Every now and then, regardless of who you are, you’re going to have to make a stop at a pharmacy.
While there are a bevy of great pharmacies with which you can do business, not all of them possess hours which are conducive to your particular schedule.
If you have a work or life schedule which tends to deviate from the norm, you’d probably be best served by a 24 hour pharmacy. These pharmacies are open at literally all hours of the day and can be a real lifesaver when you need to get a prescription filled in a hurry.
Of course, not all 24 hour pharmacies are created equally. Before you go out and pick one, you’re going to want to do some research.
Here are 5 things to look for when selecting a 24 hour pharmacy.
Signs of a Great 24 Hour Pharmacy
1. Insurance Compatibility
The first thing you’re going to want to consider when trying to choose a 24 hour pharmacy is its insurance compatibility. Ideally, you’ll choose a pharmacy that’s compatible with as many insurances as possible. This will help to ensure that you’re covered in the event that you ever change insurance providers.
Of course, the key point is to choose a pharmacy that accepts your particular insurance. The more popular prescription insurance you have, the easier it will be for you to find a pharmacy that has you covered.
You also want to make sure that your insurance covers the specific medicine that is distributed by the pharmacy itself. The most popular of drugs are typically carried by all pharmacists, but if you require something a little less prevalent, there’s no guarantee that a pharmacy will carry it.
In any case, it’s absolutely necessary that your chosen pharmacy works with your insurance. If it doesn’t, you could be left paying some staggering costs for drugs.
2. HIPAA
A surefire way to know that a pharmacy is not worth its salt is if it doesn’t comply with HIPAA. HIPAA stands for “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,” and it is essential in ensuring that drug costs remain reasonable and that your health information stays private.
Pharmacists are required by law to comply with HIPAA guidelines. Those who don’t comply with those guidelines are clearly not on the up and up. Under no circumstances should you trust them with your medical information.
Corporate pharmacies are very likely to adhere to HIPAA guidelines because they have a lot to lose by not adhering to them. These include pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, to name a few.
If you’re considering a local pharmacy, it’s a good idea to do some research to make sure that its business practices are entirely professional. Read online customer reviews and consult pharmacy rating websites to get an idea as to the quality of a particular pharmacy.
3. Positive Customer Reviews
As was just noted above, to ensure that you’re picking a pharmacy that’s on the up and up, you’re going to want to read a variety of online customer reviews. These reviews can provide you with tons of useful information, from the speed of the pharmacy to its customer service capabilities, and much more.
In fact, there’s arguably no better way to gauge the quality of a pharmacy than by reading personal customer reviews.
Those who review establishments usually do so for one of two reasons. One reason is that they love the establishment. The other reason is that they hate the establishment.
A pharmacy that receives mostly positive reviews is more than likely a great pharmacy that you can trust. Obviously, a pharmacy that receives mostly terrible reviews should be avoided at all costs.
You could be going to your pharmacy quite frequently. You don’t want every trip into it to be a miserable experience.
4. Convenient Location
There may be a great pharmacy in your town, but it may be 10 miles from where you live. While you could certainly make the drive across town every time you have to pick up a prescription, you ideally wouldn’t.
To make picking up a prescription as small a chore as possible, it’s important to pick a pharmacy that is in close proximity to your home, school, or workplace.
The entire point of using a 24 hour pharmacy is to be able to pick up your prescriptions at your convenience. There’s nothing convenient about making a 30-minute drive through huge swaths of traffic.
An option you could pursue – particularly if you don’t have any nice pharmacies in your area – is to purchase your drugs online. Online pharmacies such as Canadian Pharmacy King can deliver your medication to you directly through the mail.
You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home. It doesn’t get any more convenient than that.
5. Varied Inventory
The last thing you’ll want to look for when attempting to choose a 24 hour pharmacy is a varied inventory. Some pharmacies only carry medications (and limited ones at that). Others carry everything from medications, to arm slings, to tissues, and more.
Using a pharmacy with a wide variety of products will allow you to obtain everything you’re looking for in one area. This will prevent you from driving all over town just so that you can pick up two or three items.
Another reason that you want a pharmacy with a varied inventory is that they can often supply you with cheaper drugs overall.
These types of pharmacies will not only carry name brand drugs but generic ones as well. Generic drugs are substantially cheaper than name brand ones and will deliver essentially the same results.
Before choosing a pharmacy, make sure to look at its list of offered medications and products.
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