How does the NHS Pre Payment certificate work?
Posted by juujuubeeju@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 13 comments
I’m an international student who’s been diagnosed with lupus since 10 years. I bought my stock of medicines but unfortunately am going through a really bad flare up so I consulted a rheumatologist and he’s decided to change my meds since my previous ones don’t seem to work. Anyone with a chronic illness would know exactly how many meds we go through in a month. So I wanted to apply for a Pre Payment certificate but I’m not exactly sure how it works. If anyone could help I’d be very grateful. Thank you xx
woman_on_the_move@reddit
You can pay monthly by direct debit for an annual prepayment card. There's no card anymore just an email with a number. You can give your usual pharmacy this number and they'll usually not ask for it again. It's a cheap way for nhs to collect the money and less stressful for you since you can get the drugs you need to manage your condition.
Weirdly drugs dispensed by a hospital are at no cost. The trend however isvto refer you back to your GP for management of your condition for which they receive payment for. You need to get agreement with your GP on your list of medications you can order through the nhs app.
arenicolamarina@reddit
If you have regular repeat prescriptions of the same medication, you can ask your doctor to put you on 3 monthly repeats. That way you can fit 2 x 3 months into one 3 monthly prescription if you time your repeat requests well & save more money. No good if you need any prescriptions outside the validity of the 3 month PPCs though.
Flaramon@reddit
I'm Bipolar, it's absolutely essential if you could be on medications for mid-long term. I also have to get short prescriptions, for my safety. That means I'd be paying £79.20 (8 items) every two weeks (or £2059.20 a year). Instead I pay just £114.50 for an annual certificate - with the bonus that all new medications are covered.
CycIizine@reddit
Was it an NHS rheumatologist? Who has issued the prescription? Private prescriptions are not covered.
ukbot-nicolabot@reddit
OP or a mod marked this as the best answer, given by /u/benjymous.
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benjymous@reddit
from https://www.gov.uk/get-a-ppc
Typically, prescriptions can be requested every ~28 days (since lots of meds come in boxes of 28), so you can easily get 4x prescriptions in 3 months, which saves you £7.60
If you're getting multiple items (different medications) a month then it's definitely worth doing.
As to how it works, you can usually buy one directly at the pharmacy - that way it starts on day 1 with your first prescription. Otherwise you can apply online.
When you collect the prescription, they give you a form to sign with a list of reasons you don't have to pay - just tick the prepayment certificate box - they don't usually need to see the actual certificate, but best have it to hand the first time, or if you're using a different pharmacy to your usual one.
juujuubeeju@reddit (OP)
Great! Thank you so much
tmstms@reddit
Bloody hell! Massive saving! Thank you for explaining. I am not OP but I just had to go to the doctor for a skin matter and the initial prescription was 5 items (of which 1 was a certain kind of gloves and 2 were reasonably innocuous creams.) The doctor (it was a referral, so she had not met me before) told me You will definitely need a prepayment certificate, because the cost is going to add up, to which I replied Fortunately or unfortunately, I have passed the age at which I pay for prescriptions (I am 64) to which she very graciously said Oh! I didn't see. That's a compliment, then. But it's amazing if only 4 items already saves one money.
JBEqualizer@reddit
Lots also come in multiples of 28 if you need to take more than 1 a day.
Depending on whether I take 1, 4, or 8 a day, I get boxes of 28 and 112, but my 224 comes in 2 boxes of 100 plus a few extra strips.
FelisCantabrigiensis@reddit
Buy one here: https://buy-prescription-prepayment-certificate.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/start (you are, of course, eligible for NHS services since you paid the health surcharge with your student visa).
You can buy one immediately for a one-off payment, which is probably the most sensible idea for you. It is issued immediately, so you can use it the next day (or maybe even same day).
A pharmacy may ask to see the details - particularly the number of the certificate - so keep it handy when you collect prescriptions. I have mine saved on my phone. If you use the same pharmacy often, they'll probably stop asking as soon as they recognise you.
Make sure you keep track of when it expires, because you will get a fine if you try to use it and it is no longer valid. You can simply buy another one if you are in still in the UK and eligible for NHS services.
bishibashi@reddit
Just sign up and whenever you collect prescriptions tell them you have a PPC, that’s it. They don’t check in pharmacies, but if you say you have one and that doesn’t tally at the back end you get fined I believe.
Jamerson1510@reddit
Here you go , only need 3 prescriptions and then it pays for itself , valid for 3 months or there is an alternate year option.
https://buy-prescription-prepayment-certificate.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/start
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