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Dear Valued Customers:

As you may have noticed, your insurance plan has been very aggressive

in trying to convince you to use their mail order plan. Over the next 10 months I am going to share with you my top 10 reasons why mail order pharmacy is not in your best interest. In most cases, it is not only more costly; it can put your health at risk.

In October, we are going to look at Issue # 1: Drugs must be ordered two-three weeks in advance. Why should you have to order you medication so far in advance of needing it. 

When you use your local pharmacy, the majority of the time you can get your prescription on the same day. This is important to your health because your physician may need to change your prescription and you may need to “hold off” on ordering a refill. Your insurance plan’s mail order pharmacy needs processing time, and if you order early, you risk ordering something you no longer need. If you order it later, you risk running out of your medication before the refill arrives. In the event you chose the latter option, you would then need to visit your neighborhood pharmacy to get enough medication to hold you over while you wait for your new prescription to arrive. Your insurance company would not cover the drug. You would be required to pay full-price, out-of-pocket. All annual savings realized through the mail order program would be quickly lost with that one prescription.

At Robinson Drug Shop, your pharmacist contacts your physician on your behalf when your prescription expires, allowing you to continue receiving your medication. Mail order does not. If your prescription is expired, it is refused and returned to you. As with the previous example, the delay in obtaining your medication costs you money.

The only communication a mail order pharmacy has with your physician is when the insurance company wants to change your medication to an alternate product that will provide a financial “kick back” to the insurance company.  This is good for the insurance company’s bottom line, but it might not be good for your health.

Simply put, mail order pharmacies do not work for most people enough of the time.

Robinson Drug Shop, your neighborhood pharmacy, appreciates your business. We value quality healthcare in our community which can only be provided by building trusting relationships with our customers and their families. Please feel free to ask myself or Joe Bearlepp, RPh, any questions you might have.

I look forward to seeing you this fall!