[brd]

I have a doctor friend who's made it a habit to recommend that patients use GoodRx anytime they go to pick up prescriptions. Doctors can only be so involved in the pharmacy side of the transaction and a lot of pharmacists aren't able to intervene.

It's sad that it requires a 3rd party app to help people not get screwed over by the current US medical system.

[TheAceOfHearts]

You don't need a third-party app to use GoodRx. I use it regularly, and you can just have em email or text you the discount info. When you go to the pharmacist, you hand em the printout or phone, and they type it in. I'd definitely suggest people at least compare prices with em before going to pick up their medicine.

Another suggestion, at least for California: always ask for paper prescriptions! Fuck digital prescriptions. With a paper prescription you can go to any pharmacy you want and have it filled (i.e. shop around and find the cheapest)! But with a digital prescription you can't have it transferred to another pharmacy without calling up the doctor, which is completely fucked up. It's especially frustrating when your regular pharmacy is out of your prescription and your refill day happens to land on the weekend. Now you have to wait 2 days for your refill. One situation I've had happen occasionally is that I'll miss my regular pharmacy's closing hours because I was busy, so I'll just drive to my nearest 24-hour pharmacy to have my prescription filled; you can't do that with digital prescriptions!

I've literally saved hundreds of dollars, just by shopping around a bit. And heck, it's not as if driving an extra half a mile is such a big deal, especially when it can end up saving you a few hundred dollars. I'll also note that sometimes even within the same franchise prices can vary greatly, so it's often worth going a little bit further.

I think pharmacists are allowed to point out services like GoodRx, but it might be frowned upon, I'm not sure. At least in my case, I found out about their services thanks to a pharmacist: I was refilling a prescription, and the pharmacist walked out of their sealed off area, pulled me to the side and told me to look up this "GoodRx" thing.

[hirsin]

GoodRx /is/ the third party app. The point is that US consumers shouldn't need to worry that their medical insurance is duping them.

[monetus]

I think he was just nitpicking that GoodRX is available through more than a binary you have to install. I've used it through its website quite a bit. Its a wonderful service.

[vxNsr]

My mother who is a doctor had their business card in her office, you could you the info on it for any prescription. No need to go to a website or download an app.

[wild_preference]

Not very good advice. Pharmacies can deny paper prescriptions at their discretion. And most people know where they’re picking up scripts ahead if time.

For example, the pharmacist at a CVS decided not to refill my Vyvanse (amphetamine) paper script because I was paying in cash (+ using paper script). Treated me like a criminal. Digital scripts avoid this unpleasant scenario.

The pharmacy system itself needs reform. It’s idiotic that your doctor can write you a prescription that gets denied by someone who puts pills into a bottle. An anti-abuse system that treats everyone like criminals needs a better solution.

[reaperducer]

It's a little different in my state.

A pharmacist is required to fill any prescription, paper or digital, except if the pharmacist has a religious objection (birth control, morning after pill, etc...). This came out in a recent court case.

It's the state that decides if prescriptions for controlled substances (like your Vyvanse) get rejected through a centralized database that works off of your driver's license/state ID scan* to prevent abuse.

There was much chaos a few months ago when the state imposed tighter restrictions on the number of opioid pain pills that could be dispensed at one time. You might have a prescription from your doctor for a 90-day supply, but you could only pick up five at a time. (Not an exact number, as I'm not on opioids.) For months, the lines at the pharmacy were backed up for hours as thousands of people ran into the new rules and took them out on the pharmacists.

* Amusingly, one of America's largest supermarket chains, Albertson's, isn't using the computerized driver's license scan. It keeps records in paper binders where the pharmacist writes down your DL# and you sign next to it. They don't even record what it is that you filled, or how much. Good job, Albertson's!

[freedomben]

Many states are screwing up Albertson's strategy with mandatory centralized database reporting. The "opioid epidemic" is terrific justification for growing government power and enforcement arms.

[scarface74]

It’s worse. Pseudoephedrine is available without prescription but you are limited to 30 day supply in total per month and there is a mandatory state database. All that seems reasonable, until you can’t both buy pills fit yourself and your child without going over.

[freedomben]

Oh man, great point. The pseudoephedrine thing is a nightmare. I have several kids so I have to make a note to purchase some every month, because once a sickness ravages the house I won't be able to buy enough. It's insane.

[TheAceOfHearts]

Could I ask what state you're in? I've been taking amphetamines for a pretty long time now, and the only times I've been turned down was when I went to take my refill in before its due date, and they still let me drop it off, they just wouldn't hand me the medicine until the due date. It's a bit annoying if you have a lot of errands to run on the next day, or if you're going on a trip, but I can sorta understand where they're coming from. Especially since it has such a high potential of abuse.

[ddingus]

There are lots of Pharmacies. I always use paper and cash.

I always use smaller, non chain pharmacists too. Msny will compound, they know me and mine, and that relationship is worth a lot.

The cheapest is not too important most of the time. Things being right, and an active pharmacist helping with cost, special programs, and accuracy matters more.

[lotsofpulp]

They don’t just put pills in a bottle. They’ve been tasked, by the government, with making sure the correct drugs are dispenses to avoid abuse and other damage.

Obviously if certain behaviors correlate strongly with people who abuse, then it’s their job to use their discretion to demand more proof, or deny.

[bdcravens]

Odd. Can't they verify the prescription with the prescribing doctor, and verify your state issued ID? I personally haven't had this issue with Walgreens (but I get a lot of medicines through them, and only controlled substances I've filled were small dosage Norco post-surgery)

[jetti]

That's interesting. I'm in Illinois and can only use paper scripts for controlled substances. It is quite annoying to have to physically go into the doctor's office to get my Adderrall prescription because they aren't allowed to use a digital script.

