Oh no! It’s a Friday afternoon. It’s a holiday weekend and your doctor won’t be back until Tuesday. You have completely run out of your medication. Now what? In an effort to avoid this scenario and for the pharmacy to provide quality service to you, here are several suggestions:

Be aware of the amount of medication you have left (pills, liquid, indictable medication, inhalers). Don’t wait until you are down to one or two doses or out completely to call for a refill. We suggest you call at least one week before your medication runs out. you should allow 24 hours for medication refills during the week, and 48-72 hours on weekends and holidays.

It is very important that you know the names of your medications, and why you are taking them. If you don’t know, please ask! Many times patients call and say, “call in my blood pressure medicine.” There are hundreds or different medications for blood pressure, and some patients are on more than one. To be assured the correct refills are being called in, it is important to know the following information we will ask you about your medication; the name of the medication, the dosage, how often you take it, the Rx number and your phone # in case of a problem.

When your bottle is empty, don’t throw it away. Always examine the labels of your current bottles to be sure you don’t have any refills left. If you have refills, you don’t need to call your doctor. You can call the pharmacy and give them the Rx # and it will be refilled.

Always remember to ask your doctor for new written prescription when you go to your visits. If you’re down to one refill left on any of your medications, it’s time for a new prescription.

If you are leaving prescription information on a refill line, please remember to speak slowly and provide all information required. Please spell first and last name, also leave a phone number where we can reach you.

Always remember to carry your pharmacy insurance card with you, in case of a problem with your insurance.

Please give the pharmacy enough time to fill new prescriptions. If you are able to drop off a prescription and come back it is great help to the pharmacy. There are so many telephone calls, questions about medications, etc, that are coming into the pharmacy, that reasonable time to fill the prescriptions is greatly appreciated and everyone benefits in the end.