SISTERHOOD SHARE | WHAT YOU SHOULD DO BEFORE FILLING A PRESCRIPTION

Power Of Women | Sisterhood Sharing Sessions | Life Lessons Learned: Best Practices & Women’s Health-What You Should Do Before Filling A Prescription

What I’ve Learned

What I learned you should do before filling a prescription:

“Make sure you talk to your doctor about what medication they are going to prescribe to you. If you want that exact medication, then it should be marked ‘No Substitution’ on your prescription.”

~Pat F., North Carolina-Sisterhood Share Club Contributor/Contributing Member

What You Should Do Before Filling A Prescription

Filling A Prescription
Filling A Prescription

The Discussion

What I learned you should do before filling a prescription. Make sure you talk to your doctor about what medication they are going to prescribe to you. If you want that exact medication, then it should be marked ‘No Substitution’ on your prescription, regardless if it’s offered on paper or they send it directly to the Pharmacy electronically. If there is going to be a substitution, have a discussion with your doctor regarding what other medicines or Generics and from what type of Lab can you fill that prescription, and include that option in your prescription.

Then, have knowledge of exactly what it is the Pharmacy is going to give you. If it is a Generic, ensure the Pharmacy is filling your prescription with the exact substitution medicine that you discussed with your doctor.

No Substitution

If ‘No Substitution’ is not marked on your prescription, the Pharmacy legally can choose the substitution (Generic) medicine they want to give to you, the one that they carry in the market for you. Unfortunately, you may not have educated yourself on the pros and cons of the Generic brand or their chosen substitute medication.

You also want to check with your Insurance or Prescription Plan on what is the coverage for either. Sometimes they may cover more for the Generic than for the real medicine. What I found was, with my Prescription Plan, I paid the same amount of money for Generic, as for the real medicine.

Pharmacy Obligation 
Pharmacy Obligation
Pharmacy Obligation

The pharmacy is not obligated to show you the electronic prescription that the Doctor sent for you. If they want to show it to you, you can look at it but you cannot get a print of it. If you want your Doctor for some reason to change the prescription or whatever you want the pharmacy to do, you have to go to the Doctor’s office to make the changes in your prescription.

You cannot change anything once you have paid for the medicine and walk out of the Pharmacy. So, if you discover your prescription is not exactly what the Doctor prescribed (Name Brand or Substitute), and has been substituted for Generic, there is nothing they’re going to do about it, and there is nothing you can do about it unless you go through the Doctor’s office, the Insurance or the  Prescription Plan to reverse all of this.

Be Your Own Advocate

I discovered the medication prescribed was not working as it should and began to investigate what might be going on after the fact.

So for prevention, do these steps first. Make sure you review and write down what the Doctor has prescribed before they send it electronically to the Pharmacy. Be sure you have discussed any substitution option and from what specific Laboratory or what other brand name medicine can you get.

Know that, your Insurance has no power over the Pharmacy you choose to fill your prescription. They are only there for the coverage of your prescription. They have no power whether you choose CVS, Walgreens, Publix, Costco or RiteAid, whatever it is, they have no power over them to do anything regarding your prescription. You are your only advocate. Nobody is going to advocate for you, not the Insurance or the Doctor. You have to educate yourself and make sure the medicine discussed and prescribed by your Doctor, is the prescription filled by your local Pharmacy.

Post Author:

Pat F., North Carolina-Sisterhood Share Club Contributor/Contributing Member

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