02/19/2026
What a month it has been. Between the weather being the local version of insane and all the new rules the pharmacy must operate under (every year has some changes) things have just gone from one extreme to the other.
I know today everyone just wants to curl up next to a heater or fireplace and veg out for a bit, the staff here is right there with you.
Recent Events:
• Valentine’s day has passed and we hope everyone enjoyed time with their loved ones.
• Helen recently returned from away in what can be jokingly referred to as plot from a book/movie (Weddings and Funerals) and is playing catch up on all the paperwork we dropped on her desk (queue evil giggles)
Now to the meat of this post with some helpful tips from our Pharmacy Techs:
1) Refill requests: It is better to request refills early, rather than when you’re out. Prescribers have 48-72 hours to respond to requests, and we don’t want you to be out of medication. As an added note, if there are changes in the staff at the hospital/clinic the prescriber works out of there can be further delays. If we can’t fill it because it is too soon for insurance to cover the medication, we will schedule the refill for the date the insurance company tells us we can.
2) Medication costs: I’m sure everyone is aware that costs change over time both up and down, but usually up. As a pharmacy we don’t control what a co-pay or cash cost is going to be. This is determined by your insurance or the manufacturer of that particular bottle of medication. Sometimes the same medication that cost $15.00 one week will cost $17.00 the next simply because the bottle we could get costs more. While unfortunate we are under the same constraints as you, our customer, are in this matter.
3) Fill and Promise times – Our computer system has an error that is currently under investigation that assigns unreasonable promise times, for example sometimes it will say the meds will be ready three months ago when you request the refill. It also won’t consider the volume of refills we already have. Please be patient with us as we do attempt to refill your medication on the same day that we receive the request (assuming we are not waiting for prescriber approval or an out-of-stock medication). Medication we do not have on the shelf generally arrives the next business day by 2pm unless there are delays from the distribution center.
Well this seems enough to keep everyone from being too overloaded. Stay warm and from the staff here at Stockmen’s Drug we thank you for letting us help you take your health by the horns.
Author: Jason R. CPhT
