Choosing your pharmacy

[Guest guest]

Hi !

Yes, most regional medical centers do have outpatient

pharmacies. If you ever have a prescription for a drug

that is a little out of the ordinary - that your chain

drug store doesn't have - that would be a good

resource to remember.

Chain drug stores often use their pharmacy - at least

the most 'popular' drugs - as a loss leader. That

means they might sell prescription strength Motrin,

Naprosyn, whatever, below their cost just to get

people in the store. It pays to price shop on those

items. Independent pharmacies don't have the leeway to

do that.

If you do that, however, you sacrifice the benefit of

taking all your prescriptions to one pharmacy. When

you deal with one pharmacy, the pharmacist has you

complete drug record and might be able to catch a drug

interaction or a duplication (2 MD's prescribing a

drug from the same class).

I take all of my prescriptions except one to a local

chain. They are in a grocery store where I can pick up

food while they fill drugs and they have a drive

through window for when I don't feel good. I take the

one prescription to a pharmacy that specializes in

compounding (making from bulk powdered medicine)

prescriptions. My hormone replacement therapy is a

capsule containing 3 drugs, each individual ingredient

is ordered based on my labwork. It takes doing

compounding regularly to be good at it. A lot of

chains won't even try.

; )

Willow

--- M <brenda.morey@...> wrote:

> Hi Willow,

> All the hospitals I have ever dealt with have been

> larger regional care centers and they do have

> outpatient pharmacies. I have no idea if these small

> community type hospitals do. We don't deal with

> them, we have to go to the Children's and the Adult

> hospitals that are affiliated with the Children's.

>

> That is all I know about or have experience with.

>

> love,

>

>