Caution About Goodrx

[NeylasMom]

Just wanted to share this in case other people aren't aware...

 

I went to Walgreen's to pick up an antibiotic Rx for Violet and as usual had a coupon from GoodRx to save money. Only the coupon wouldn't work. Long story short, there are some coupons that do not work for pet prescriptions because they require some sort of prescription number that only doctors, but not veterinarians provide.

 

I didn't really follow the explanation she gave me except that there are multiple people from GoodRx who negotiate these coupons with the pharmacies and certain ones negotiate them only for human meds. The tricky(est) part is that if you are looking for coupons online, I couldn't see anything that specified that the coupon wouldn't work for pet Rxs. Through the app there IS a black bar that appears toward the top of the coupon (so you actually have to click on the green "view coupon" button to see it) that says "This coupon will not work for pet prescriptions", but I can assure you it is easy to miss. Another way to double-check is the RXBIN & RXPCN on the coupon. She told me those are associated with the people who negotiate the coupons so the NVT/610602 are from one that won't apply to pets, but I don't know if there are others.

 

I've used GoodRx numerous times for pet Rx, both at this pharmacy and at others and have never encountered this issue. I don't know if I've just been lucky or this is something new they're starting to do, but it meant I wasted a ton of time at the pharmacy only to walk away empty-handed because I wasn't going to pay $88 for a Clindamycin Rx. Thankfully I'm taking Skye to the vet tomorrow so I can pick up a refill of the med for Violet while I'm there, but it means she'll go without it for 2 days now.

 

Anyway, just wanted to share so that you can check to make sure your coupon will work for a pet Rx before having the pharmacy fill it for you. Had I known, I could have checked other local pharmacies for one that would work on a pet Rx rather than having Walgreen's fill it.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I wonder if there are starting to be issues with Walgreen's itself. I have my own health insurance with Humana, and I went to Walgreen's for my flu shot. Turns out, Walgreen's no longer contracts with Humana.

[tbhounds]

Does it state anywhere on the script that it's being prescribed for a pet? Couldn't Violet be a family (daughter) member?

Edited to add--often the pharmacy techs will miss the DVM part ;-)

Edited October 26, 2016 by tbhounds

[NeylasMom]

I wonder if there are starting to be issues with Walgreen's itself. I have my own health insurance with Humana, and I went to Walgreen's for my flu shot. Turns out, Walgreen's no longer contracts with Humana.

I looked for a coupon with another local pharmacy and saw the same issue so it seems to be specific to the person who negotiated the coupon rather than the particular pharmacy, at least in this instance.

 

Does it state anywhere on the script that it's being prescribed for a pet? Couldn't Violet be a family (daughter) member?

Edited to add--often the pharmacy techs will miss the DVM part ;-)

Every pharmacy I've used has each dog noted as a pet in their records, but she specifically told me that these coupon codes are set up with the requirement of some sort of code (I forget the name of the code) that is provided with the Rx and only human doctors provide those codes, vets do not. I don't know though if they're doing this intentionally to prevent the coupon codes from being used for pets or it's an indirect consequence.

Edited October 26, 2016 by NeylasMom

[palmettobug]

I know at CVS, when I first started filling for Cat #1, they had a bunch of those "save on prescription" cards, and I think they tried them till they worked. Now, it might be the rules have changed or it's a state regulation, who knows. Do you have a locally owned pharmacy (not a big chain)? They might work with you and even do compounding.

[Houndtime]

I wonder if there are starting to be issues with Walgreen's itself. I have my own health insurance with Humana, and I went to Walgreen's for my flu shot. Turns out, Walgreen's no longer contracts with Humana.

 

Walgreens no longer partners with a lot of health care supplements.

[macoduck]

I had a brief problem with Rite Aid accepting the GoodRx card. I called the phone number on the card and the GoodRx folks talked to the pharmacy tech. Problem fixed.

 

Walgreens does seem to be dropping things they used to cover. We can no longer use Tricare to get a flu shot there but e can at Rite Aid.

[GeorgeofNE]

I think your vet is required by law to state "feline" or "canine" on a prescription for an animal. Mine always does anyway.

[cometdust1]

Good to know, thanks. FYI, I just got a prescription filled at a U.S. online pharmacy called health warehouse.com for a month of doxycycline for my dog for 89.00 which was 30.00 cheaper than any good RX coupons. The site was offered as an option on Good RX's site. Just another option for anyone RX shopping.

[Guest goodrx]

Hi Everyone - This is Doug, one of the founders of GoodRx. Wanted to clear some things up. You are correct that a small number of our coupons don't work for pets. Here's more details:

 

1) One of our coupon providers will not work for pets. If you ever view or print a coupon from that provider, you should see a notice that says "This will not work for pets". Honestly, we could do a better job and we've got a new way to make it more clear that's coming soon.

 

2) If you're ever not sure if your coupon will work, just email us at help@goodrx.com and we'll clarify and provide you one that works quickly (within that same day, usually).

 

3) Walmart, sadly, simply does not take prescriptions for pets with coupons. So don't ever try to use a coupon there.

 

Apologies for any inconvenience; I'm also a pet owner and I understand your frustration. I can't promise a timeline, but in the not-very-distant future we'll have an easier way for you to find pet-compatible coupons.

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please email help@goodrx.com.

Edited October 27, 2016 by goodrx

[macoduck]

Thanks Doug!

[NeylasMom]

Hi Everyone - This is Doug, one of the founders of GoodRx. Wanted to clear some things up. You are correct that a small number of our coupons don't work for pets. Here's more details:

 

1) One of our coupon providers will not work for pets. If you ever view or print a coupon from that provider, you should see a notice that says "This will not work for pets". Honestly, we could do a better job and we've got a new way to make it more clear that's coming soon.

 

2) If you're ever not sure if your coupon will work, just email us at help@goodrx.com and we'll clarify and provide you one that works quickly (within that same day, usually).

 

3) Walmart, sadly, simply does not take prescriptions for pets with coupons. So don't ever try to use a coupon there.

 

Apologies for any inconvenience; I'm also a pet owner and I understand your frustration. I can't promise a timeline, but in the not-very-distant future we'll have an easier way for you to find pet-compatible coupons.

 

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, please email help@goodrx.com.

Awesome, thank you so much! I understand that not all coupons may be pet friendly, my "issue" was just the total surprise and being stuck there without a Rx because I missed the warning and couldn't afford the $90 full price. So I wanted to give everyone the heads up so they didn't end up in the same boat. Now that I know to check beforehand it's not an issue.

 

I was actually popping in to update folks that I'll be getting Violet's tranexamic acid from the same Walgreen's and was able to find a coupon through the app with no issue (and double-checked that it's pet friendly).

Good to know, thanks. FYI, I just got a prescription filled at a U.S. online pharmacy called health warehouse.com for a month of doxycycline for my dog for 89.00 which was 30.00 cheaper than any good RX coupons. The site was offered as an option on Good RX's site. Just another option for anyone RX shopping.

Thanks for this. Options are always good. I honestly don't know what I did before GoodRx. Mostly used Costco and hated every possible minute of it because they could never be trusted to follow through on things properly. Much easier for me to get things through my local pharmacy (or possibly online)! Edited October 27, 2016 by NeylasMom