "NHS Tourists" they come into the country and head straight to the nearest hospital. Once there in A&E they get seen without any checks whatsoever.

If they are an emergency they get treated there and then. Someone could have been due to go in for an operation but it gets cancelled, because someone who has not paid into the system abuses it. This is not the fault of the individual but the system!

ID cards would start to sort this out but they would need to be linked up to a central database and checked before they started any treatment. A bit like if you need treatmet when abroad - show your insurance before you get treated.

In fact I bet most people travelling in to the UK do not bother with expensive travel insurance - as we are so generous we treat for FREE!

Iain
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Galstonian · 20 June 2003 at 12:02PM

Probably true up to a point but I would be really surprised if it was the same kind of drain on resources that any of the self-inflicted health risks are.

Anyway, A&E do not treat illnessese, they treat accidents and emergencies. If you are well enough to travel and plan to do this then there are probably very few ailments that might be treated as an emergency especially one requiring an operation.

Do you have any numbers to back up this argument?

leosayer39 · 22 June 2003 at 9:28PM

For information,

E111 forms are free to obtain from the post office who also make no charge to stamp it.

I have one as does my partner and we always take them abroad. For some reason we also carry a photocopy of the form itself. Don't know why we do this but I must have read it somewhere on the form that it is beneficial to do this. (Its three years since we had ours stamped and I think that they last till you use them but I ll check this out when I get time).

I think that if you use the form you have to get a new, stamped one from the post office on your return as the old one is kept by the hospital/doctor you attend.

Leo

Camelz · 3 July 2003 at 3:37PM

::)

Anyway enough of this pontificating and back to some money saving.

I asked my doc for a 3 month repeat prescription as I have to pay - he said no problem - try it with your docs.

I can usually manage to wangle 3 repeats in four months - 9 months of medication on one 4 month pre pay certificate. (get prescription 1, buy 4 month cert; after 2 months get prescription 2, just before cert runs out get prescription 3).

My doc has never questioned the frequency I order the repeat prescriptions - he just monitors annual usage of the prescribed drugs, as long as I only order 4 repeats a year he is OK with my method.

System · 24 August 2003 at 4:10PM

The probable reason doctors dont mention is that they are probably unaware of it. I have been working in this country since 1995 as a doctor(hospital)but I didnt know about it last year when I had an illness which meant that I had to take few tablets regualrly (when I browsed the net trying find ways of buying the tablets cheaply as even hospital pharmacy wouldnt dispense the tablets for longer than 28 days usually for obvious reasons that they can charge you everytime). I now tell my patients about this when I see them in the clinic when they are concened about the cost of prescription. I also realised at that time that even my colleagues dont know about the prepayment certificate.

System · 27 August 2003 at 11:32AM

If you don't have an annual certificate you might still make some savings on your prescription.

Ask the Pharmacist if any of the medicines on your prescription are not POM (prescription only medicines) and can be bought over the counter cheaper than the prescription charge for that/those items.

al.green_2 · 27 August 2003 at 3:48PM

Just a thought, do people know about few eye tests for computer users? I believe it's an EU rule, but anyone who users a computer monitor for work and can't do without it should recieve free eye tests from their employer. This isn't well advertised in my company, but if you ask they'll give you a voucher.

Galstonian · 2 September 2003 at 3:30AM

Would free prescriptions change this number?

hutchie_3 · 3 September 2003 at 4:51PM

Skint Al , That's quite correct.Companies must allow there employees a free eye test if they use computers. If they need glasses they will or should only get them for middle distance e.g. 14"-26" from pc screens.A lot of companies supply them free of charge to there employees

mistral_2 · 10 September 2003 at 10:04PM

I have used them for the last two years and buy the 4 mth one and then load the drugs up to last as long as I can.

prescription charges annual certificate

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