Once a prescription has been written by a health care provider, you may buy the medication from various sources. Factors that may affect the choice of source include the location and hours of operation, cost of the medication, and insurance coverage.

Questions to consider when choosing a pharmacy include:

• Does the health insurance limit where prescriptions can be filled?
• Is the location convenient to home, school, or work?
• Does the pharmacy maintain patient records (preferably on computer) and checks for drug interactions?
• Are employees willing to take time to answer drug-related questions?
• Are the pharmacists friendly and helpful?

The most common source for obtaining prescriptions is the local pharmacy. Usually the pharmacy is located in a drug or grocery store. Independent pharmacies are also commonly used, but their numbers are decreasing because many find it hard to compete with the grocery and drug chains. A chain pharmacy (drug or grocery) may have lower prices than an independent, because chain stores usually have greater buying power.

However, lower prices tend to attract more customers, which means the pharmacist may not be able to spend as much time with each patient for counseling and answering questions.

If you belong to an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization), you may be required to use an on-site pharmacy (at the location of the HMO), or the HMO may require you to use certain pharmacies. Your insurance company may have a contract with specific drug or grocery stores or independent pharmacies, which means you must use one of these pharmacies.

Some individuals and some insurance companies have chosen to use mail-order pharmacies. Normally, a prescription is sent to the mail-order pharmacy or phoned in by the physician. It may take a week or more for the prescription to arrive at the home of the patient. Therefore, mail order is best used for long-term medications that treat chronic problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Short-term medications such as antibiotics and medications that require storage at specific temperatures should be purchased at a local pharmacy.

Internet pharmacies are another option for long-term medications or buying general pharmacy supplies. The website should clearly explain the steps for filling or transferring a prescription. Make sure that the website has clearly-stated privacy policies and other procedures. AVOID any website that claims a doctor can prescribe the medication without actually seeing you.

To assist the pharmacist in filling the prescription, make sure the following information is clearly printed on the prescription: name of the patient, address, phone number, and health care provider's name. A sloppy prescription may not include all of this information, or it may be illegible.

When phoning the pharmacy for a refill, the following information is helpful: prescription number, name of medication, and name of the patient.

Normally, the busiest times in a pharmacy are at opening, during lunch hour, and immediately after work (3:30 p.m. to about 7:30 p.m.). If it is possible to avoid these hours when dropping off or picking up a prescription, your wait may be shorter, depending on the pharmacists' backlog.

Once you choose a pharmacy, it is best to fill all prescriptions with that pharmacy. This way an accurate drug history can be maintained. With an accurate drug history, the pharmacist can more easily check for drug interactions that may be potentially harmful to you, or that may decrease the effectiveness of your medications.