Prescription Medicine in Spain

[ceejayt]

Hi

Trying to get our GP to provide prescriptions to cover 8 week holiday practically impossible even if we can get to actually talk to them.

How easy is it to buy medicines over the counter in Spain and or France?

What do others do?

Thanks

 

[Mikeco]

No trouble with our local Pharmacy, we asked for 3 months supply and they were fine with it, we did give them a box of chocolates though. Never had a problem with getting pills in Spain when we used to go for 6 months as long as you had your prescription.

 

[Funnymunny]

Just put a written request into your receptionist stating the dates you are away on holiday and as long as its under 3 months you should not have any problems

 

[BikerGraham]

Just put a written request into your receptionist stating the dates you are away on holiday and as long as its under 3 months you should not have any problems

If only

 

[jumar]

With reference to Meds in Spain....one autonomous region may dispense a certain type of med where another region will not..
It's correct to say that pharmacies have tightened up ..
Another alternative if really in need, use GHIC to get to see a Doctor who may write a private prescription...costly I imagine..,

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[Bolti]

With reference to Meds in Spain....one autonomous region may dispense a certain type of med where another region will not..
It's correct to say that pharmacies have tightened up ..
Another alternative if really in need, use GHIC to get to see a Doctor who may write a private prescription...costly I imagine..,

Does the ghic cover you to see a doctor In Spain and is there a charge?

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

We order ours via the NHS app .goes to our practise and we normally get 56 days worth of each. So have to watch the longer months and order earlier each time plus a few extra early days to build up a stock.we pinned a note to our request for additional tabs to go away with butvit was ignored but then ordered another prescriptions worth a week later and it was allowed.( so 4 months worth) When we are away for longer we keep ordering every 56 days and they are collected by family and saved for our return ( we have topped up in Spain before as its not an issue so have a few months in reserve)

 

[jumar]

Does the ghic cover you to see a doctor In Spain and is there a charge?

I'm not 100% sure on that one...the GHIC as you know is for emergency use...but providing you get past the receptionist (International problem) I'm sure you will find the Doctor to be sympathetic to your needs...Afterall who knows more than the Doc why you need Meds.

 

[John and Jo]

I requested mine when I had the yearly meds review. Got 3 months worth but I also make sure I have plenty in hand by ordering early each time.

 

[Bolti]

I'm not 100% sure on that one...the GHIC as you know is for emergency use...but providing you get past the receptionist (International problem) I'm sure you will find the Doctor to be sympathetic to your needs...Afterall who knows more than the Doc why you need Meds.

I ask as I had to see the doctor when in Spain last March, presented my ehic, saw doctor job done, or so I thought.
Fast forward to September, start getting phone calls from a Spanish number, I thought at first it was insurance companies. The woman who rings must have English heritage as instead of speaking slowly and simply just shouts louder. She has put on the phone an English speaking gent who stated that are social security and wanted my bank details. I explained that I was in the UK and why did they want my details but got no further.
I have no problem paying if a cost has been incurred but I am not handing over bank details willy nilly.

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[gus-lopez]

How easy is it to buy medicines over the counter in Spain

Here in Murcia it used to be no problem at all even up to a couple of months back.Now anything like anti biotics requires a prescription as do anything parcetomol that are in boxes of more than 10. saying that many chemists around including ones I use will still supply me with boxes of 40 no problem yet another I use refuses without a prescription.
statins, bp tablets,thyroid tablets, etc you can still buy otc.

One option is to get a friend to collect your repeat prescription and send them to you ,
My son does this for me and partner ,easy if you are able to plan forward to stay on a campsite, postage usually takes around 8 days from experience.

The problem with that now is that now the Uk is out of the eu spain looks upon anything like a "parcel" as taxable. My daughter recently sent me 2 birthday cards & 1 xmas card in one envelope along witha small calendar. 3 weeks to get here she pai 10,45 to send & I had to pay 8.63€ to receive.

three months supply of my Levothyroxine secured,

That is because it is a throid drug & not subject to the otc+ restrictions.

Does the ghic cover you to see a doctor In Spain and is there a charge?

Yes,or a nurse,& no there wasn't/isn't as I take my mate to the doctor/nurse when he needs diabetes tests & they just fill in the ehic/ghic claim form & recover the cost from the UK. He has also had them done in other parts of spain & portugal the same way.

* by otc I mean without any type of prescription & just asking for what you require Even a photo of same.

If you have a copy of a UK prescripyion then most Farmácias will usually supply as they can photo copy the prescription** which covers there backs which is what they require..

