Prescriptions abroad

[Twos company]

Hi looking to go to France and Spain early next year how do you go on for repeat prescriptions if your away for more than 2 months

 

[Potty]

Our doctors will give us prescriptions for a 3 months supply of drugs, which we get before we go.

 

[Flamenca]

Ditto. All my doctors prescriptions are automatically for 3 months of meds. Convenient for me and saves my surgery work.

 

[Easyliving]

I order my repeat prescriptions online, easy and quick. Back in September we were going to be halfway through our European tour when I was going to run out of pills.

I just phoned the surgery and explained to the receptionist. Straight away she sent through another prescription to my usual chemist. I didn't need to see \ talk to the doctor. I got the impression its an enquiry they get a lot.

Paul

 

[Minxy]

I can only get 1 month of one of my prescriptions at a time so I have to make an appointment to see a doctor to get more, it's daft really but obviously like that for a purpose as some people apparently may using the medication for 'illegal' purposes!

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[Lenny HB]

You can order prescriptions every 6 weeks without them being rejected so quite easy to build up a stock.

 

[Jim]

Don't worry too much about having all your medication, in Spain and Portugal you can buy most every drug over the counter without prescription. We were off on a long trip and needed more tablets than they would give us for our daughter so we thought we'd buy some privately. LLoyds in the UK were the cheapest at £8 per tablet. (She needs 10 per day ) We bought them over the counter in Portugal and Spain for €14 for 100 tablets.

 

[Allanm]

If you need to use your prescriptions abroad, you should be fine going into a pharmacy, but, if they don’t have the exact same drug and dosage for a prescription only drug, they won’t issue it and you may need to go to a doctor to get a new prescription.
Best bet is to take enough with you for your trip.

 

[Allanm]

I can only get 1 month of one of my prescriptions at a time so I have to make an appointment to see a doctor to get more, it's daft really but obviously like that for a purpose as some people apparently may using the medication for 'illegal' purposes!

More likely the Doctor is responsible for your health and is just being efficient.

 

[Potty]

Our surgery has changed its procedures, so that we now do not see a doctor for our annual meds review but see a visiting pharmacist. Obviously frees up doctor’s appointments but means that if you have minor problems that you were “saving up” to discuss, you now have to make a separate doctor’s appointment.

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[romany]

order mine on tinternet daughter collects and sends them to what ever address i have arranged for them to be delivered to

 

[Minxy]

More likely the Doctor is responsible for your health and is just being efficient.

I understand that but I've been on them for years and won't be coming off them so it's a very inefficient way to work for them and me, I can understand it for those who need to be monitored closely, or if they insist on an annual visit to check on how things are going, but this is just to get an extra month or two depending on how much I need for my trip. Also it costs a packet when you can only get them monthly with my other prescription which covers 2 months so I buy a 3-monthly prepayment certs and have to time them carefully so I can get them to cover 12 months rather than 9.

 

[Allanm]

Can’t you ask the doctor to prescribe you more if you say you are going on holiday? I would think 3 months supply would be ok unless there is a medical need for the doctor to see you every month?

 

[gus-lopez]

so quite easy to build up a stock.

You have to in spain. No "3 month " supply here. Not in our region anyway. They know you are going away over 30 days you are deregistered & have to re-register.
Mind you on the bright side we have yearly prescription but you can only get the meds at the appointed date or a few days either side.

 

[alanalmoff]

In Spain and running low on thyroxine tabs, into the local chemist, showed the nearly empty box, I needed about a couple of weeks supply max. About 14 tablets, they brought out a box of a 100, me being on the careful side (tight) thought here goes an arm and a leg, €2.20 please, thank you very much, bye

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[gus-lopez]

In Spain and running low on thyroxine tabs, into the local chemist, showed the nearly empty box, I needed about a couple of weeks supply max. About 14 tablets, they brought out a box of a 100, me being on the careful side (tight) thought here goes an arm and a leg, €2.20 please, thank you very much, bye

& it just shows how much you are robbed in the UK

 

[canopus]

Or more to the point, how much Spain gets from EU coffers as opposed to how much they contribute, thus enabling prescription drugs to be doled for the cost of a bag of sweeties without a scrip !

