Discussions

It's certainly a concern. We have a daughter with epilepsy who takes a total of 4 daily medications, and my husband has a daily pres:cription. We routinely get a 90-day supply, and one of those medications needs to compounded, so that is a substantial additional cost every time we fill it.  
 
We are lucky that we have a good supplementary health plan through my husband's employer that pays the bulk of it (although only 80%, and it doesn't cover the compounding fees in it's entirely), but it would be very challenging for someone who doesn't have the coverage. That being said, we've been impacted by critical drug shortages in the past, and it's scary. It's a trade-off.  
 
As for getting it filled, many pharmacies are delivering, so if that's an option it should be used.

I have a family member who is a pharmacist and they said the amount of hoarding going on when this started was insane. So for the good of the many, I will say limiting pres:criptions to a month supply was the right call.

Its a gov't mandate, not the pharmacists decision.  
 
https://news.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2020/04/BG-COVID-19_Bulletin_41-HL.pdf

Basically we didn’t need a toilet paper situation with medications. There’s tons of shortages on drugs on and off constantly so this is to protect people so everyone can have access to their meds. And you think it’s a money grab but it is not. How do you think pharmacists and pharmacy techs get paid for their time put into each pres:cription? Entering it, counting it, making sure it doesn’t interact with your other meds etc... as well as the fee helps keep up with other business expenses such as rent/mortgage, electricity, cleaning, extra security and cleaning measures, extra costs such as masks, gloves, plexi glass etc. Nothing is free in the world. This won’t be a forever thing it is just until the pandemic eases.

Not only will I be paying more for the dispensing fees, it will mean more trips to the pharmacy (once a month vs once in 3 months) doesn’t that defeat the purpose of “stay at home”.... AND my health plan won’t cover my meds unless I get a 3 month supply so it’s going to cost me ALOT more

Did you try talking to your health plan provider? It's not secret that most provinces are restricting supply. Perhaps they will allow coverage in these exceptional circumstances.  
 
Are you sure it's the meds they won't cover, or the dispensing fee? I've heard some companies will cover the first dispensing fee, but not the next 2, but the drug itself is always covered.  
 
Also, check to see if delivery is an option.

My meds are $50 per month or 3 months for $91, so I am not happy to have to buy monthly. It was okay when I had blue cross but not so much now that I pay it all myself.

Yes, let’s eliminate hoarding, for sure.  
 
But if your personal pattern of purchase over the past several years has been to acquire 3 months of pres:cription at a time, like many do - then limiting your refill to one month at a time is anti-hoarding. Not a problem, except the store gets to charge and keep three times their base refill fee. Our money.  
 
Anyone asking for a year’s supply of pres:cription drug woud likely be denied even before this Covid event. I know. Used to be able to get a year’s worth of thyroxine at a time, not anymore.  
 
“Check with your health insurance provider” is a red herring. Mostly, those who have comprehensive pres:cription drug coverage are former provincial and federal employees. The rest of us have to make do. Thrown to the wind. Left behind. And it’s still half our money anyway.  
 
There is no two tier health care in Canada, they say. Right.  
 
Yes, the demand that refills be restricted to one month at a time is a provincially mandated public health order. But I suspect that the Pharmaceutical Association of Manitoba has the ear of the provincial government and has brought to their attention that there was a perceived hoarding problem and then suggested this particular solution.  
 
It’s a solution that benefits the Pharmacists.  
 
Yes, lets eliminate hoarding – and lets eliminate gouging.

This is absolutely not a money grab for pharmacies.  
 
Having worked in one for more years than I wish to remember, coming from a pharmacist family, having many pharmacist & technician friends still, I can guarantee you the pharmacy doesn’t want this.  
 
This is 3 times the work for the same pay. Pharmacy staff is not paid by the pres:cription. More money in the “pharmacy” does not mean more money for the staff, just more work.  
 
I can tell you they don’t want to see people three times as often. Even customers we enjoy serving (and you are naive if you think most customers are kind & polite) we don’t want to see every month.  
 
((Side thought: If you as a customer are rude to the retail staff because they are “rude” to you... you only have to try to be nice to 1 person, they have to see hundreds every day, every single day. Staff get yelled at several times a day, every day, for things beyond their control. YOU be the bigger person & be polite and you will find it pays forward.))  
 
Pharmacies want to make money. It is their right as a business. I have never met a Pharmacist/Owner who wants to gouge the public. Every single day of my life has involved a pharmacy, pharmacist, or technician.  
 
Assumptions of “money grabbing” only come from people who have never worked any type of retail job (not customer service, I mean retail) or you would know more work for the same pay is never welcome or wanted.  
 
Keep in mind also that, unlike the United States, Pharmacies have dictated laws on the mark-up of medications. Dispensing fees are most of the income from pres:criptions. Almost all of the cost of your pres:cription goes to the drug companies because that is their charge for the medication. They do not sell it to pharmacies for nothing like everyone believes.  
 
These are extraordinary times so let’s keep the blame game out of things. This is costing EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE... it is costing time, it is costing jobs, it is costing money, it is costing LIVES!  
 
