If you are taking a medication that requires regular monitoring, and have been sent a reminder from the practice that you are overdue some tests, please see the information below.

What kind of monitoring tests might I need to have?

Blood test - Some medication can have side effects which can only be identified with a blood test

Blood pressure check - Some medication can affect your blood pressure, so it's important for this to be checked regularly

Weight - For some medication, an up to date recording of your weight may be important to ensure you are being prescribed the correct dose.

Alcohol consumption - Some medication does not interact well with alcohol, so it's important to be honest with your GP about how much alcohol you consume on a weekly basis

What if I have already had these tests done at hospital by the consultant who originally prescribed my medication?

It may be that you have had these tests via the hospital, but that we have not received a copy of the results. If this is the case, please could you contact reception so that they can inform the Data Quality Team, who can obtain the result. Also, for future tests, please ask for the result to be copied to your GP.

I already came to the practice recently for a blood test - can I just ignore the reminder that I've received?

As a practice we strive to be as efficient as possible and we would always do our best to ensure that all the necessary tests that a patient needs are done in the same appointment. However, we are only human and sometimes a test may be accidentally missed off. If you have received a reminder from us after you've already been for a blood test, please do not assume this is a mistake, as it may be that you still have a specific test outstanding and we may need to ask you to come back for another blood test.

It may also be the case that you have had all the necessary blood tests, but we still need your blood pressure, or an up to date weight, or to record your weekly alcohol consumption. Please read your letter / text message carefully to see which tests are outstanding.

Other things to consider

If you monitoring time has changed, or your drug has been stopped, then please also inform us. 

If we are unable to receive results for these tests, then your GP may need to reconsider prescribing this drug for you as we cannot guarantee its safety.