 

[Minxy]

How do you find out what the cost of meds is in Spain?

 

[gus-lopez]

Or more to the point, how much Spain gets from EU coffers as opposed to how much they contribute, thus enabling prescription drugs to be doled for the cost of a bag of sweeties without a scrip !

they are, & have been, a net contributor for some years now. Ever since the east europeans joined.
Apart from the dig & the fact that it has nothing to do with the price of prescription medications.
What the otc price in spain is ,is the cost from the manufacturer. If you think there is some sort of discount or subsidising, allowing medicines to be sold at under cost price you are seriously deluded. That is the price. It is the same medicines that are sold in the Uk at vastly inflated prices & via prescriptions. The same applies for vaccinations/rabies jabs for dogs,cats & ferrets. You'll be telling me that they are subsidised as well then ?

 

[Granjan]

I asked cost of insulin in Spain just under €50 for pack of 5 pens Novorapid type.

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[romany]

depends on the drug I have had the misfortune to run out of drugs in Spain some were cheaper but others were a horrendous price and one i get here was not licenced for people in Spain

 

[joka250]

My understanding is G P will only issue 3 months at a time as he should de register if your away from his area for 3 plus months. Some drugs it is illegal for G P to issue more than 1 month at a time. Prescription charge bears no relationship to cost of drug. If your drug costs £2 or £22 or more you pay the same for each prescription. Pharmaceutical pricing is a complex issue and the fact it costs more or less in 1 country than another is not necessarily down to manufacturer or government. Sometimes worth asking for a private prescription if you know the price.

 

[romany]

My understanding is G P will only issue 3 months at a time as he should de register if your away from his area for 3 plus months. Some drugs it is illegal for G P to issue more than 1 month at a time. Prescription charge bears no relationship to cost of drug. If your drug costs £2 or £22 or more you pay the same for each prescription. Pharmaceutical pricing is a complex issue and the fact it costs more or less in 1 country than another is not necessarily down to manufacturer or government. Sometimes worth asking for a private prescription if you know the price.

good point I have no idea if there are set prices at farmacias in Spa[n or if they are free to set their own prices

 

[Jim]

My understanding is G P will only issue 3 months at a time as he should de register if your away from his area for 3 plus months

In Wales they would only give us a month, we would get around it by getting a friend to collect repeat prescriptions and sending them to wherever we were in Europe

 

[Mike800966]

My Gp was pleased to issue scripts for 3 months at a time when he knew we were going away but at a recent review I was told that we will shortly not need to request supplies from the doctors, the pharmacy will have a script for 12 months before its reviewed and its up to them to issue to you at the appropriate rate.

So it looks like the system is changing, the pharmacist will hold 12mths authorisation.

I presume this is to free up surgery staff
Mike
PS I would love to know what the profit margin is, in our area the pharmacies seem to fighting to offer a free delivery service! Theres got to be some money in it somewhere.

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[Minxy]

Sometimes worth asking for a private prescription if you know the price.

My 1 month meds are 'cheap' and a previous doctor used to let me have a private prescription, but where I am now the doctors don't issue private prescriptions at all ... it's a bummer.

 

[Ridgeway]

I would of though most drugs would be accessible across Europe and if you went into a pharmacy with a copy of your prescription you'd be fine. That is unless you specifically need a certain brand of a drug or something that isn't common to them. Our daughter managed to get her local (in France) pharmacy to dispense her medication by asking them to call her doctor, it worked and she got what she needed.

 

[Lot lover]

Our doctor issues a prescription for 3 months that our local chemist allows us to take all at once when we set off on our 3 month trip. The good stuff that my wife takes is only available on a 1 month, 1 off basis.
Both prescriptions require a doctor visit before being reissued.

In Portugal we had no trouble obtaining drugs with a French prescription, on occasion even with a photocopy. Our drugs in France are "free" at the point of collection so cannot compare prices.

Imho how much things cost is irrelevant if you need them.

 

[ctc]

There seem to be a lot of people driving about under the influence of drugs.

 

[Lot lover]

It is the only way to cope with all you speeders.

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