Mail-Order Pharmacies

Chet

Well-known Member
Location
PA, USA
Anyone have any experience with them? I go to a pharmacy which is part of a local supermarket chain in my home town. There are usually Tom the pharmacist and Marge the assistant there, and as you can see, we are on a first name basis. There was a problem where I apparently was given 60 of my blood pressure medication instead of 90. A phone call was all it took and I picked up the shorted later in the day. If the shortage had occured with mail-order, I would no doubt have been put on hold if I called, put through press 1 for this and press 2 for that, and had to wait several days for it to arrive. Shop local.
 

I had a doctor years ago, who told me never to order thru the mail..
I don't know why...didnt ask. Too much else to talk about.
Around here the summer heat can damage drugs if they are left in a hot mail box too long. Last summer the mail person put some of mine in someone’s box and he was on vacation for two weeks. I had to throw them away.
But overall, Express Scripts has worked very well for me for the last five years. I only use it for my long term medication. I use a local pharmacy for all of the non repetitive ones.
 

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I get some of my maintenance drugs from a mail order pharmacy.

I rarely need to talk to anyone or sign in to my account online. Everthing is on automatic shipping every ninety days and bills automatically to my credit card. They keep me informed by email and text alerts.

The only problem that I’ve had is that every so often the top on a bottle of pills will come off during shipping and I have to scoop them up from inside the plastic mailer.

I still buy my insulin locally because I don’t trust the ability to keep it cold if the shipment is delayed. I also buy one time prescriptions locally because it takes a couple of weeks to get the first shipment unless you pay an additional fee.

The main benefit for me when I signed up was a ninety day supply for the cost of two copays instead of three. I believe the local pharmacy can offer a similar savings now.

If you are uneasy about it try one of your prescriptions when it’s time to renew and gradually add the others as you gain confidence in the system.

Good luck.
 
Around here the summer heat can damage drugs if they are left in a hot mail box too long. Last summer the mail person put some of mine in someone’s box and he was on vacation for two weeks. I had to throw them away.
But overall, Express Scripts has worked very well for me for the last five years. I only use it for my long term medication. I use a local pharmacy for all of the non repetitive ones.
My husband had some bad experiences with Express Scripts. I think he finally got some of his medication set up but never could get all of it.
 
I have a Medicare Advantage Plan that includes the drug plan. My scripts are free and I get a 3 month supply at a time. I just order online for refills and they are here in a week. It works for me. If I need a short term med I can get it at the local cvs or walgreens. The doctor just calls it in and I pick up or they deliver it to me. Best thing ever.
 
This was gosh maybe 15-20 yrs ago, so things have prob improved since then, and again I have no idea why he said that. He'd always give me little tid bits of info that I'd latch on to.
I'm glad it works for all of you.

I've had good luck w/ Walgreen's. And, I'm usually able to get a 90 day supply, so I'm happy about that.
 
I get most of my meds by mail order. My former employer, the State of N.J., has a contract with Optum RX. My prescriptions are much cheaper at Optum than at local pharmacies. They do have a tool that shows local pharmacy costs vs their own. I've never had an issue with them except recently they ran out of stock for one of my pills. This may have had to do with the company who makes or ships the drugs. I was supposed to contact them about it but I never did since I had enough for more than a month. They remind me when refills or renewals are due and it's mega easy to reorder using their website. Before the state used Optom they used Express Scripts. I think I like Optum better.
 
I have a couple of questions. I live in a development. No mail comes to my house, it goes to a bunch of mail boxes on the main road. If there's a large package, I have to pick it up at the local post office, 9 miles away, open 8-5, and shuts down 1 hour for lunch. That bothers me, and I'm worried about theft. Around Xmas, some get our mail stolen. I'm on a narc, do they do narcs?
 
I get almost all of my meds from my Medicare provider's mail order pharmacy. Sometimes, though, I get meds mail order from Canada. Not only are they usually less expensive than the "cash price" at a local pharmacy, but they're often packaged differently. I had one med that was packaged in the U.S. in something like 5 gr. tubes; I needed less than one gr. I got the one gr. tube from Canada and didn't go through my insurance.

"Cash price" -- For anyone who doesn't know. This doesn't mean "cash;" it means self-pay. You can shop around. Different pharmacies, doctors, hospitals, etc. will have different cash prices for the same thing. I once got a med for $22.50 that cost $101.25 at a different pharmacy. I needed a different med and the prices were reversed. If you aren't paying with insurance in the U.S., you can ask for the cash price anywhere; most places have one.
 
I have a couple of questions. I live in a development. No mail comes to my house, it goes to a bunch of mail boxes on the main road. If there's a large package, I have to pick it up at the local post office, 9 miles away, open 8-5, and shuts down 1 hour for lunch. That bothers me, and I'm worried about theft. Around Xmas, some get our mail stolen. I'm on a narc, do they do narcs?
If I'm sent a narcotic, I have to sign for it. In my case my mail order pharmacy sends those by UPS -- far, far away from me. I pick those up locally.
 
I've heard of telemedicine solutions. There, after an online medical consultation, you can also order medicines online. But I learned about such solutions only recently, usually bought in pharmacies.
 
I used to use Walgreens but now I am forced to use Walmart thru Medicare. So how does one sign up for mail order drugs?
I also need to use Walmart or Sam's Club. Do you have Humana/Walmart PDP? If so, go to humanapharmacy.com . If not, check with your plan's materials that they send at the beginning of the year or contact them directly.
 


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