Which places have lowest dispensing fees? (PHARMACY)

[lobt]

+1 for local pharmacies. Pharmacists are willing to negotiate a lower price to keep customers coming back. In many cases, lower than $4.11 if you're a regular returning customer. Many provide free local delivery services too.

An experienced technician can fill out a normal prescription in 15-45 seconds. Mixtures and creams take longer because they are more labour intensive.

My dad runs a local pharmacy so I may have bias.

[wolverine07]

This is an informative thread.

[wolverine07]

Just had a prescription filled at Fortinos for a $10.49 df, the OP needs a little updating but I thought this was kinda hefty for a supermarket.

[Dreyfus]

Recent transactions-
Zellers OHIP covered $5.00 Private $7.00
Costco Private $4.11
Shoppers Drug Mart Private $11.99

April 2010 in Markham, Ontario
By private I mean drugs not covered by OHIP.
My understanding of how OHIP deals with the Pharmacists is that the Pharmacists can mark the product up 8% and charge up to $5.00 dispensing fee.
It is easy to see why pharmacists are upset when the bonus paid by Generic manufacturers is eliminated and in addition the cost of generics go down by approx. 25% on average. That is a double whammy to the bottom line. However it cleans up an anomaly that was addding cost without value to the taxpayers. Now the Province and the Pharmacists will negotiate a new arrangement which could be a 10% mark up and a $6 fee. People without insurance coverage OHIP or Private will benefit most and that is a good thing since the poorly paid usually lack drug coverage. There will be very little chaange for drug insured people whether it be OHIP or Private insurance. I am not happy with the knee jerk shenanigans exhibited by our largest drug chains.

[dragon_drift]

There's a dispencing fee at Costco? They didn't charge my mom.

[okaywithme]

I pay about $6 and here's a tip. My very small local pharmacist will fill a 3 month repeat prescription all at one time without doctor's permission. This means all 3 months only cost me a one time $6 dispensing fee instead of $18. Negotiate with your pharmacist to do this for you. He also delivers for free.

[weedb0y]

Zellers at Erinmills charged me $9.xx something. Walmart was $10 bucks as well by heartland.

[Menthol]

You guys using too much drugs :D

[Dreyfus]

I am shocked, Zellers today in Markham $9.99.
They reacted quickly to the loss of their Generic bonus.
I wonder if SDM can raise its fees or whether the Province has a ceiling imposed.

[mcg]

It's arbitrary, right now it's at 11.99... may go up

[pharmacist]

The most current rates in the GTA are roughly as follows but varies from region to region (these have been the rates for a at least a couple of years now):

- SDM = $10.99 - $11.99
- Rexall/Pharmaplus = $10 - $11.99
- Drugstore (Loblaws/No Frills) = $8.99 - $9.99
- Wal-Mart = $8.99 - $9.99
- Zellers = $7.99 - $9.99
- Independents = $7.99 - $10.99. (fyi: Pharmasave, Guardian, IDA, Medicine Shoppe, Remedy's RX are all INDEPENDENTLY owned and run under a banner. Prices will vary from one store to the next just as other mom and pop independent stores)

HOWEVER, the new regulations the McGuinty government has proposed for May 15 will significantly cut-back the funding to pharmacies so we can pretty much say good-bye to all of the free services mentioned like delivery, late access to pharmacies, free over the counter medication counselling/over the counter interaction checking, faxing doctors for repeats or for changes/corrections, blood pressure/diabetes monitoring, etc. and the fees will likely also be raised across the board to make up for significant lost revenues.

Most independents will probably close as the funding cuts will likely put them into bankruptcy and the bigger box stores will pick up the prescriptions meaning longer wait times and reduced level of service. Also, without independents around, there will be less competition and we will see a very USA style level of healthcare.

Most pharmacies have already put a hold on hiring and I know that many pharmacy students have lost their summer jobs and many interns (graduating pharmacists) have lost their internships.

I know you may think my voice is biased as I am a pharmacist but I assure you that these are the facts...that being said, feel free to talk to your own pharmacist or visit [url]www.stopcuts.ca[/url] for more information about the cuts. There's also a facebook page with over 12,000 people as fans...it's called Ontario's Community Pharmacies and it is constantly updated with great info...anyone can post...but I digress...the point of this post was to inform you guys what the general dispensing fees in Ontario currently are...sorry if I missed any stores.

