The Miami VA Healthcare System provides comprehensive Pharmacy Services for your convenience and to provide quality care for eligible veterans. The Pharmacy Service provides medications for patients discharged from the hospital and for patients followed by our providers on an outpatient basis. Our pharmacists also provide consultation services where they review with you the purpose and proper use of your medication, in addition to explaining any possible side effects or drug interactions. We can only fill prescriptions written by authorized VA providers.
Prescription Refill Procedures
It is recommended that you order your prescription refill as soon as you pick up your prescriptions. The pharmacy needs to be notified at least 2 weeks before your medication runs out to ensure that you receive your prescription refill on time. Remember, most medications are mailed from out of state. Veterans have three options when ordering prescription refills:
- by phone using the Automated Telephone Prescription Refill System, at (888)276-1785, ext. 3133
- by speaking to a Pharmacist in the Pharmacy Customer Service Center at (305)575-3376
- by mail, or
- through the MyHealtheVet
 website at www.myhealth.va.gov.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Prescriptions ordered over the phone will be mailed to the address contained in your VA record.
- The telephone service is available for mail-out prescriptions only. Prescription refills ordered over the phone can not be picked up at the outpatient pharmacy.
- Do not mail in separate refill forms for refill prescriptions you have requested using the Telephone Prescription Refill System.
- If you do not have a touch-tone phone or cannot order refills over the phone, you may continue to mail in your refill request using the enclosed mailing label.
- VA Does Not Refill Prescriptions Automatically. You must phone or mail in your refill slips to have your prescriptions refilled.
Click on the links below for more information:
How to Use the Telephone Prescription Refill System
There are a number of benefits to using the Telephone Prescription Refill System:
- You will receive your prescription faster
- You can call the Telephone Prescription Refill line 24-hours a day, 7 days a week
- You will not have to pay postage on your refill requests
- You can submit refill requests for your active medications at your convenience
- You can check on the status of your refills at any time
- You can review educational information on your prescription at any time
- All refills ordered by phone are mailed directly to the address on record in our VA computer system
To use the Telephone Prescription Refill System, you will need:
- A touch-tone phone
- Your full 9 digit Social Security Number
- Your 10 digit Home Telephone Number
- The prescription number from the prescription label on your bottle or from the refill slip. On the bottle, the number is located the third line down from the top of the label. Always use the MOST RECENT prescription number.
To request a REFILL of your prescription, follow these easy steps!
- Step 1 – Call the Telephone Prescription Refill Line at 1-888-276-1785, ext. 3133.
- Step 2 – Wait for the greeting.
- Step 3 – Press 5 for medication refill information.
- Step 4 – Press 1 to continue in English or Press 2 to continue in Spanish.
- Step 5 – Enter your 9 digit Social Security Number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.
- Step 6 – Press 2 for Pharmacy prescriptions.
- Step 7 – Press 1 for to request a refill for mail-out only.
- Step 8 – Enter the prescription number from the prescription you are requesting followed by the ‘#” (pound) sign. (Note: Enter only the numeric portion of the prescription number)
To CHECK on the status of your prescription, follow these easy steps!
- Step 1 – Call the Telephone Prescription Refill Line at 1-888-276-1785, ext. 3133.
- Step 2 – Wait for the greeting.
- Step 3 – Press 5 for medication refill information.
- Step 4 – Press 1 to continue in English or Press 2 to continue in Spanish
- Step 5 – Enter your 9 digit Social Security Number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.
- Step 6 – Press 2 for Pharmacy prescriptions.
- Step 7 – Press 2 to check on the status of a prescription.
- Step 8 – Enter the prescription number from the prescription that you want to check followed by the ‘#’ (pound) sign. (Note: Enter only the numeric portion of the prescription number)
To receive EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION on your prescription, follow these easy steps!
- Step 1 – Call the Telephone Prescription Refill Line at 1-888-276-1785, ext. 3376.
- Step 2 – Wait for the greeting.
