If you need a new prescription for an illness you are experiencing (or having a recurrence of), you will usually need to talk to the doctor. Leave a message with your symptoms, the medication your think you need, and a home and a work phone number. The doctor will return your call as soon as possible, sometimes this may not happen until after the office closes for the day.
Some times you are so tied up, but are running out of your regular medications !!
This happens, but I would not like you to run out of your long term medications. That is the reason I write several refills on your medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, or skin problems. Even if I do so, I want to see you every three months (or as instructed)! But if you run out...
Please call your pharmacy and have them call us for refills on old prescriptions. They will have your profile ready, and have all your information. It then takes less of the doctor's or pharmacists time to get your refill ready. If you must have us call them, we need the prescription number, pharmacy number, and your home number (even if we have it on our record). Have this information ready before you call us.
Prescriptions for Medical Assistance patients cannot be called over the phone. The pharmacist needs a written prescription that you must pick up. If you cannot come in for this, send us a stamped addressed envelope so we may mail the script.
Pain medications CANNOT be renewed over the phone. Please do not make such requests. You are putting the doctor and the pharmacist in an embarrassing predicament when you ask for pain medications to be called in.
If your HMO does not have the prescribed medication in their formulary, ask the pharmacist to pick a suitable substitute (usually it is the same medicine, but a different brand name), and then call us. We have no control over your HMO, we do not decide their formulary. We cannot keep track of 20 different formularies.
Remember that the pharmacist is also a professional who you are paying a fee, when you get your medications filled. You may wish to spend more time with him/her discussing your medications.
Return to Table of Contents