Which region are we talking ? Did you present your health card in the pharmacy?

I can't imagine why you should have been charged full price for your hospital-prescribed medication, Bob. I'm in the same health region as you and that has never happened. The most recent occasion I got new medications prescribed by a hospital doctor was last August when my cardiologist prescribed 2 new ones and I was certainly only charged the normal 10% on that occasion. As they were things I'd have to take long term, yes I was given the printed sheet initially but after that the medications were definitely on my card and I just collected a supply each month along with the previous ones I was already taking. When the initial hospital-issued prescription expires my GP then renews it. Whenever something like painkillers has been prescribed just as a one off then of course they don't get added to my card, I just hand in the printed sheet at the pharmacy.

Málaga Province I don't show my card as the information is on the sheet. The same has happened before at my regular Farmacia where they know I have the health card.

My recent one is for eye drops which have been prescribed to be used twice daily for 4 months. The bottle is tiny will only last one month and costs 36 euro each. I checked on the Salud Andalucia App and the eye drops are not showing on my prescribed medication

I was thinking if they swipe your card in the system might work differently - suggest you ask the pharmacy to explain.

I have just done some research online and it would seem that with hospital prescriptions you have to take the sheet to your health centre for the health centre to add the prescription electronically to your card and then just use the card as normal at Farmacia. It seems quite long winded our village centre salud doesn't have a reception just doctor and nurse so I will ask at the main Centro Salud reception to see if they can add it to my card. Seems strange given how efficient the normal prescription from local doctor works . Thanks for the replies

Thought it was a card-related problem. I suppose the fully integrated computerised system still has some bits to finalise.

I have a couple of injections prescribed by my hospital consultant. These are not included in the normal prescriptions that go onto my health card. When the prescription expires, I have to take the original prescription to the local major health centre pharmacy or the hospital pharmacy, and they renew it. It is done this way as the drugs (very expensive) are only available from the hospital pharmacy, although they will make arrangements to send them to the local (major) health centre for convenient collection. The normal % charges /limits do not apply.

The eye drops I have been prescribed are readily available at the normal Farmacia the box does say prescription only. I have made an appointment to see the local doctor on Thursday to see if he can add them to my card. That's what I have seen on online as how to do it? I will see what happens if he says he can great if not then nothing ventured nothing gained. I will update the outcome after Thursday.

I’m sure he will add them. I was prescribed drops privately and had no problems getting them on my list. It does depend on the GP. , some can be deliberately difficult with private prescriptions but if it was from a hospital it really should not be a problem as most eye drops are not expensive.

I saw my doctor he has added the eye drops to my medical card. He explained why it didn't initially go onto my card via the hospital. The reason is because the eye drops although they are.a prescription only medication they are not a medication that is subsidised via the health system. He did say though that i did the right thing in having it added to my health card as I can then go to any farmacia wherever i am in Spain and get the medication without any issues. So all worked out now and at least i know re any other medication prescribed .

Well, that explains why the medications I've been prescribed by hospital specialists have been put on my card without me having to ask my GP to add them, just luck that they have been ones subsidised by he public health system. It's a shame you have to pay full price for these eye drops, though.

Surely, the solution is to get the doctor to prescribe drops that are on the approved list. There are usually plenty of generic options available.

It could be a relatively new medication which doesn't yet have a generic equivalent. I was reading yesterday about a new drug to treat chronic insomnia, which is non addictive. It's approved for use in the EU and available on prescription in Spain, but not subsidised by the public health system. I thought it sounded promising but then discovered it costs €98 for a 30 day supply.

https://www.aemps.gob.es/medicamento...ridorexant.pdf

Actually, in my experience if a generic version of a medication is available then the pharmacy will automatically offer you that. Years ago I was prescribed a particular kind of statin because I wanted one that was less likely to increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes (because of my family history) or to cause joint/muscle pain. I wasn't covered in the public health system at the time and the cost of the statin was €28 for a 28 day supply whereas the most commonly prescribed ones are very inexpensive. A few years later the pharmacy gave me the generic version which had become available (without me asking) and the cost halved. As soon as I was covered in the public health system I only paid 10% of that. One of the new medications prescribed by my cardiologist last year is only available as a brand name at the moment and I pay €8 representing 10% of the cost, but the other one is available in generic form so that costs me very little.