Sir, – Vincent Bourke believes “the paying customer is badly served by the move to e-prescriptions, introduced during the pandemic” (Letters, June 8th). He maintains that nominating a pharmacy is unnecessary, there is no choice to receive it in person or to one’s own email address allowing one to shop around for better value and that payment is necessary which is not a qualifying medical expense for reimbursement.
Sometimes it is also helpful to focus on the positives when changes arise. People tend to build a relationship with a particular pharmacy with whom they trust for advice and services, so nominating a pharmacy can be beneficial. Transmitting the doctor’s prescription directly between healthcare professionals using a secure system is superior to providing it to a private email address as I assume pharmacists would have difficulty confirming scripts coming from a private email address were genuine.
A person may receive a prescription in print form from a doctor which may enable them to “shop around” for better value. E-prescriptions are more convenient and faster, and I am thankful I no longer must waste time on visiting the surgery and a stay in a packed waiting room.
Paying for a prescription was always standard pre-pandemic and regarding reimbursement for medical expenses, I have noticed the cost of prescription drugs has reduced massively in the last few years and the Drugs Payment Scheme has reduced from ¤140 to ¤80 per month.
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-Yours, etc,
KEVIN McLOUGHLIN,
Ballina,
Co Mayo.