The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004

Prescribing

39.—(1) Subject to paragraphs 42 and 43, a prescriber shall order any drugs, medicines or appliances which are needed for the treatment of any patient who is receiving treatment under the contract by issuing to that patient a prescription form or a repeatable prescription and such a prescription form or repeatable prescription shall not be used in any other circumstances.

(2) A prescriber may order drugs, medicines or appliances on a repeatable prescription only where the drugs, medicines or appliances are to be provided more than once.

(3) In issuing any such prescription form or repeatable prescription the prescriber shall himself sign the prescription form or repeatable prescription in ink with his initials, or forenames, and surname in his own handwriting and not by means of a stamp and shall so sign only after particulars of the order have been inserted in the prescription form or repeatable prescription, and—

(a) the prescription form or repeatable prescription shall not refer to any previous prescription form or repeatable prescription; and

(b) a separate prescription form or repeatable prescription shall be used for each patient, except where a bulk prescription is issued for a school or institution under paragraph 44.

(4) Where a prescriber orders the drug buprenorphine or a drug specified in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (controlled drugs to which regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26 and 27 of those Regulations apply)(1) for supply by instalments for treating addiction to any drug specified in that Schedule, he shall—

(a) use only the prescription form provided specially for the purposes of supply by instalments;

(a) specify the number of instalments to be dispensed and the interval between each instalment; and

(c) order only such quantity of the drug as will provide treatment for a period not exceeding 14 days.

(5) The prescription form provided specially for the purpose of supply by instalments shall not be used for any purpose other than ordering drugs in accordance with sub-paragraph (4).

(6) In a case of urgency a prescriber may request a chemist to dispense a drug or medicine before a prescription form or repeatable prescription is issued, only if—

(a) that drug or medicine is not a Scheduled drug;

(b) that drug is not a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(2), other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedules 4 or 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001(3); and

(c) he undertakes to furnish the chemist, within 72 hours, with a prescription form or repeatable prescription completed in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).

(7) In a case of urgency a prescriber may request a chemist to dispense an appliance before a prescription form or repeatable prescription is issued only if—

(a) that appliance does not contain a Scheduled drug or a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedule 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001;

(b) in the case of a restricted availability appliance, the patient is a person, or it is for a purpose, specified in the Drug Tariff; and

(c) he undertakes to furnish the chemist, within 72 hours, with a prescription form or repeatable prescription completed in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).

(1)

S.I. 2001/3998; Schedule 2 was amended by S.I. 2003/1432.

(2)

1971 c. 38.

(3)

Schedule 4 was amended by S.I. 2003/1432.