Rejecting some hosiptal medicine?

[Drew345]

I want to go see a pretty good doctor I saw before. I've got a pain in my hip and now it's clicking and someday I'll probably need a hip replacement, so I want to keep in touch with this doctor, who seemed pretty good.

Problem is that last time he prescribed a bunch of glucosamine, which was really expensive from the hospital. I brought a bunch of glucosamine back from America and I am really stocked up well, so I don't want to buy the hospital glucosamine again.

Has anyone ever seen the doctor, then gone over to the desk where you get the medicine, and told the to leave out some / all of it?

I once asked another doctor to just tell me what I need and I'll get it outside, and she bluntly said if she did that the hospital would close. So I know it is a touchy issue.

I'd love to see the doctor, go to the checkout , and tell them give me everything but the glucosamine.

This could be useful for other times too. For Example, If I go for a throat infection, I want the antibiotics, but the pain stuff is probably no better than what I have from America, so I would like to take just the antibiotics and not the rest.

Anyone ever pick and choose the meds like that?

[chiang mai]

Yes, all the time - separate the medical consultation from the sale of prescription items, typically you are asked to pay the entire bill before you go to the pharmacy to pick up your medicine, simply tell the cashier that you don't want whichever items they have prescribed for you, don't try and fight it out with the doctor.

[Sheryl]

All the time. Just say you already have it.

It is a slight inconvenience as you usually have to do this after first paying the bill and then get it subtracted from the bill, but otherwise no problem at all and hospital pharmacies quite used to it.

[richardjm65]

I get my Glucosamine OTC at a nearby pharmacy at 420 baht for 30 sachets. For treatment of other conditions I too have been prescribed meds which I neither needed nor wanted. There was a slight problem from the fact that the slip given to the patient to give to the cashier does not detail the meds - probably because of the magic of computer talk between doctor and pharmacy.

When with the doctor, I now make sure we agree on the meds to be paid for and issued, as the cashier has not been too keen on backtracking on over-prescription. Maybe worthwhile to make notes ahead of and during the consultation.