Pharmacists Now Able to Renew Prescriptions Without Doctor's Note

Friday, January 02, 2009 03:53 AM

VICTORIA - Patients who run out of routine medications can now ask their pharmacist to renew their prescription without always needing a doctor's appointment first.

As enabled by the Health Professions (Regulatory Reform) Amendment Act, 2008, pharmacists are now permitted to renew most routine medications for up to six months without requiring the patient to first present a new doctor's prescription. For example, patients with long-term , stable conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, who have been on the same medication for at least six months and are coming to the end of their supply of medication, may have their pharmacist renew the prescription.

Patients may also ask their pharmacists to adapt some prescriptions. Under the new rules, pharmacists will be able to change the prescribed dosage or substitute drugs, where it is appropriate, for example, to minimize side effects. In all instances of renewal and modification, pharmacists will follow strict guidelines prepared by the College of Pharmacists with input from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, the BC Pharmacists Association, and the BC Medical Association.

Patients who want a renewal or adaptation should talk to their pharmacist, who will consider each situation individually to determine if they have sufficient information about the patient and their health status to make a change in the patient's best interest. Patients will still need to see their doctors at least once a year to ensure their condition is stable and medication records and therapies are up to date.

Pharmacists are not obligated to renew or adapt a prescription, and in some cases, may decline a patient request. Pharmacists will not be able to change or renew prescriptions for narcotics or controlled substances.
Likewise, in any case where the doctor has written "do not renew/adapt" on the original prescription, pharmacists will not be able to renew or modify the prescription. Only existing, valid prescriptions can be renewed or adapted. As well, all renewals and adaptations will be reported to the original prescriber as soon as possible, preferably with 24 hours.

Patients will be charged the usual dispensing fee for their medication, but will not be charged any other fees by the pharmacy for renewals or adaptations.

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Posted on Friday, January 02, 2009 03:53 AM in Health by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Eagleone on January 2 2009 5:27 AM

Might as well... I don't think they even had a moral choice in the matter... we don't have any doctors anyways. It seems the medical profession has resorted to bringing in doctors train in places like Pakistan, India, and other third world countries to try and fill the gap... but 5 million Canadians still don't have a family doctor.

I heard that UBC had over 1800 qualified applications for under 300 training positions available for doctors. Apparently its a provincial government decision to restrict the amount of Canadian doctors that we train and thus have available for the Canadian medical system. The idea is to restrict the amount of professionals... some would argue to reduce costs... but in reality it is to sustain profit levels in the profession keeping profit levels high for high demand IMO.

Our medical system is a complete disgrace from the level of a family doctor. The Pakistani doctor I got stuck with decided he couldn't handle the stress? He did a voluntary withdrawal of services and took all his files with him? Apparently our medical system doesn't track your personal medical file and its up to the individual doctor to decide how it is handled. In my case the medical system through the College of Physicians and Surgeons lost all track of my rouge doctor and have no current address, or phone number in which to contact him and see what he did with my file. This gives confidence to their foreign recruiting methods....

Apparently a persons medical file doesn't need to be tracked... and if your doctor dies your probably better off than if the doctor has a voluntary withdrawal of service. Apparently the billions we spend on the medical system doesn't include the security of a persons medical file?

So hypothetically even if a person did have a family doctor (which most people now do not have), it does you no good if you no longer have a medical file anymore either... and it makes one wonder why so much money goes into that system when most people can't even get a family doctor that has access to their medical file, much less the ability to track a persons prescriptions (not that I have any)?

Posted by: ammonra on January 2 2009 8:27 AM

The madical file always has been the property of the doctor involved rather than the patient. If you simply change GPs, moving to another community for instance, doesn't mean that your file is automatically sent on with you. The new GP has to request it and you may be charged for the office time to retrieve and send it by the old GP, at their discretion.

Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own health care. That includes keeping your own file if you have difficulty remembering the details. Record doctor's visits, drugs prescribed, conditions diagnosed etc, with dates, doctors' names, pharmacies visited, and so on. A simple, blank page diary is all that's needed and can save a lot of trouble.

I believe that the driver for restricting the number of doctors is from the Ministry of Health, and is to control health care costs. This includes the doctor's income, but also the use of diagnostic and hospital facilities. The more these are used, the more employees are required to do the work and the more money is needed to pay them. There is also an exponential increase in the management too, but that is another story.

Posted by: REALIST on January 2 2009 11:21 AM

This is really going to P.O. a great many doctors who make considerable income from only supplying prescriptions for one month at a time. This causes the patient to "visit" at least every thirty days and then the doctor can charge the government for the visit. It is quite a lucrative practice. I support this idea as it will save the taxpayer money and provide a means for those who need these drugs to get them faster and with less problems. Let's see how many doctors order prescription scripts with do not renew/adapt, as standard prescription fare. I wouldn't put it past them at all.

Posted by: Harbinger on January 2 2009 7:43 PM

Speaking of prescriptions, they have now a birth control pill for men. You put it in your shoe and then you go limp.