Mail order pharmacies

[Bernard]

One of our current sponsors is a Canadian pharmacy that offers medications to folks in the USA. They said the response to their ad campaign was less than they expected and they asked me:

... (we) wanted to find out from you if you think the service is something that people would use? And do you think most people who are active in your forum have medical insurance to cover the cost of medications?

So I figured an anonymous poll might be the best way to find out. Feel free to post your thoughts here in the discussion thread if you like.

[momof3boys]

Right now we dont have that with our insurance, but starting July 1, 2011 they are changing their rules. We can get a month's supply of any medication at our local pharmacy, but if we want a 3 month or 6 month supply, we have to go through the insurance through their online pharmacy and recieve the medication by mail.

My only concern that I have to check out is like right now I have a keppra savings card I use each time I get a 6 month supply of the Keppra XR. Our insurance charges $100 for a 6 month supply, but with my savings card, I save $30 and only have to pay $70. I need to make a call to the online pharmacy through our insurance and see if they accept saving cards when ordering 3 or 6 month supplies.

[momof3boys]

Well I checked it out, and turns out the express scripts who we will go through starting July 1, 2011 to get 3 or 6 month supplies for our medication, they dont accept any manufacter's coupons, like the savings card I have for my Keppra XR. Now Im going to check to see how much it would cost to do a month supply through our local pharmacy, it may be cheaper that way, and I can still use my savings card?!

[Nakamova]

Right now we dont have that with our insurance, but starting July 1, 2011 they are changing their rules. We can get a month's supply of any medication at our local pharmacy, but if we want a 3 month or 6 month supply, we have to go through the insurance through their online pharmacy and recieve the medication by mail.

My health insurance is doing the exact same thing starting July. Anything that is a recurrent prescription will have to go through their online pharmacy, which is Caremark I think. I don't think we can use any other online pharmacy.

[momof3boys]

My health insurance is doing the exact same thing starting July. Anything that is a recurrent prescription will have to go through their online pharmacy, which is Caremark I think. I don't think we can use any other online pharmacy.

It sucks! We've always gone to our local walgreens to get my prescriptions filled. I just got a six month supply of Keppra XR last week, along with my glucophage XR I use for my PCOS. So next time around, which would be around November of this year, I'll be paying $30 more for my Keppra XR. I pay $150 for a 6 months supply of the Glucophage XR. Wish it was less, but the generic I tried, gave me really bad side effects. So Im stuck taking the name brands!

I wish online pharmacies would accept savings cards!

[Bernard]

for more votes/feedback

[Rae1889]

I voted no for other reasons.

My reasons are (keep in mind I live in Canada)

1) If the pharmacy is a larger reputable company with many store fronts, I would consider it (IE shoppers drug mar) but if its a small independant company or strictly online, there is no way for me to know that what I order is what I get. There are too many "What ifs" involved. Including, what if its laced, what if its expired, what if its fake, what if its recalled product

2) What would happen if I get the wrong product. you would need to order well in advance to ensure you do not run out while problems are being fixed. Such as you order brand name Tegretol and they send you generic or you order generic Tegretol and they send you generic Trileptal (because they appear close in name)

3) Cost wise would have to much much less to consider as RX is already cheap in canada, and its pretty easy to get on assistance if you cannot afford you meds with the money you make or on disability they are covered anyway.

4) Is it really more effective than going to a pharmacy? I can understand for those of you in the States buying from canada online, but for those in Canada buying from elsewhere is sketchy. We have had one pharmacist who owns an island and sells meds from it who was arrested for doing so illegally and sending fake RXs mixed with real.

[huskymom]

Our insurance makes up use a mail order pharmacy for maintenance drugs. So any drug that you use for more than 3 months is considered a maintenance drug. We use Medco Health and they do a pretty good job. You can order online and they will send you a notice if it is close to refill time. I have had an incident recently when my prescription ran out. When that happens, they contact the doctor and have it rewritten. This past time, for whatever reason, they decided to send me the generic for Keppra. That just has never worked for me. I called and asked them what the deal was. Of course your answers are only going to be as good as the person on the other end. If you get a person, but that is a whole different issue! They paid for a 5 day supply of Keppra that I picked up at the drug store. I checked on line for the status of my new order and didn't find it there. I called again only to find out that they forgot to enter it into the system. Remember that part about everything depends upon the experience of the person your talking to? Finally got that all under control and since I still did not have enough pills, they paid again for 5 more days worth, which is 15 pills and then they expedited the order. So for the most part everything runs well, but you will have occasional mix up

[Jake]

I also voted NO for other reasons.