[vxNsr]

My mother (a doctor) will only give eScripts because of the abuse, it sucks, but sometimes the bad actors ruin it for the rest of us.

[sizzle]

In my state most doctors don't have the technology to send digital eScript for controlled substances

[freedomben]

Out of curiosity, what state are you in?

Even in Alaska, not generally a very technically advanced state, I never met a doctors that didn't have the ability to send eScripts. I never visited a doc in a remote village however, might be a different story out there.

[sizzle]

California, you'd think the handful of doctors I've busted could send an eScript to a national chain (CVS), but I'm denied and made to carry 3 months worth of wonky triplicate paper prescriptions that are prone to being misplaced.

[jetti]

I'm in Illinois and have to get a paper script for my controlled substance prescriptions (Adderall)

[delbel]

My doctor brought in his laptop and showed me this site. I was completely floored that these are cheaper then my co-pay. I now recommend this to everyone. My neighbor who is low income retired senior, was paying more with all these government subsidized prices, then Safeway. He was absolutely livid he could get a $15 that cost him $280. At this point I realized that the entire insurance scheme is a scam. The co-pay is above what the prices you can find on GoodRx. You end up paying MORE with the insurance co-pay then you would if you were to just shop around. This should be felony fraud! From speaking with my friends, nobody knew about GoodRx so I bet a majority of medicine is overpaid with "insurance" -- this should be headlines everywhere.

[maxerickson]

GoodRx is a pharmacy benefit manager, most insurance companies use a pharmacy benefit manager. What they do is negotiate prices for some certain set of drugs. So 2 insurance companies might have 2 different prices than GoodRx and each of the 3 will offer a slightly different set of drugs.

When you use insurance and pay the co-pay, that counts against your out of pocket maximum on the plan. Prescriptions bought with GoodRx don't.

The insurance isn't doing a great job when they charge a co-pay that is larger than the price GoodRx has negotiated, but it isn't evidence of a scam.

[pramttl]

GoodRx is not a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) actually. A PBM negotiates prices with pharmacies to include them in their network, GoodRx does not do that to my knowledge. Instead, GoodRx offers a service that allows users to compare different coupon and membership prices so that people can chose the best available price/pharmacy combination.

[maxerickson]

They do it by taking up the role of a PBM. This is for some other discounter, but you get the idea, they process the prescription using GoodRx's system:

https://www.discountdrugnetwork.com/what-rx-bin-and-group-nu...

[chrisan]

> Doctors can only be so involved in the pharmacy side of the transaction and a lot of pharmacists aren't able to intervene.

Pharmacists can intervene a lot more than your doctor friend lets on. A good pharmacist will tell the patient there is a generic version of the drug when the doctor wrote a script for a brand name.

A good pharmacist will also tell you not to use your copay when its more than the out of pocket cost.

A bad pharmacist will do neither of those, but they are 2 simple questions anyone can ask when they go to get their prescriptions filled.

Is there a generic? Is it cheaper than my copay?

I learned the hard way after coming home with an Rx that was more expensive than I remembered. Wife found out they gave my brand name "well thats what the doctor wrote!" and chewed her out.

That said, if you are OK with privacy concerns or don't have the time to call yourself, GoodRx is nice to find the lowest cost as they definitely aren't standard and some places even have certain drugs for free.

Source: wife & mother pharmacists :)

[ddingus]

Truth.

Source: awesome family pharmacist.

[ramphastidae]

Are you aware of any privacy issues with GoodRx? I’ve avoided it because I assume they are making money selling my prescription information.

[reaperducer]

I can't say if GoodRx is doing it, but Walgreen's seems to be selling information.

I was with a friend picking up his meds and I bleeped my rewards card to collect the points, since he didn't have one. Now I get offers in the mail to treat his condition.

[jetti]

So this has been a roller coaster. My initial thought was that this was a big HIPAA violation but then I decided to actually look to see if my assumption held up. According to the Department of Health & Human Services page on HIPAA and marketing [0], Walgreens can use personal health information (PHI) in marketing without violating HIPAA, as long as they have permission to do so.

So with that in mind, I went and looked at Walgreen's notice of privacy practices [1] and they say that they will get a written disclosure before using PHI (and that is restated in their Balance Reward ToS.

Bottom line is, if they are selling information then hopefully you're friend has signed a form authorizing use of the PHI otherwise Walgreens is violating HIPAA.

[0] https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance...

[1] https://www.walgreens.com/topic/help/general/noticeprivacypr...

[pramttl]

GoodRx is strictly against selling personal medical data. Reference. https://support.goodrx.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005228506-Pr...

"GoodRx does not sell information regarding your drug prescriptions and medical conditions that are linked to your name, contact information and other personal data you provide us."

[singron]

This could just mean pseudoanonymization. I.e. they staple you medical information to your IP, a cookie, or an advertising ID. A buyer can deanonymize that kind of data in many cases.

[sizzle]

Would also like an answer to this. This is worrying, just started using them...

[anonytrary]

I would say this is an argument for free markets.

[smittywerben]

What's funny is I imagine "Amazon Prescription Drugs", would look like dark-net market websites.

Both sell prescriptions, both use USPS or whomever to ship. Besides I bet it would be easier to track illicit use if it was regulated. Not to mention cheaper, faster and digital. Less prejudice.

Too bad the general consensus is that these jobs are necessary when they aren't.