VA Maryland Health Care System

Prescriptions

Video: Pharmacy and Prescription Information (script)

Prescription Refill Procedures

Veterans have three options when ordering prescriptions refills:

1. by phone using the Prescription Refill Line,
2. by mail using the mailing label enclosed with your prescription to submit refill slips to the appropriate Pharmacy at the Baltimore or Perry Point VA Medical Centers, or
3. through the MyHealtheVet web site.

You must order your refill at least 2 weeks before your medicine runs out to receive it on time. Routine medication refills may be ordered as soon as you receive your medication in the mail. Remember, most medications are mailed from out of state.

Click on the links below for more information:

How to Use the Telephone Prescription Refill System
Prescription Refills by Mail
To Speak to to a Pharmacist
How to Reduce Your Pharmacy Co-Payments
Tips for Safe Medication Usage
VA National Formulary 

How to Use the Telephone Prescription Refill System

There are a number of benefits to using the telephone Prescription Refill Line:

- You will receive your prescription faster,
- You can call the Prescription Refill Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and
- You will not have to pay postage on your refill requests.

To use the automated telephone refill system, you will need:

• A touch-tone phone
• Your full 9 digit Social Security number
• The prescription number from the prescription label on your bottle or from the refill slip. Always use the MOST RECENT prescription number
• All refills ordered by phone are mailed directly to your home address.

To request a REFILL or to CHECK on your prescription status, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, follow these easy steps!

Step 1 - Call the Prescription Refill Line at 1-800-463-6295, extension 7395.
Step 2 - Enter your full 9 digit Social Security number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.
Step 3 - Press 2 for Pharmacy Information.
Step 4 - Press 1 for to order a prescription refill. Press 2 to check prescription status
Step 5 - Enter your prescription refill number followed by the “#” (pound) sign

To find out if your prescription has already been processed:

Step 1 - Call the Prescription Refill Line at 1-800-463-6295, extension 7395.
Step 2 – Enter your 9 digit Social Security number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.
Step 3 – Press 2 for Pharmacy Information.
Step 4 – Press 2 for status of a prescription
Step 5 - Enter your prescription number followed by the “#” (pound) sign.

Please note:

- Prescriptions ordered over the phone will be mailed to your home address.
- The VA Maryland Health Care System will not accept verbal refill requests.
- 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.

Refill by Mail

If you obtain an initial prescription from the VA Maryland Health Care 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 one of our two outpatient pharmacies in the VA Maryland Health Care System:

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 to a Pharmacist

To speak to a pharmacist, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., call the Baltimore VA Medical Center at (410) 605-6571, or you can call our toll-free number, 1-800-463-6295, extension 6571.

Note: Outpatient Pharmacy hours are Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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 flags the prescription. 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 the medication has to be changed, you will not be charged for a large quantity of medication you will not be able to 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 nonprescription) you’re on and take it 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’s 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 constant. If possible, link pill-taking with other daily activities like walking the dog, brushing your teeth or 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.

VA National Formulary

For information about the VA National Formulary or for a listing of medications on the VA National Formulary, please click on the following link: http://www.pbm.va.gov/NationalFormulary.aspx.