How is Your Prescription Filled?
Category
1. Filling a Prescription
So you’ve just been to the doctor’s office and you’ve been prescribed a medication. What happens between you leaving the clinic and picking up your prescription from a pharmacist? First, your care team will document that they prescribed a medication in your electronic health record.
At some point you will be asked to designate a preferred pharmacy with your prescribing provider. Generally your care team will send your prescription to your preferred pharmacy via an e-script process, fax, or phone call. In some instances, your provider might provide you with a written prescription that you can take to any pharmacy you want.
2. The pharmacy tech
At your preferred pharmacy, a pharmacy technician views your new prescription and checks it for accuracy. Within this process they confirm that the right information is in the pharmacy system and verify medication, quantity, directions, day supply, and refills. All important pieces of information on your pill bottle.
The next step for the technician is to bill insurance. If the insurance goes through, it moves on to the next step in the process. If there are any issues with the insurance company, the technician will contact your doctor to verify information.
3. The pharmacist
Now that your prescription has been officially entered into the pharmacy system, it moves to a pharmacist. At this point they will confirm all aspects of the prescription, including medication, dose, quantity, directions, refills and day supply are correct.
4. Back to the pharmacy tech
Next stop is product dispensing. A pharmacy technician takes prescriptions that have been reviewed by a pharmacist and begins the filling process. This process includes:
- Printing and scanning the label.
- Selecting the right medication and the right dose.
- Scanning the medication (verifying that the right meds have been selected).
- Counting out the dose.
- Filling and labeling the prescription.
5. Back to the pharmacist
The next step in the verification process is where a pharmacist gives one final review of your filled prescription. They do a visual check to make sure the medication prescribed is what is in the bottle. The computer shows them a written description of the medication and an image. Every bottle gets opened during this process and checked for accuracy. After verification the prescriptions are stored to be picked up by the patient.
6. The pharmacy clerks and you
This is where you come in. You’ve been here before; you know the drill.
You arrive at your pharmacy to pick up your prescription. The pharmacy clerk asks you for your name and birthday. They confirm whether your prescription is available.
After retrieving your prescription, they ask you again to confirm you name and birthday then process your payment. They might ask the pharmacist over for a consultation if you’re getting a new prescription or if there are notes the pharmacist wants to go over with you. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about possible medication interactions.
This process of multiple prescription verification ensures that you get the right medication.
