Information on
prescriptions issued
after a private
consultation
This leaflet explains how a prescription
issued after a private consultation is
different to an NHS prescription and how
you can receive your medicine.
Private prescriptions can incur higher charges
for patients than NHS prescriptions. Patients
may ask their GP for their medicines to be
supplied on the NHS using an FP10 form.
Alternatively, private clinicians may write to
NHS clinicians requesting for treatment to be
continued within primary care.
Please note NHS clinicians
are under no obligation to
issue an FP10 for patients
who have had medicines
prescribed privately.
Please see further details
below explaining why
your GP may not be able
to transfer your private
prescription onto an
NHS prescription.
I cannot afford to pay for the
treatment privately, what
can I do?
It is important to consider all potential
costs when using a private consultant and
this includes medicine costs. If your GP is
unable to prescribe the medicine on an
NHS prescription for one of the reasons
documented, you should speak to the clinician
that issued you with the private prescription
to discuss what to do next. This may include
them recommending an alternative less costly
medicine or one which may be prescribed by
your GP on an NHS prescription.
My GP has offered me a
private prescription even
though I am being seen on the
NHS. Why is this?
There are a few rare circumstances where
NHS healthcare professionals may issue private
prescriptions to their NHS patients. These are:
• Malaria prophylaxis for protection
when travelling abroad or medicines
only needed in case there is an illness
or injury when travelling abroad.
Treatments that may
travelling are not
considered suitable
for prescribing on the
NHS. The traveller
should pay the cost of
these treatments.
• Travel vaccines that are not allowed on the
NHS, such as yellow fever or rabies vaccine.
Some vaccines for travel are not allowed on
the NHS and therefore travellers needing these
vaccines will need to pay for them privately.
• Items which are blacklisted or not available
for specific conditions on the NHS.
In very rare circumstances, your healthcare
professional may think that an item not available
for prescribing on the NHS is suitable for you
and with your agreement may need to issue a
private prescription for this item. Your healthcare
professional may charge you a fee for writing a
private prescription.
I22066806 Produced by KCHFT Communications
DRAFT
Why am I being given a
private prescription?
If you have seen a doctor or other healthcare
professional privately and they need you to
start a treatment, you may be issued with a
private prescription. Private doctors are not
allowed to issue NHS prescriptions. This is
because private consultations are not part of
the NHS.
What is the difference between a
private prescription and an NHS
prescription?
With a private prescription you will need to
pay for the full cost of the medicine plus a
dispensing fee, which covers the pharmacy’s
costs. The pharmacy will calculate the total
cost, and this is paid by you or your medical
insurance company. The total cost can vary
at different pharmacies, so it is worth asking
more than one pharmacy how much they
will charge you to provide the prescription.
Sometimes private prescriptions cost less than
the NHS prescription charge. With an NHS
prescription you pay an NHS prescription
charge per item (a fixed tax) unless you are
entitled to free NHS prescriptions.
Can I ask my GP for an NHS
prescription if I have seen
the clinician privately?
If you enter the NHS for further treatment
after your initial prescription was dispensed
privately, then your GP may be able to issue a
prescription on the NHS. However, there are
a number of reasons why your GP may not be
able to transfer your private prescription onto an
NHS prescription. These include:
• The medicine being recommended on your
private prescription is not allowed on an
NHS prescription.
If a medicine is not allowed on an NHS
prescription (blacklisted) then it cannot be
prescribed by anyone on the NHS.
• The medicine being recommended is not
provided by your local NHS.
In your local area the medicine may not be
included in the normal NHS treatment for your
condition, therefore it would not normally be
recommended on an NHS prescription.
• The medicine being recommended is
not included in your local medicine
formulary.
A medicine formulary contains a list of
preferred local medicine choices. You may
be offered a preferred alternative on NHS
prescription instead of the medicine on your
private prescription.
• The medicine being recommended is
only suitable for specialist or specialised
prescribing.
Normally, NHS specialists and not GPs,
would prescribe the medicine. So, GPs may
be unfamiliar with the medicine and how
it should be prescribed and reviewed. GPs
would not normally prescribe these medicines
on NHS prescription.
• Your GP may not agree with the choice
of medicine being recommended.
Your GP may not agree with the choice of
medicine recommended by your private
clinician. You may be offered an alternative
on NHS prescription.
• The medicine is not what would
normally be prescribed for you first.
In your local area other treatments are
recommended to be tried and considered
first. You may be offered one of these
medicines on NHS prescription first.
How do I get my medicines
if they are on a private
prescription?
If you have been given a private prescription by
your healthcare professional, you can have this
dispensed at a pharmacy of your choice.
A private prescription is normally written
on letterheaded paper and has all the
information about the medicine and how you
need to take it. The pharmacy will inform you
how much they will charge you to provide
the prescription. The pharmacy has to keep
the private prescription for their records once
your medicine has been dispensed.
DRAFT
