Pharmacist in Training.

Hi.  You sound so angry.  I am searching all over for these coupons.  In this economy, being retired, on a fixed income, and having serious medical issues requiring many, many drugs each month, it is extremely frustrating for me also.  I agree that it is better to have one source, one pharmacist who is dedicated and who knows me and my situation.  But we are surviving, not living well.  We are forced to find places in our budget to cut back.  Did you really think this coupon-mania is FUN?  You are so right.  But we have few choices.  And the risk of "buried with gift cards" is a risk we must deal with.  Thanks for caring.  You sound truly dedicated.

I too do this monthly.  I am on several medications, none of which are anything that will kill me in combination with the others (and I've been on them for years, before I started switching them around.)  I really don't give a flying you-know-what if some pharmacy student doesn't "think highly" of me.  (I, personally,  do not think highly of people who earn large salaries and who look down on people who are struggling.  I thought pharmacy, as a health field, would attract individuals with compassion, but this one seems to be the exception...)  I earn a decent salary but pay a huge amount in COBRA, as my current job does not provide insurance.  So the hundred or so bucks I get in gift cards monthly is a big help.  And for me, where I live, in FL, there are tons of pharmacies everywhere I turn - so it's no hassle or even any extra gas for me.  When I switch from one to another, I will often receive letters a few days later, with coupons begging me to switch back again - so the pharmacies are encouraging this, despite what the high-and-mighty pharmacy student says.  They are FULLY aware a lot of customers do this - and if they didn't want us to, would they keep providing the offers????  So if I pay $10 for my 'script, get a $25 card and buy my toiletries for the month and some lunch food, who is being hurt?  

Oh, come on "Pharmacist in training".  It's not as if we sneak around hoping you don't know who we are.  It is not the consumer you should not think very highly of, but more appropriate would be your employer...the pharmacy.  If it were not for the pharmacies offering these little games as you call them, consumers would not play them.  Point taken about the drug interactions, etc.  But direct your crappy attitude and disdain toward your employer.  Maybe pharmacists should collectively discuss the negative effects on patients to their "higher ups" and get something done about it instead of belittling the customers.

I have been transferring my Rx (just a standard BC) for about a year now, shortly after I was kicked off federal assistance for "making too much money." I switch back and forth between Rite Aid, Walgreens, Target and Kmart, and so far have not had any problems. It takes care of the little purchases while leaving my planned budget in tact and its true, Walgreens sent me a letter offering a gift certificate if I transferred back, which of course I did. One Rx isn't that big of a deal and I've earned about $250 in gift cards so far by a once a month purchase that I'm going to pay for one way or another. Might as well get something for it

i completely agree with "pharmacist in training". practicing polypharmacy is dangerous. when you do this bouncing back and forth from pharmacy to pharmacy, you put yourself at risk for taking medications that interact in a detrimental way. the pharmacists are there to guide your treatment plan and help to make your health conditions more manageable with education as well as medication. not all drugs are harmless, even if you think what you're treating is. something used to treat a simple yeast infection can cause serious effects when combined with the wrong choletsterol drug, heart medication, etc. DO NOT USE DIFFERENT PHARMACIES to fill new, refill, maintenence meds, etc. you should develop a relationship with your pharmacist as well as your doctor. you should be able to trust them, and they, you.

Thanks for nothing Pharmacist in Training. The truth is if Pharmacist really card about their customers those coupons would not exist. I have 1 medication I take and moving it from pharmacy to pharmacy everytime a gift card is offered helps me make ends meet.

I too play the "gift card" game.  I take three prescription medications and my husband takes 5, we do not have prescription coverage.  What difference does it make what pharmacy I get my meds from, they are the same meds every month, if they don't interact badly from one pharmacy, getting them from three different ones isn't going make them react.  We do what we have too make ends meet and as long as the pharmacies offer these coupons I will defineitely be using them.  I was treated rudely the last time I tried to use one at CVS, theIR policy is to honor competitor coupons.  I took a Rite Aid coupon there and they say I could use it but only one per day.  I said fine I will pick up one precription today and one each for the next two days.  If they want to make me come back.  Anyway the Pharmacist told me its people like me that abuse the system that make it difficult.  How am I abusing the system by taking advantage of a promotion they offer.  I have received about $300 in gift cards in the last year and by not having to pay for our toiletries, paper towel, toilet paper etc. It makes paying $100 for one med a little more bearable.  PHARMACIST IN TRAINING NEEDS A LITTLE TRAINING IN EMPATHY AND BEDSIDE MANNER.

I think we should pay attention to pharmacists and pharmacists in training.  They are trying to protect us from drug interactions.  Maybe they'll save a life.  Pharmacy hopping is dangerous.

Not sure exactly where you pharmacists practise but it's obviously somewhere in La-la-land. I've never had a pharmacist catch a drug interaction but I did catch my grandmother's Seldane and my girlfriend's birth control/antibiotic interactions. I am appalled at your absolute lack of tact and compassion considering your well-compensated and rather intractable stance in an industry which routinely charges Americans hundreds to thousands of dollars per month for life-saving medications. I should thank you for your candour but I wonder how many more medical professionals expressing similar opinions it will take before Americans realise socialised medicine really is the way to go. Perhaps, if you are not too busy heaping disdain on those who subsidise your salary, you could check for interactions when you call other pharmacies. That is, unless you have more pressing engagements, such as overdosing celebrity children.

I have to echo Brandon here. The only issue I ever had with a pharmacist was when one filled a prescription for cough syrup with hydrocodone for me after I specifically told him I was a recovering heroin addict. He handed it to me and said "No problem." It made for a very interesting couple of days for me! (And also led to me getting a new doctor, one not in his 80s). I now take 4 meds (BP, cholesterol, 2 for bipolar) and my doctor and I manage my meds, not some guy I see over a counter for 2 minutes every so often. All due respect to pharmacists, but the chain store model makes the idea that one pharmacist managing several techs and a few cashiers - all of whose primary goal is  to code things correctly - the idea he is going to catch a hazardous interaction my doctor missed just seems a little unrealistic.