** as an aside many vets supply prescriptions for treatment for animals that use human medication . I still have undated vets prescriptions for my dogs antibiotics that I can use even though the poor old bloke has passed on

 

[gus-lopez]

I ask as I had to see the doctor when in Spain last March, presented my ehic, saw doctor job done, or so I thought.
Fast forward to September, start getting phone calls from a Spanish number, I thought at first it was insurance companies. The woman who rings much have English heritage as instead of speaking slowly and simply just shouts louder. She have put on the phone an English speaking gent who stated that are social security and wanted my bank details

They should have filled in an EHIC/GHIC claim form. My consultorio is a small village one & they did not have to hunt to find the pad of forms? Think it was triplicate & a copy retained by my friend

 

[EuroTrotters]

Hi

Trying to get our GP to provide prescriptions to cover 8 week holiday practically impossible even if we can get to actually talk to them.

How easy is it to buy medicines over the counter in Spain and or France?

What do others do?

Thanks

what do you need ?

 

[carolyn]

But that's you're situation if everyone else does the same are they all going to be on the same meds and the same dosage. Also sooner or later we all expire the same thing everyone's stockpile gets wasted.

Us motorhomers building up an extra month or two of medication by ordering early are not the problem I can assure you, this is insignificant compared to the sackfulls that get handed in when the frail elderly die. We are the fittish older generation (I am in my prime of course!) so not many of us die unexpectedly whilst abroad.

If you’re going through a spell of having lots of medication changes it’s likely something is going on so you’re not likely to be planning a long overseas trip unless you’re a bit stupid or a risk taker. You’d have trouble getting insurance.

You are still entitled to 3 months worth of NHS prescriptions to take abroad if your condition is stable and doesn‘t need monitoring. It is a pain when the dispensary don’t see the little request notes but they deal with hundreds , maybe thousands of requests a day. I never leave it until the last minute. I always give them 2 or 3 weeks!

 

[Shrimp]

Managed to get ours done for 2 months (only 56 days) at a time several years ago and now have a bit of stock-all in date, so don’t need to worry when away.

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[The Wino]

Us motorhomers building up an extra month or two of medication by ordering early are not the problem I can assure you, this is insignificant compared to the sackfulls that get handed in when the frail elderly die. We are the fittish older generation (I am in my prime of course!) so not many of us die unexpectedly whilst abroad.

If you’re going through a spell of having lots of medication changes it’s likely something is going on so you’re not likely to be planning a long overseas trip unless you’re a bit stupid or a risk taker. You’d have trouble getting insurance.

You are still entitled to 3 months worth of NHS prescriptions to take abroad if your condition is stable and doesn‘t need monitoring. It is a pain when the dispensary don’t see the little request notes but they deal with hundreds , maybe thousands of requests a day. I never leave it until the last minute. I always give them 2 or 3 weeks!

It was the amount of drugs I cleared out of my mum and dads house that made me so against the idea of stockpiling I must have taken a dozen boxes of laxatives alone to the chemist to be destroyed they were on repeat prescription and I'm pretty sure my mum in the early stages of dementia was taking them pretty randomly.

 

[carolyn]

It was the amount of drugs I cleared out of my mum and dads house that made me so against the idea of stockpiling I must have taken a dozen boxes of laxatives alone to the chemist to be destroyed they were on repeat prescription and I'm pretty sure my mum in the early stages of dementia was taking them pretty randomly.

Yes but that’s my point, us motorhomers are insignificant compared with people like your parents. Don’t forget I spent years on the other side of the fence trying to stop unecessary ordering. There are so many levels to it with the elderly, sometimes automation and pharmacies has helped but sometimes it has made it worse.

 

[The Wino]

Yes but that’s my point, us motorhomers are insignificant compared with people like your parents. Don’t forget I spent years on the other side of the fence trying to stop unecessary ordering. There are so many levels to it with the elderly, sometimes automation and pharmacies has helped but sometimes it has made it worse.

I had the distinct impression it was the pharmacy just dishing out as much as they could maybe that's unkind. The other reason I'm not so keen on stockpiling is I know there have been supply issues with some drugs it seems unfair someone sitting on a couple of months worth if someone else can't get any.

 

[David and Sally]

Maybe a question to their reception if you can’t actually speak to a doctor. If they are cutting costs then if you were at home you would get those meds anyway.


Edit……..The patient access I use says my scrip has been approved. Not collected it yet so assume it is for the full amounts. I did specifically ask to cover till mid March.

