pharmacy thoughts....

Okay everyone I have now been back to work for over 2 months... goodness time goes by quickly!

Now, I have a few things that I wish to say about pharmacy.... (sorry if I step on any toes)


First thing is that unless it is an emergency I believe you should only get your meds filled at ONE pharmacy ever. You should pick a pharmacy with Pharmacists and staff that you are comfortable with and trust and stick with them. Trying to save a few dollars here and there by switching pharmacies every other month is not worth it in the long run. Pharmacists need to be able to have a ready and ample drug profile for you so that they can help your doctors in your health care. When you constantly move your prescriptions to save a few dollars then you are at risk for some problems with drug interactions that Pharmacy "A" fills for you and the drug that Pharmacy "B" filled for you today because both Pharmacies do not have the full data required to see the possibility for problems between the drugs. Why risk your health? Build up a good relationship with your Pharmacy. Talk to the staff. Let the Pharmasist know what over the counter medications you are taking as well... including any herbal or natural medications. Let the pharmacist know of ALL your allergies. Some drugs are processed with peanut oil so it is important that a pharmacy have all of your allergies on file. If it is the money ... well, those that have insurances will always get the same co-pays not matter what pharmacy you use. And many pharmacies now are going to match prices with their competitors that it is not really an issue at the majority of pharmacies.


Second on my list of thoughts today is that getting your precription filled is not like driving up to a fast food resturant. We all know that it would be nice .... but hey, filling a precription order is not at all like filling an order for a burger and fries!!! Most pharmacies can get your prescriptions done in a fairly short time (about 15 to 20 minutes) however, there are issues that do make that time frame a bit longer. Insurance issues, clarifiying the prescription with the prescriber, high volume of traffic in the pharmacy, perhaps the pharmacy is low on staff.... any number of reasons that it may take more than the short amount of time you are willing to wait. If the prescription is something other than an emergency or needed for someone who is extremely sick, then standing and glowering at the staff because they are trying to get in touch with your insurance company to see why your new blood pressure medications is costing more than your card says your co-pays should be is not going to help. Believe me when I say the co-pays are not set by pharmacies.... if you have insurance that is who is setting the co-pay. Oh, and for refills.... well, use the automated line whenever possible.... it is okay to give refills to the technicians... for that you don't need to talk directly to a Phamacsist (techs do most of the filling these days anyway.), and give a full 24 hours before you pick up refills whenever possible. Keep track of your refills and how low you are getting on your meds.... most doctors will take refill requests for medications from phamacies, however they may (and in most cases do) require a 24 hour notice for that too. So call your refills in a day or two before you run out of meds. Don't blame the pharmacy and staff if the doctor has not called in your refill. They cannot control if your doctor calls or not.

Wow, guess I had more to say than I thought. I guess the gist of everything is that you should build a good relationship with your pharmacy. They are an important part of your providers in health care.