Filling a USA prescrip in England

Tom ,I agree with Frank that doing this the way he suggests would solve the logistical aspect of this . I don't have anything to add as far as an answer is concerned , but I would add another question to help address this . Having a prescription on hand written by an American doctor not certified to practice medicine in Britain , would a British chemist be legally permitted to fill such a prescription ? Again , I don't have an answer , but hopefully someone could answer this .

Tom, Your U.S. prescription is not going to be valid in the U.K. You are going to need to see a doctor in the UK. If you happen to be going to London, I can recommend Medicentre (www.medicentre.co.uk) as a place where you can walk-in and pay a fee to see a a doctor even if you are not registered with the NHS. There is one in Victoria Station, as well as in other places in London. I used them when I lived in London. You might try contacting this organization: www.diabetes.co.uk and seeing if they can give you more specific advice.

The simple solution might be to have your doctor write a number of single prescriptions. That way your a covered either way.

Tom clearly states in his posting - 3rd paragraph that he needs to have a British doctor rewrite the prescription. But this is done all the time for similar situations. The first British doctor will solve his problems.

Since you'll be visiting friends in Southport maybe they can contact their doctor (or give you the name and contact information and contact the doctor yourself) and find out what they would require for you to have the prescription refilled through him/her.

Tom: I'm a Type II diabetic, and I take insulin by choice. Before you leave, time out your prescriptions to where your doctor can give you a 90 day prescription via Flexpen's. I order my prescriptions online at a great discount, and my insurance pays for them. You can take your pens in a small lunchbox size cooler. Look for accommodations that have fridges to store your stash in. After you get to Europe, you wouldn't need to get local pharmacies to fill your order.
And Flexpen's are so much easier to deal with vs. vials and syringes, especially when traveling.

Tom, I just wanted to second the use of flexpens, if you have not already used them - they really make shooting up much easier espically when traveling. Jim.

Thx all for the help and suggestions. I appreciate all your sincere attempts to suggest alternative ways to do what I need to do. But I use an insulin pump and I need to fill reservoirs every 3 days so pens don't work for me. And I'll be traveling all around, often hosteling, with no set itinerary, and planning on finding fridges is simply impractical. Moreover insulin will surely reach room temp in less than the time btwn checking out of one hotel with a fridge and checking into another one. To be perfectly honest but hopefully NOT rude, I asked the question I asked because I want an answer to it. So at the risk of offending anyone, especially those of u who have already made sincere attempts to help me, which I DO appreciate, let me ask again: is it possible to fill a single written prescription once AND then at a later date get a pre-authorized refill WITHOUT having to give the 2nd pharmacy a new written prescrip? That's all I'm asking. Thx.

Tom, If you don't get an answer on this forum, that link I gave you for www.diabetes.co.uk has an online forum specifically for diabetes. You may be able to ask your question there and get an answer from someone who has specific experience. The NHS limits the quantity of medications that you can get at one time. Since you are a tourist and will be paying out of pocket, I don't know if the same rule applies. A private provider in the UK may be able to write you two prescriptions. As an American living in the UK, I used a private provider in the UK; however the meds that I got were just one-time (e.g. antibiotics) and I paid for them. I never got anything repeatedly for a chronic condition.

Tom ,I understand your frustration , and appreciate your question . I am not an expert , but I have one other thought , I hope it helps ; The major pharmacy chain in England is " Boots , the Chemist " or simply " Boots " . When we traveled in the UK we found them everywhere . I posit that they probably run on similar technology as major chains here , i.e. CVS , Rite Aid , Duane-Reade , WalMart etc , in suburban NYC . Here , if you put an RX in at one location , it can be refilled at any other via the computer database . I would imagine Boots works in a similar fashion . Again , I'm not certain but that might work , considering the ubiquity of Boots' locations . they probably have a customer service contact that could confirm this Best Wishes ,Steve

tom I appreiciate you need a specific answer to your specific issue, but really it seems like it would be so much easier to simply have your doctor write two seperate prescriptions,, it doesn't sound difficult ( but then maybe in States doctors won't do that, or they charge you for writing two out, I have no idea)
I will also pm you .

I have a pretty minor heart condition but I have a lot of meds. I emailed a clinic in Budapest and asked if they would see me and write a perscription when I go to town. No problem at all. $30 visit with the doctor and very reasonable priced meds. But i planned ahead before i left the US.

Tom, My wife has diabetes and also uses a pump. I'm not able to answer your question about prescriptions, but will tell you what we do. In about 10 trips overseas she has always taken along enough insulin (Humulog) to last the 4 to 8 weeks we are gone. First, I just checked the expiration dates of the insulin she has in the fridge--its about 2 years out. You may want to investigate why yours has a shorter time period until expiration. When traveling she makes use of a refrigerator when one is available in the room, and has often asked the hotel to store the insulin in a cooler/refrigerator when one is not in the room. Next, she makes use of a pack that stores the bottles of insulin and maintains a cool temperature. I won't explain the process; just see this website: http://www.frioinsulincoolingcase.com
By storing in this cool pack we've never had insulin "spoil" in warm weather. I wish you well. Good luck and good health.

I take regular medication and am given prescriptions for 2 months supply at a time which I collect from the same chemist/pharmacy. However, the chemist requires a fresh prescription form each time which is sent to them by my GP. From past experience chemists did not take prescription forms from out of area GPs, they had no way of checking its authenticity. But that was some years ago and they may now have ways of doing so.

PS - This statement from an NHS website "It is illegal for pharmacists to supply medicines based on prescriptions issued outside the UK, the EEA or Switzerland. This includes prescriptions issued by doctors in the US and Canada." Also has advice on how overseas visitors can obtain medications http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1011.aspx?CategoryID=73&SubCategoryID=100

Home at last, after 3 weeks of major truck breakdowns on an RV trip to Texas, so I can finally do a casual job of reviewing all the great advice you all have given me, and reply as I should have earlier, but I was sort of distracted! I agree getting my US Dr to write me two separate prescrips for one vial of Humalog per prescrip sounds like the smartest thing for me to do. I assume I will be able to find a hospital or clinic where an English doctor will do that for me both times I'll need a refill. I also appreciate hearing from those of you who have taken Humalog on previous trips and found that it does retain its potency even after it has been at room temperature for more than 28 days. I'm not sure I'm ready to take that chance myself, given the "fine print" the drug companies issue with each vial, but it's helpful to have real world experience to the contrary. Thx again one and all... Tom

Tom, no one suggested leaving it at room temperature for that long. Galen said that they use refrigerators where they are staying, or they ask to put it in a cooler, and his wife uses a chill pack otherwise.