Yes, all ok. Three months of each with no arguments.

 

[gus-lopez]

Spare a thought for us spanish residents .
Ours are actually on our plastic card (renewed 4 yearly here in Murcia& no cards at the moment only a piece of paper ) which we just show when meds are available.
For those of us up on technology there is also an app 'SMS' that allows individual patient access & also shows as & when meds are available.
If you went in ,like someone did in Andalucia , & ask for " 3 months in advance as going away" they will ask you to sign off from healthcare & reapply when you return.
When away I get someone to collect my meds as it also used to be after so many days uncollected they were lost .After 3 no shows you had to go & see the doctor for any resumption.

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[Verteuil Man]

I always carry my repeat prescription with me. If I need any medication I go to the pharmacist in Catral with the repeat and an empty packet. Never had any issues. Same in France.

 

[51LVER F0X]

Hi

Trying to get our GP to provide prescriptions to cover 8 week holiday practically impossible even if we can get to actually talk to them.

How easy is it to buy medicines over the counter in Spain and or France?

What do others do?

Thanks

We have been travelling to Europe for several years initially our doctors gave us meds for six moths then cut back to three months. Never had a problem buying meds in either France or Spain. Just take a copy of your prescription and the meds container we find that always helps.

 

[Emma Thornbridge]

I have a place in Spain - Just this year (after staying longer than planned because the weather was so goo - i nearly ran out - so i took my nearly empty packets to the pharmacy and they happily replaced them all - so relived.

 

[Mark Brenton]

We order through the NHS app on our phone, we had no problem getting my generic meds for a 4 month trip, the wife has Parkinson's so slightly more complicated but all we did was put in an order on the app, collected it and next day put in another order stating 'extended holiday' in the comments box. On our return from Morocco we realised we miscalculated and were a week short on Parkinson's meds so rather than a mad dash through Spain/France we stopped in the brilliant free park-up in Benidorm and organised replacement. Unfortunately our UK prescription didn't work because it prescribed a trade name and the Spanish use the same drug but under a different name so we had to pay €50 for a zoom consultation with doctor, they emailed a new script, then, because it's a specialist drug, cost us €70 for it to be dispensed.

Hope that helps

 

[Clive Mott]

You need to build up stocks over time as GPs are not permitted to prescribe more than 2 months.. But keep your empty pill box as Spanish pharmacists will provide against this evidence

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[David and Sally]

You need to build up stocks over time as GPs are not permitted to prescribe more than 2 months.. But keep your empty pill box as Spanish pharmacists will provide against this evidence

Is that in the UK? My meds are all three months at a time.

 

[JockandRita]

When in Spain we register with the local community surgery, using our passport, GHIC, and Sip card issued from the last visit. We are never charged for a consultation nor for the issue of a prescription. At the Pharmacy, I paid €4.50 for the prescribed inhaler, which without the prescription would have cost me €45.00.
Up until now, I have managed to obtain ATBs and steroids, (regular chest infections due to being Asthmatic), by presenting the old boxes from our last visit, however, I have become aware that it's now regarded as no longer the norm.

In Portugal earlier last year, I tried many Pharmacies to obtain the same. I was refused on every occasion without a prescription, so ended up depleting my emergency stock.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Teetime]

I’ve had prescriptions for 3 months for a long time.
We moved to a new area and Doctors a few years ago and they took some persuading.
Copied from

If you need regular medication for a stable long-term health condition, your GP may prescribe a maximum supply of three months.

https://www.mysurgerywebsite.co.uk › ...

Can my GP prescribe extra medication to cover my holiday
​

 

[Dorset Diver]

You need to build up stocks over time as GPs are not permitted to prescribe more than 2 months.. But keep your empty pill box as Spanish pharmacists will provide against this evidence

I think you will find it's three (3) months. carolyn knows and explains it well in post #43. The only problem I experience nearly every time is that the authorizing pharmacist does not read my additional request notes which is not surprising when they are so busy.

 

[Billiefarrah]

Hi

Trying to get our GP to provide prescriptions to cover 8 week holiday practically impossible even if we can get to actually talk to them.

How easy is it to buy medicines over the counter in Spain and or France?

What do others do?

Thanks

Yes all very easy just bring your prescription.

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[Neilellis3686]

My doctor has just given me enough to cover our holiday

Hi, we have a property in Spain and regularly buy meds over the counter there. They are far cheaper than here and as long as you take you uk prescription with you all should be good.