Please use following form to help you troubleshoot a missing prescription
The purpose of this form to help you find out why you are having trouble receiving your medication. Please click on appropriate answers and form will help you guide through next steps.
Not only that it is important for us to have regular follow up appointments with you, it is also required by Medical board rules and practice guidelines. Please contact us to schedule an appointment. Our malpractice insurance requires us to have regular scheduled follow up visits. Please login to Simple Practice to schedule an appointment so that we can evaluate and document the need to continue medications as per medical practice guidelines.
We are unfortunately not set up to receive automated refill requests from pharmacy. Automated refill requests from pharmacy systems have proven to be very dumb. We have received requests for medications that have been discontinued. We also have received requests after patient has moved to a different state. We have received requests after patient has passed away. We have received requests for different doses even after we have changed doses and new prescription has been sent. Due to un-necessary time that goes into filtering such requests, we have completely disconnected our system from these automated refill requests. Usually our appointments are scheduled in a way that medications are filled until next appointment. If due to some reason you need a refill before that, please login to our patient portal Luminello and send us a message.
Please add the prescription to cart and check out. It might give you an estimated pick up time. If it asks you to call the pharmacy, please go ahead and call the pharmacy.
Please go ahead and call the pharmacy phone number. Usually a pharmacy tech will pick up the phone. Please ask to speak to pharmacist instead. Please ask following questions.
Please call or contact us using luminello.com so that we can check prescription delivery records. Our system maintains a time and date stamp and we can verify if a prescription got delivered to the pharmacy, and whether pharmacy electronically verified the prescription receipt or not. Although it is very rare, but occasionally the third party system that actually transfers prescription to the pharmacy can encounter an electronic error. This kind of error is beyond our control but can be easily fixed by resending the prescription. The most frequent reason for a prescription not found is because pharmacy staff accidently deleted it.
Please contact your local pharmacies to see if they have it in stock. Please also call local mom and pop pharmacies as they might have these medications in stock. Just a reminder that for Costco and Sam's club, you don't need a membership to use their pharmacy. So, you can also call them and ask if they have medication in stock.
Once you find a pharmacy, send us a message to cancel the prescription at old pharmacy and send a new prescription to new pharmacy. Usually we are pretty quick about it, but on weekends, it might take 2 days since it requires actual prescription transfer by the doctor.
If it is not a controlled medication, you can transfer the prescription to a different pharmacy yourself. Please call around in other local pharmacies to see if they have it in stock. Then ask the new pharmacy to call the old pharmacy and they will transfer the prescription. You can actually tranfer the prescription by visiting the website of new pharmacy. Following are the links for you to transfer your prescription, for your convenience. (Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, HEB, Kroger, Randalls, Costco, Sam's Club)
If insurance needs prior authorization, it means that your insurance wants to avoid paying for expensive medications. They might want you to try the cheaper generic medications first. You can ask your pharmacist to start an electronic prior authorization request using CoverMyMeds. Once we receive the request, we will start working on it. Do let us know by sending us a message as sometimes the request for prior authorizations are faxed to us and can get burried in other unncessary refill requests from pharmacies. Sometiemes, we might even have to make an appointment to go over the previous medications trials, times, effects and duration, since those are the questions asked on prior authorization forms.
Please ask the pharmacist why is it too early to refill? Remember, for controlled medications they have to follow a very strict guideline since it is their license on stake. If you are traveling, they might ask to bring proof like tickets and hotel reservations. If you lost the medication, they and we might ask you for a police report. We need to maintain a very strict record as to why we are dispensing a medication sooner than needed. There is a state database that is available to pharmacists and doctors, and it logs the name of doctor, pharmacy and payor whenever a controlled prescription is dispensed. And we are required to check it everytime to make sure controlled medications are not being abused, or sold.
If you medication costs too much, you might be able to use coupons. Please see below for different websites to get coupons. If it is not a controlled medication, you can transfer the prescription to a pharmacy that accepts coupon with a cheaper price.
If it is a brand name (new medication), then coupon websites might not help. You can visit manufacturer website to sign up for a saving program. you can do so by searching "medication name + saving program" on internet. If your yearly income is below manufacture's threshold, you can search "medication name + patient assistance program" on internet. This way you might be able to get medication for free from manufacturer.
If above steps did not solve the problem, please login to Simplepractice.com and send us a message in the portal. Make sure to also CC the admin assistant in addition to your doctor. Please do not send regular email or text message as those are not HIPAA compliant communication.