NHS Medicines, Care and Review Service in Scotland
If you take regular medication for a long-term condition, support from your community pharmacist can make managing your treatment easier. Right Medicine Pharmacy provides the NHS Medicines, Care and Review Service to help eligible patients understand their medicines, resolve practical difficulties and receive ongoing support.
The service involves more than simply collecting repeat prescriptions. Your pharmacist can review how you use your medicines, discuss any concerns and help identify ways to get the greatest possible benefit from your treatment. Your GP or another prescriber will remain responsible for your wider medical care and for decisions about prescribed treatment.
What Is the NHS Medicines, Care and Review Service?
The Medicines, Care and Review Service is an NHS Scotland pharmacy service. It allows patients to register with a community pharmacy and receive support with their medicines.
For people with a long-term condition, this support may include the Chronic Medication Service, often shortened to CMS. Depending on your needs and eligibility, the service may involve:
- A review of how you use your medicines
- Regular opportunities to discuss questions or concerns
- A pharmaceutical care plan prepared with your pharmacist
- Communication between your pharmacist and GP where appropriate
- Access to eligible repeat medicines through a serial prescription
Who May Benefit From the Service?
The service is particularly relevant to people who use regular medication to manage a long-term condition. This could include conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, high blood pressure or heart disease, although having a long-term condition does not automatically mean every part of the service will be suitable for you.
You may find additional pharmacy support helpful if:
- You take several regular medicines
- You are unsure what a medicine is intended to do
- You sometimes forget or miss doses
- You find your treatment schedule difficult to follow
- You have concerns about side effects
- You have difficulty using packaging, inhalers or other devices
- Your treatment has recently changed
- You would like more regular support from your pharmacist
Speak to the pharmacy team to ask about registration and whether you may be suitable for the Chronic Medication Service or a serial prescription.
Your Medicines Review
Your pharmacist will review how you currently use your medication and provide an opportunity to discuss any difficulties. They may ask about prescription medicines, products purchased without a prescription, vitamins, herbal remedies and complementary treatments.
The discussion could cover:
- What each medicine is used for
- How and when to take it
- Possible side effects or interactions
- Whether you are receiving the expected benefit
- Any difficulty following the prescribed instructions
- Practical problems with packaging or medicine devices
- Questions that should be referred to your GP or prescriber
Bring an up-to-date medication list or your medicine packaging if requested. It is also important to tell the pharmacist about medicines supplied by hospitals, private providers or other pharmacies, as they may not have access to your complete medical history.
If you need help with a particular medicine outside this service, visit our Medicine Advice page.
What Is a Pharmaceutical Care Plan?
If the Chronic Medication Service is appropriate for you, your pharmacist may create a pharmaceutical care plan. This records relevant information about your medicines and helps the pharmacist provide structured, ongoing support.
The plan may identify treatment goals, medicine-related concerns and any action required. Your pharmacist may also communicate with your GP when an issue needs to be reviewed. You should continue attending medical appointments and monitoring arranged by your GP, hospital team or another healthcare professional.
A pharmacist will not automatically stop or change medication prescribed by someone else. Do not alter a dose or discontinue treatment unless an appropriately qualified healthcare professional advises you to do so.
How Do Serial Prescriptions Work?
A serial prescription allows an eligible patient to receive specified repeat medicines from their registered pharmacy over an extended period. Instead of requesting a new repeat prescription each time, the pharmacy dispenses the authorised medicines at agreed intervals.
Your GP decides whether a serial prescription is appropriate and which medicines it should include. Not every medicine can be supplied this way, and your GP can change or stop a serial prescription when clinically necessary.
The pharmacy may ask you questions before each supply. This helps the team confirm what you need, check for changes and reduce unnecessary medicine waste. Tell the pharmacy if you have stopped taking something, have enough remaining or have recently received medication elsewhere.
General guidance about receiving and using prescribed medicines is available on the NHS Inform prescriptions page.
What If My Treatment Changes?
Let the pharmacy know if your GP or hospital team changes your treatment, particularly if the change affects a medicine included on a serial prescription. You should also tell the team about a hospital admission, newly diagnosed condition, new allergy or significant side effect.
If you develop severe symptoms, believe you are experiencing a serious reaction or need urgent medical help, do not wait for a routine review. Use the appropriate urgent NHS service or call 999 in an emergency.
Is This Different From a General Medicine Management Review?
Yes. The NHS Medicines, Care and Review Service is a defined NHS Scotland service with registration, suitability and prescribing requirements. Our general Medicine Management service provides broader support for people who want help understanding or organising their medicines.
The pharmacy team can explain which type of support is most appropriate for your circumstances.
Ask About NHS Medicines Support
Speak to your local Right Medicine Pharmacy if you would like to register for the Medicines, Care and Review Service or check whether you may be eligible for additional support through the Chronic Medication Service.
Find your nearest Right Medicine Pharmacy or contact the team to learn more.