Imagine if they didn’t, the hoarders would take all the meds. This was the smartest thing for the government to limit. Imagine someone dying because they couldn’t get their meds (I have experienced this because of product shortage in the past).  
 
So to save you on dispensing fees you’d rather run the risk of it costing your life?  
 
(To the poster above... Do you think that the people hoarding the toilet paper have a pattern of toilet paper purchase? These are extraordinary times & there will be people attempting to profit off of it, but it is NOT pharmacies. There would be a massive surge as people fill pres:criptions out of fear. Fear is a huge motivator. There would be unscrupulous people that will take advantage - ALWAYS - and the rest, including you, would suffer far more than money) Plus, I expect huge chain pharmacies will implement something eventually... don’t forget they have never experienced anything like this before so there is no established protocols.  
 
Edited by OutinBrandon, 2020-04-05 19:22:09

I got 3 months worth of meds 2 days before the government put the 1 month limit on refills. I admit, I purposely got 3 month just is case. If you want to call it hoarding I guess that’s what I did.  
These are meds that I will be on the rest of my life.  
When I do have to refill again I know I will only be able to get 1 month. Pain in the butt but NOT the pharmacy fault.  
Make sure you save your medication receipts and claim it on your next income tax.

Yes I agree... if my personal pattern has always been to buy 3 months at a time then it shouldn’t be considered hoarding. If someone who usually buys month to month and suddenly wants a years worth of pres:criptions then I agree that shouldn’t be allowed.  
 
Can anyone enlighten me on the dispensing fees... how much are these fees approximately? Do they vary from pharmacy to pharmacy? Is it worth shopping around? There are many people who are on quite a few different pres:criptions and on limited income ... this could very well make them stop taking some of their meds.

Shopper’s Drug Mart’s fee has been $11.99/pres:cription and has been for more than the 15 years that I worked for one.  
Fees do vary by pharmacy.  
 
I bet no one can name another service fee that hasn’t changed in at least 15 years.

I think the perception this was done to price gouge is silly! You don’t like your dispensing fee—shop around. I did and have found they vary store to store. the pricing works as a set price per tablet of drug regardless where you fill +dispensing fee (what is what can vary place to place)  
 
People perceive this as a money grab—what they fail to realize is pharmacies probably had little warning this government restriction was coming. What was seen was signals of drug shortages coming. What used to take 5 minutes to place a drug order I have been told could take an hour between trying multiple suppliers. It doesn’t take a lot of research to see where the majority of drugs are/were manufactured and why this would be the case.  
 
As someone with some knowledge on drug supply, there are several of the most common blood pressure, asthma, and diabetes medications that are on allocation from suppliers as we speak—meaning they are trying to avoid an actual backorder. If they are restricting shipping to only one bottle of 90 tablets when could usually get 10+ bottles, is it right that it is dispensed to one person? Or do pharmacies put up with the perception they are “price gouging” but be able to spread that supply out evenly. Yes, it is an inconvenience to everyone. It is the same amount of work if the prescription is 30 or 90 days, so the fee reflects that. Does it suck absolutely. But even worse is when they run into situations where there literally is no alternative to a drug on backorder and patients are going without or having to reassess treatment options when they have been stable.  
 
I for one appreciate the hard working community pharmacists (who I have witnesses being treated like garbage when I have been picking up my prescriptions lately) that are working hard with very little thanks during this trying time.

There is a large difference in the dispensing fees charged by various pharmacies. This list was provided by my medical insurance provider:  
PharmacyFee  
Costco $4.47  
Express s:cripts Canada $9.00  
Walmart $9.34  
London Drugs $9.34  
Superstore $10.23  
Safeway $12.29  
Medicine Shoppe $12.29  
Pharmasave $12.58  
Shoppers Drug Mart $12.69  
Sobeys $12.82  
Rexall $13.66  
Red River Co-op $13.84  
Super Thrifty $15.52  
See also:  
https://globalnews.ca/news/4117916/want-to-save-money-on-pres:criptions-shop-around/  
https://cinup.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/CU_updatenewsletter_0518.pdf

Thanks, that’s very helpful. Apparantly I’m going to one of the most expensive pharmacies. Will have to change that, I think. Too bad we don’t have a Costco here!!

Keep in mind too that even if WE as a society don’t hoard medications in times of crisis (which many would) Drug companies are huge & multinational.  
 
So if people hoard in other countries it will affect our supply. If people stop producing the medications from out of country we run out. If any stage in the manufacture is severely interrupted by hoarding (say even plastic) it can affect the drug supply in Canada.  
 
Suck it up... pay a bit more... you will at least survive.  
 
THANK YOU CHEETOS - a civil mind. The part about limited supplies from the manufacturer and that the quantity you can order is limited and therefore shouldn’t go to just one person. As I am out of the business I didn’t know this or I would have mentioned it myself. It is nice when we can educate... so thank you for that, I hope others will learn from your post too.  
 
Edited by OutinBrandon, 2020-04-05 20:44:30

The pharmacies have no choice. People with money will hoard the pills like toilet paper. The one’s with less money will run out.

