Beware Shoppers Drug mart prescription charges

[lizzie bargain]

I have been buying my meds at SDM for many years and I know their dispensing fee is higher than some other places( I have had a drug plan). However the other day I went to purchase an acne wash for my daughter which wasn't covered on my drug plan. When I purchased it last June it cost about $57 so you can imagine I was not impressed to go last weekend to pick up a refill and they asked for $98.00. I insisted they double check the price and they said it was correct. The pharmacist told me it was


$75 for the Rx
$12 dispensing fee
$10 upcharge they are allowed to charge

Just noticed this only comes to $97 not $98 but I was so annoyed I refused to buy it.

I bought it at Costco instead( even though I am a non member they allow this) and it cost $72 plus $4.49 dispensing fee for a total of 76.49 which left $21.51 in my pocket. SDM has lost my Rx business-sure it is more conveniently located but to pay 28% more-I call that highway robbery and I would suggest everyone be asking their drugstore for a price breakdown on all their Rx receipts-one of the few consumer areas where we really don't know how much we are paying for each individual charge. I think I may also call the Pharmacists Association in Alberta to see why they are not forced to be transparent with costs to the consumer. For comparison I also called Walmart and they would have charged me $91.00.

[walkonby]

I have not used SDM for prescriptions but great of you to post this info! That is crazy unnecessary gouging!

[monkeydoodle]

Ugh, great. As much as I don't look forward to paying more for prescriptions, my pharmacist at SDM is AMAZING and I have never had such great service from another pharmacist. He always takes the time to explain things and answer any questions I have about my medication and my kids medication. And he always follows up with us if we start a new medication. We have known him for years now and if it costs me a bit more to stay with him, so be it.

[ancarett]

Wow, that's awful. Our Shoppers are great - we use multiples since one is a compounding pharmacy and the other is in the same building as our doctors' office so convenient for all the rest of the prescriptions. I've never seen an upcharge: I'd definitely complain if there was one!

[Tweets77]

I don't use Shopper's for prescriptions either. They are wayyyy tooo expensive here. I would make a few phone calls regarding that "upcharge". Sounds fishy to me.

[my5cents]

I had something interesting happen at my local SDM as well. I've been getting my prescriptions there for a few years. I take 6 different Meds, and have for years. I went in for a one time, one week prescription for an antibiotic. The assistant said something about I needed to talk to the pharmacist and I thought, that like so many times when you get a new prescription the pharmacist tells you about the drug and what to avoid etc.


I was surprised when the pharmacist invited me in to an office sat me down and went over all my Meds. I have been on them all for a couple of years and I see my MD regularly. She filled out a form etc. I thought wow they sure provided a service.

I later found out that MSP will pay them something like $60 for consults. A consult, I didn't know I was getting (thought I was just being told about the new drug) nor needed.

I would certainly buy my Meds at Costco , if they were not an hours drive away.

I have been buying my meds at SDM for many years and I know their dispensing fee is higher than some other places( I have had a drug plan). However the other day I went to purchase an acne wash for my daughter which wasn't covered on my drug plan. When I purchased it last June it cost about $57 so you can imagine I was not impressed to go last weekend to pick up a refill and they asked for $98.00. I insisted they double check the price and they said it was correct. The pharmacist told me it was


$75 for the Rx
$12 dispensing fee
$10 upcharge they are allowed to charge

Just noticed this only comes to $97 not $98 but I was so annoyed I refused to buy it.

I bought it at Costco instead( even though I am a non member they allow this) and it cost $72 plus $4.49 dispensing fee for a total of 76.49 which left $21.51 in my pocket. SDM has lost my Rx business-sure it is more conveniently located but to pay 28% more-I call that highway robbery and I would suggest everyone be asking their drugstore for a price breakdown on all their Rx receipts-one of the few consumer areas where we really don't know how much we are paying for each individual charge. I think I may also call the Pharmacists Association in Alberta to see why they are not forced to be transparent with costs to the consumer. For comparison I also called Walmart and they would have charged me $91.00.

[lizzie bargain]

Yes I have refused a drug consult too as I know everything I am on is right and they are just trying to make money and I don't care to answer all their questions.

[tjthemanto]

I knew about their $ 12 prescription fee ..I think WM is around $ 8 ..not sure.

But this $ 10 upcharge nonsense is a pure cash grab. Might be the franchise owner pulling a fast one & the Head Office is not even aware or doesn't care. Why not just call it a $ 22 prescription fee ?

