Extended Prescriptions

Some patients can receive prescriptions that last up to 12 months for stable, long-term health conditions, where it is clinically appropriate. This means fewer visits to your doctor or nurse prescriber for repeat prescriptions, while still ensuring your medicines are reviewed and monitored appropriately. Previously, most prescriptions were limited to three months.

Who may be eligible?

Extended prescriptions are generally intended for people with:

• Stable, well-controlled long-term health conditions
• Medicines that have been working well for some time
• No recent changes to treatment or dosage
• No need for frequent medication reviews

Examples may include conditions such as:

• Asthma
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Epilepsy
• Menopause management

Your prescriber will decide whether an extended prescription is safe and appropriate for your individual circumstances.

How does it work?

If you'd like an extended prescription, book an appointment with your practitioner (GP or Nurse Practitioner) specifcially about your long-term medications. Your practitioner needs this time to go through the implications of an extended prescription with you, so this appointment can't include anything else.

Extended prescriptions are at the clinical discretion of your practitioner. Not all medications are eligible for extended prescriptions, and if you are on multiple medications then it may not be worthwhile having some on an extended prescription while others are unable to be. Your practitioner will cover this with you.

If your practitioner thinks you are suitable for an extended prescription as a result of this consultation, they will issue a prescription of appropriate length. This is an authorisation for the pharmacy to dispense more than one period of medication before another prescription is required.

You then collect your medicine from your pharmacy as required. The first dispensing must occur within three months of the prescription being written, and the pharmacy will continue to dispense medicines in stages, typically up to three months' supply at a time. You request further dispensings from your pharmacy when needed, and so any issues during the period of the prescription need to be raised with the pharmacy.

Some important points to note:

• You must collect all dispensing for your extended prescription from the same pharmacy. Changing pharmacy will require a new prescription, which has an additional repeat prescription charge.
• If your medication changes out of our control (such as due to changes in medication supply or funding), then the existing extended prescription will no longer be valid and a new one will be required which has an additional repeat prescription charge. If your prescription is changed during a consultation then the new prescription is included in the consultation fee.

You may still need regular health checks and reviews, at your practitioners discretion, for your own health.