Childcare fees (a service provided) haven’t changed in years either  
 
What do I win?? Hehe

Why do you boomers all have to think the same? You literally cannot even attempt to understand others’ different viewpoints. Not without intercepting with your strong pre determined opinions you so desperately cling on to... You are only thinking of yourselves and your possible inconveniences’ during this pandemic.  
 
Government mandate means just what is says folks..  
 
You’re literally complaining about having to make a trip every 30 days instead of 90... really?  
 
If that truly is a cause for you to come rant on ebrandon then you may have other issues to consider.. You most certainly have to purchase other things like food and hygiene products more often than every 90 days so just grab some milk when get your pills.. not complicated.  
 
Instead of complaining about the cost to refill each time you go to the drugstore maybe try to understand that you’re helping to keep an essential service that YOU need in business. It’s not anyone else’s fault or problem that you need medication for your health so maybe just be happy you have access to it??

You missed the whole point of this thread. People are not ranting about the fact they have to go more often.  
They complain that they are having to pay three pres:cription charges instead of usually one.  
Maybe for someone without money or medical problems this is no big deal but for many at present on restricted or no income this could make the difference between having or not having medication. Which will ultimately reflect on the availability of hospital facilities.  
 
Edited by vegimite, 2020-04-06 09:56:11

was a good idea by our gov't.  
I can't believe that when I was in Coop this morning, once again not one roll of TP on their shelves!

My wife works in a pharmacy, Up until the government stepped in to regulate refills they were facing a major shortage. one item was asthma inhalers. The pharmacy ordered 200 but only received 10. This was because of hoarding across the country. So maybe you have to pay extra dispensing fee, but you at lest still get your meds.

Hoarding is for sure a bad thing. Selfish. Anti-social. Not Canadian. To look after yourself to the detriment of your friends and neighbors and to the detriment of their families and their friends and neighbors is despicable. And counter productive in the long run. You get back what you give.  
 
Hoarding is Bad.  
 
Also just as bad - taking advantage of a situation where your clients have no other choice but to suck it up and pay the price. It used to be called profiteering.  
 
The pharmacists of Manitoba woud come out of this looking really really good ( like angels) if they would only waive refill fees for the duration of this crisis. Then we would know that their hearts are in the right place.  
 
After all, we are all in this together, are we not ? aren’t we?

If the pharmacies waived the fees, and only charged them on a third of the pills they dispensed....who would pay for their time and overhead?

On the consumer but you can’t expect a pharmacy to do three times the work and not be paid for it.

Pharmacies have even more work now too. I called my doctor's office today to see what I should do because I need a refill on my inhaler. I was directed to contact the pharmacy and they will fax the doctor to get it refilled.  
 
Now, pharmacies have long had this power, but don't typically do it except in exceptional circumstances. But now everyone who needs refills will also be doing that. So more paperwork for them, and chasing faxes etc.  
 
I'm appreciating all the extra work they're having to put in.

I could only get one month at a time anyway, so now on a limited income one month at a time is all I can afford. Based on pain, my meds change so wouldn’t be reasonable to request more.  
 
I agree that staff have been busier than ever and should be applauded for their hard work and dedication to assist so many customers in need.  
 
The extra fees can be used at tax time so it’s a win there too!

If I have a 6-month prescription that I have registered at the pharmacy right now and which I normally have filled at 3-month interval does that now mean …  
1) I won’t be able to? Or does that apply to new prescriptions.  
No, you will not be able to get 3 months. You will be able to get one month.  
 
2) Will the pharmacy staff still have to verify with the doctor each month even tho my prescription is for 6 months and why? ( I would assume the doctor having written a 6 month supply would be tacitly saying this patient has met the criteria)  
No, they will not need to verify each month, because your rx is valid for 6 months.  
 
3) How much extra work is that for clinic staff?  
They are counting, verifying, labelling, and dispensing your med three times instead of once.  
 
4) How much longer will it take to have a prescription refilled because of the backlog that is bound to cause?  
Unknown.  
 
5) What if I have to wait to have my prescription refilled monthly and there is a shortage even with the new protocol? Perhaps because of staffing issues elsewhere or some whim by our former now best “fiend” to the south.  
The process would be the same as for any medication that is on backorder or short supply.  
 
6) I think this is a “heads together” between the pharmacies’ and the government( I did not vote Conservative, I am in favour of a full time Premier), not everyone has a “drug plan” this at a time when EVERYTHING is going through the roof, I notice my grocery bill is higher because I am going to one store and “sucking up “ the prices because I don’t want to attend every grocery store to get the best price, also the line ups!. Remember the mantra…Stay Home, go out s little as possible, practice physical distancing, seems counter intuitive.

That this has been born from a logistical situation during unprecedented times and we will probably see more products restricted or even rationed in the coming months and years. We have all become very used to getting what we want when we want it and I think that that those days are gone.

Our nation, indeed the world is at war against Covid 19. During such times we give up our personal freedoms for the benefit of everyone.