FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Filling a prescription may stir anxiety for some people, but Lyster Army Health Clinic Pharmacy works to make the process as simple as possible for Soldiers, retirees and Family members.
"We are trying to do everything we can to make it more beneficial to our beneficiaries, and save them and the government money at the same time," said Lt. Col. Joseph Graham, Lyster Army Health Clinic and the U.S. Army Aeromedical Center deputy commander for administration.
There are three ways beneficiaries can fill prescriptions: the Military Treatment Facility, mail order or network pharmacies.
By bringing prescriptions into the MTF and letting the pharmacy fill the medication, customers may receive a 90-day supply of medication at no cost, according to Lt. Col. Shawn I. Parson, Lyster Army Health Clinic department of pharmacy chief.
The mail order pharmacy is a program where beneficiaries can mail their prescription into a regional pharmacy that will mail the prescriptions and refills straight back to their home, typically within three to four days. The mail order pharmacy has a three-tier co-pay fee system and will also provide a 90-day supply of medicine.
Lastly is the network, where beneficiaries take their prescriptions outside of Fort Rucker to a network pharmacy. Network pharmacies provide a 30-day prescription supply with the same three-tier co-pay fees as the mail order pharmacy, Parson added.
"The MTF is the patient's most cost effective benefit out there, because there is no co-pay associated with it," said Parson.
"Patients may want to conduct their own cost analysis and compare the cost of rising gas prices to the cost of the mail order pharmacy or a network pharmacy closer to the area they live," he added. "If beneficiaries use the mail order pharmacy versus the network pharmacy, the savings are one-third the cost because you get a 90-day supply versus a 30-day supply."
In weighing the decision on where to refill medication, people might want to consider that every time they refill or fill a prescription at a network pharmacy, Tricare has to pay that pharmacy the cost of medications and the filling fees, said Graham.
"The best option is to get your medication from the MTF because you don't have the cost of the medication, or filling fees that Tricare would have to pay and it's more advantageous to come into the facility so we can cut defense health spending," he continued.
By filling a prescription with a network pharmacy, it costs Tricare more money than it does to fill prescriptions at the MTF or by mail order. Tricare pays the network pharmacies the cost of the medications and filling fees associated with that pharmacy every time.
"As the price of gas goes up, the area we have to serve is smaller because it costs consumers more to drive here and some people can get a 90-day supply for $3 through mail order," added Parson. "The cheaper we can make the cost of drugs to Department of Defense beneficiaries the less likely we will have to start raising co-pays to cover the costs."
Another program offered to beneficiaries at the MTF is the referred drug program.
"If you are referred by one of our doctors for specialty care, and that doctor provides you with a prescription, you can bring it back to the MTF and get those prescriptions here," said Parson. "We save the DOD $10 for every $1 we spend to buy special order prescriptions. The last time we spent $50,000 and saved the DOD $500,000 in medications."
Since the start of the new program, there has been an increase of about 5,000 prescriptions a month since 2008 and an increase in 2,000 customers per month.
Along with using the MTF comes the wait times associated with filling prescriptions. Wait times can average anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes.
Thursday and Friday afternoons are usually the busiest times, but the best time to get a prescription filled is Monday and Tuesday mornings, according to Parson.
Refills may take up to two business days to fill. If a prescription is called in on Saturday it will most likely not be ready until Tuesday.
"Most new prescriptions are filled within 24 hours. The only time we may need 48 hours for a new prescription is on Mondays because of prescriptions called in from the previous weekend," Parson said. "We also want to let everyone know the automated refill call-in system will not tell you to pick up a prescription on Wednesday, but you can - except for the third Wednesday afternoon of each month when the pharmacy is closed for mandatory training."
People not needing their prescriptions immediately can drop them off at the MTF and pick them up within 48 hours at the refill window.
For more information, call 255-7175.
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