Dispensing Medicines

Click on the link below to download the Service Specification for Essential Service 1 – Dispensing:

Dispensing Service Specification

For more information visit the Community Pharmacy England website, Dispensing Medicines.

Dispensing 7 and 28 Day Prescriptions

Communications from the regional NHS team have highlighted growing concern over the use of prescription durations of less than 28 days (such as 7 day prescriptions and batch prescriptions) being used inappropriately to subsidise income, such as when providing monitored dosage systems.

This may have led to some confusion amongst both pharmacies and prescribers, with misunderstandings that repeat prescriptions of less than 28 days cannot be issued. This is not the case.

Community Pharmacy BLMK & Northants supports the view that prescription duration should be considered in line with the clinical needs of the patient, and if agreed between the prescriber and the pharmacist, shorter durations such as 7 days may be considered. This can be important where changes may be likely or there are other clinical risks. Where shorter duration prescriptions are used, the duration should match the supply being made to the patient. This can be particularly pertinent for patients on monitored dosage systems (MDS):

• Patients issued with 7 day prescriptions should be supplied with 7 days’ medication (i.e. weekly attendance at the pharmacy or weekly delivery)
• Patients issued with 28 day prescriptions should be supplied with 28 days medication (i.e. a monthly supply). This should be the case, even if the medication is supplied in MDS

Pharmacies should not be receiving or requesting 7 day prescriptions for patients routinely provided with their medication every 28 days. Nor should pharmacies be expected to make 7 day supplies of medicines against 28 day prescriptions (in this instance, the clinical needs of the patient should be discussed with the prescriber).

Consideration should be made to the likelihood of necessary changes within the prescription period, especially for MDS (as pharmacies are under no obligation to amend MDs which has already been dispensed, and therefore new prescriptions may be required).

Further information, including details of how the Equality Act 2010 may apply, can be found on the Community Pharmacy England website.