Can GP take over private prescription?
If you ask your GP to take over prescribing of a medication or treatment recommended by the private doctor or specialist, they will need to be satisfied that prescribing is appropriate, responsible and what they would prescribe for other NHS patients with the same diagnosis / condition
Under NHS GMS Regulations the patient is entitled to receive any drug which is available on the NHS, via an NHS prescription.
Therefore, GPs can convert a private script to an FP10 if the patient requests this.
However, the GMC duty to prescribe only in the best interests of the patient and only within your level of competence, takes priority.
There are a number of circumstances when prescribers will decline the request or offer to prescribe an alternative medicine.
He or she may decline to prescribe if:
- A letter explaining the full rationale for the treatment has not been provided by the consultant in the private sector.
- He or she feels the medicine is not clinically necessary.
- The medication is unlicensed.
- The medication is prescribed outside of its licensed indication.
- The medication is not one he or she would normally prescribe.
- The medication needs special monitoring and he or she feels they do not have the expertise to do this.
- The use of the medication conflicts with NICE guidance or locally agreed protocols.
- An equivalent but equally effective medicine is prescribed locally under prescribing advice from the CCG. In this situation you will be offered the equivalent medicine.
In any of these circumstances the patient will retain the option of purchasing the recommended medicine via a prescription from their consultant in the private sector.
There is also no provision for refunding any money already spent on private treatment, including medicines
These requests can take up to 5 working days.
We recommend that the private specialist gives you one months’ supply of the medication whilst we consider all of the above. The Private Consultant is responsible for giving you the first prescription for any new medicine that you need to start taking straightaway.
Blood Tests Requested by Private Specialist
If you are under a private specialist and they have requested for you to have blood tests these need to be done by the private specialists. If at all the specialist requests for you to have bloods done within the surgery, the results will go back to the private specialists for interpretation.
If the Consultant thinks that you need any tests (including blood tests) or a surgical procedure, the Consultant is responsible for giving you the results and explaining what they mean.
You should not visit your GP surgery to discuss the results of tests organised by others, it is the Consultants responsibility to discuss this with you and organise any follow up that is necessary.