Bringing 3 month prescription to the North?

araic88

Hi there,
I live in the south but have been seeing a psychiatrist in Dublin since a severe bout of depression about 2 years ago. I had tried the public system and didn't find it good at all where I live (Doctors seem good but are way over stretched) so went private.
Luckily I don't have to go to the psychiatrist very frequently at the moment (touch wood!) but each visit costs €100+ when you include petrol, I keep VHI cover in case I require hospitalisation again which is another chunk from each pay check & then medications cost €144 each month (it should be more but luckily the government do have some sort of cap on it!)

Anyway, the chemist I've been going to has been finding it hard to source one of the 3 medications I'm on. I mentioned that to the psychiatrist today & he said he'd write down the generic name but if that didn't help I might have to go up north to get it. I was a little surprised and asked is that even allowed - he said quite a lot of his patients fill their prescriptions up there.
Is it really possible to go to chemists in the north with prescriptions you've been given in the republic? I imagine it could be a lot cheaper! My current prescription is for 3 months, do you think I could even get it all at once?! Even if the chemist can source the one that supplies are low of, it could save quite a bit!
I don't mean to sound like a scammer or disloyal, but I feel an ease on financial worries would be good for my wellbeing
Thanks!

huskerdu

If you cant get the drug in Ireland, then yes, you should try the North.

AFAIK, they will fill the 3 month prescription, unless it is a drug that 3 months worth is a potential overdose in which case they don't like giving out too much at the same time.

As for the costs, if you are already paying 144 a month here, then the extra drug will be free ( paid by the Government) and you will have to pay for it in the North, so it wont save you money. If it very expensive, you will have to pay the full cost in the North and in ROI, you will only have to pay 144 a month. So you might save money, but you might not.

If I were you, I would contact a pharmacy in Newry by phone and ask

Can they fill the prescription
Will they fill all 3 months
What will it cost
Will they have to order it in, or have it in stock

If your local pharmacy cant source it, you can try somewhere else. In Dublin, a big chain like McCabes are very good for sourcing rarer items.

locum-motion

Just by the way,the €144 is per month. You can't get 3 month's supply for one contribution of €144.

huskerdu wrote: »

If you cant get the drug in Ireland, then yes, you should try the North.

AFAIK, they will fill the 3 month prescription, unless it is a drug that 3 months worth is a potential overdose in which case they don't like giving out too much at the same time.

As for the costs, if you are already paying 144 a month here, then the extra drug will be free ( paid by the Government) and you will have to pay for it in the North, so it wont save you money. If it very expensive, you will have to pay the full cost in the North and in ROI, you will only have to pay 144 a month. So you might save money, but you might not.

If I were you, I would contact a pharmacy in Newry by phone and ask

Can they fill the prescription
Will they fill all 3 months
What will it cost
Will they have to order it in, or have it in stock

If your local pharmacy cant source it, you can try somewhere else. In Dublin, a big chain like McCabes are very good for sourcing rarer items.

Every pharmacy in the state, be they an independent, a small chain, a large chain or a multinational, sources their product from the same suppliers. It is possible (but in my opinion, highly unlikely) that the OP's pharmacist simply couldn't be arsed attempting to source the medication in question. The more likely explanation is that there is a genuine supply problem with the med, in which case then McCabe's won't be able to get it either.

Off the top of my head, I can think of one common-ish psych med that has recently been out of stock. The manufacturer will be unable to supply any more until (at least) the third quarter of 2014. By that time, every patient that uses it will have been switched to an alternative and stabilised, so they won't be switched back. To be brutally honest, the manufacturer might as well just discontinue it now, because they'll never recapture that lost market share.

OP, if you wish to tell us the name of the medication, I'll let you know if there's a supply problem with it. If you'd rather not, then fair enough. (Or you could let me know by PM, if you wish)

locum-motion

The OP has PM'd me. The medication in question is the same one that I was talking about in my last post. I won't name it publicly to protect their privacy. It is unavailable. Full stop. The manufacturer cannot supply it. Therefore no pharmacy will be able to get it. There is no generic equivalent of it available.

gctest50

Check these with an actual real live living pharmacist


http://bit.ly/1830y9P <

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Scarce 01 Oct 2013

http://bit.ly/1cx32F5 <---- Discontinued 01 Oct 2013




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