FAQs

We accept most prescription insurance’s; these include most plans provided by Premera, Regence, Express Scripts, Humana, United Healthcare Group Health, Molina and many more. It is quick and easy to check and costs nothing to do so. Simply provide our friendly pharmacy staff with 2-4 important numbers from your card:

• BIN# (this is a 6-digit number)
• ID# (often located near the top of the card)
• Group or RXGroup # (note that not all cards have these)
• PCN# (note that not all cards have these)

While insurance companies often send patients letters insisting patients can only fill prescriptions via mail order and not through their local pharmacy, that is often not the case. Insurance companies often initially require mail-order but many will allow fills at a pharmacy such as ours once the patient calls and requests to do so. 

This is a common question and depends on the circumstances. For pre-authorized refills on file at Vashon Pharmacy, 5-15 minutes is very reasonable. As long as there are not any billing issues and the product is in stock we should be able to complete it in that amount of time.

For new prescriptions that are dropped off, 15-25 minutes is common. This is because our pharmacists must review the patients profile, medication dosing, strength and directions to ensure that it is safe for you to take. This process, along with typing the prescription into our system can take up to 10 minutes, add on billing and processing and 15-25 minutes is a common average. Though we pride ourselves on finishing them quicker as long as we are doing it safely.

Note that sometimes unforeseen issues arise when filling prescriptions, see ‘Refill requests’, ‘Prior Authorizations’, and ‘Out of Stock Items’ below.

Yes, as long as there are refills on file at your current pharmacy this should be possible. Simply bring in your current bottle or give our friendly pharmacy staff a call to supply the following information about the current prescription that you wish to have transferred:

• Your Name and Birthdate
• Pharmacy Name and Phone Number
• RX# (if known)
• Medication(s) names requested (if known)

This is a common question, the answer typically is because the written date (the day your doctor prescribed the medication to you) was over 1 year (for common medications) or 6 months ago (for controlled substances).

In today’s era, with all of the technology at our fingertips, things often happen very quickly. It is common for a pharmacy to hear back on prescription refill requests within 24 hours. However, very often it takes much longer. This can be due to any number of reasons, but it’s always good to consider the provider first. Are they open every day? How long does it usually take? And perhaps the most important, do we (the pharmacy) have their correct contact information? If it has been more than 3 days and we still haven’t heard back it is wise to call the doctor yourself or double check to make sure the right doctor is being notified. It is always good practice to phone or drop off a refill request 3-5 days before you run out of your medication. This allows time for this process to take place.

This is becoming very common in today’s prescription drug marketplace. What this means is that your insurance does not want to pay for a portion or all of your medication without written or verbal justification from you medical doctor that is prescribing the medication.

Should we be low or out of your medication it typically will be back in stock the next business day. We receive daily shipments from our drug wholesaler and order from 2-3 other secondary wholesalers as well. As long as the product is in stock at the wholesalers, we should be able to accommodate you within 24 hours. In the meantime we are always happy to search for alternatives, or do a partial fill to satisfy your needs until it is convenient for you to return.