What can Livi help you with?

Yes. You can book an appointment with a GP through Livi and obtain medical advice from them in the consultation. To see common symptoms we can help you with, please see our 'Symptoms' FAQs section.

If you have medical questions, we recommend you to download the Livi app and book an appointment with one of our GPs.

Unfortunately our Livi support team cannot give you medical advice, only our GPs can do this.

No. Livi should not be used to seek help for medical emergencies.
In case of an emergency, call 999 immediately.

If you are unsure as to whether it is an emergency, please call NHS 111.

NHS prescriptions

Your prescription can be obtained from any pharmacy by providing them your NHS number, unless you have a nominated pharmacy. 

PRIVATE prescriptions

You will receive a code which then can be used at any pharmacy to access our prescriptions portal. This portal is exclusive to pharmacists and the staff should have been trained on it. Simply present them the code, in case of any issues, bring your ID as well.

In general, Livi GPs do not issue routine repeat prescriptions. However, in an emergency, Livi GPs are able to issue an emergency supply of medication for a maximum of 28 days, if the GP decides that the request is appropriate.

When using the Livi pay-as-you-go service, the Livi GP needs some additional information in order to safely prescribe your repeat medication. This may include your NHS Summary Care Record. Not all patients have a Summary Care Record and this is outside of the control of Livi. It can be useful for the GP to see a prescription or the box of the medication.

If a private prescription is issued based on the NHS Summary Care Record, then the patient must give permission for Livi to send a discharge summary of the consultation and private prescription to the patient’s registered NHS GP.

Patients using the pay-as-you-go service and who are not currently registered to a GP – e.g. because they are not permanent residents in the UK – may be able to get up to one month's supply of their usual medication if the GP feels that this is appropriate. 

No. Livi GPs do not currently prescribe medication that is subject to stricter controls (such as controlled drugs). Narcotic medications include benzodiazepines, sleeping tablets, pregabalin, gabapentin and strong opioids such as morphine and tramadol.

There are also certain medications that can be prescribed within our pay-as-you-go service, but not within our NHS service as they are not permitted under NHS prescribing limitations (such as prescription treatments for male pattern baldness).  

You can find more information about NHS prescribing guidelines here.

This does not prevent Livi GPs discussing these treatments and advising you how you can obtain them.

For patients eligible for the Livi NHS service:

In England, there is a standard charge per item on a prescription. Some patients are entitled to free prescriptions. You can find out if you are entitled to free prescriptions here. 

 For patients using the Livi pay-as-you-go service:

The cost of a pay-as-you-go prescription varies depending on the medication prescribed. You will therefore be charged the cost of the medication and a private dispensing fee – not the set NHS prescription charge. NHS  prescription charge exemptions do not apply.

You can collect your prescription directly from a pharmacy. For patients using our pay-as-you-go service, your GP will give you further instructions as to how to redeem your private prescription using a 13-digit-code.

Prescriptions normally take a few hours to process. Please make sure you check your app for any updates about your prescription.

Please note, patients who request a specific pharmacy may have to wait up to 48 hours for prescriptions to be ready to collect.

When your prescription is ready for collection you will receive a message in the Livi inbox in the app to let you know which pharmacy you can pick up your prescription from.

In some areas, the GP will discuss where you would like to collect your prescription from. Your prescription can be sent to a pharmacy close to your home or a different location. In other areas, your prescription will be sent to your nominated pharmacy.

If you request a specific pharmacy which does not have the medication in stock, we will send the prescription to the pharmacy that is closest to the requested pharmacy. 

When your prescribed medication is ready for collection you will receive a message to your Livi inbox in the app with details of which pharmacy to pick up your prescription from.

For patients eligible for the Livi NHS service:

Yes, you can receive an NHS referral for secondary care through Livi. 

Information about the referral and details of who to contact will be sent to you in the Livi app after your consultation.

Please note, NHS referrals are processed between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

For patients using the Livi pay-as-you-go service:

You cannot get a referral back into NHS services if you are using the Livi pay-as-you-go service.

We can issue a private referral, which can be used to see a private provider of your choice. You will be sent the private referral via an inbox message to your Livi app which you can then print or email if you wish to do so. Please note, private referrals are processed between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

If you are using the NHS or pay-as-you-go service, you can receive a private referral for secondary care.

Your private referral will be sent the details via an inbox message to your Livi app which you can then print or email if you wish to do so.

Please note private referrals are processed between 9am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.

For patients eligible for the Livi NHS service:

If the GP believes you are in need of further primary care then where possible they will book you in for a physical GP appointment with a local NHS GP hub.

If you are in need of urgent care, the GP will advise you to go to your nearest urgent care centre, out-of-hours GP or emergency department as appropriate

For patients using the Livi pay-as-you-go service: 

Unfortunately, we are unable to book patients in for a physical appointment at an NHS GP surgery. However, if you are in need of urgent care, you may be advised to go to your nearest urgent care centre or appropriate healthcare provider.

Please note, fit notes are not required for the first 7 calendar days of your illness and your Livi GPs will not issue them within this time frame. Instead, you should self-certify by completing a form from your employer or via the gov.uk website. GPs at Livi do not write private fit notes for longer than 14 days and they are unable to back-date the notes.

For patients eligible for the Livi NHS service:

A Livi GP will be able to write you a fit note if there is no requirement for a physical examination to issue the note. The GP will provide information on the fit note during the consultation.

For patients using the Livi pay-as-you-go service:

A Livi GP can write you a private fit note on the condition that there is no requirement for a physical examination to issue the note. It is up to each GP as to whether they feel a private fit note is suitable.

The fit note will be sent to your inbox in the Livi app, attached as a PDF file.

Open the app and click on the inbox tab at the bottom of the screen. By clicking on the message, you will now be able to see the fit note on the screen in your phone or tablet.

Click on the fit note again. You will now get an icon in the lower left corner (a square with an arrow in). Click on it and you will see the different options. You can then choose to print or email the fit note.

Please note fit notes are processed between 9 am and 6 pm Monday - Friday.

If you have any issues with obtaining your fit note please email Livi Support on support@livi.co.uk or call 020 3870 3029.

A summary of your contacts with Livi will be stored in the app for you to view. This simply contains the date of any contacts and reason. It does not contain the full medical notes. These remain held by your GP practice. You can find out more information about accessing your health record here.

For patients eligible for the Livi NHS service:

Yes, just like with a physical visit, your consultation meeting notes will be added to your NHS electronic health record system by your NHS GP.

For patients using the Livi pay-as-you-go service:  

Your consultation meeting notes will be saved in our own medical record system, Meddbase. 

All meeting notes will be sent back to your registered GP. If you do not wish to share these notes with your NHS GP practice then please inform the Livi GP during your consultation. All children under the age of 18 must have their Livi meeting notes shared back with their registered NHS GP.

For patients eligible for the Livi NHS service:

Whilst booking a GP appointment through Livi, you will be asked to give your consent to allow your NHS GP access to your medical records. Your Livi GP will then be able to read and write into your NHS record, in the same way your own GP can.

For patients using the Livi pay-as-you-go service:

The GP will have access to all Livi pay-as-you-go medical record notes from previous Livi consultations. The GP will not have access to your NHS medical record, but will have access to your summary care record if you have one.