With advancing technology and changing living conditions, health services have also been updated. The paper health booklets we used to carry have largely been replaced by prescriptions issued online, known as e-prescriptions. Now, when you visit a doctor you no longer receive a handwritten prescription in a health booklet; instead the doctor issues a prescription in the system and gives you its electronic prescription number. In this article we answer the question: “I lost my e-prescription number, how can I retrieve it?”
Thanks to the e-prescription system introduced with modern technology, we no longer need to handle physical documents or bring a health booklet to every appointment. Insured patients can go to the pharmacy and obtain their medicines using the e-prescription number the physician provides after the consultation.
E-Prescription
An e-prescription is created by doctors and electronically recorded in the MEDULA system according to the format and rules defined by SGK. The system assigns an electronic prescription number to each recorded prescription. The e-prescription application has been in use in our country since January 15, 2013. There are exceptions where an e-prescription is not issued; these include:
- Prescriptions issued within institution clinics of public agencies, workplace health units, health centers and community health centers, and university medico-social units are excluded from the e-prescription scope.
- Allergy vaccine prescriptions and prescriptions for medications personally brought from abroad are not covered by the e-prescription system.
- Prescriptions prepared in emergency departments under emergency conditions are outside the e-prescription scope.
- Prescriptions issued by family physicians as part of temporary health services are excluded.
- Prescriptions prepared under home care services for patients receiving home care are also outside the e-prescription scope.
Prescriptions produced in these units continue to be prepared manually rather than as e-prescriptions. If these institutions begin using the MEDULA system, they will be able to move to the e-prescription workflow.
E-Prescription Number
An important aspect of the e-prescription application is the e-prescription number itself. Once prescriptions are recorded into the MEDULA system they receive a unique prescription number called the electronic prescription number. Citizens use this number at the pharmacy to obtain their medication.
The e-prescription system brings several conveniences. You can also receive your e-prescription number by SMS if you are registered in the SGK SMS system. To register for SGK’s message service you will need the following information:
- The place where you are registered in the population records.
- Your national ID number (TC identity number) and page number (cilt no).
- Your year of birth.
The e-prescription system also uses prescription categories: red, orange, purple and green. When an e-prescription is created, the normal type is selected by default. If the physician needs to issue a type other than the normal category, they must select it manually. If a doctor prescribes medications that require a different category while the normal type remains selected, the system will display a warning message.
Another important issue within the e-prescription framework is what to do if you lose your e-prescription number.
How to Retrieve Your E-Prescription Number After Losing It
If you lose your e-prescription number, there is no need to panic because you can obtain it again. Visit the healthcare institution where the e-prescription was written and request the number again. Keep in mind that prescriptions have a limited validity period. If that validity period expires, the e-prescription becomes invalid and you will need to see the doctor again for a new prescription. For this reason, if you lose your e-prescription number, request it again as soon as possible without delaying beyond the prescription’s validity period.