
How to get a prescription refill at Walmart and other pharmacies: ‘No more excuses’
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Shoprite pharmacy in the Washington area is offering its own “No More Exceptions” policy, where patients can fill prescriptions online and return them to the store, even if they don’t have a pharmacy card.
The policy is in effect until March 20, the same day it went into effect at Walmart, which is one of the country’s largest retailers.
The Walgreens in Virginia and Georgia were the first two retailers to implement the policy.
In addition to the pharmacists, pharmacy benefit managers at Walgops and pharmacies in Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Kentucky also have the option to fill prescriptions on their own.
Some pharmacy benefit manager employees also can fill online prescriptions without a Walgokill card.
“This is the only way that we have a full range of medications,” said Stephanie Schauer, senior vice president of customer service at Walmart in Virginia.
“It’s a full-service pharmacy, so you don’t need a card to access that.”
The Walmart pharmacy in Virginia was one of two that offered the policy, along with Rite Aid in California and Walmart in Tennessee.
Walmart has been facing a backlash from patients, who have complained about waiting days for their prescriptions and being denied reimbursement for prescriptions they have filled at the pharmacy.
The policy allows customers to return prescriptions without having to provide a Walmarts card, but they can’t use their Walmills card to fill them at the drugstore.
Many patients also say Walgarts are not a convenient way to fill their prescriptions.
“I have a lot of different medications,” one Virginia resident told the Washington Post.
“There’s so many different things that are on my list, I just don’t want to wait in line.”
The pharmacy benefit office has not responded to questions from the Post about the policy’s effectiveness.
In its statement, the pharmacy said it “has seen significant growth in the number of people who are using the pharmacy as their primary method of filling prescriptions.”
The policy will be effective March 20 at Walmores pharmacies in Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to the statement.
It is also in effect at Walgreen stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania.