Mail Order Pharmacy?

[Geek]

Do you use a mail order pharmacy to get your meds, or do you go to a brick and mortar store with actual people in it?

I have always used Walgreens and avoided mail order stuff primarily because I take enough meds I want a pharmacist double checking my doctor’s work re: safe cocktails. 

But... is it worth it? I could save money by getting 90 day scripts in the mail. I’d still have to go to the pharmacy for my stims and psych drug of the month, since my cocktail isn’t stable.

[notloki]

A mail order pharmacy is not different than a brick and mortar as a licensed pharmacist counts your pills and checks for interactions.   

Edited December 7, 2018 by notloki

[argh]

I have Kaiser, which if you are not familiar with them, they are so of an all in one health care plan, all specialists are in house. No searching for in network specialists as it’s under one roof.

This is besides the point and I’m rambling.

they have a mail order pharmacy service which used to be cheaper than their brick and mortar locations. Never had a problem with the systems in getting the orders right or anything of that sort. Only once did a brick and mortar pharmacist flag something which was due to a minor allergy I have to a prescribed rx, but once I explained that it wasn’t an issue an allergy pill couldn’t solve, they filled it. The mail order service never questioned it.

in short, none of that was probably helpful to your question so yeah, not quite sure what compelled me to reply.

alright then.

Good luck.

[confused]

I use mail order. It is cheaper and much more convenient.  I still go in to the pharmacy for single orders or modafinil.  I love the mail order 

 

Edited:  I once ran out of one med because i re ordered too late. It does take some time to process, so make sure you order on time

Edited December 7, 2018 by confused

[Geek]

21 hours ago, notloki said:

A mail order pharmacy is not different than a brick and mortar as a licensed pharmacist counts your pills and checks for interactions.   

Yes, of course there's still a licensed pharmacist. My concern is with going to two pharmacies. My experience, from the days when I had no insurance and shopped around for the best price (10-ish years ago), is that pharmacies don't do such a good job at checking interactions with meds that they don't fill. My cocktails now are varied, changing and more complicated than they were then.

[looking for answers]

57 minutes ago, Geek said:

Yes, of course there's still a licensed pharmacist. My concern is with going to two pharmacies. My experience, from the days when I had no insurance and shopped around for the best price (10-ish years ago), is that pharmacies don't do such a good job at checking interactions with meds that they don't fill. My cocktails now are varied, changing and more complicated than they were then.

thats why i havent gone mail order..........things keep changing..........you cant get the stim mail order? even with a script faxed to them

[dancesintherain]

I stick with a store because I know the pharmacists and trust them to do things correctly.  I also want to be able to have things change on a month-to-month basis if needed.  Things have stabilized enough that i'm now on 3 month supplies for most, but that wasn't the case for a while, so I liked that my pharmacist could send the script over and I could get it shortly thereafter. 

[BrianOCD]

I've been using  https://rxoutreach.org/   

If you're income is below average you can sign up and get really cheap medications.  The site is run on donations and they've helped me for a couple years now.

[CrazyRedhead]

I get mine delivered...

I used to go to the store and get them, before my fear of all stores got so bad.....

 

Edited December 9, 2018 by CrazyRedhead

[Wonderful.Cheese]

@Geek

I get some through mail order and some through a local pharmacy. 

I go by cost strictly. I used to do all mail order but found some it be way cheaper in the local pharmacies.

Right now the only ones that I get through mail order are seroquel XR (generic) because it’s $15 per 3 months vs $135 ish in the actual local pharmacy. So we can’t afford it otherwise. 

And also I get nuvigil the mail order. It’s a little cheaper but not by much. But it saves a trip to the pharmacy so oh well. 

I have two local pharmacies. The one deals with my medical meds, Topamax and metformin and birth control and levothyroxine. Plus it’s close to my home.

The other local pharmacy is specialized in clozapine so I have to use that one for psych meds. Lexapro, clozapine, lamictal, abilify, Klonopin. The nice thing about this psych specialty pharmacy is that they deliver my psych meds to the county clinic for me! So I’m not constantly making trips  to the pharmacy back and forth to the clinic and pharmacy. The pharmacy serves some to most patients at the county clinic so they must have a deal with them.

