Finally, as she hangs up the phone, the pharmacist notices that one of the patients is arguing with the clerk about his insurance co-pay. Why is it $25 and not $15? The pharmacist walks past your almost-ready prescriptions to explain to the angry man the pharmacy has no idea what co-pays are for any given plan. That knowledge is the responsibility of the patient. All information is entered into the pharmacy computer, sent immediately to the insurance company and they send back the co-pay information. This is true for all insurance plans. He pays, but goes away mad, sure that the pharmacy is trying to “steal even more of his money!”

The pharmacist heads back to the counter and finally gets to check your prescriptions. There are no problems and they are ready to go. Now, just as she is ready to explain the medication to you the phone rings and as all the technicians are helping others, she must answer the phone. It is a patient calling in seven refills, all of which they would like to pick up in about an hour. Would that be possible?

At last the pharmacist is able to counsel you about your prescriptions and then turns you over to the clerk to check you out. Whew!

Unfortunately that scenario is all too common these days in the pharmacy business. It continues all day long and has become a source of great frustration for both the patients and the pharmacy staff. What was not mentioned above is that for every prescription filled in that scenario, the insurance company paid the pharmacy $4 (on average … sometimes it is less than that) over and above the cost of the medication.

Now you can see why a pharmacy must do great volumes of prescriptions to be able to repurchase the medications used, pay the staff, the bills, etc. Now you can see why, as much as all of us behind the counter try to make sure no mistakes are made, errors do occur. Now you can see why, as much as all of us behind the counter try to make your wait as short as possible, circumstances often prolong that time. Now you can see why, as much as all of us behind the counter would like to spend more time making sure you understand everything, we just don’t have the time we wish we did.

Is there anything you as a patient can do to help make your wait shorter and reduce the chances that a medication error could be made on your medicine?

There are a few things to keep in mind.

You are responsible for your insurance information.

Always carry your card with you and be aware of your co-pays. The pharmacy has no way to know what your particular plan offers and cannot reduce your co-pay if it has increased. If you have a problem or don’t understand why your co-pays went up you need to call customer service at your insurance company for the answers. If you have a new insurance plan, be sure to give the information to the staff before they even start filling your prescription. That will speed up the process considerably.

Always call in regular refill medications several days before you need it and give the pharmacy some idea of when you are going to pick them up.

This is helpful in case you are out of refills and the doctor’s office must be contacted, if the medicine is out of stock, etc. Never take the last pill and then call in the refill and expect it ready in an hour. That puts undo pressure on everyone.

If your pharmacy offers a drive-up window, please try to use it only for drop-off and pick-up.

Don’t ask the pharmacy staff to get you some aspirin. If you need to shop, come into the store. Also, don’t bring five new prescriptions to the window and then wait for them in your car. This just ties up the window, not allowing others to pick up their medications.

Whenever possible, don’t call in routine refills on Mondays.

The volume of prescriptions is always greatest on Mondays, and that always increases the risk of a medication error being made.

To make your wait shorter, try to avoid coming to the pharmacy between 11 a.m. and 1 pm and 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Many people think they will just “drop by” the pharmacy and get a refill, pick up medications, ask a question, whatever, and find that they have a long wait, which is frustrating. These are very popular times for doctor’s offices to make their daily call-ins to the pharmacy, which ties up the pharmacy staff, as well as times that many people are out running errands.

If you call the pharmacy with a question for the pharmacist and you are told he or she is busy, rather than waiting on hold, offer to leave your phone number.

The pharmacist is usually glad to call you back and talk to you when things are less hectic. This gives them a chance to give their full attention to you.

If you have called your doctor and requested a medication be called in, be patient.

They need time to talk to the doctor, call the pharmacy and we need time to get the prescription processed. Many people show up 30 minutes after talking to the doctor’s office expecting their medication to be ready. It just doesn’t work that way. And please, don’t ask the pharmacy to call the doctor’s office for you when you find out the prescription is not ready.

If the medication you received looks different than it has before, never take it without calling the pharmacy.

Chances are that if it is a generic medication the pharmacy just used a different brand, but there is always the chance that an error was made. A good pharmacist is never unwilling to double check the medication to make sure is correct.

So, now you have been behind the counter. It is a hectic world that will only grow busier as the number of prescriptions written continues to increase. Hopefully this will give you some idea of what it takes to get a prescription from the doctor’s pen to your medicine bottle as quickly and error-free as possible.

First, if the medication is only to be used for a brief time, ask your doctor if he can give you samples of the drug. Pharmaceutical salespeople sometimes leave samples with doctors, who will usually give them to you if you ask for them. You may need to ask about availability, as your doctor might not think to offer the samples.

If you will be taking a specific medication for an extended time and have a prescription insurance plan, make sure you understand exactly what your plan will cover. Your health insurance plan will keep a formulary, which is a list of certain medications that they prefer. Drugs on the list are usually less expensive than drugs that don’t appear on the list. If the medication your doctor prescribes does not appear on the formulary, ask for comparable medication that is on the list.

It is wise to use generic medications whenever you can. If you have to pay for your medications yourself, you can really save a great deal of money this way. If you use generic medications, you may have a lower co-pay from your prescription plan. Your doctor can help you determine whether a generic medication will work as well for you as a brand-name drug.

Mail-order programs are another option offered by many prescription drug programs. This can be an inexpensive and convenient way to obtain your medications. A 90-day supply frequently costs almost the same amount of money as a 30-day supply.

It isn’t always cheaper to use your insurance at your local pharmacy. Sometimes the insurance co-pay might be higher than the medication’s actual cost; in this case, your pharmacist can process the prescription without your insurance.

Many grocery stores or mass merchandisers print prescription coupons in their weekly circulars that can save you money. A new or transferred prescription may earn you a $10 or even $25 gift certificate to their store. Transferring a prescription usually entails a phone call to the new drugstore so that they can obtain the necessary information.

If you are still struggling to pay for your prescriptions, talk to your doctor about programs for low-income patients offered by the pharmaceutical industry. You can obtain the necessary paperwork at your physician’s office.