Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their GP?

C

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I heard today about a medical card holder who left hospital recently with a prescription from the hospital doc for some follow-up medication. However, he had to visit his GP with this prescription, who then wrote out exactly the same prescription on the medical card form, which my friend then brought to the pharmacy.

I really didn't believe this story, but from checking a couple of hospital websites, it seems that this is the standard process;

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This can't be a medical issue, as it only applies to medical card holders. Can anyone throw any light on why GP surgeries are getting clogged up copying out prescriptions for recent hospital patients?
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Jobs for the boys... As I have told you before our health service is far from efficient and the same goes for large sections of the public sector. Apart from where you work of course.:D BTW The complaints stand in Superquinn was overflowing with forms last week.:cool:
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Towger said:
Jobs for the boys...
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Not really. This was the angle that the person telling me the story was taking, but the GP is on a flat annual fee per patient, so he does not earn anything more from this patient's visit. It must be a real PITA for the GP to deal with these patients, not be adding any value to the medical treatment, and not be adding any value to their bank account.

Towger said:
BTW The complaints stand in Superquinn was overflowing with forms last week.:cool:
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Last time I was there, it was overflowing with envelopes for applications for the loyalty cards, which is a different yoke all together.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

I can see a point in it: the GP is a person's main point of contact with all medical services, and should have knowledge of what is prescribed for a patient. This protocol ensures that the GP gets that information.

It is particularly relevant for long-term medication for chronic conditions where the GP might then be asked to provide repeat prescriptions.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

If I recall, hospitals don't have the facility to write medical card prescriptions (which are written/printed on specific forms), so the patient takes a plain-paper prescription to his/her GP to have it rewritten.
 
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Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

The hospital prescriptions may be taken to any pharmacy and 7 days medication dispensed. The patient has that week to bring the prescription, or a copy, to the GP for repeats if necessary.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Padraigb said:
I can see a point in it: the GP is a person's main point of contact with all medical services, and should have knowledge of what is prescribed for a patient. This protocol ensures that the GP gets that information.

It is particularly relevant for long-term medication for chronic conditions where the GP might then be asked to provide repeat prescriptions.
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I was thinking the same thing at first too, but it would not make sense to apply this to medical card holders only. If there was a medical reason, it would apply to all patients.
gipimann said:
If I recall, hospitals don't have the facility to write medical card prescriptions (which are written/printed on specific forms), so the patient takes a plain-paper prescription to his/her GP to have it rewritten.
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Now we're getting places. But still, the question is why foot the hospital docs have the right forms? Surely this is not a stationery issue?
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Complainer said:
I was thinking the same thing at first too, but it would not make sense to apply this to medical card holders only. If there was a medical reason, it would apply to all patients.
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I agree. I'm on long-term medication, and don't have a medical card. The hospital changed my prescription, and I took it to my pharmacist and had it filled. I then spoke to my GP, told him of the change, and asked him if the hospital would notify him. He said that they were supposed to, but that the service was slow and not 100% reliable because of staff shortages (it seems that even if the HSE is heavily staffed in its administrative offices, the same might not apply to hospital offices). He was satisfied to accept my report on the altered prescription because (a) he knows that I am not stupid about such things and (b) it made medical sense to him.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Fatphrog said:
The hospital prescriptions may be taken to any pharmacy and 7 days medication dispensed. The patient has that week to bring the prescription, or a copy, to the GP for repeats if necessary.
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Those hospital websites don't refer to the GP perscription as a 'repeat' or to the hospital prescription as a 7-day prescription. It is the difference in treatment of medical card patients and non-medical card patients that I can't comprehend here.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

A prescription that a patient will get from its consultant is classed as a 'private prescription' and when brought to a pharmacy for dispensing they are charged the relevant cost, however, if the pateint has a medical card, then this person has to take it to their GP for the prescriped medication to be transferred on to a GMS prescription form, this is then taken to the pharmacy and dispensed to the patient free of charge.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

The difference is that the non-medical card patient is paying for their own medication.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

dubliner56 said:
A prescription that a patient will get from its consultant is classed as a 'private prescription' and when brought to a pharmacy for dispensing they are charged the relevant cost, however, if the patient has a medical card, then this person has to take it to their GP for the prescribed medication to be transferred on to a GMS prescription form, this is then taken to the pharmacy and dispensed to the patient free of charge.
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Thanks - this is starting to make sense. Do you know why can't the consultant issue a GMS perscription directly?
Fatphrog said:
The difference is that the non-medical card patient is paying for their own medication.
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So is this intended to be some kind of punishment for having the medical card?
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

The medical card patient has a week to obtain another prescription, hardly a punishment.

