Calling In A Prescription To A Pharmacy: What You’ll Need
The easiest way to order a new prescription is to have your physician’s office electronically submit the prescription or call in your prescription to your pharmacy.
If your physician has already given you a written paper prescription, by law you need to have that piece of paper before the pharmacy can fill the prescription. Doctors are notorious for bad handwriting which may lead your pharmacist to call the doctor for clarification – which causes delays. Have your doctor’s office call in your prescription instead.
Calling in a prescription to a pharmacy: What You’ll Need
If your health care provider says you need a prescription always ask them if they can send the prescription over to your pharmacy instead of giving a written prescription directly to you.
- Your doctor’s office will need the name and phone number of your pharmacy so bring this with you to your doctor’s appointment.
Have you ever called a pharmacy and, before actually speaking with a real person, you are given options – press 1 if you are a patient, press 2 if you are a physician? Unless it’s a special prescription most pharmacies have voice mail for this. Physicians’ offices can simply and quickly call in a prescription and leave a voice mail of your prescription for the pharmacy to retrieve. But don’t think you can do this!
- The pharmacy will need the prescribing physician’s name, the drug name and strength, quantity, dosage form, directions for use, allowable refills, the patient’s full name, and date of birth. Most physicians’ offices do this routinely.
There are certain controlled substances that cannot be called or faxed into a pharmacy.
The DEA lists these on their website and notes that a prescription for a controlled substance must be written in ink or indelible pencil or typewritten and must be manually signed by the practitioner on the date when issued.
