Is It Va Pharmacy Policy To Only Send Half The Supply Needed If The Prescription Reads,"as Needed"?

[allan]

Is it VA pharmacy policy to only send half the supply needed if the prescription reads,"as needed"?

My prescription for meclizine that I take for vertigo, is to take one by mouth, twice daily as needed. So they send enough for 15 days & called it a thirty day supply(30 tabs). The pharmicist said she would have to let my nurse know I take two per day as needed, in order to correct the problem.

What problem? All they have to do is send what is prescribed. Is this designed to hold prescription costs down & does anyone else experience this?

It seems more expensive to run the script twice, use to bottles/lables twice instead of one & pay for the shiping twice.

How can you take a prescription as needed without the medication?

[Eric_M]

It sounds like they screwed up the dose. Plugged in one per day, instead of two.

Also check the actual drug amount. I had a drug that was once per day, but was half a tablet. 40 mg then you cut it down to 20 mg. Seemed like a good idea, but they didn't tell me they changed it. Good thing I was reading the bottle.

Otherwise I have had pretty good luck getting the correct doses per 30/90 days.

Eric

[carlie]

Is it VA pharmacy policy to only send half the supply needed if the prescription reads,"as needed"?

My prescription for meclizine that I take for vertigo, is to take one by mouth, twice daily as needed. So they send enough for 15 days & called it a thirty day supply(30 tabs). The pharmicist said she would have to let my nurse know I take two per day as needed, in order to correct the problem.

What problem? All they have to do is send what is prescribed. Is this designed to hold prescription costs down & does anyone else experience this?

It seems more expensive to run the script twice, use to bottles/lables twice instead of one & pay for the shiping twice.

How can you take a prescription as needed without the medication?

allan,

No that is not a VA pharmacy policy. The way your doctor has written the RX - the pharmacy should be sending you 60 meclizine for each 30 day supply.

Now I do know sometimes pharmacy's will run out of something and fill only 1/2 of the RX

but this should not happen often.

If you do not need to take 2 each day they should be yours to save or dispose of.

carlie

[allan]

I just got done telling my PCP a week ago I take two per day.

So the only reason I can think of that a pharmacist would only send half a supply & stick to it is to cut prescription costs. I told her I take two tabs the majority of the time & she didn't seem to convinced.

My guess is they will reduce the dosage to just one tab.

With MS you take it one day at a time. Some days I'll need three, some days one.

Either way, it's not a narcotic so they should have sent at least a 90 day supply so I don't have to order it every two weeks.

If they don't correct it I'll contact my PCP & get it straightened out.

If it's "as needed", only send half the script? I've never had anyone interpret it that way before.