The greater convenience for the private patient reflect them paying their own way and that they probably have better things to do with their time, such as engaging in the gainful employment that pays for medical card prescriptions.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Fatphrog said:
The medical card patient has a week to obtain another prescription, hardly a punishment.

The greater convenience for the private patient reflect them paying their own way and that they probably have better things to do with their time, such as engaging in the gainful employment that pays for medical card prescriptions.
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Maybe I'm missing something, but I still don't get it. What is the benefit to anyone (doctor, hospital, patient, pharmacist, anyone) of making the medical card patient go back to their GP?
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Complainer said:
Maybe I'm missing something, but I still don't get it. What is the benefit to anyone (doctor, hospital, patient, pharmacist, anyone) of making the medical card patient go back to their GP?
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Really simply really it's to avoid efficiency.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

The division between hospital and GP is because of the funding of the services from HSE.

HSE funding is divided between Primary Care and Hospitals.

The GMS (General Medical Service), now called the PCRS (Primary Care Reimbursement Service) is the scheme which pays GPs who treat medical card & GP Visit card patients and pharmacies for supplying medication under the medical card or Drugs Payment Scheme, as well as other services.

Hospitals aren't funded from this scheme, so they can't be allocated a PCRS number so they can't use the PCRS prescription stationery.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

gipimann said:
The division between hospital and GP is because of the funding of the services from HSE.

HSE funding is divided between Primary Care and Hospitals.

The GMS (General Medical Service), now called the PCRS (Primary Care Reimbursement Service) is the scheme which pays GPs who treat medical card & GP Visit card patients and pharmacies for supplying medication under the medical card or Drugs Payment Scheme, as well as other services.

Hospitals aren't funded from this scheme, so they can't be allocated a PCRS number so they can't use the PCRS prescription stationery.
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Many thanks, gipimann, now we're really getting places!

Are you aware of any reason why the hospital could not get a PCRS number? As far as I can see, there would be no budget impact, as the hospital would just be perscribing the same drugs to be later perscribed by the GP.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Complainer said:
Are you aware of any reason why the hospital could not get a PCRS number? As far as I can see, there would be no budget impact, as the hospital would just be perscribing the same drugs to be later perscribed by the GP.
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It would be simpler yet again to have a 'Full Medical Card' flag against the person on the Drugs Payment Scheme system. Then again why was millions wasted 5-6+ years ago installing a central patent database for the country, which AFAIK is still not being used.
 
Re: Why do medical card patients have to bring their hospital prescription to their G

Complainer said:
... This can't be a medical issue, as it only applies to medical card holders. Can anyone throw any light on why GP surgeries are getting clogged up copying out prescriptions for recent hospital patients
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No - it applies to holders of long-term illness cards as well.
Padraigb said:
I agree. I'm on long-term medication, and don't have a medical card...
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Ditto, but I do have a long-term illness card.

I am not being treated by my GP, nor does he prescribe for me for this illness - this is all taken care of at the consultant's centralised clinic.

At least it was until I was switched from quarterly clinic appointments to annual clinic appointments. When my prescription runs out (after three months) my GP has to renew it by copying a list of meds from one page to the next, signing, stamping and dating the new page. I pay him €10 for this.

Don't get me wrong - I don't begrudge him the tenner, but why can't I have a prescription that lasts me from one clinic appointment to the next? Surely he has more important medical work that needs doing rather him being a clerk for the HSE? My GP does not examine me, but has me in his waiting-room taking up space, wasting my time and his time all because of some stupid admin rule, created by the old health boards and being perpetuated by Drumm & Co.

There is no facility for me to attend the clinic for prescription renewal unless I am sent an appointment.
 
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