Telephonic Consultation with Your First Prescription Order
Slumbr no longer runs scheduled video consultations. Where prescription sleep medication is appropriate for your pattern, a Slumbr clinician phones you when you place your first prescription order — before anything is dispatched. There is nothing to book and no extra charge.
What the call covers:
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review of your sleep history and pattern
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medical and medication review
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depression and sleep-apnoea screening
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screening for alarm symptoms
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confirmation that the medicine is right for you — or a clear explanation of why not
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dose, duration and how to take it
Prescription medication
Prescription medication is never dispatched without a clinician consultation, and only where clinically appropriate. If the clinician decides the medicine is not right for you, we say so and do not dispatch. Slumbr does not provide emergency care.
How it works
Five steps, all from home.
Take the free Sleep Pattern Assessment™ to find your pattern.
Create a Slumbr account and place your first prescription order.
A Slumbr clinician phones you to go through your history and confirm it is right for you.
If approved, your medicine is dispatched in discreet packaging. If not, we say so and do not dispatch.
Reorder without another call, within the six-month review window.
Adults 18+ · we call you before dispatch · discreet packaging
Common questions
Is the telephonic consultation free?
Yes. It is included with your first prescription order at no extra charge. There is nothing to book: the clinician calls you after you place the order.
What if the clinician decides the medicine is not right for me?
Then it is not dispatched. The clinician explains why and points you to the right next step — non-prescription sleep support, or in-person medical review where that is what your picture needs.
What Slumbr will and will not prescribe
Sleep medicine is one of the most over-prescribed corners of clinical practice. Slumbr's formulary is deliberately narrow — we prescribe what the evidence supports, in the form the evidence supports, and we are explicit about what we will not. The list is short on purpose.
Prescription medicine for longer-term use
Where the evidence supports daily use and the safety profile is clean, treatment can continue on an ongoing basis after a consultation, with repeat dispensing arranged for you. Drug-class names only — specific molecules are agreed during the consultation.
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Dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA) — preferred class for hyperarousal
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Compounded low-dose H1-selective agent — flagship for sleep maintenance
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Prolonged-release melatonin — first-line for adults 55 and over
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Low-dose sedating antidepressant — where mood symptoms accompany the sleep problem
Registered medicines are dispensed at their regulated Single Exit Price. For prescription medicines, a hard cap of 6 repeats applies per SA Medicines Act 22A(6), after which a follow-up consultation is required.
Once-off only, after consultation
Z-drugs and benzodiazepines for primary insomnia. These work — briefly. The evidence is clear that chronic use causes tolerance and rebound. Slumbr prescribes them as short courses only — less than 2–4 weeks, in line with international guidance. Each repeat is a fresh clinical decision.
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Short-course Z-drug for sleep onset — fixed course, less than 2–4 weeks
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Short-course Z-drug for sleep maintenance — fixed course, less than 2–4 weeks
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Brief Z-drug adjunct during circadian re-timing — handful of doses only
No subscription option. After the course ends, a follow-up consultation is required to continue or change treatment.
What we will not prescribe
There are medicines often prescribed for sleep that we have removed from the Slumbr formulary because the evidence does not support them, or the harm-to-benefit ratio is wrong.
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High-dose benzodiazepines as first-line for primary insomnia — dependence and arousal rebound
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Off-label quetiapine for primary insomnia — cardiometabolic harm, no efficacy basis
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Agomelatine — liver-dysfunction risk we are not willing to accept for a sleep indication
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Compounded combinations without clear single-agent rationale
If a previous prescriber put you on any of these for sleep, a consultation with us can structure a safe transition.
If you are in crisis
Slumbr Sleep Clinic does not provide emergency care. If you are in crisis or experiencing thoughts of self-harm, please call SADAG on 0800 567 567 (24/7) or your nearest emergency department.