erfanonline

Hi,
I am moving to Oz in next January. Have the visa, done the validation. now I am offshore, sorting things out for the permanent move. But, I have a confusion about the supply of my regular medicines.

I have to take some non OTC medicines daily due to blood pressure issues. Those are prescribed by my doctor in my country in South Asia. When moving to Australia, I can take medicines for three months with the prescription of my local doctor. But I am not sure how to buy medicines after three months.

The information I got is that, I must get a prescription from a registered practitioner in Australia. What I am concerned about is that, will I have to undergo some tests before getting a prescription? The tests would be costly I presume. Is there any way where I can visit a GP, present my existing prescription from my local doctor and the GP will issue me a prescription? Or, will I have to visit a cardiac specialist and undergo tests to get the prescription?

I am on 475, so I do not have medicare coverage. I am highly concerned about costs involved in the project.

I think this scenario (having prescription from local doctor for permanent medication) should be common for many. It would be very much helpful if anyone having similar experience can give me some information on the process

Pollyana

You are moving to a new country, you will need to use that country's healthcare system. If you are not eligible for Medicare then you should look at getting private insurance. To get a prescription you will need to see a GP here and get an Australian prescription. Bringing your previous note with you from your own country would be an idea if you can get a copy of them.

Kapri

You will need to have private medical cover in order to get your 457 grant.
Then, when you arrive, register with a local GP and they will prescribe your medication. If you explain the situation and show your current prescription then I doubt there will be a need for tests unless the meds are restricted / addictive or dangerous.
For blood pressure meds I can't see there being a problem.

spouse of scouse

Just my opinion, but I very much doubt that an Australian doctor will issue prescription medication without confirming the diagnosis him/herself by doing the appropriate tests. Otherwise, they're prescribing based on the opinion of another doctor, in another country. Not a smart move, I would have thought.

AJCS

Am afraid you are wrong there! When I first moved over I just made an appointment and told the GP what I was on and what dose, walked out 5 minutes later with a prescription. Same again when I moved interstate.

erfanonline

Thanks everyone for your replies. I shall definitely take a private health insurance. But, I was not relating the meds to it as they should not cover the diagnostics test costs as it is a pre-condition of health. I was confused whether I can visit a GP to get prescription/diagnosis before getting health insurance.

I shall pay a visit and do whatever the doctor says. At least I know that I can book appointment for GP as soon as I arrive.

By the way, I did not know I shall need a new prescription if I move to another state. Looks like I shall have to learn a lot of obvious things.

Thanks to all again.

ajw

Not saying that it is the case in your situation, but during the time I lived in Malaysia and Thailand, I found the doctors (who dispense their own medications, supplementing their consultations fee's) give them out like sweets, in abundance. I would hope some sanity checking of the original prescription is applied in Aus.

spouse of scouse

I have absolutely no problem being 'wrong' There are obviously some doctors who do this, to my surprise. However, if my GP handed out prescriptions based on the opinion of someone she had no idea about, including their qualifications, I'd be changing GPs pretty quickly.

spouse of scouse

It's the same in Vietnam, ajw. Antibiotics on the supermarket shelves

moneypenny20

I would imagine it depends on what the 'illness' is. Apart from the shonky docs of course

spouse of scouse

Fair comment MP

eddie007

Are the medications you prefer available here? Grey nomad came over on one particular med (don't ask me which one, they have gone walkabout) and although his GP had no problem prescribing the others had to replace that one with an "alternative" as he was told "we don't use that here"

drs here ARE medically qualified and licensed to prescribe... So you shouldn't have a problem... So long as you don't rock up and demand schedule 8s... Then they may query your request...

When in Rome.....

DML

As a GP myself it will depend on what the medicine(s) are and what they are being used for. The more information you can provide from your own doctor the better. Like everything in life, some things are simple, some are more complex. We can't go re-investigating everyone unnecessarily but we shouldn't roll over and prescribe willy nilly either.

erfanonline

Thanks. It was good to hear from a GP. I have all the diagnosis reports, based on which the medicines were prescribed. So, the GP in Australia will have access to the same reports (ECG, Eco Cardiography, Treadmill Test and Lipid profile reports in 3 months interval). If I have to do the same tests again in Oz, it will cost me a lot without coverage. And, I have no idea whether any private insurance will cover any diagnostic tests when the condition is pre existing.

DML

On that basis I am sure you'll be fine - I doubt you'll need any further tests