Repeat Prescriptions without examination - France

Just wondered if folk might find this suggestion useful… saving time and money…

Asking for a Repeat Prescription… if I phone the surgery and ask for a repeat prescription to be done and left for me to collect, without examination by the Doctor… there is no charge… and I can collect the paperwork… or ask a neighbour to do so… within a couple of days…

It might be worth asking your Médecin Traitant if he/she would be prepared to do this … and under what circumstances…

Since it could save you the cost of paying the Doc for the privilege of getting your prescription face-to-face… and also relieving the pressure on the Doctor’s time…

Obviously, there are times when my Doc says NO… I want to see you… and that is fair enough. :grin:

Does anyone else have this sort of arrangement with the Medecin Traitant??

I asked quite a while ago, and was politely but firmly refused. If the doctor doesn’t actually see me, then she is doing work (albeit 1 minute’s worth) for nothing. However, instead she is good about helping to group things together so one appointment can cover as many things as possible.

Ah… my Doc gives me a prescription which usually covers 3 months… and I must never “run out”…so, if I cannot get to the surgery and do not need to see him… the Doc is happy to simply leave one at Reception.

Sometimes he makes this for only 1 month though… depending on where we are in the scheme of my treatments… but he is very, very cautious and doesn’t always say Yes…

I know that some folk wonder about paying 25 € for non-examination, just a moment tapping at the computer… and thought this might be a useful alternative/suggestion.

PS: This was the Doc’s suggestion…as we live quite a way from his surgery… in fact, I think he can email it to our pharmacy… that is something I will discuss with him in the New Year…

We have a new(ish) doctor, hallelulah . :clap:
She is a lovely young Romanian lady, I have taken mum a couple of times for her ‘CT’.
She has suggested that owing to mum’s age and infirmaties that she can write a repeat prescription if I telephone.
That will be a big help for us during any periods of bad weather as it’s not easy getting mum out in Winter.
She has all mum’s records on file, has asked loads of questions, and what is more she can speak directly to mum in English instead of me having to translate.
Mum is due a visit later this month, if we can’t get there then I will try the telephone method. :slight_smile:
PS, she did suggest writing a prescription for 3 month’s worth of medication but as mum is also prescribed morphine it can’t be done!

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We get six months on our prescription and as they are having problems, I was given antibiotics and steroid to take if I develop a chest infection.
I was prescribed something that was long lasting by a locum in the summer when I had a chest infection but I started to go downhill again and rang for another prescription.
I was told that I could not have a prescription or an appointment and should wait it until I got worse and then go to Urgence.
On my last visit to my own doctor I said that I was not happy with the way I was treated and actually received an apology.
Hence being allowed to self medicate if needed.

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Yes I get extra things to self medicate as and when I need. So have a choice of different strengths of painkillers for example as well as a rescue pack.

I do think back to the simplicity of the UK system with some fondness. All done electronically, and the pharmacy ordered the repeats and would send me a text message when my drugs were ready for collection. And other drugs delivered to my home. All I had to do was make sure the GPs surgery knew of any changes to prescriptions. I think I visited an actual GP maybe once a year. I guess France will get there too one day, especially as don’t have enough GPs to go round.

Sorry Jane, you’ve lost me…In the UK… who ordered the changes in medication… that would need to be notified to the Surgery?? :thinking:

Most commonly a hospital specialist.

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Or possibly on discharge from hospital

@anon88169868 @anon40466813 … yes, I have experience of such situations… and generally, the Specialist/Hospital give a letter or some such, to be handed to the MT for follow-up… and often our MT will change the medication that the Specialist/Hospital have put in place… once the situation is settled, or if he is unhappy with the side-effects.

I was asking Jane to clarify her own experiences…

Never a problem with my old doctor, even gave a six month prescription when he retired. He anticipated the difficulty finding a new doctor as so many were retiring/leaving the smaller towns at that time:(
Because I have seen current doctor only twice in the last year she would not allow a repeat script sans appointment, but she is now happy to give one for six months :slight_smile: Good idea to get a quick once over every six months anyway.

My specialists. I rarely had need of a GP in person, and all my drugs were decided on by the specialists. However, prescriptions issued by hospital doctors come from the hospital budget. So for most things the issuing was done via the GPs surgery. Consultant sends drug list to GP’s surgery. A GP signs it off, and then transmitted electronically to the chemist who gave the drugs to me and organised repeats. Blood tests also transmitted electronically. Speedy, efficient and requiring the least possible input from busy professionals. I think I might have had to see a GP once a year, but can’t really remember. I know people knock the UK & NHS but parts of it are just great.

Ah… so you are definitely talking UK then, not France… those countries obviously do things differently from one another…:thinking:

I am suggesting repeat prescriptions for folk here in France… :wink:

Yes I know, which is why I wrote about my french experience. And then mentioned as an aside that France has yet to catch up with other countries in electronic prescribing.

Cheers Jane… sorry, I see it now…

I’ve been reading in between emergency trips up the road…and back… several times already today. Christmas does not come quietly in this neighbourhood… I think we may all need a stiff drink any time soon…

Aha, has the creche now been put in place ?

As an aside Stella, I am very sorry to inform you that stiff drinks don’t come on repeat prescription :scream::rofl:

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Crèche is in place… all is calm all is bright… I’ve (exceptionally) locked the church to keep it that way…just until tomorrow…

The exterior Christmas lights have now been moved from our house, where they risked demolishing the elderly, delicate wall lamp… and budged up to another house further up the street… amid chaos and mayhem… and much laughter…

Major electrical problems in one of the main public buildings…threatened to bring everything to a halt.

Keys to the local storage have gone missing (with the door locked closed of course…) so we can’t get essential bits out that we need this afternoon…

Thinking about it, this is almost a normal Friday… trying to get all done for the weekend… :wink::thinking:

Surely your GP is virtually free with a Carte Vital Stella?

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Hi John… virtually free for us, yes … but it helps the Doc (it was/is his suggestion)… and obviously a lot of others profit, as there is often quite a pile of Prescriptions waiting to be collected from the desk…

We are outside his “official” catchment area and thus have to drive or be driven… and that is not always possible… which is why he has mentioned zapping it through to our Pharmacy for us… (he is a pet)

My Thread was to pass–on the idea… to folk in other areas/regions… (some may not have Mutuelle and thus might well profit financially )

I guess they don’t get their €23 euro unless they stick your card in the machine. My neighbour’s a GP, I’ll ask him (subtly) what the payment trigger is.