Health Records, Repeat Prescriptions and Reviews
Long-term medication accumulates, and items are frequently continued long after the reason for starting them has passed.
Why review matters
Medicines started for a temporary reason sometimes remain on repeat indefinitely.
Doses appropriate at one age or weight may not remain so.
Interactions multiply as the number of medicines increases, and some become significant only in combination.
Some medicines require periodic monitoring — blood tests, blood pressure, kidney function — which is missed when repeats are issued without review.
How to prepare for a review
List everything you take, including over-the-counter medicines, supplements and herbal products, which frequently interact and are frequently unmentioned.
Note for each: what it is for, when you started it, and whether you have noticed effects or side effects.
Note anything you have stopped taking or take differently from how it was prescribed, which is common and useful for the clinician to know.
Bring questions written down, since consultations are short.
Questions worth asking
Is this still necessary?
Is this the lowest effective dose?
What monitoring does this require and when was it last done?
Is there a cheaper equivalent where you pay for medicines?
What should I do if I miss a dose?
Managing repeats practically
Order in good time, allowing for processing and for holidays when practices and pharmacies close.
Avoid stockpiling, which produces waste and confusion, and avoid running out, which is worse.
Repeat dispensing or prescription delivery services reduce administration where available.
Prescription prepayment arrangements exist in some systems and are worthwhile above a certain number of items.
Your records
You generally have a right of access to your health records, and online access is available in many systems.
Checking them catches errors in allergies, conditions and medication lists, which matter in an emergency.
Keep a current summary card in your wallet listing conditions, medicines, allergies and an emergency contact.
Taking medicines as intended
A substantial proportion of prescribed medicine is not taken as directed, frequently for practical reasons rather than deliberate ones.
Difficulty swallowing tablets, complicated timings, side effects and cost are all common and all addressable if raised.
Pill organisers, blister packing from the pharmacy, and alarms all help where the difficulty is remembering.
Tell the prescriber if you are not taking something as directed. Adjusting the prescription is better than continuing a plan that is not happening.
Travel and supply
Order well ahead of holidays, and take enough for the trip plus a margin for delays.
Keep a written list of medicines with generic names when travelling, which any clinician anywhere can work from.
General information rather than medical advice. Do not stop or change any prescribed medicine without speaking to your prescriber.
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