[confused]

@Wonderful.Cheese  you get nuvigil mail order.  I will ask my doc if she can write a 90 day script for provigil.  I thought i had to pick it up in person

[jt07]

3 minutes ago, confused said:

@Wonderful.Cheese  you get nuvigil mail order.  I will ask my doc if she can write a 90 day script for provigil.  I thought i had to pick it up in person

You should be able to get it. Technically, Nuvigil is not a stimulant and it is not as tightly controlled as a stimulant. It may still be scheduled though but perhaps at the level of a benzo and the higher schedule of a stim, but I don't know. In any case, I think this is one of those things that is going to be up to your state.

[confused]

3 minutes ago, jt07 said:

You should be able to get it. Technically, Nuvigil is not a stimulant and it is not as tightly controlled as a stimulant. It may still be scheduled though but perhaps at the level of a benzo and the higher schedule of a stim, but I don't know. In any case, I think this is one of those things that is going to be up to your state.

thanks jt. they make me show id at the pharmacy.  I will ask

[Wonderful.Cheese]

6 hours ago, confused said:

thanks jt. they make me show id at the pharmacy.  I will ask

It must vary by state then. Because when I first started it I got like a 30 day supply to just make sure it worked without ordering a big 90 day supply for nothing. I picked it up at a local pharmacy and I didn’t have to show my ID. But it is worth asking about if it will save you a lot of money and ease of obtaining the medication. I get 90 day supply of generic nuvigil through my mail order pharmacy. Good luck! I hope you can get it in a way that works best for you!

[Juniper29]

I continue to use my local Walgreens even though my insurance charges me a higher copay. I don't trust the mail or other pharmacists.

[notloki]

7 hours ago, confused said:

@Wonderful.Cheese  you get nuvigil mail order.  I will ask my doc if she can write a 90 day script for provigil.  I thought i had to pick it up in person

I got 90 day supplies of scheduled meds (Adderall, Klonopin) by mail.

[Geek]

8 hours ago, confused said:

@Wonderful.Cheese  you get nuvigil mail order.  I will ask my doc if she can write a 90 day script for provigil.  I thought i had to pick it up in person

 

20 minutes ago, notloki said:

I got 90 day supplies of scheduled meds (Adderall, Klonopin) by mail.

This seems to vary by state. I am aware of others who are unable to get Klonopin, specifically, by mail. I had assumed it would be the same for CII stims, but who knows. May be worth asking your insurance pharmacy - they would know for sure!

[browri]

My insurance changed recently to BCBS of North Carolina with Prime Therapeutics as the pharmacy benefit manager and AllianceRX+Walgreens+Prime being the mail order and of course making Walgreens the preferred retail pharmacy. Now there is no incentive to use the mail-order. My 90-day copay at mail order is the same as it would be at retail. Additionally, you have to sign for stims so I don't like doing those through mail order. Pretty much the only thing I put through mail order anymore is my Truvada because it's a specialty medication and the insurance company as of 1/2019 now requires specialty medications to be filled through mail-order. They're denied at retail.

However, I can say that at the end of the day, your prescription is still being reviewed by a pharmacist for things like interactions, just like a retail pharmacy. And for the most part they're doing free 1-2 day shipping on scripts. But if it's no difference in cost then I would just as soon use the retail pharmacy.

[confused]

My 90 day mail order cost is the same as two 30 days brick and mortar.

[notloki]

On 12/6/2018 at 9:07 PM, confused said:

Edited:  I once ran out of one med because i re ordered too late. It does take some time to process, so make sure you order on time

Hmmm, when I had Express Scripts mail order if this happened I would call Express Scripts and they would authorize 10 days supply on my Express Scripts card at my local pharmacy. Local drug stores will often give you a few days of a maintenance med(s) if you regularly fill it with them.

Edited January 11, 2019 by notloki