The purpose of this policy is to ensure timely and efficient handling of new medications prescribed to patients during hospital visits and to communicate clearly the collection timeline for these medications.
This policy applies to all patients who have had new medications initiated by a hospital consultant or specialist and subsequently require those medications to be dispensed by the Practice dispensary.
When the Surgery receives a hospital communication (letter, discharge summary, or electronic notification) detailing new medications prescribed to a patient, the practice will process the medication requests promptly.
New medication requests from hospital letters will be processed and prepared for patient collection 5 working days from the date of the letter is received by the practice.
Patients will be informed that their newly prescribed hospital medications will be ready for collection 5 working days from the date of the receipt of the hospital letter by the practice.
Patients should then collect their medications from the practice dispensary after the 5-day processing period.
In urgent cases where the medication is required sooner, the hospital should be contacted directly.