Objectives: The aim was to survey the introduction of repeat dispensing in one general practice to discover any generalisable lessons.
Methods: Serial repeat-prescribing workload (GPs and receptionists) surveys were performed each day for whole, non-holiday weeks five times in the year and a patient satisfaction survey was undertaken mid-way through the year. The opinions of the community pharmacist were sought and prescribing costs were checked at the start and end of the year.
Key findings: There were substantial savings of time for the practice once the initial increases in effort had been overcome. These were estimated to be equivalent to a week saved annually for each general practitioner, as well as substantial amounts of staff time.
Conclusions: Repeat dispensing offers clear benefits to patients, practices and pharmacists. In this practice 45% of items were repeat-dispensed after one year, in comparison to less than 1% nationally. There is potential for the scheme to be much more actively promoted.