Avoid the wait
Order your prescription in advance
When you request a prescription from your pharmacy, the pharmacy team needs to carry out a number of critical steps to ensure the medication and devices supplied are safe and appropriate for you.
Sometimes there may be a delay in getting your prescription, but please be aware that your pharmacist and their team always do their best to minimise the length of time you may need to wait.
What causes possible delays?
- Issuing your Healthmail Prescription
At times there might be a delay in the issuing of your healthmail prescription from your GP or relevant healthcare provider to the pharmacy.
- Crucial checks
Crucial checks take place for the safe supply of medicines. This takes time and is essential for your safety.
- Communications between pharmacist and prescriber
Your pharmacists may need to discuss your prescription with the prescriber.
- Delays in receiving medicines
Receiving medicines which need to be ordered in, can take several days.
- Medicine shortages
Medicine shortages are becoming increasingly common. This means that sometimes the pharmacy may need to source the prescription medicine from another pharmacy or wholesaler, or contact the prescriber for an alternative. This can take time.
How to minimise the delay?
Contact your pharmacy to order your prescription in advance
The pharmacy team will advise you when your prescription will be ready for collection.
Inform the Pharmacy Team of Your Required Medication from Your Prescription
The Pharmacy Will Guide You if Prescription is Delayed
If the prescription has not arrived at the pharmacy from your prescriber, the pharmacy team will advise you of the next steps.
Healthmail prescriptions
- Prescribers issue healthmail prescriptions to pharmacies either while the medical consultation is taking place or later that day.
- Contact your pharmacy in advance to ensure that they have received your healthmail prescription and inform them of your intention to collect it.
Please, be patient
- Pharmacies receive many prescriptions and provide countless other services daily.
- It is when a patient requests a prescription that the pharmacy starts the dispensing process and not when a healthmail prescription is received.
