Making the Most of Your Pharmacy Visit - Part 1

Picture it. You go to the pharmacy to get your prescription filled. You drop it off with the bubbly pharmacy clerk at the window. You've come here before so naturally you expect that it will be ready in a reasonable amount of time. You step away from the counter and go around the store to kill time. You go back to the nice window clerk and politely give your name, fully expecting a prescription with your name on it will be sitting neatly in a bag on the shelf ready to go home with you.

Alas, you watch the clerk go from the "ready-to-be-picked-up" prescriptions area to the filling area... The clerk talks to the pharmacy technician, the pharmacy technician talks to the pharmacist... no one talks to you just yet. You know this isn't going to be good. Now you can react in one of several ways, but we won't get into that. I'm going to tell you how to avoid these types of scenarios because they are all-too-common and verypreventable.

Believe it or not your pharmacist reallywants to help you. It does us no good to hold onto all those prescription medications and not give them to folks who need them. Best of all, pharmacists (most pharmacists anyway), like to teach people about their medications and best practices for taking them properly so as to get the best results. There isn't always time to go into great detail which is a source of frustration for everyone but one can try to make the most of every opportunity.

So how can you avoid glitches at the pharmacy and sail right through?

1. Keep all your records up-to-date: insurance information changes from time to time and whilst your employer may make the switchover nice and seamless for you, youmay not always make it quite as seamless for the pharmacy. If your regular pharmacy has your old information on file, you can be sure that your old insurance company will be quick to drop you once your coverage is terminated. Take preemptive action and update your insurance information with your pharmacy of choice before you actually need to have anything filled. This will save you time when you go in to actually get a prescription filled.

2. Look at the clock:you know how it feels when 4:45pm hits and you start preparing mentally and physically to call it a day at the office? Well, the folks at the pharmacy go through the same thing too. Walking in 5 to 10 minutes before closing and expecting the pharmacist to cheerfully fill your prescription, check for drug interactions, handle any insurance issues that may come up, try to reach your doctor in case some vital information is missing from the prescription, give you a detailed patient consultation... and the list goes, is not a very reasonable expectation. Most doctor's offices close long before the pharmacies do so try to drop off your prescription as early as you can so as to allow enough time for the pharmacist to fix any potential issues that may arise.

3. Read your documentation:without fail, when you first sign up for an insurance plan the insurance company will send you importantpaperwork that explains all your benefits. Now how do I put it nicely and succintly -- read it, read it, read it. It is unfair to expect your pharmacist to explain to you what drugs are covered on your plan, what your deductibles are, what your co-payments are, what the difference is between your deductibles and your co-payments, etc. If you think it's something they ought to do for you then surely it's something they ought to do for everyone else too... in that case, there wouldn't be very much actual prescription-filling going on now would there? It's rough I know, but it's for the best. Afterall, you need to know that stuff too. Also, trying to argue about your payment ( especially after it has been processed through your insurance company, whether or not you have been rung up) is not going to help. The pharmacist has no control, repeat, no control, over your copayments or deductibles. They just basically tell you verbally what your insurance company tells them electronically.

4. Respect the pharmacy for what it is:if you happen to use a pharmacy that is in a drug store or a grocery store then take note. Most of the time, the pharmacy folks won't mind ringing up a few non-pharmacy items for you along with your prescription. It's just the kind and decent thing to do. However, don't go overboard, don't approach the pharmacy counter with your months' worth of groceries and expect that anyone will take too kindly to having to ring them all up. Be realistic and respectful of their time and the other responsibilities they have to take care of.

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon.