Add a Repeat Dispensing Prescription in Therapy

To add a repeat dispensing prescription:

1. From Consultation Manager, select the patient required and if necessary open a consultation.
2. Select the Therapy tab and then either press <F8> or start typing the medication name, the Repeat Master - Add screen displays.
3. Select the required drug and enter quantity, dosage etc as required.
4. Tick Batch to turn the repeat into a new repeat dispensing prescription.
   • An Interval box appears in place of Days Between Issues. This denotes the interval between issues. The default is 28 days, but you can alter it if you like, using the abbreviated format - e.g. 2M (two months), 6W (six weeks) etc.
   • The Repeats box defaults to 6. This number of repeats can also be amended, though you cannot exceed one year (Interval x Repeats).

   For example - With Repeats at 6, and the interval set at 1 month, this is a repeat master - a repeat dispensing prescription - with a batch of six issues, one month between issues.

5. Select OK, read and deal with any drug warnings as per your practice protocol. The repeat dispensing prescription is now added to the Repeat Master list.

Please note the following:

• On Therapy Add, the Repeat Until Date becomes read only, showing a date that corresponds to the Interval/Repeats. If the Interval is set to 1 month and Repeats to 6 and today is, for example, 21st June, then Repeat Until Date is six months' in the future (Interval x Repeats), e.g. 21st December.
• If you uncheck the Batch box, the batch instructions disappear and it reverts to a normal Therapy Add screen.
• If the drug is changed, then all data is cleared.
• The duration of the batch prescription cannot exceed one year, for example, if you set the interval to 2 months and the repeat to 9, interval x repeats = 18 months. An error message displays: The total duration of this batch prescription may not exceed one year.
• Depending on the Repeat Dispensing Warning days settings in Consultation - Options - Setup, when reauthorising a batch prescription which has the set number of days before expiry, you are prompted "Please ask the patient whether they have any unused batch issues remaining in their possession from a previous repeat prescription"
• All Schedule 1, 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs and buprenorphine are excluded, where these are used in the treatment of drug misuse and dependence. If the drug is a controlled drug, the Batch box is unticked and disabled. If you do try and save a prescription with a controlled drug selected, an error message is shown: [drug name] is a controlled drug and cannot be provided as a batch prescription.
• If the selected prescriber is a Community Practitioner Nurse Prescriber or an Supplementary Prescriber and your practice is in Scotland or Wales, the Batch box is unavailable. An error message is shown if the Batch box becomes the focus - Nurse prescribers may not authorise batch prescriptions.
• Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribers and Independent/Supplementary Prescribers in England and Northern Ireland can print batch prescriptions under their own names.