Can we get refunds on Prescriptions when GP prescribes the wrong thing?

dawnclaire

Hello.
My GP recently prescribed the right medication, but in the wrong formulation (tablets which are ineffective for my particular problem as the active ingredient is not absorbed through the gastro-intestinal lining, when I actually should have been prescribed locally applied drops).. I found this out when I looked the medication up in the British National Formulatory book, and my pharmacist confirmed it. I'm now in a position where I have to go back to GP to ask for the drops, but having already collected, paid for and began the course of the first medication, must I really pay £6.80 again!?
Can anyone help with this?

Upsey_daisy_2

Its unfair I know, but you will have to pay again because it was the doctors error not the pharmacists.

Nicki

Is this a one-off prescription or something you need to take on an ongoing basis? If its ongoing maybe the GP would prescribe double amounts on one script as a one-off to compensate you for the error? Also if ongoing and you got a pre-pay certificate, any errors wouldn't cost any extra, and you would save on the regular scripts too.

LuciferTDark

Do what I do, get the pharmacist to ring the prescriptions clerk at your surgery & have them confirm it's the wrong formulation, they can & will substitute it for the right one if you ask nicely.

moneysaving_pharmacist

It's a lot easier if these things are sorted out before the prescription leaves the pharmacy - I always try and have a quick word with walk-ins which would hopefully pick up a problem like this.

From the pharmacy's point of view they have dispensed your medication against a vaild prescription. Once the medication leaves the pharmacy premises it can not be taken back and used again (lots of reasons - we don't know how it's been stored for example, or if it's been tampered with), so if they were to just swap the items over the pharmacy would loose money on the stock. The £6.85 prescription charge goes to the government, not the individual pharmacy, so our hands are tied there as well (I had to charge someone £6.85 today for one tablet).

The good news is that GP surgeries or PCTs often have pots of money to cover situations like this - they were the ones who made the error, so they should be the ones to foot the bill. I would ask to speak to the practice manager at the GP surgery and they should be able to sort everything out for you.

dizzie

My advice would be to speak with the Practice Manager at the surgery and explain what has happened. I have known surgeries that said they could not refund prescription charges when they have made a mistake however (?!). If this is the case, and it is a regular medication for you, one solution would be to ask the surgery if they could give you a double supply next time (if that is appropriate). In other words, if they normally give you a script for 28 days (so you pay a prescription charge every month), they may be happy to issue the next script for 56 days so that you don't lose out.

Shona_3

moneysaving_pharmacist wrote: »

The good news is that GP surgeries or PCTs often have pots of money to cover situations like this - they were the ones who made the error, so they should be the ones to foot the bill. I would ask to speak to the practice manager at the GP surgery and they should be able to sort everything out for you.

What money? As a pharmacist you should know that Gp surgeries receive NO money for prescriptions/drug budgets. The drug budget of a practice is a number on a bit of paper held by the primary care trust. It is never translated into real money and GP surgeries never have any of it.

In my locality the presciption charge is held over for the correct script once it has been confirmed to be wrong, the pharmacist does this. So it seems to be a local variation. Gps have nothing to do with prescription charges, we don't apply the charges, the money doesn't come back to us, so where would the refund come from, out of our staffing budget? Out of our equipment budget? The primary care trust are the people to talk to if it can't be sorted out.

Definately enquire about getting a double supply if the refund is not forth coming.

RadoJo

'What money? As a pharmacist you should know that Gp surgeries receive NO money for prescriptions/drug budgets. The drug budget of a practice is a number on a bit of paper held by the primary care trust. It is never translated into real money and GP surgeries never have any of it.'

I don't understand this - you say they receive no money, yet mention a drug budget? Do you just mean that they aren't given cash? If so, then that doesn't change the fact that the GPs surgery can fund a replacement for the OP from this funding.

moneysaving_pharmacist

Shona wrote: »

What money? As a pharmacist you should know that Gp surgeries receive NO money for prescriptions/drug budgets. The drug budget of a practice is a number on a bit of paper held by the primary care trust. It is never translated into real money and GP surgeries never have any of it.

In my locality the presciption charge is held over for the correct script once it has been confirmed to be wrong, the pharmacist does this. So it seems to be a local variation. Gps have nothing to do with prescription charges, we don't apply the charges, the money doesn't come back to us, so where would the refund come from, out of our staffing budget? Out of our equipment budget? The primary care trust are the people to talk to if it can't be sorted out.

Definately enquire about getting a double supply if the refund is not forth coming.

I didn't say anything about drug budgets - I know surgeries have indicative drug budgets, not actual ones. GP surgeries are very profitable businesses, and as it's the surgery that have cocked up so they should be the ones to sort the problem out, and it should really come out of their profits. If a pharmacy makes a dispensing error the correct item is supplied and the bottom line takes the hit. Why shouldn't it be the same for GPs?

Shona_3

RadoJo wrote: »

I don't understand this - you say they receive no money, yet mention a drug budget? Do you just mean that they aren't given cash? If so, then that doesn't change the fact that the GPs surgery can fund a replacement for the OP from this funding.

The drug budget is a target amount of spending per patient per year. It isn't real money. In effect it is your money, the NHS allocates x amount of money for looking after you, but it doesn't ever get seem by you or your GP.
eg if your allocation is £1000 per year but you are fit and healthy you don't get the money back. By the same token if you have a major or chronic illness and you cost the NHS £10000 per year you don't get billed the extra.

Prescription charges are not part of the drug budget. They have nothing to do with the drug budget. They are a form of taxation for the health service and not a very fair one. The budget is the same for each patient whether they pay for prescriptions or not. ie two 25 year olds have the same allocation even though one may make £100,000 a year and pay for scripts and the other may be pregant and get them free for 18 months.

Shona_3

moneysaving_pharmacist wrote: »

I didn't say anything about drug budgets - I know surgeries have indicative drug budgets, not actual ones. GP surgeries are very profitable businesses, and as it's the surgery that have cocked up so they should be the ones to sort the problem out, and it should really come out of their profits. If a pharmacy makes a dispensing error the correct item is supplied and the bottom line takes the hit. Why shouldn't it be the same for GPs?

As I said, I have never encounted the problem before, our local pharmacists simply give the second script free if there has been a mistake either by them or by us so it must be a local variation in policy. I have never had a patient be advised to return to us for a refund. It would be interesting to see if there is an actual law or guideline.
I hope the OP doesn't have to pay twice, that certainly isn't fair and the trust are the people in charge who would arbitrate in the event of a dispute.

Earning a decent wage as a GP has become a bit of a liability these days (not directed at you pharmacist). I make £80,000 a year for working full time. I get no paid sick leave, no GP does ( I pay thousands every year for illness insurance to cover me if I am off, out of that money). I work through my lunch break every day and frequently take home work that I can't get finished even in my 45 hour working week. I pay for all my own pension contribution out of that money. I had to pay for half my own maternity pay, out of that money. I pay for the business loan of £100,000 that I had to pay to buy my quarter share of the surgery business and building, out of that money.
I get spat at, verbally abused daily, I have been assaulted twice, the first time the man was sent to prison for 3 months, the second time I was pregnant and punched to the ground but the man is mentally handicapped and can't help it so it wasn't even reported. I have shared life and death responsibility for 8000 people...
How much would you want to be paid to do my job? I do it because I love being a GP and helping people, certainly not for the money.
Sorry, rant over. I am on hols this week, hence have time to post.