Transferring a prescription from one pharmacy to another is fairly easy and having personally transferred a considerable number of them over the years, here are my best practices for a smooth process.
Steps to Transfer Your Prescription
- Simply call or stop by the pharmacy where you intend to pick up the prescription to request the transfer. (Do not call the pharmacy where the prescription is being transferred from.)
- Alternatively you may utilize the pharmacy’s online transfer request form which almost every pharmacy has these days on their website.
- Provide the details such as the name, date of birth and the name of the medication & strength to be transferred. Better still, provide the prescription number if you have it handy.
- Indicate your intended time of pickup if your intention is not to wait in the pharmacy while the transfer occurs.
- Relax and leave the rest to the pharmacy team to take care off.
As simple as the above process may seem, I have personally seen countless times when this process has been far from smooth leading to dissatisfied and frustrated customers. Most of these scenarios though, can be easily avoided if a few minor steps are taken.
Tips For A Smooth Prescription Transfer
- Be prepared before you reach out to the pharmacy. By preparation, I mean have all the pertinent information readily available. One very little piece of information, but in my opinion, one of the most important, is overlooked more frequently than I would have expected: the telephone number to the pharmacy where the prescription is being transferred from. Thankfully these days with smart phones and Google, it is relatively easy to find phone numbers, but having it ready will definitely make the pharmacy team happier.
- Give yourself ample time. Don’t wait till the last minute. A transfer obviously involves communication between 2 pharmacists – With the trend these days, it is almost a given that either one or both may be busy and potentially impacting your pick-up time. There have been instances where I have had people request a transfer and insisted on waiting in the Drive-Thru because they were on their way out of town.
- If at all possible, avoid requesting transfers at peak or busy times just for the reason explained above. While it is not possible to exactly predict busy or peak times in a pharmacy, a general rule of thumb is the evening rush hour, around say, 4pm to 8pm is almost always guaranteed to be busy. You may also leave the information behind and choose a later pick-up time, even the next day – Pharmacists love that.
- If you have never filled at that particular pharmacy before, remember to provide your insurance information as well as any additional manufacturer coupons if applicable. If you don’t have this readily available, maybe due to the fact that you are out of town, hence necessitating the transfer in the place place, then be sure to let the pharmacist know. This will enable him to obtain the information when he calls to transfer the prescription. This will prevent sticker shock at the register and avoid any extra delays at the time of pick-up.
- Remember that the pharmacy where you intend to pick up the prescription initiates the process and that is who you should be contacting. In other words, if you have a prescription at say CVS and you want that prescription transferred and filled at a Walgreens, you need to contact Walgreens and request that your prescription be transferred and not vice versa.
- Don’t forget to leave your contact information, so you may be reached in case there are any problems with the transfer
Transferring Controlled Substances
Schedule III to V controlled substances may only be transferred once by federal law. Common medications in this class include Ambien (Zolpidem), Xanax (Alprazolam) and Ultram (Tramadol).
This means that if you transfer and fill your prescription of Ambien from Walgreens to CVS, all remaining refills of that particular Ambien prescription must be filled at CVS.
If this is not feasible, then you will have to obtain a new prescription from your doctor to be utilized at your preferred pharmacy.
Schedule II controlled substances can technically not be transferred as no refills are permitted on them in the first place. Common medications in this class include Adderral (Amphetamine salts), Vyvanse, and Norco (Hydrocodone/APAP).
A new prescription from your doctor is required each time.
State Specific Scenarios For Transferred Prescriptions
With the exception of a few states like New York, the whole entire prescription together with all remaining refills are transferred to the new pharmacy. Thus if you need the prescription refilled at the original pharmacy, the whole transfer process must be repeated.
Bear in mind that the transfer would have invalidated the original prescription number, so don’t use that in the pharmacy’s automated refill system to request a refill.
Best practice is to actually call and speak to the pharmacy team and go through the transfer steps outlined above.
For some states like New York, only one refill is transferred, so the remaining refills on the prescription remain at the original pharmacy location. This may be good or bad depending on the individual circumstances.
If for example you have permanently moved to such a state, then each time you need that prescription filled you will have to go through this transfer process all over again.
On the other hand if you were just visiting, then once you return home, your refills will remain at your original pharmacy, eliminating the need for the transfer process to be repeated.