Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

The Get Treated Privately service is a private prescribing service which is designed for adults aged 18 years and over, who are experiencing health issues and who would like to receive a fast-track assessment and if applicable, a treatment plan from a qualified prescribing clinician. Treatments are dispensed and delivered to your home or workplace from our regulated online pharmacy.

Yes. Our formulary of medications prescribed and conditions treated are controlled, governed, and continuously risk-assessed by our Medical Director, Dr. Aseel Hamoud. Unlike other prescribing services which operate using faceless questionnaires, our service is conducted through remote video consultations, also known as synchronous consultations. This builds patient safety and prescribing appropriateness into our service, ensuring our prescribing clinicians can be satisfied with who and what they are treating. There is no guarantee of supply of medications, and any prescriptions supplied are at the sole discretion of our clinician prescriber. There is no charge for the consultation.

Our prescribing clinicians are board-certified pharmacists, nurses, or doctors who can also prescribe any medicine for any medical condition, subject to accepted accreditation and good clinical practice. They are all registered with their respective regulatory bodies. For example, a pharmacist independent prescriber is registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). Each prescribing clinician undergoes an extensive background check including a disclosure and barring service check (DBS). In addition, they undergo a rigorous license verification process. When you book an appointment with our prescribing clinicians you will see their full name, license number, and any specialized credentials they have.

Yes, the Get Treated Privately service is available worldwide.

Yes. This is a private service. You do not need to pay for the consultation. You only pay for the cost of the medication you are prescribed.

Once you have logged into your account, you will need to navigate to the Get Treated Privately service card which is located as a service item on the dashboard.

Using the action button on the service card, you can select one of the following – ‘Search Treatments’ or ‘Search Conditions’.

Depending on the search type and the product/condition that you would like to get treated, you will be taken to a consultation booking screen. Follow the simple steps to complete your booking. During the booking confirmation, you will be able to select a date and time that is convenient for you, along with the preferred language and gender of the prescribing clinician you wish to choose. You will then see a list of all available expert clinicians who are trained to assess the medication or condition chosen. Once you have confirmed your booking, you will see a summary of the appointment including preliminary information about the consultation. At this point, you will also be able to add a reminder to your calendar. Always ensure your account health profile is up to date before any consultation. This ensures that our clinicians have the most up-to-date information about your current health status and anything that may influence their prescribing decisions. You will receive a push notification, SMS notification and email reminding you of your consultation, 30 minutes before the virtual consultation is due to start.

Depending on certain medications which require our clinicians to have your up-to-date blood pressure readings, you may be required to submit a virtual blood pressure check, using your smartphone or device. We will provide you with full instructions, when this is required.

During the consultation, the clinician will ask you a series of questions that will allow the clinician to assess your condition and potential treatment options. At the end of the consultation, the clinician will decide if a treatment is a safe and suitable option for you. If it is, the clinician will discuss the various treatment options that may be available, so that you can jointly agree on the option that is most suited to you. Once you have jointly agreed on a treatment plan, the clinician will issue a prescription order which will be available in your Cart at the end of the consultation.

Also, with your consent, the clinician may wish to inform your doctor of the treatment that was prescribed. We recommend that you agree to this since your doctor is responsible for your overall care and they should have a record of this consultation and medication prescribed. In addition, our clinician may take the opportunity to advise you on your overall health including advice on healthy living or stop smoking.

At the end of the consultation, you will receive a notification which will summarise the outcome. It will also advise you if any referrals were made to your doctor, along with any other advice that was given to you by the clinician.

If a referral letter was issued to your doctor, you will be able to view a copy of this in the ‘Documents’ section of the dashboard. If you were prescribed a treatment, it will now be available in your Cart.

When you go to your Cart, you will be able to select the treatment, checkout and make payment. Once the checkout is complete, your prescription order will be sent to our regulated online pharmacy for processing.

We operate a safe prescribing service. This means that our prescribing clinicians always exercise their clinical judgment when prescribing. Unfortunately, we do not operate a self select service where you can choose a medication and simply buy. If the clinician that sees you does not prescribe anything, then you will not be charged.

Yes. When your treatment is approved, and after you have checked out and paid for your order, we will keep you fully updated with the status of your order. Every time the status of your order changes, you will be notified immediately. These notifications will appear in the ‘Notification Feed’ section on the dashboard.

All orders are shipped in discreet and unmarked packaging. This means it is suitable for delivery wherever you require (home, work, or a neighbour).

For thermo-sensitive orders (e.g. Insulin or weight loss injections) we use cold chain-validated packaging. Your parcel will normally receive an estimated delivery window from the courier on the day of delivery.

For your protection and safety, your first order can only be delivered to the address that is registered with NowPatient. Future orders can be delivered to any other address, for example, your workplace.

Yes. We use a specialist courier service for all thermo-sensitive deliveries. This is to ensure that cold chain integrity is always maintained and thus the product quality, safety and efficacy.

Learn more about how we handle the delivery of temperature sensitive products.

We currently deliver to all postcodes/zipcodes worldwide. Some postcodes in rural areas may have a slightly longer delivery time.

We aim to ship all orders placed Monday – Friday before 3pm on the same day. Orders placed outside these times will be shipped the next working day. All deliveries are shipped by Royal Mail, which delivers Monday through Saturday in the UK. For deliveries outside of the UK, please check with your national postal service for accurate delivery days.

Our delivery options have the following delivery times:

• UK – Royal Mail Tracked 24 & Signed for Delivery – Next day delivery
• Europe – Royal Mail Tracked – Typical delivery of 3-5 working days
• Worldwide – Royal Mail – Typical delivery of 5-7 working days. If a tracked option is available for your country via Royal Mail, this service will be applied.

Delivery is normally made promptly after your dispatch notification is received. You can check the tracking details of your order in the ‘Notification Feed’ section of the dashboard, at any point after dispatch.

Unfortunately, packages can sometimes get lost in the delivery system. If after 10 days you have not received your delivery, please contact us and we will do all we can to resolve the problem.

Yes. However, with GLP-1 weight loss medications, the license requires that there are support resources put in place as part of the plan including coaching for a healthy lifestyle, exercise, and diet. Our clinicians will discuss this with you, if you are prescribed this type of treatment.

You can learn more on our Weight Loss Programs feature page.

If you are ordering prescription medication, your order will contain your medication only.

If you are ordering weight loss injections, your order will contain:

• Your prescription of pre-filled weight loss injection pens
• Needles
• Sharps bin for safe disposal of needles (if ordered as part of the bundle)

Yes. However, as a responsible prescribing service, we do not issue more than one monthly cycle of medication at a time. This means that, if you would like to reorder, you will need to rebook a consultation.

This is important, because it allows our clinicians to keep track on the progress of your treatment plan and ensure that the medication remains safe and effective for you.

14 days after you have received your first monthly supply, we will send you a notification to advise you that you are eligible to reorder your medication. To ensure that we are able to safely prescribe the next supply, you will need to rebook a consultation.

This ensures that our clinician can check in on your treatment plan and ensure it is working as intended and continues to be safe, suitable and appropriate for you.

When you are eligible to reorder your next medication, we will send you a notification reminder. This notification reminder will request that you book a consultation with a NowPatient Clinician.

You should book a suitable time and date for the consultation.

At the end of the consultation, the clinician may advise you to either

• Stop the treatment
• Stay on the current dose
• Increase the dose

If our clinician deems it safe for you to continue taking the medication, the medication will be added to your cart, from where you can checkout.

Delivery will be made in line with our delivery timescales.

As a responsible prescribing service, we will always monitor your treatment plan to ensure that it remains safe, effective and suitable for you.