Isotretinoin appointment schedule and prescribing agreement

The treatment length is approximately 6 months. Some patients may need to stay on this drug for longer or maintain a low dose for a longer period.

First appointment:

• Please book a 30-minute ‘Initial Roaccutane’ consultation at a cost of £245. During this appointment we will check your general health; provide you with written literature about the treatment and issue a consent form to read and sign.
• We will take some blood and for females will do a pregnancy test.

Secondary signature virtual appointment:

• You will then need to book an appointment with Dr Tina Tian (Consultant Dermatologist) who is the second signatory on your course of treatment. These appointments can be virtual via encrypted video. The cost is £175. The reception team will organise this for you if you are deemed suitable for Isotretinoin treatment.
• Following your appointment with Dr Tian, you will be issued a prescription.
• Women can only start taking the drug on days 1-3 of a period unless using long-acting contraception or abstaining.

Second appointment:

• Please book a 15-minute Roaccutane follow-up appointment four weeks after your initial appointment (£145). If you are booking online please try to ensure you consistently book with the same doctor.
• We will check how things are going and take some more blood (£142). These blood results are compared to your baseline tests to check that the drug is not significantly impacting your health.
• You can continue to take the drug whilst awaiting the results (3-5 days).
• We may ask females to bring or produce a urine specimen for pregnancy testing.

Third and subsequent appointments:

• Usually at monthly intervals: Please book a 15-minute ‘Roaccutane follow-up appointment’. We may ask you for further urine samples for pregnancy testing.
• Blood tests are repeated if you have a significant dose increase or side effects where the doctor may wish to check your liver function.

Please note:

• Isotretinoin blood tests include FBC, LFTs and lipids and cost £142.
• The General Medical Council recommends face-to-face appointments. We cannot offer video consultations except in extreme circumstances, and very occasionally. 
• It is your responsibility to ensure appointments are booked in good time. Our doctors get very busy. Appointments should be booked 3-4 weeks in advance. If you notice a problem with your appointment schedules, please call our reception team as soon as possible.
• All appointments must be paid before a prescription can be issued.
• Missed appointments with less than 48 hours’ notice are charged at full price. 

Taking your prescription to the pharmacist:

• The prescription must be taken to the pharmacy within 7 days of date of issue.
• You will be liable to a new prescription fee £24) if you prescription goes out of date. It is also likely to cause a delay to your treatment, as we will need to wait for a doctor to issue the prescription again. For females, prescriptions must be endorsed with a contraception category (A B or C)
• Shop around for prescription charges as they can vary. Usually, Boots and Tesco are reasonably competitive. It may be worth speaking to your local pharmacist to see what prices they offer.
• The Pharmacies rarely have Isotretinoin in stock. You should expect to wait 2-4 days for your prescription.
• Lost prescriptions will not be replaced.