How about $ 1 prescription fee and $ 21 upcharge ..LOL..sneaky & nice way to rip off customer's & to get them in the door. We have the lowest precription fee anywhere, Oh BTW we just have a $ 21 upcharge , if you don't mind

Most SDM's I have been to , the Pharmacist is also the owner of that particular SDM franchise store. Very rarely someone else is the owner of that particular Franchise.

[Decaf]

I thought up charge = profit on the actual cost of the RX.

[dahliagrower]

My DH's benefit plan recently changed over to one that only pays the generic cost - they call it Blue RX.... One of the members recommended that people check out prices before having a prescription filled .... I tried it out to see how it works. Based on the drug name and your location -it give you the various prices of pharmacies near you. The site is called:

http://www.pharmacycompass.ca/BestPrice

I figure if more people are better informed then it will make the pharmacy more competitive in their pricing ....

[lilo0003]

Beware of Costco, they are just as sneaky. I had a med taken daily by someone in my family. Metro would dispense 3 months at a time for one fee. Switched to Costco because of the lower fee and they dispensed 1 month at a time. The risk of Costco is just going in the store and I certainly did not need the hassle. So when they would not do multiple months I just pulled the prescription. I even confirmed with the dr that was written as a three month prescription and when they gave me some BS that it was the insurance, I called insurance to report it since they were the ones really being ripped off and they agreed with me.

[tjthemanto]

Beware of Costco, they are just as sneaky. I had a med taken daily by someone in my family. Metro would dispense 3 months at a time for one fee. Switched to Costco because of the lower fee and they dispensed 1 month at a time. The risk of Costco is just going in the store and I certainly did not need the hassle. So when they would not do multiple months I just pulled the prescription. I even confirmed with the dr that was written as a three month prescription and when they gave me some BS that it was the insurance, I called insurance to report it since they were the ones really being ripped off and they agreed with me.

I have boycotted Costco too, after they refused me entry to their Pharmacy , because I didn't have membership. I am not paying them $ 55 bucks/ yr to just access their pharmacy . I had accessed their pharmacy before , without any issues & without any membership.

I don't know what the law is , whether its provincial or federal , but to the best of my knowledge , if you have a valid precription from a doctor & not doing anything illegal , I don't think they can prevent you from accessing a pharmacy or charge you a membership fee just to access it.

In the past Costco employees themselves have told me you don't need a membership to access our pharmacy , but my last visit the stupid gatekeeper at Costco was acting smart & not letting me in . A couple of other employees were also acting smart & telling me I need a membership, just to enter the building..although pharmacy is the only thing I was accessing. So even they don't know what they are talking about, a few tell me YES & others are telling me NO..

Its not like I can buy anything else inside anyways , as they check your card at cash register.

[sweet sparrow]

I have boycotted Costco too, after they refused me entry to their Pharmacy , because I didn't have membership. I am not paying them $ 55 bucks/ yr to just access their pharmacy . I had accessed their pharmacy before , without any issues & without any membership.

Can you go to the exit side and say you're making a return or having lunch? Either that or call the store manager. I've never been refused entry. What if you desperately needed your medication and it was ready at the pharmacy? Would they deny you? The pharmacy has a special card they use if you don't have a membership. You could also call the pharmacy and let them know Costco is denying them business.

[tjthemanto]

Can you go to the exit side and say you're making a return or having lunch? Either that or call the store manager. I've never been refused entry. What if you desperately needed your medication and it was ready at the pharmacy? Would they deny you? The pharmacy has a special card they use if you don't have a membership. You could also call the pharmacy and let them know Costco is denying them business.

I have sent 2-3 emails their Costco head office , regarding their Pharmacy rules , they never bothered to reply back..so I didn't bother after that. I guess, if they don't want my or my family's business then so be it.

Usually Pharmacy is a pretty lucrative business for them, so I am surprised they don't want a customer's business. The markup on drugs is regulated but quite decent , the dispensing fees/ prescription fees are also a good cash cow for them

Its also usually a life time business/customer for them as generally people don't change their pharmacist/store that often, the way they do for their other shopping needs.

[sweet sparrow]

I have sent 2-3 emails their Costco head office , regarding their Pharmacy rules , they never bothered to reply back..so I didn't bother after that. I guess, if they don't want my or my family's business then so be it.

I don't mean any disrespect to your emails, but emails are pretty easy to ignore, get lost, etc. I'd send over another refill to the pharmacy from your doctor and when it's ready for pickup, call and tell them the Costco employees are blocking you from entering the store. I always make sure my prescription is ready for pick up before I go to the store. The pharmacy would lose out on the cost of the product as well as a customer. It's more incentive for them to talk to the manager, IMHO. How many others are being denied lower cost prescriptions and forced to wait at WM? That's horrible.