- Step 3 – Press 5 for medication refill information.
- Step 4 – Press 1 to continue in English or Press 2 to continue in Spanish
- Step 5 – Enter your 9 digit Social Security Number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.
- Step 6 – Press 2 for Pharmacy prescriptions.
- Step 7 – Press 3 if you want to listen to educational information about your medication.
- Step 8 – Enter the prescription number from the prescription you would like educational information for followed by the ‘#’ (pound) sign. (Note: Enter only the numeric portion of the prescription number)
Prescription Refill by Mail
If you obtain an initial prescription from the Miami VA Healthcare System and are eligible for refills, you will be issued a refill request and a return mailing label. Simply fill out your request and return it by mail with the enclosed mailing label. Your mailing label will be addressed to our outpatient pharmacy in the Miami VA Healthcare System:
Miami VA Healthcare System
Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Pharmacy Service
1201 NW 16th Street
Miami, FL 33125
IMPORTANT: Please do not mail payments to the Pharmacy.
If you are required to pay a co-payment for your prescriptions, you will be sent a bill by mail. Please allow 14 days for processing if you mail in your prescription.
To SPEAK with a Pharmacist, follow these easy steps!
To speak to a Pharmacist, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., call the Miami VA Healthcare System at (305) 575-3376 or 1-888-276-1785 extension 3376.
Note: The Miami VA Outpatient Pharmacy hours are Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
OR
- Step 1 – Call the Telephone Prescription Refill Line at 1-888-276-1785, ext. 3376.
- Step 2 – Wait for the greeting.
- Step 3 – Press 5 for medication refill information.
- Step 4 – Press 1 to continue in English or Press 2 to continue in Spanish
- Step 5 – Enter your 9 digit Social Security Number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.
- Step 6 – Press 2 for Pharmacy prescriptions.
- Step 7 – Press 8 to speak with a Pharmacy representative.
- Step 8 – Press 1 to speak with a Pharmacy representative for the Miami Pharmacy.
How to Reduce Your Pharmacy Co-Payments
Here are some tips to help ensure you do not receive medications you no longer need or to make sure you have a sufficient quantity.
At your next primary care appointment:
- Have your provider review all your active medication orders to make sure you still need each medication.
- Ask your primary care provider to cancel any medications you no longer need.
- If you are being treated for a service-connected condition, be sure your primary care provider marks the prescription as “SC” for service-connected. This will prevent you from being charged in error.
- When you are prescribed a new medication, ask the pharmacist to enter an order for a 30-day supply so if your dosage or medication has to be changed, you will not be charged for a large quantity of medication you can not use.
Finally, remember the following:
- Be sure to take your medication exactly as instructed by your provider. This helps prevent the need for extra refills. When prescribed an antibiotic (such as for an infection), be sure to take the medication for the length of time prescribed. This helps prevent a recurrence of the infection and eliminates the need for a second prescription and another bill.
Tips for Safe Medication Usage
To take your medicine correctly, follow these tips:
- Keep your doctor informed.
- Fill a brown bag with every medication (prescription and non-prescription) you’re on and take it with you to your doctor’s visits.
- Create a medicine calendar.
- Enlist your doctor’s help to make up a calendar detailing exactly what medication you should be taking and when. Ask about the possibility of consolidating drug-taking.
- Pay careful attention to side effects.
- Speak to your doctor about any discomfort you may be experiencing. He or she may adjust your dosage or change your prescription.
- Follow your doctor’s orders precisely.
There is a reason why your doctor may have told you to take your medication with food or after a meal, so follow his or her instructions.
- Establish a pill-taking routine.
- Take them at the same time each day to ensure the effect in your body is consistent. If possible, link pill-taking with other daily activities like walking the dog, brushing your teeth eating a meal.
- Don’t stop taking a drug because you feel better.
- Antihypertensives, for example, control rather than cure high blood pressure and must be taken regularly.
- Don’t automatically double up on a dose if you skipped one.
- Ask your doctor or pharmacist what you should do.
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