<p>The Department has no such plans to make an assessment. It is important that patients can access their prescribed medicines in a timely and convenient manner, and any service introduced should not hinder general practitioner’s ability to provide this.</p><p> </p><p>The General Medical Council’s Prescribing Guidance has specific recommendations on this topic, and explains that prescribers “must make sure that any repeat prescription they sign is safe and appropriate” and “repeat prescriptions received earlier or later than expected may indicate poor adherence, leading to inadequate therapy or adverse effects”.</p>