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Post by ann on May 29, 2020 15:22:26 GMT 7
I know this forum is for overseas but also know there are some who stay in Oz. I was wondering about having a separate thread for sharing advise re chemist costs.
I’m thinking this because when my husband was dying of skin cancers his dermatologist gave him prescriptions for a particular cream. It was hard to find and we went through one tube a day. Each tube coat $45. This was TOTALLY out of pocket. We could not get it cheaper anywhere. In fact, we were bloody lucky to find enough stock in Sydney.
I found out my cousin is a chemist, told her of this expense, my husband had passed by then, she told me IF the dermatologist had filled in a specific form for Canberra the cost would have been just over $5 a tube. I paid over a thousand dollars because the lazy cow didn’t fill in a form. It also took days to find enough stock. A living nightmare as you can imagine.
I was just wondering if a thread to help people save money with prescriptions might be within our brief. No problem if it’s not.
NOT ONE chemist advises us of the opportunity of a cheaper fee. Not one and they could have and in my opinion SHOULD have.
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Post by ann on May 29, 2020 15:27:42 GMT 7
Just thought of another one. The main Sydney hospital RPA, Royal Price Alfred has a small chemist in the ground floor foyer. They are NOT a proper register chemist so charge MORE for scripts. Walk up to the chemist at the corner of Missendon and Carollin sts and it’s cheaper. The difference is worth the walk.
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Post by bear on May 29, 2020 21:52:50 GMT 7
I know this forum is for overseas but also know there are some who stay in Oz. I was wondering about having a separate thread for sharing advise re chemist costs. I’m thinking this because when my husband was dying of skin cancers his dermatologist gave him prescriptions for a particular cream. It was hard to find and we went through one tube a day. Each tube coat $45. This was TOTALLY out of pocket. We could not get it cheaper anywhere. In fact, we were bloody lucky to find enough stock in Sydney. I found out my cousin is a chemist, told her of this expense, my husband had passed by then, she told me IF the dermatologist had filled in a specific form for Canberra the cost would have been just over $5 a tube. I paid over a thousand dollars because the lazy cow didn’t fill in a form. It also took days to find enough stock. A living nightmare as you can imagine. I was just wondering if a thread to help people save money with prescriptions might be within our brief. No problem if it’s not. NOT ONE chemist advises us of the opportunity of a cheaper fee. Not one and they could have and in my opinion SHOULD have. I think it's more in the doctor who writes the scripts remit ann. My doctor seemed to be all over that sort of stuff........making sure and taking.steps to assure their patients on pensions and benefits got the best possible prices. When there were expensive medications I would be advised to speak with the chemist to see what was the best price they could do.....compared to my doctor's quoted prices. Those particular medications were all for overseas use though. Cheers bear
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Post by tasjo on May 30, 2020 14:55:31 GMT 7
I do know there are some scripts that if I collect from the hospital pharmacy I pay $5 for but my usual pharmacy is unable to dispense it.
Also, if a 'hospital' script is written by a specialist, often only the hospital can dispense it, sometimes its not even stocked outside of the hospital or would need to be purchased as a private script.
I had this issue with the pneunomax vaccine... pharmacies couldnt dispense it, hospital had it but could only dispense on a hospital script, GP couldnt write a hospital script... eventually sorted it by my specialist writing a hospital script and didnt pay anything for it.
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Post by jr on Jun 3, 2020 14:18:50 GMT 7
Yes this happens to me too. Some particular medications require the doctor to apply for an authority for the script to be covered under the pbs. Some doctors do it willingly, others Ive had to ask. I find Chemist Warehouse to have the cheapest price for private prescriptions, often significantly cheaper than local pharmacies sadly. On a pension I need to save every cent. 😢
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Post by mspurple on Jun 21, 2020 10:22:16 GMT 7
You can also ask your pharmacy to make sure they keep your records properly and only use the one pharmacy so if you reach the PBS limit your meds are free for the rest of the year. I had issues with this once because I used more than one pharmacy. I do not use the pharmacy in the town I live in as they charge me over $4 more for one script and keep trying to chage me $50 for a script I get for $6.60 normally at the other chemist. They have a range they can up the prices of the meds so certainly call about for the best prices.
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Post by bear on Jun 21, 2020 10:51:18 GMT 7
By being a regular at a particular pharmacy, you do seem to be treated as one of the family I've found; although I do use one of the big chains from time to time, depending on circumstances.
