My husband has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Dementia. His neurologist has asked his GP to prescribe rivastigmine patches to see if they will help but we are having difficulty getting a prescription for them from our normally very good GP practice. I’m not sure if this just a mix-up or a known issue. Does anyone else use the patches? Has there been an issue as I know they are more expensive than the capsules? Our own GP appears to be away so I have contacted the practice pharmacy team asking for clarification.
Hi Mountainair, thank you for reaching out for support. We hope members of the community can provide their insight to help you. Please do reach out to your healthcare professional if you have any concerns, they will be able to support you.
Best wishes
Freya
Parkinson’s UK Moderation Team
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Update: the practice pharmacy team came up trumps and have reissued the prescription as a branded item - Alzest - which can be sent to our usual nominated pharmacy electronically. I collected the patches this morning.
I’m guessing this is due to the pricing structure, having looked at the BNF, and the GP (not our usual one) who wrote the original prescription was unaware of this. Alzest 4.6mg/24 hours transdermal patches £35.10 for a box of 30, all other brands £77.97. Assume it may vary by individual ICB funding decisions too, no idea!