I would not consider getting drugs by mail unless of course forced to by insurance which I don't think they should be allowed to do.

1. I'd be concerned they would be stolen. I know people that do this and their drugs are left on the porch for anyone to take.
2. I also want to make sure what I get so if it is the wrong thing I can change it then & there.
3. The savings are insignificate on my plan.
4. During the time my friend used mail order they always sent generic (from different manufacturer) even though his insurance paid for brand. If you go the a local pharmacy you can have that corrected then & there.

[Bernard]

Good stuff. Thanks peeps. As someone without good insurance right now, we pay cash out of pocket for meds here. As such, we don't have restrictions on where we buy and therefore would consider a mail order pharmacy if the price was right and we felt comfortable that they would deliver the right product on time.

[Bernard]

for the new week.

[maureen]

I'm way to anal to use them. I'd worry about them being lossed in the mail. I always order well in advance, but still, I like to pick them up in person.

[Blue Cat]

The only reason I do use them is I'm with Kaiser and they've (finally) put me back onto brand rather than generic. And if they screw up or are late I'm only 9 miles from the facility, so it's really worked well. I don't know if I'd use mail order otherwise.

[lovemyladybug]

NOOOOO ! i had no choice but to use one a few yrs ago , and hated it , yes it was a tad cheaper , but it never came on the same day , it supposedly had auto refill , but if you didnt call it wasnt coming , i dont know how many times they sent me the wrong thing , or the wrong amounts , needless to say i would NOT go there again , unless i had no choice

[alivenwell]

I have a great rapport with the pharmacists. They know I will not settle for generics.

[Dutch mom]

We don't order medication online but we do use several websites for dietary products.

[Endless]

My insurance company has a deal with an online pharmacy. We get our drugs much more cheaply if we get them there. I don't get my seizure meds there, but I get a few other things there.

Addendum: I found a GREAT online pharmacy, and it's recommended by my doctor's clinic. www.healthwarehouse.com


Lamotragine 200mg, 30 tabs, is $7.25.

http://www.healthwarehouse.com/catal...asc&order=name

[Seekout]

My online mail order pharmacy is through my insurance company.

[Seekout]

Our insurance makes up use a mail order pharmacy for maintenance drugs. So any drug that you use for more than 3 months is considered a maintenance drug. We use Medco Health and they do a pretty good job. You can order online and they will send you a notice if it is close to refill time. I have had an incident recently when my prescription ran out. When that happens, they contact the doctor and have it rewritten. This past time, for whatever reason, they decided to send me the generic for Keppra. That just has never worked for me. I called and asked them what the deal was. Of course your answers are only going to be as good as the person on the other end. If you get a person, but that is a whole different issue! They paid for a 5 day supply of Keppra that I picked up at the drug store. I checked on line for the status of my new order and didn't find it there. I called again only to find out that they forgot to enter it into the system. Remember that part about everything depends upon the experience of the person your talking to? Finally got that all under control and since I still did not have enough pills, they paid again for 5 more days worth, which is 15 pills and then they expedited the order. So for the most part everything runs well, but you will have occasional mix up

I use Medco too and have had a few problems but usually it works out. I take the generic for Keppra as well, liquid form and it seems to work fine......I guess. I mean, if you still have seizures every six months.....so is the medicine working or not? how do you know unless you are completely off the medicine and see how often you have seizures without medication - but who wants to do that, right? but that's a question for another day]forum I guess

[Birdbomb]

*Ahem*

So I figured an anonymous poll might be the best way to find out. Feel free to post your thoughts here in the discussion thread if you like.

Poll=Anonymous
Discussion = Anonymous



I voted no and I will fight my insurance company should it ever come down to them requiring me to order on-line.

Aside form the obvious problems such as theft or errors, consider this;
Most medications need to be stored at an average temperatures of 77°F / 25°C
I live in hell...oops I mean Las Vegas, neh-VA-duh where temperatures can and often do exceed115°F / 46°C. Add to that our mail is not delivered to individual homes, it gos to one central area in our neighborhood. Nice metal cubicles sitting in the sun with no protection from the elements. Since I don't drive, it might be a week before the mail box is even checked.

Now that my medication has been cooking for a week, what kind of molecular changes have taken place? Will it still be useful....
or deadly.

Las Vegas has almost 3,000,000 people living here. Just imagine 1/4 of the population getting it's medication by mail.....



They tried to make me get my drugs by mail, I said, "No, no, no"*





* RIP Amy