However some scripts required for overseas are quite expensive and not on the PBS. It has been my regular small pharmacy that has provided the best prices for these medications and non generic drugs into the bargain; whereas the chain stores want to provide generics at premium prices. Sure goes to show where there priorities lie. Cheers bear
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Post by ann on Jun 22, 2020 13:43:48 GMT 7
We travelled around a lot and used this system to record all the scripts. From memory it was about 60 scripts then free for most. We used to hit the 60 around June. “Who is responsible for recording the amount spent on PBS medicines? It is your (the patient’s) responsibility to keep a record of the amount spent on PBS medicines. This includes keeping track of your dependents’ spending. You can do this by using a Prescription Record Form (PRF) available at any pharmacy. Pharmacists will need to get supplies of these forms from Services Australia. m.pbs.gov.au/general/faq.html#WhoisresponsibleforrecordingtheamountspentonPBSmedicines
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Post by bear on Jun 22, 2020 16:32:08 GMT 7
We travelled around a lot and used this system to record all the scripts. From memory it was about 60 scripts then free for most. We used to hit the 60 around June. “Who is responsible for recording the amount spent on PBS medicines? It is your (the patient’s) responsibility to keep a record of the amount spent on PBS medicines. This includes keeping track of your dependents’ spending. You can do this by using a Prescription Record Form (PRF) available at any pharmacy. Pharmacists will need to get supplies of these forms from Services Australia. m.pbs.gov.au/general/faq.html#WhoisresponsibleforrecordingtheamountspentonPBSmedicinesGreat info again ann ........I've probably been dudded over the years, as I thought wrongly it would be automatically recorded and when you hit your limit that it'd just kick in. Just another case of caveat emptor; saving the government money and costing the poor more if you don't know, so thanks for keeping us all in the loop. Cheers bear
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Post by ann on Jun 22, 2020 17:43:30 GMT 7
EVERY and I mean EVERY time you get a new script make sure the staff either place the official tag on the card or give it to you to place on yourself AND NEVER EVER lose the card as you can’t get replacement tags. We carried the card in the car so we always had quick access to it. The tags are about 2cm x 10cm approx. We used to hand the card over with the script
Just remembered- once we had the required scripts slips of paper on the large card the chemist then gave us another card - size of a business card - made of paper. We then handed that to a chemist when getting a new script and it was free. This plan starts January 1st each year
A couple of years ago it was 60 scripts before it was free, not sure now
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Post by boku on Jan 29, 2021 16:39:56 GMT 7
Here in Melbourne Chemist warehouse and MyChemist pharmacies charge $5.50 per PBS script instead of $6.50.
Funny you guys mention a threshold where Meds become available free of charge as I'm yet to be offered anything free.
And I take a crazy amount of anti psychotics medication. Should I ask for a itemized receipt?
Out of interest has anyone came into a bit of money due to a inheritance or real estate property sale that striped them of the purple pensioner health care card?
What's the price per PBS script in that situation?
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Post by tasjo on Jan 29, 2021 20:16:36 GMT 7
Boku - once the threshold is met the scripts are automatically free.
Only thing to be aware of is if you are using more than one pharmacy. Centrelink wont link the results.
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Post by bear on Jan 29, 2021 21:30:10 GMT 7
Here in Melbourne Chemist warehouse and MyChemist pharmacies charge $5.50 per PBS script instead of $6.50. Funny you guys mention a threshold where Meds become available free of charge as I'm yet to be offered anything free. And I take a crazy amount of anti psychotics medication. Should I ask for a itemized receipt? Out of interest has anyone came into a bit of money due to a inheritance or real estate property sale that striped them of the purple pensioner health care card?What's the price per PBS script in that situation? Don't know anything about that one boku......only the DSP/OAP concession card. It's always worked at the doctors and chemists. Cheers bear
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Post by onemore on Jan 30, 2021 0:18:13 GMT 7
I have found that the majority of pharmacies in Victoria charge $5.50 for a prescription, but once I crossed the border into N.S.W. it jumped to $6.50.
In Victoria train travel is free for me, being DVA Gold card, in N.S.W. it is a flat rate of $2.50. So it probably is a state thing not federal..
The prescription thing is when I show my seniors card in both states.
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Post by ann on Jan 31, 2021 1:36:44 GMT 7
You need to keep your own records. Have a look at this link, talk to your chemist and get the card. We travelled around a lot and used this system to record all the scripts. From memory it was about 60 scripts then free for most. We used to hit the 60 around June. “Who is responsible for recording the amount spent on PBS medicines? It is your (the patient’s) responsibility to keep a record of the amount spent on PBS medicines. This includes keeping track of your dependents’ spending. You can do this by using a Prescription Record Form (PRF) available at any pharmacy. Pharmacists will need to get supplies of these forms from Services Australia. m.pbs.gov.au/general/faq.html#WhoisresponsibleforrecordingtheamountspentonPBSmedicines
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