Repeat prescriptions are costing the NHS and patients a wealth of their time and money, with re-occurring medicines taking up £8 billion of the NHS’ budget a year, making it the biggest cost after staff and accounting for almost half its total spend on medicine.

The new ‘Repeat Prescription Report’, put together by Dr. Duncan Petty, Research Practitioner in Primary Care Pharmacy at the University of Bradford and published by Pharmacy2U, looks into the effects patients relying on this set-up are having on the NHS. With 43% of the UK population dependent on some form of repeat prescription, Dr. Petty’s research shows how both the NHS and patients can benefit from managing repeat prescriptions online.
According to the report, managing repeat prescriptions online saves GPs six hours and 40 minutes a week on paperwork alone while also saving patients three hours and 30 minutes a month.

The report found that diabetes is the most common and costly repeat prescription for the NHS, on which spends over £82 million a year.
In the studio for more on the report and how to get the best out of the Electronic Prescription Service, is author of the ‘Repeat Prescription Report’, Dr. Duncan Petty.