Flip the script: A look at how pharmacies refill prescriptions

Remember when a doctor scrawled an illegible script on a pad and sent you to the local drugstore to wait for your medicine? The days of shuttling paper prescriptions from here to there are largely gone, as doctors now send prescriptions electronically. And while e-prescribing streamlines the process and reduces medication errors, the new approach isn’t without hiccups.

“Medication refills are a common pain point in primary care, often because patients misunderstand how pharmacies process prescriptions,” says Roper St. Francis Healthcare family medicine physician Dr. Valerie Scott.

The problem

When a doctor e-prescribes a long-term medication, the pharmacy assigns a number to that prescription and its refills. To order a refill, the patient simply hops on the pharmacy app, enters that number, then waits for an alert that their refill is ready for pickup. And when those refills run out, so does that particular prescription number.

“If you’re up to date on your appointments and will continue on that medication, chances are, the doctor has already sent another prescription to the pharmacy. Only that script gets a new prescription number, even though it’s the same medicine,” explains Dr. Scott. “But since many pharmacy computers don’t automatically check for a new script, if you try ordering refills with the old number, you’ll be told you’re out of refills.”

The solution

So this is your move: “Call the pharmacy and ask the tech if you have a prescription ‘on hold’ for that medication. The code phrase is "on hold." This prompts the pharmacist to look under your name for a new e-prescription.

Never miss a beat

Prescription adherence is an essential part of wellness, and missing even a day or two of certain drugs could risk dangerous complications or undo months of progress. “You don’t want to lose all of the advances you’ve gained from a medicine,” says Dr. Scott. Here are her tips for staying on top of prescriptions:

• “Visit your doctor regularly.” Refills are best prescribed in person. If you’re on long-term medication, this ensures it’s still the right one for you and that a new round of refills gets sent to the pharmacy.
• “Come with a list of your medications. Better yet, bring the bottles.” This lets the doctor see that you’re taking them as directed and note how many refills remain before your next appointment.
• “Be proactive.” Don’t wait until you’ve taken your last pill to call for refills, as the pharmacy may need to order the medicine, which can take a couple of days.
• “Communicate with the pharmacy.” Set up text alerts for when your medicines are ready and keep the pharmacy phone number handy in case you need to ask about prescriptions on hold.