[Xa]

[QUOTE=pharmacist;10724541]The most current rates in the GTA are roughly as follows but varies from region to region (these have been the rates for a at least a couple of years now):

- SDM = $10.99 - $11.99
- Rexall/Pharmaplus = $10 - $11.99
- Drugstore (Loblaws/No Frills) = $8.99 - $9.99
- Wal-Mart = $8.99 - $9.99
- Zellers = $7.99 - $9.99
- Independents = $7.99 - $10.99. (fyi: Pharmasave, Guardian, IDA, Medicine Shoppe, Remedy's RX are all INDEPENDENTLY owned and run under a banner. Prices will vary from one store to the next just as other mom and pop independent stores)

HOWEVER, the new regulations the McGuinty government has proposed for May 15 will significantly cut-back the funding to pharmacies so we can pretty much say good-bye to all of the free services mentioned like delivery, late access to pharmacies, free over the counter medication counselling/over the counter interaction checking, faxing doctors for repeats or for changes/corrections, blood pressure/diabetes monitoring, etc. and the fees will likely also be raised across the board to make up for significant lost revenues.

Most independents will probably close as the funding cuts will likely put them into bankruptcy and the bigger box stores will pick up the prescriptions meaning longer wait times and reduced level of service. Also, without independents around, there will be less competition and we will see a very USA style level of healthcare.

Most pharmacies have already put a hold on hiring and I know that many pharmacy students have lost their summer jobs and many interns (graduating pharmacists) have lost their internships.

I know you may think my voice is biased as I am a pharmacist but I assure you that these are the facts...that being said, feel free to talk to your own pharmacist or visit [url]www.stopcuts.ca[/url] for more information about the cuts. There's also a facebook page with over 12,000 people as fans...it's called Ontario's Community Pharmacies and it is constantly updated with great info...anyone can post...but I digress...the point of this post was to inform you guys what the general dispensing fees in Ontario currently are...sorry if I missed any stores.[/QUOTE]

Its kind of sad to see pharmacist going against the people. My Grandmother was made to sign a letter that was sent to the goverment by her pharmacy that stated that she was against the lower prices for medication. She didn't know what she was signing because she doesn't speak english, she got a letter back from the government thanking her for her letter and that they are sorry she is against the cuts but the majority of people are for it. Worst of all the pharmacy sent the letter with her name spelled all wrong, I mean they have known her for 30 years now and they can't spell her name correctly.

After this I am completely for the cuts McGuinty is proposing, if pharmacies can't compete, get out and into another business and stop using the elederly as pawns.

[Grim Reaper]

You should know of an unethical, and probably illegal, dispensing fee practise I've experienced at a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy in Toronto.

I submitted one prescription for 450 mg of a particular drug which is to be taken as 250 mg in the morning and 200 mg later. This drug is not available in one dosage of tablet which can accommodate this dosing, it is available in 100 mg and 150 mg tablets. In accordance with the prescription, I would take one 150 mg and one 100 mg tablet in the morning and two 100 mg tablets later. When the pharmacist dispensed this prescription, he split my prescription into two and charged two dispensing fees for each of the different dosage tablets. The usual dispensing fee at this Shoppers Drug Mart per prescription is supposed to be $11.99. Instead, the pharmacist split the single prescription into two in order to charge two dispensing fees amounting to 2 X $11.99 = $23.98. He double-dipped the dispensing fee for one prescription by doing this. Isn't this a contravention of the Drug Interchangeability and Dispensing Fee Act?

I spoke with the pharmacist/owner regarding his double-dipping/charging dispensing fee practise. He stated that he has not contravened any laws and that what he did, which he does as a standard practise, is perfectly legal and ethical.

As well, my prescription is paid for through employer provided drug benefits. Because I have co-coverage with my wife I pay nothing, the benefit plans do. The pharmacist's splitting a single prescription into two in order to double-dip/charge the dispensing fee significantly increases the cost to insurance companies which is passed along to the employers who pay for the drug benefit plan.

I think, in addition to what the Ontario government plans to do to reduce the cost of generic drugs, it should also completely disallow the splitting of prescriptions, as my pharmacist did, in order to double-dip/charge dispensing fees.

[sueintoronto]

$1.99 for seniors at the centerpoint no frills. be prepared for long wait times and you may be asked to come back the next day.

[mcg]

This thread is so old, wtf...