By Justus Scout
Do you remember how old you were when you got your first adult prescription? Take ‘adult’ to mean the first prescription you had to fill and pay for as an adult. Dismiss all those prescriptions your parents paid for when you were a kid. For some of us, that first adult prescription was a memorable experience.
A lot of things come as a shock to young adults when experienced for the first time. Things they took for granted when mommy and daddy handled everything suddenly become serious issues when the young adult has to handle things by themself. Dealing with healthcare issues is just one of them.
If you have not yet received your first adult prescription, you’re in for great fun. Here are three little gifts guaranteed to come with it:
1. A Chance to Shop Around
Your first adult prescription will come with a unique first-time chance to shop around for the best medication prices. You will want to exercise that gift, especially if you do not have a prescription drug plan. You’ll have to pay for your meds out-of-pocket. So of course you would want to make sure you’re getting the best price, right? The problem is, finding it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Pharmacies are required by law to publish their pricing for all to see. But the law doesn’t make it mandatory for them to do it in a way that’s easily accessible or understandable. So sometimes you have to dig. You also have to know what you’re looking for in terms of dosage, delivery method, and brand-name vs. generic drugs.
2. A Chance to Spend More Money
A second little gift that comes with prescription medications is the chance to spend more money. Like you don’t already have enough bills to pay. Add a prescription to the budget and your disposable income is reduced even further. Heaven forbid you should need a medication that costs a lot of money. You are okay with a cheap antibiotic. Not so much with a specialized drug for a very unique condition.
Perhaps this opportunity to spend more money will encourage you to be a better shopper. It might even lead you to consider purchasing your prescription medications from an online pharmacy. You might even go north of the border. That’s right, Canada Pharmacy can fill your prescription from faraway Manitoba.
Who knew buying prescription medication could double as a geography lesson? Oh, but it can. And you thought your prescription was just 30 pills in a non-discreetly labelled bottle.
3. A Chance to Ask for Refills
If the first two gifts are not enough, here’s a third: a chance to ask for refills. That’s right. You haven’t lived until you get on the phone with your doctor’s office in hopes of getting your prescription refilled. The receptionist may have no idea what you’re talking about. The doctor is out to lunch, so you’ll have to wait an hour or two for his return.
Things will get even more exciting if the office calls the refill into the wrong pharmacy. Your original prescription was at pharmacy A, but the refill is at pharmacy B. Good luck trying to sort that out. It is loads of fun offering hours of entertainment.
If it seems like having your prescriptions filled is more complicated than it needs to be, you are not alone. Needless to say, our prescription system offers a lot of room for improvement. In fact, our entire healthcare system could use some major tweaks. But hey, at least your first adult prescription comes with three little gifts.
