Health: how long is a medical prescription valid?

All women taking the contraceptive pill have already experienced this situation: finishing their period and realizing that they no longer have any boxes of their pills in reserve. Urgent direction to the pharmacy, praying that so that his medical prescription is still valid, redo the stock and not break his menstrual cycle.

Another case in point: it’s spring, sunny days and… the return of the pollen. the old asthmatic you are choking, you search the medicine cabinet and there, misfortune: you have no more Ventolin to relieve you. And, of course, these little bottles are only available on prescription, and the last one you have is several years old.

To avoid this kind of situation, it is therefore better to know, beforehand, how long are valid medical prescriptions.

From three days to three months depending on the medication

When you go at the doctor, you can, at the end of the consultation, receive a prescription from him. It concentrates all the information necessary for the smooth running of your treatment.

It may as well be the taking or renewing medication to pick up at a pharmacy, a consultation with a specialist, the performance of more advanced medical examinations (such as an x-ray), etc. The list of products and services (LPP) reimbursable by health insurance is available online.

After your visit to the doctor, however, do not delay before going to get your medication. In fact, you only have three months maximum after the date of writing the prescription (displayed at the top of your document).

It should be noted that certain “narcotic” drugs, such as Fentanyl, morphine or opium (classified by the decree of February 22, 19920), have a much shorter period of validity due to their special status. This is thus three days.

One year for other prescriptions

If your prescription does not concern medication, you have more respite to pick up your medical devices (crutches, dressings, IUD, compression stockings, etc.) to carry out your sessions at the physiotherapist.

In effect, raises the public administrationthe period of validity of the prescription is 12 months. If a doctor has prescribed you a blood test“there is no validity period for a prescription”, underlines the Health Insurance on his forum.

However, your primary health insurance fund (CPAM) will not be able to cover the costs if the medical adviser considers that the treatment is no longer medically justified at the time of the treatment.

In the case of a medical examination, such as biological analyzes or an X-ray, do not hesitate to do them as soon as possible after your appointment with the doctor. And this “even if no deadline for carrying out the examination is planned”.

The case of ophthalmological prescriptions

Did you know that you can renew your corrective lenses and glasses with a prescription? But beware, the period of validity of this differs according to your age, reminds the Krys brand on its site.
So, unless your ophthalmologist tells you otherwise, your prescription for eyeglasses is valid for one year for people under 16, five years for patients aged 16 to 42, and three years for those over 42. For contact lenses, the prescription lasts one year for those under 16 and three years for those over 16.

The issue of renewal

In case you have medications to renewyour prescription must include the words “AR” (for “to be renewed”) next to the prescribed medication.

The pharmacy that will provide you with the medication will know how many boxes to give you, depending on the duration of the treatment. Note that it is only the doctor who sets the renewal of your treatment.

To obtain the drugs again, nothing could be simpler: “go to the pharmacy at the end of each period listed on the prescription (eg every 3 months)”, replies the Health Insurance. Be careful, the maximum renewal period varies according to the drugs or products prescribed.

What should I do if I have exceeded the validity date?

After this time allocated according to the type of medicine, the prescription written by your doctor is no longer considered valid. Consequence: “the pharmacist can no longer give you the products”, insists the Health Insurance.

If you have forgot your prescription or that the current one has expired, the pharmacist can however, exceptionally, advance you a box of each medicine to avoid an interruption of treatment that could harm your health.

This advanced box will be deducted when issuing the next prescription. The pharmacist must inform the writer of the prescription. Medications renewed within this framework are reimbursed by the Health Insurance. However, this type of renewal cannot be practiced if the treatment has a maximum possible duration already exceeded.

In the case of oral contraceptivesif your prescription has expired for less than a year, “the pharmacist can dispense them to you for an additional, non-renewable period of six months”, completes service-public.fr.

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