Beware Shoppers Drug mart prescription charges

[lizzie bargain]

I am happy to see us reading about, talking about and understanding the cost of prescriptions. Amazing how the govt makes arilines break down arifare prices into all the taxes, fees etc but not so for Rx. Encourages us all to ask questions about how much we are paying and for what. I will be the first to admit that up until now I never really paid much attention and yet I am generally a price conscious shopper.

[sweet sparrow]

Just as a follow-up to my last post, I would call the pharmacy and ask to speak to a live person to tell them what's going on before sending over a prescription so they sort of get a heads-up when they're stuck with the cost of your prescription.

I've heard that Shoppers is the most expensive pharmacy. The Costco pharmacy fee is $4.14, Walmart is more than double that the last time I checked (must look into my receipts), and SDM is significantly more. I remember speaking to a pharmacist at Metro and she was shocked at the high prices at SDM. She felt the cost was outrageous, so I guess that means that the dispensing cost is also cheaper at Metro.

But, the lineups at Costco are much longer than I've seen anywhere else. At ours, it's not uncommon to wait 45 minutes to an hour just to pick up or drop off.

[tjthemanto]

Just as a follow-up to my last post, I would call the pharmacy and ask to speak to a live person to tell them what's going on before sending over a prescription so they sort of get a heads-up when they're stuck with the cost of your prescription.

I've heard that Shoppers is the most expensive pharmacy. The Costco pharmacy fee is $4.14, Walmart is more than double that the last time I checked (must look into my receipts), and SDM is significantly more. I remember speaking to a pharmacist at Metro and she was shocked at the high prices at SDM. She felt the cost was outrageous, so I guess that means that the dispensing cost is also cheaper at Metro.

But, the lineups at Costco are much longer than I've seen anywhere else. At ours, it's not uncommon to wait 45 minutes to an hour just to pick up or drop off.

WM is the same. 1 hr wait is the norm there..usually as high as 2-3 hrs at peak shopping times at WM.

So unless you are going to shop there & do errands nearby, its a waste of time. I don't know if you can just do it over the phone or fax , email them a prescription & then when its ready, head down over there ..or if you have to hand it physically in the first place at WM

Sometimes they delibrately do it , so you are forced to loiter around the store & end up buying something else. ..ha ha.

[Crochetlady]

I refuse to go to SDM. My niece gets her prescriptions there and got the wrong strength meds on at least 2 occasions. I`ve been getting mine at Zehrs for years and am very happy with them but I will be switching to a small town one that opened last fall. The only reason for that is because they deliver when I can`t get there. Zehrs won`t deliver out of town.

[barbis9]

It is against the law in Ontario to charge a fee to use a pharmacy, get points or any other incentives for prescription services.

I too once was charged an extra fee - I went to my Shoppers and spoke to the owner and he refunded the difference, made a note on my file and said he very sorry that this happened. Usually the upcharge is coming from the head office. Because I have a great relationship with my pharmacist (always asking about medications, etc) this error was quickly fixed.

As for Costco - I would call them directly as opposed to emails. My understanding is you do not need a membership to access the pharmacy. I don't have a Costco membership but have a $25 gift card which I show and I have never had a problem getting into the store. They try to sell me a membership at the cash register but I say that I need to check with my husband (which I don't have) and they back off.