Prescriptions

Repeat prescriptions for regular medications must be requested by using the Tō Mai patient portal. Please allow 3 working days for this service. This service is available for long term medications. If you have a medication that is not marked as long term, use the message box available after you have selected the pharmacy to advise the doctor the medication you require. If you do not have Tō Mai please phone reception to sign up or activate your account, to be able to order future prescriptions.

For an urgent prescription, please phone 04 801 5228. An urgent prescription cause’s disruption into the day of your GP as usually they are required in between consultations to get this sorted – this delays consultations and can put the schedule of the GP under considerable strain.

The renewal of a regular prescription involves the doctor reviewing your medical records to consider if a renewal without a consultation is appropriate. It is not a substitute for a face to face consultation. You and your doctor will have agreed on the minimum interval between consultations for review of your regular medication. Typical intervals are three, six or twelve monthly. Age, complexity and number of health problems and medications all contribute to this decision. All patients are required to have an annual medication review consultation.

A repeat prescription is more than just a click of button!

Despite what many may think, a prescribing clinician needs to go through a routine of things to check before they can issue a repeat prescription. It is important to realise that it is not necessarily the GP you may be registered with that may provide your prescription. It can be that a prescriber that does not know you may be requested to access your notes in response to your request. This happens often when the prescription is urgent and a prescriber is on leave, off sick or on their scheduled time off. A prescription is a legal document. To issue a prescription, a prescribing clinician needs to check that your prescription meets the requirements of the Medical Council and Medicines Controls Act:

• When was the last time you were seen by a clinician either in-clinic or virtually? This is important as you may need clinical review. Prescribers can legally only roll over a prescription a certain number of times, depending on the condition, how stable it is, the type of medication, and best practice protocols. You may need to have a clinical measurement or blood test to ensure that the drug does not do you harm, or that it is still producing the clinical results required.
• When was the last time blood tests and other monitoring were done? This is especially important if you are on medications for management of a long-term condition. If this has not been done within the last 12 months you may be given a short supply of your medications and asked to go for a blood test or ECG.
• Were you in hospital (either ED, admitted to a ward at Wellington or Hutt hospitals), or have you seen an external specialist, or had surgery with an external specialist recently? While we receive discharge summaries from some external providers, we do not get all of them, so we need to check whether any medications have changed or been added.
• Whether the timing of the prescription is appropriate. Many patients forget they have a repeat prescription available at the pharmacy. Sometimes it may not be appropriate to re-prescribe medicines that are a controlled substance, as these prescriptions are only valid for 30 days. The clinician also needs to check on compliance with the intended treatment.
• Whether there are any medicines that won’t work well together. This happens often when you are asking for a medication that has not been prescribed for a while. You may have had medications prescribed that could interact or are contra-indicated – sometimes this occurs after medications are started or changed by a specialist or hospital.

Extended Prescriptions

From 1 February 2026, some people with stable long-term conditions who take regular medications may be eligible for an extended prescription, lasting up to 12 months for certain medicines.

Extended prescriptions will not be suitable for everyone. Your prescriber will use their clinical judgement to decide what is safe and appropriate for you as an individual.

If you are eligible, you will need to have an in-person review of your condition and medications with your prescriber before an extended prescription can be issued. This review will also include some virtual pre-work. Depending on what is required, there may be an additional cost associated with this review.

Please note:

Pharmacies can dispense a maximum of 3 months’ supply at a time (or 6 months for oral contraceptives), with repeats.

Extended prescription repeats must be collected from the same pharmacy each time.

There is no change to prescription lengths for controlled drugs, including ADHD stimulants, opioids, and sedatives/hypnotics.

If you have questions about whether an extended prescription may be suitable for you, please speak with your prescriber.