According to one study, 66% of the adult population in the United States uses prescription drugs.
If you are part of that percentage, you might realize that it’s time to refill a prescription. But how do you do that?
Thankfully, there are a few different ways you can get a prescription refill, so make sure you keep reading!
Find Out If You’re Eligible
First, find out if you’re eligible for a refill. Look up when you last when to the doctor for medication or physical review. This can include appointments like the Medicare wellness exam, the well-child exam, a pre-op exam, or a post-partum exam.
If one of those appointments were within the last year, you’ll be able to refill your prescription without going to see your healthcare provider again. If it’s been more than a year, you’ll need to make an appointment with your doctor.
They need a recent exam to check how healthy you are and run updated labs to make sure you’re taking the correct dosage and proper medication.
If you can’t get an appointment because it’s months out, that’s okay. As long as you have proof that you have scheduled an appointment, you should be able to refill your prescription.
Refill Online
If you need to make an appointment with your doctor but don’t want to go to the doctor’s office, you might be able to refill your prescription online.
You can skip all of the hassles like talking to a nurse and doctor, having your vitals taken, waiting in the waiting room, and even trying to make an appointment.
Some apps out there will let you make an appointment online. They’ll go over your medical history and your recent prescriptions and then send electronic refills to whatever pharmacy you prefer.
Sometimes, you can even get your refills at an online pharmacy, like this one: onlinepharmaciescanada.com.
Can Telehealth Refill Prescriptions?
If you can’t make an appointment with a doctor in the office, you can sometimes have a virtual meeting with a doctor.
They’ll be able to write refills for you for medication like asthma, birth control, thyroid disease, bacterial infections, asthma, thyroid disease, mental health, high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, and much more!
Talk to Pharmacist
If for some reason you still aren’t able to refill your prescription through the other methods, you could try talking to a pharmacist. They might be able to offer you some advice.
When you do come back and update your prescription, they’ll be able to instruct you on how to take the medication. For example, they’ll recommend a dosage, whether you should take it with food or not, and how it’ll interact with any other medications that you’re taking.
They’ll also warn you of any side effects, although if you’ve been taking it, you may have already noticed some. You should pay attention to all of their instructions, especially if your doctor didn’t go over this with you.
If you don’t have any questions for them, the pharmacist might ask you to sign a waiver.
You should also tell your pharmacist if you’ve started any new medications since your last refill. You should even tell them about any medications that you were taking over-the-counter, including herb supplements.
Some of them will still interact with each other. For example, St. John’s Wort can make birth control ineffective.
Refill at the Right Time
The hardest part of refilling your prescription might be keeping track of when you need to refill it. Don’t wait until you’ve taken your last pill, because chances are that you will have to wait a little bit of time for it.
When you have to wait for it and can’t take the medication, you’ll likely experience some withdrawal effects as well.
Instead, make sure that you place an order for a refill when you notice it’s getting low. Don’t place the refill too early, because then your insurance might not cover it.
Keep in mind that if it’s been over a year since you’ve spoken to your doctor, you’ll have to leave time for an appointment as well.
Get an Emergency Refill
If there is a natural disaster in your area, you should try and refill your prescription as soon as possible. Even if it’s been within a year that you’ve seen your doctor, you should call them.
They might be able to contact the pharmacy and explain the situation. Even after hours, they can leave a message and explain the situation to expedite your refill.
If you can’t get in touch with your doctor, go to your pharmacy and let them know that you need an emergency supply. Take your prescription and the medication bottle as well to prove that you’ve had it.
The pharmacist will then have to figure out whether or not the drug will endanger your health. If they decide it’ll help you, they will give you an emergency three-day supply of your medication.
You can also try going to an urgent care to have a doctor there write you a one-time prescription to hold you over until you can get in touch with your doctor.
Discover More Ways to Refill a Prescription
These are only a few ways to refill a prescription, but there are many more things you can try.
We know that dealing with medical problems can be stressful, but we’re here to help you out.
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