Help! Being vastly overcharged!

[BusyLizzy]

Hi there,

The opthalmologist decided, in his wisdom, to prescribe preservative-free sodium cromoglycate to enable me to wear my rigid contact lens.
I've been put on this for 6 months and am being told to use one drop a day.
Today I collected the prescription and had to pay the full price for ONE bottle (£6.85) which has to be discarded in a week's time.
This means I will have to pay £164.40 for eye drops for the 6 months' treatment duration (24 weeks x one bottle at £6.85).

Is this common practice? Do I have to accept this or is there any way I can have several bottles at a time. The bottles of sodium cromoglycate available in chemists (containing a preservative) only cost £4.35 and last 4 weeks, so how can the NHS justify charging me £27.40 for 4 weeks' preservative-free drops??!!

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi there!
I think preservative free drops usually are a bit more expensive. And of course, because they're preservative free, they don't last nearly as long. But I don't see why you can't get a prescription for at least a month's supply, which would reduce the cost. Alternatively, it might be worth your while to get a prescription 'season ticket' whereby you pay a set amount for a year, and that covers all your prescriptions (for any health condition). I don't know how much a season ticket costs these days, but I'm sure someone on this forum will be able to tell us.
Good luck
Anne

[Pat Chinnery]

Hi there Busylizzy.
you can get the pre pay card for about £97 and this covers you for all prescriptions for a year. On the NHS website they have all the details. I have paid for my card by phone before while waiting for my prescription to be made up and was covered straight away.
Pat

[BusyLizzy]

Hi there,

Thanks for your advice.

I rang up and paid for a 3-month pre-payment certificate, which should cut the overall price considerably.

[GarethB]

I've found using preservative free drops in a single amoule, if you can put the top on then the drops are OK for 48 hours as long as they are kept clean. I do this with my Systane drops which are preservative free.

Other drops that are in a bottle is a different matter though.

My drops are not avaialable on the NHS, but 28 ampoules in abox now lasts a month which is about £70 and not really much difference in price if they were on the NHS.

Hope you get things resolved.

[Andrew MacLean]

My doc always prescribes preservative free drops in quantities of 100 'minims' (little individually wrapped eye drops) at a time. This means that there is never an open bottle lying about that I have to remember to throw away.

I was going to suggest the pre-paid approach to prescribed medication. Glad you got onto this.

Yours aye

Andrew

[BusyLizzy]

Hi,

Thank you all for your help.
I just wanted to let you know that after I rang on Tuesday and paid for a 3-month pre-payment card, it arrived in the post this morning (Saturday).

All I can say is, I have expensive eyes (in many ways!).

[Andrew MacLean]

... and thank you for sharing this experience. It does us all good to see a problem arise and then follow with the prson through to the solution that is adopted.

Pre-payment of prescriptions is a good practical way round a serious problem. Well done.

Andrew