Prescribing Policy

Patients registered at the Practice will be prescribed medication according to clinical need.
All new patients will be asked about current medication on the New Patient Registration Form and at their New Patient Review Appointment. Medication will be added to their record by a prescriber in the Practice.
The Practice operates a policy of prescribing medication within licence.

Where medication has been prescribed, this information is recorded in the patient record at the time.

Where hospitals have added / discontinued / amended a patient’s medication, the Practice will ensure that this information is recorded in the patient record in a timely manner. Documents will be scanned into the patient record and a request sent to the patient’s doctor for them to update the record as appropriate and issue any necessary prescription.

When the maximum number of authorised repeat prescriptions has been reached, a request will be sent to the prescriber for re-authorisation and this will be entered in the patient record.

The Practice policy is that all patients taking medication should receive a medication review at least annually.

Where allergies or sensitivities are reported, these will be recorded in the patient record.

When medication is prescribed, the prescriber will advise the patient of any possible side effects and explain that if they experience any side effects, advice should be sought. The patient record will be annotated to say that this advice has been given.

All prescribed medication will be linked to a diagnosis in the patient record and Read Coded appropriately if the clinical system allows it.

Patients will be given advice on how and when to take their medication and this information will also be printed on the prescription and the dispensing label.