With so many demands on our time (work, children, family…..), we often struggle to find the time to get to our Doctor’s surgery to arrange repeat prescriptions. This can cause all manner of problems, particularly if you are close to running out of your medication. Thankfully, these days are long gone as you can easily order your prescriptions online and have them delivered to your door free of charge.
There are many pharmacies that offer this online service where you can simply order and pay for your prescription in the comfort of your own home or if more convenient, while you are at work. For those of you who are exempt from paying, depending on the service you use, you may be asked to upload evidence of your exemption or give details of your type of exemption.
For people “on the go”, there is also an app available from some of the providers.
Are online prescription services easy to use?
Once you have registered with the online service the ordering process is easy; the pharmacy sends your request to your GP and then arranges delivery within 2-3 working days.
Although the whole process from when you put your order in, to the day your medicines are delivered usually takes around five working days, some pharmacies recommend you place your order around 7-10 days before you need it to arrive. This allows enough time for your GP to authorise the prescription and the pharmacists to dispense your medication. The provider you use may also have a reminder service so you never need to forgot to re-order.
With some of the online providers you can even choose to have your medication delivered to your work address or a family or neighbour if having it delivered to your home address isn’t convenient. The service is completely free of charge, so you don’t even have to pay the postage!
Many people ask if using an online service, costs the NHS more but the simple answer is no. The reason is because your medication is dispensed from one central pharmacy, which means there are less location-based repayment fees for the NHS to pay.
Some of the online providers offering this service are:
- +Well
- Pharmacy2U
- Lloyds Pharmacy
http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/
- Boots Pharmacy
https://www.boots.com/online/pharmacy
Did you know that some health cash plans cover the cost of prescription charges? To find out more one of the team at SMP Healthcare will be happy to discuss this with you in more detail.
Please contact us by telephone on 01245 929129 or by email tracy@smphealthcare.com