Twelve‑month prescriptions come into effect today, but doctors and pharmacists warn the change could lead to missed health checks and longer queues at pharmacies.
From February 1, New Zealanders can now receive a 12-month prescription for their medicines rather than the current three-month period.
Patients would be able to collect their repeats from the pharmacy as usual but would not need to return to the doctor each time for a new script.
Health Minister Simeon Brown told 1News the policy would save patients money and free up GP appointments.
"It means less repeats, less going back to the doctor for a repeat prescription, which will save them money.
He emphasised the decision on whether a 12-month prescription was administered would be in the hands of the individual GP.
"They'll have to consider the patient's well-being and all of those risks, but ultimately this enables longer-term prescriptions."
Under the policy, patients only pay the $5 prescription fee once, at the first three‑month collection.
That decision was made last year, after ministers reversed an earlier plan that would have charged patients $5 every quarter.
Documents released by the Ministry of Health in December show Cabinet agreed the repeated co‑payments conflicted with the goal of reducing costs, particularly when nearly 200,000 adults had skipped picking up a prescription in the past year because of cost.
Brown said removing the extra charges "supports the aim of removing financial and administrative barriers" to medicines.
One patient, Georgie Ferrari, said with a visit to the GP costing $65, or $29 for an online consult, getting medication was costly.
"The money is important, but it's also the time and the remembering," she said.
The Royal New Zealand College of GPs recommended the extension be to six months rather than to 12, citing safety concerns that less visits to a GP could mean fewer opportunities for changes in health status to be identified.
"A lot can change for someone in 12 months with regards to their health," said medical director Dr Prabani Wood.
She also said a prescription could become "inappropriate" due to side effects or the medication not working as intended.
"The other thing that's linked to safety concerns is the loss of that opportunistic screening and the ability to pick up health issues early and treat them early, which you would get if you're seeing your GP more regularly."
Wood added that many GPs completed repeat prescriptions in their breaks and that it would not free up time.
Pharmacist Clive Cannons said the 12-month prescriptions could result in longer queues at the chemist as they ask the questions usually asked by GPs.
"It will mean an extra workload. It will mean delay in the timing that prescriptions take, and I am concerned about that."
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