Private prescription

A private prescription is a United Kingdom Medical term that refers to a prescription funded by the patient, rather than the National Health Service.

Unlike NHS prescriptions, a private prescription can be written on any piece of paper and a doctor may also write their own private prescriptions - this is against General Medical Council regulations if done with an NHS prescription.

A patient usually has to pay a fee to a private practice doctor, and then another fee to the pharmacy dispensing the medicine - the fee is usually considerably more than the standard NHS contribution needed for an NHS prescription.