# cross-border prescriptions



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

a question was asked on a local FB group about using a UK prescription here

my initial reaction was that it couldn't be, but a quick google gave me this...



> A prescription delivered by a doctor in your country is valid in all EU countries. However, medicine prescribed in one country might not be available in another, or it may bear another name.
> As of 25 October 2013 you are able to ask for a *cross-border prescription* which is intended for use in another EU country: these are designed to help the pharmacist understand the prescription easily, the ingredients of the medicine and their dosage.


not quite sure how this would work costs-wise, nor that the farmacias here would be aware of it so soon after the new legislation

EU – Presenting a prescription at a chemist's abroad – Your Europe

to take a prescription from Spain to another EU country you need to ask for a _*receta transfronteriza*_


----------



## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> a question was asked on a local FB group about using a UK prescription here
> 
> my initial reaction was that it couldn't be, but a quick google gave me this...
> 
> ...


I had medication prescribed to me by the Spanish hospital. On a visit to the UK they said I could have the required injections, provided I pay for them. The NHS in the UK only uses tablet medication as injections were too expensive. I showed the hospital in the UK the prescription and dosage. The nurse said she was impressed as it was less complicated than the UK system and she could understand what was needed without having to translate.


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> a question was asked on a local FB group about using a UK prescription here
> 
> my initial reaction was that it couldn't be, but a quick google gave me this...
> 
> ...


The whole concept is sound except that people who get their prescribed medications free/at reduced cost in their own country may well have to pay the *full* cost when abroad:
EU â€“ Buying prescription medicine abroad: expenses and reimbursement â€“ Your Europe

However, I think it is something that is likely to be abused by the usual suspects.


----------



## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> The whole concept is sound except that people who get their prescribed medications free/at reduced cost in their own country may well have to pay the *full* cost when abroad:
> EU â€“ Buying prescription medicine abroad: expenses and reimbursement â€“ Your Europe
> 
> However, I think it is something that is likely to be abused by the usual suspects.


For honest people like the majority of us, the idea of having cross border scripts would be great, if we are on holiday in any EEU country.
Last year I had problems with my scripts, as some know I had to visit UK on a number of occasions to care for my mum who was terminally ill. The scripts you get up here in Valencia region have a date to collect them, usually twice a month on mine, and they have to be collected within 10 days after the date, or you loose that bit of your medication. So! If you were in the situation I was in and needed more medication to cover the time you were out of Spain, I had to pay the full cost for the rest at our pharmacy, to make sure I had enough. I had my EHIC card at the time but couldn't get out of my mums place long enough to see a GP nearby, she was too ill, so I bought the extra meds here before I went, at full cost, which I was relieved to be able to do, as my mum was more important.
I can see how the idea of cross border scripts could be mis-used though, by tax dodgers, and those perhaps a bit addicted to painkillers, they could get double the dose here and there and start dealing!
There is an interesting article in today's Guardian, which demonstrates how the health service in UK is loosing billions, I think the cross border script idea whilst it is good for the majority, will have to be thoroughly monitored to prevent abuse.
NHS fraud could be as high as £5bn a year, says former health service official | Society | The Guardian


----------



## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> The whole concept is sound except that people who get their prescribed medications free/at reduced cost in their own country may well have to pay the *full* cost when abroad:
> EU â€“ Buying prescription medicine abroad: expenses and reimbursement â€“ Your Europe
> 
> However, I think it is something that is likely to be abused by the usual suspects.


One of my medications in Spain costs €1.50 a packet. The only reason I go to the doctor is because they want to monitor the affect. I just wonder how much the cost for that medication would be in the UK. I cannot see that being as cheap as that. When I get my prescription here I pay 10%, which is just 15 centimos. By all means have cross border prescriptions, but there has to be a cost somewhere.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Aron said:


> One of my medications in Spain costs €1.50 a packet. The only reason I go to the doctor is because they want to monitor the affect. I just wonder how much the cost for that medication would be in the UK. I cannot see that being as cheap as that. When I get my prescription here I pay 10%, which is just 15 centimos. By all means have cross border prescriptions, but there has to be a cost somewhere.


If the medication is available on prescription only in the UK, for anyone who has to pay for their prescription (ie not a pensioner nor on benefits) then it would cost them £8.20 from next week as the prescription charge is going up, with a further 20p increase to follow next year. For pensioners, of course, the cost would be zero.

PS Sorry, should have said England not UK - everybody gets free prescriptions in Wales, not sure about Scotland.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> If the medication is available on prescription only in the UK, for anyone who has to pay for their prescription (ie not a pensioner nor on benefits) then it would cost them £8.20 from next week as the prescription charge is going up, with a further 20p increase to follow next year. For pensioners, of course, the cost would be zero.
> 
> PS Sorry, should have said England not UK - everybody gets free prescriptions in Wales, not sure about Scotland.


is that still per item?


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> is that still per item?


Yes, except that anyone who needs long term medication can get an annual prescription, not sure how much that is now.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Yes, except that anyone who needs long term medication can get an annual prescription, not sure how much that is now.


that's really scary!

my dd's last one would have been 25 quid!! 

it was actually about 4.50€ 

I see lots of complaints on FB groups & sometimes here from pensioners who find they have to pay something for their prescriptions here, when they get them free in the UK - but I think the system here is much fairer


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> that's really scary!
> 
> my dd's last one would have been 25 quid!!
> 
> ...


Swings and roundabouts, I suppose. I always had to pay for my prescriptions in England so the system here is better for me too, but is not so beneficial for anybody who needs really expensive drugs (I believe some of them can run into hundreds of Euros per month, so even paying 40% would be no joke) nor for pensioners.

Given the differences now between England, Scotland and Wales, it often makes me smile when I hear people complaining about differences between the autonomous regions in Spain. I read an article last week about NHS patients in Wales having to register at an address in England (either genuinely or using an address of convenience - which is fraud in my book) in order to get faster access to things like scans and other tests for cancer, and certain cancer drugs, because giving everyone in Wales free prescriptions and free parking at hospitals has used up so much of the NHS budget there. However, people in England can't pop into Wales and get their prescriptions free!


----------

