Dispensing medications on home visits
Frustration no 2453: Admittedly I do a lot less home visits than previously - partly due to the fact that we now directly employ some ANPs to do them, but it always puzzles me why GPs can’t carry and personally dispense a range of medications for home visits.
A house bound patients rings for a visit - they wait to be seen - someone comes out - examines them - diagnoses them and issues a prescription - at this point is the problem. How do they get the prescription? Ok if they have someone with them who can travel to a chemist but that’s not always the case, often you ask can any neighbours/friends/relatives get it for you. Some chemists deliver - but not all the same day, quite often I ring a chemist and beg them and sometimes we have to ask another chemist to the usual chemist the patient uses as they don’t always use the one that delivers same day. But sometimes it’s late in the day or no one will deliver same day. So despite being ill, despite being the most vulnerable, they wait for treatment. Often its antibiotics or a very small range of prescriptions.
Why cant I carry some or have a visit box and dispense them?