Doctors lash out at their extortionate fees being bypassed

hatrickpatrick

http://www.herald.ie/news/doctors-wary-of-website-selling-pill-prescriptions-29407348.html

Dr Ray Walley, chairman of the GP committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, said: "General Practitioners provide a consultation involving safe sexual health advice including a blood pressure check and possibly dealing with other ailments at the same time. The longest prescription a GP can provide by law is for six months and that is what the majority will provide unless there is an ongoing problem with a pill."

Dr Walley said he understood that the online service advises that a blood-pressure test by a pharmacist was sufficient. He said: "There are many hurdles to their service, not least the fact that studies show that patients tend to underestimate when their blood pressure was last checked.

"A consultation with a faceless individual who does not know the care history of a patient cannot be compared to the GP service. You effectively pay for what you get. I do not believe such an a la carte online service is either safe practice or personalised care," he said.

Roughly translated:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYPPfXGCBoY

Peoples heath and safety come first. How can you assess a patient online? I'm with the docs on this one.

Prescribed for the wrong person, it can be a dangerous drug. Most people are fine, but you need a professional assessment of your risks. Pharmacists are trained to know about drugs, not bodies.

username123

Im in two minds about it.

On the one hand I prefer to get the once over myself having had problems on a particular pill.

On the other, they are only giving a 6 month prescription to someone who has already been prescribed the pill face to face with a doctor.

The vast majority of my repeat pill prescription visits consisted of a blood pressure check and no more. The only reason a problem was caught was because a new GP was covering the regular GP on holidays and questioned me at length and when I mentioned something specific she picked up on it and refused to prescribe the usual pill - which was the right decision.

And GPs need to bring down their fees - a repeat prescription for the pill used to cost 60 euro with my old doctor. Twice a year. Such a rip off for a 2 minute consultation.

Karl Stein

The EU needs to step in and demand that consultations and prescriptions can be had and filled across borders.

hatrickpatrick

Candie wrote: »

Peoples heath and safety come first. How can you assess a patient online? I'm with the docs on this one.

Prescribed for the wrong person, it can be a dangerous drug. Most people are fine, but you need a professional assessment of your risks. Pharmacists are trained to know about drugs, not bodies.

Continuous renewal? I can understand it the first time you've ever taken it, or if you've had a big health issue recently, but requiring doctors visits on an ongoing basis just to renew a prescription for something you've been taking for years is ridiculous. And there should be a serious discount on fees if that's the only reason you're going.

looksee

Who said anything about 'on line' - you go into the pharmacist and have your blood pressure checked. If there seems to be a problem then you go to your doctor. If the reading is ok, then, no problem. I am sure there are people who would rather pop into the pharmacy than have to make an appointment and sit waiting in the doctor's surgery, just to get a bp check.

I don't see what the thing about underestimating the time between checks means, you decide to go to your doctor, he doesn't contact you and say 'come and get your blood pressure checked' unless there is known to be an on-going issue. I got a check from a pharmacist out of doctors hours which showed that, yes there was an immediate problem, I went to the hospital and got it sorted. Seems to me it is a handy service.

Edit: OK sorry, that reply is out of context, I didn't read the article and assumed it was just about blood pressure, rather than about the contraceptive pill.

up for anything

Any decent GP will do more than a quick blood pressure check and script when someone goes in for a renewal of their pill prescription. They check that the person is still taking it correctly, see if it needs to be changed, do a check of general health as well as sexual health and check for anything that contraindicates continuing on with it such as depression, changes in menstruation or other problems. Two pills in particular, Dianette and Yasmin are being reassessed in other countries due to the large numbers of deaths attributed to them last year.

Terrlock

I'm not sure I agree with everything going online for subscriptions. But something needs to be done about the crazy prices GP's and Dentists charge in this country.

Indeed why is the cost of health care so high in Ireland.

In Poland the cost of health is much cheaper and the level of care is actually better in most cases.

username123

up for anything wrote: »

Any decent GP will do more than a quick blood pressure check and script when someone goes in for a renewal of their pill prescription. They check that the person is still taking it correctly, see if it needs to be changed, do a check of general health as well as sexual health and check for anything that contraindicates continuing on with it such as depression, changes in menstruation or other problems. Two pills in particular, Dianette and Yasmin are being reassessed in other countries due to the large numbers of deaths attributed to them last year.

In theory maybe, in practice all Ive ever gotten from 2 different GPs over a 20 year period was "any problems on it?". Unfortunately the 2 problems I had I did not know were related to the pill I was on. When I mentioned one in passing to a totally different GP it was set the alarm bells ringing.

hatrickpatrick

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Continuous renewal? I can understand it the first time you've ever taken it, or if you've had a big health issue recently, but requiring doctors visits on an ongoing basis just to renew a prescription for something you've been taking for years is ridiculous. And there should be a serious discount on fees if that's the only reason you're going.

Peoples health status isn't a static thing. Other factors come into play over time and the fee for a GP's visit is a small price to pay for a persons health.

The pill is one of those medications where the risks rise over time, so it's even more important to be checked out if you've been on it for years.

hatrickpatrick

up for anything wrote: »

Any decent GP will do more than a quick blood pressure check and script when someone goes in for a renewal of their pill prescription. They check that the person is still taking it correctly, see if it needs to be changed, do a check of general health as well as sexual health and check for anything that contraindicates continuing on with it such as depression, changes in menstruation or other problems. Two pills in particular, Dianette and Yasmin are being reassessed in other countries due to the large numbers of deaths attributed to them last year.

I'm sure this is all useful I'm just not sure if I agree with it being essentially forced on people. I certainly don't need a doctor to "check I'm taking something correctly" and I'm responsible for looking after my sexual health and getting it checked out - a responsible adult should be *allowed* to bypass this if for whatever reason it's inconvenient at the time. Seems rather nanny state-ish to me.

Paracetamol can have a lot of side effects as well, but no one suggests that a full medical exam plus a check to make sure you're responsible enough to take it as directed every single time you want to get more of it.

I dunno, I'm all for having the option but having it as a requirement seems like babying people to me. People are perfectly capable of making their own choices.
At the end of the day it still boils down to sixty quid PLUS the prescription fee for something a lot of people take on a long term basis. Seems very ripoffish.

cassid

I am on long term medication and have been for 2 years. Each time I visit my gp, he takes my BP and does a couple of other checks and asks loads of questions. My meds have not changed in 2 years but if taking medication all the time, I think its important to make sure your body is ok with it.

jam_mac_jam

up for anything wrote: »

Any decent GP will do more than a quick blood pressure check and script when someone goes in for a renewal of their pill prescription. They check that the person is still taking it correctly, see if it needs to be changed, do a check of general health as well as sexual health and check for anything that contraindicates continuing on with it such as depression, changes in menstruation or other problems. Two pills in particular, Dianette and Yasmin are being reassessed in other countries due to the large numbers of deaths attributed to them last year.

I have been on the pill for years, with many different doctors,all that happens is they check blood pressure and ask if everything is ok. Complete rip off, five minutes for 50/ 60 quid. I have always had low blood pressure and been at the right weight I don't see why a pharmacist or nurse could not do the same thing.