NHS Prescription Fraud

Flugelhorn

TELLIT01 wrote: »

I don't doubt that you are correct to say that the GP can't insist on this, but if you're at your GP and they say 'By the way the system is changing and we need you to nominate a pharmacy for your prescription to be sent to' most people would just accept that at being what will happen.
I'm pleased to hear it's not mandatory as I can imagine our GP 'suggesting' that people use the pharmacy next door to the surgery, and receiving some form of commission from them. I might be wrong of course.

Definitely not allowed to recommend or suggest any pharmacy - occasionally I have to fax a script to a pharmacy in the local town and people don't know which one they want to go to - I can't even suggest one - just rattle off a list of names in a random order

dippy3103

My prescriptions go electronically to pharmacy. I still have to sign a declaration to say that I have a prepayment card.
If they are giving you a penalty then you must have signed something to say that you are entitled

takman

preciousillusions wrote: »

I get my prescriptions delivered (including controlled drugs) via a service called pharmacy2u and they don't need to be signed for, they are simply tracked. Sometimes they just come through the post-box.

I really don't blame the OP to be honest as the cost of a prescription is so much these days and yes, some people are struggling to afford the medication they need (I feel very very lucky to be able to get all of mine free, on medical based as well as benefit exemption grounds). It doesn't make this right but I can understand why someone would be tempted to try and get away with it under certain circumstances, and fact is that we do not know the full background here. People are very quick to judge.

Prescriptions arn't expensive at all, the most that anyone has to ever pay is £2 a week for unlimited items!. When you compare that to the actual cost of medicine your paying on a very small fraction of the actual cost.


So if someone who has to pay for prescriptions is saying they can't afford £2 a week then they need to sit down and budget properly!. A lot of people spend that on lottery tickets!.

dippy3103

takman wrote: »

Prescriptions arn't expensive at all, the most that anyone has to ever pay is £2 a week for unlimited items!. When you compare that to the actual cost of medicine your paying on a very small fraction of the actual cost.


So if someone who has to pay for prescriptions is saying they can't afford £2 a week then they need to sit down and budget properly!. A lot of people spend that on lottery tickets!.

I pay for my pre payment card by direct debit. It's under a tenner a month. I have 6 items on repeat presecription. It's paid for its self over and over .

pmduk

dippy3103 wrote: »

If they are giving you a penalty then you must have signed something to say that you are entitled

If you reread the OP it was the pharmacy that completed the declaration.

Londonsu

TELLIT01 wrote: »

I don't doubt that you are correct to say that the GP can't insist on this, but if you're at your GP and they say 'By the way the system is changing and we need you to nominate a pharmacy for your prescription to be sent to' most people would just accept that at being what will happen.
I'm pleased to hear it's not mandatory as I can imagine our GP 'suggesting' that people use the pharmacy next door to the surgery, and receiving some form of commission from them. I might be wrong of course.

This is why they do it and there is actually a scientific reason for it, there is a wide gulf between intention and action, you can invite people to nominate but a lot of people wont bother or put it off even though they would be more than happy to join it, if you tell someone its mandatory and they wont get their next prescription unless they do (even though its a bare faced lie) then people will comply and 90% of them will be happy they have done so (me, I am an awkward madam and will be happy to show them a print out of the rules but then I am in the minority).


There is actually a whole department dedicated to getting patients to comply for quite a few things, its called the behavioural insight team, they have increased the uptake of the NHS Health Check, just by changing the invite letter its quite fascinating although it didn't work with me