The Health Card-Tarjeta Sanitaria is now the only requirement to get your medications

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Thanks Sam.
I'd discovered that I needed a telephone appointment with my doctor for this and have got that in place for Wednesday but I hadn't been able to find out what happened next. Looks like I can just go to the pharmacy afterwards and pick up my stuff. Typical that my prescription form runs out this week! I'll report back after my telephone appointment. 
I must say that I'm quite impressed with how quickly things are happening/workarounds being put into place following the State of Emergency. We normally have a moan/joke about how long things take here but they really are trying hard at the moment - perhaps this will have some long term repercussions on the amount of red tape we normally have to deal with.

Edit: remember, this is only for the duration of the State of Emergency. Sam, you might want to change the title to reflect that?

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Thanks Sam.
I'd discovered that I needed a telephone appointment with my doctor for this and have got that in place for Wednesday but I hadn't been able to find out what happened next. Looks like I can just go to the pharmacy afterwards and pick up my stuff. Typical that my prescription form runs out this week! I'll report back after my telephone appointment. 

All went to plan today. Prompt phone call from a doctor who spoke very good English (I had prepared a list of phrases in Spanish in case they didn't!) and then I went off to the pharmacy where I was able to collect my prescription. 

[milestone 11]

The Canary Health Service will automatically renew treatment plans for chronic patients, as a consequence of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and as long as the alarm status is maintained.

This measure, which will come into force tomorrow, Tuesday the 24th, aims to avoid unnecessary movement of patients to health centers, as well as to decongest the demand for telephone consultations aimed at renewing treatments, thus optimizing resources toilets for other more urgent tasks.

In this way, the patient will be able to obtain their usual chronic medication by presenting their Individual Health Card (TSI) at the pharmacy, even if the treatment plan that appears on it has expired, without requiring their doctor to extend it.

Acute treatments are exempt from this measure, which will maintain the duration established in the treatment plan. For such cases, the Canary Health Service proceeded last week to enable the Individual Health Card as the only requirement for dispensing medication in pharmacies. Thus, the patient may be attended by telephone by their doctor (requesting an appointment through 012 or with the app of the Canary Health Service "My previous appointment"), subsequently enabling the dispensing of the medication by their pharmacy without the need to present the Plan Unique Treatment, which until now was essential.

https://www3.gobiernodecanarias.org/noti...farmacias/

Not all chemists have behaved in the same way over the last twelve months. One, that I'd previously used regularly, refused to supply my medications without a prescription, another, quite the opposite. The chemist that I use exclusively now has never questioned anything that I've asked for. I do doubt though that they would dispense antibiotics without a prescription. I don't know because I've never tried to purchase.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Chronic - A chronic condition is a long-developing syndrome, such as osteoporosis or asthma.

Acute - Acute conditions are severe and sudden in onset. This could describe anything from a broken bone to an asthma attack.

Just a reminder of the difference as it affects the main post in the thread. As a non-medical person myself, although from a medical family, I can never remember which is which.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Despite reading an article recently that said prescriptions were going to be renewed automatically to save clogging up the appointment system, mine had expired last week when I went to collect stuff from the pharmacy. Went online to book a telephone appointment and there was a 3 week delay so I'll be out of some meds before then😭.
If you're not sure how long your 'repeat' is currently valid for you can ask your pharmacist to print you a paper copy, like the one the doctor used to issue, which has the expiry date on it. Don't get caught like I have!

[Cotillo_Tom]

In my experience, most Famacia will sell you the prescription items, if you are in need. Recently, we were flying back to the UK five days before our next months supply was going to be available. As we were back in the UK for five weeks, that meant we would have run out of tablets in the UK. 

The Farmacia couldn't issue the supply early, but she sold us the three boxes of tablets. 

OK, it cost €4 something rather than 40 odd cents, but it was well worth it. 

Tom.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Thanks Tom but unfortunately the 2 items I'll be out of are definitely prescription only. They offered to sell me the other items but I have a small stock of those.
The ones I need are only available every 10 days cos they don't want people getting larger quantities but that in itself causes a problem if the 10 days are due on a Sunday! So easy to slip behind and get caught out.
I'm going to try Urgencias.... 🤞

[Johnrgby]

Despite reading an article recently that said prescriptions were going to be renewed automatically to save clogging up the appointment system, mine had expired last week when I went to collect stuff from the pharmacy. Went online to book a telephone appointment and there was a 3 week delay so I'll be out of some meds before then😭.
If you're not sure how long your 'repeat' is currently valid for you can ask your pharmacist to print you a paper copy, like the one the doctor used to issue, which has the expiry date on it. Don't get caught like I have!

In addition, do not leave it until the expiry date, in the document
, a couple of years ago, I tooled up at the Farmacia with 2/3 days to go before the expiration date and was told it had expired, { we were using the od Farmacia in Caleta back then, not the most helpful of people } so I make an appointment at the medical centre only to be told they actually expire 7 days before the date on the document when I ask why the hell the prescriptions do not carry the actual expiry date the answer was a Spanish shrug of the shoulders and " that is the system "