Patients with chronic conditions will no longer have to make an appointment to see their doctor to get repeat prescriptions thanks to a new type of standard prescription being launched in Spain tomorrow.
The new prescription should significantly ease pressure on the primary care sector, whilst at the same time making life easier for those on long-term treatment programmes.
The new standardised prescription guarantees that any pharmacy in Spain will dispense a patient's medicine, whether it be for a single use or part of a long-term treatment plan.
From tomorrow, there will be just one type of prescription used across the whole of Spain, whether in the private or public sector, and including hospital prescriptions. Prescriptions will have to show the patient's details, the name of the
medicine, the name of the person prescribing the medicine as well as the dose, treatment duration and date. However, they will also contain additional details, aimed specifically at patients with chronic conditions, which will allow for the drugs to be dispensed a specific number of times after the treatment start date.
The new electronic prescription, which will be introduced on a gradual basis across the whole of Spain, will make sure that patients can get hold of their prescription drugs anywhere in Spain, but will prevent patients from accumulating medicines at home by only allowing a month's worth to be dispensed at any one time.
Under the new law, chiropodists will now also be allowed to prescribe prescription drugs, just like doctors and orthodontists.
