Prescriptions

[nikad]

I don't pay ATM fees now that I have a Charles Schwab account. Even when I was paying the fees they were 3% at the most. Even that is worth paying for a 20% discount.

It's a good idea to ask the price first and then ask for the discount. When I wasn't sure the price was "fair" I simply went to one or two more pharmacies (including Pharmacity) and asked. Of course Pharmacity doesn't offer a cash discount, but I don't think they will ever quote a higher than "full" price to a foreigner.

I agree, you will not be charged a foreign price at a large chain such as Farmacity

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Quote (Originally Posted by steveinbsas) Of course the discount is only given if you pay in cash. Regarding drugs in pharmacies, is there really a difference between full and foreign price? The retail/list price is the full price (isn't it?). I always ask the price first and then ask how much it will cost with the discount...as if I expect it. Do you think foreigners are charged even more than the full price in the first place?

I think the foreign price can often be higher than the full price ( unfortunately ) Regarding atms, if you gotta withdraw money to get a discount on a drug, you have to make sure you won´t be paying more in atm fees than the actual discount you are getting for paying in cash

Looking though the receipts I have from various pharmacy multiples, I can't see how any of them could have been set up to charge a different, higher price to foreigners though I accept that it is easier to get discounts some times than others. I suppose it would be possible to bump up the price in a small independent pharmacy that issues hand-written receipts but I don't think I've ever been in one of those - do they still exist?

In case you are wondering what I'm doing with all these receipts (or even if you are not) when I know what is wrong with me I tend to self-medicate since I know what I want to treat it with. But I figure that, in the unlikely event that I get it wrong and wake up dead one morning, I ought to leave a paper trail to explain how I got to be that way. So I keep all the stuff, including the receipts. Trouble is, by nature I am a squirrel and I never seem to get around to throwing stuff out.

 

[Celia]

I have used old prescriptions from the UK again and again, and some independent pharmacies (not chains like Farmacity or Dr. Simi) will fill them. They just want to make the sale...

 

[mini]

I have used old prescriptions from the UK again and again, and some independent pharmacies (not chains like Farmacity or Dr. Simi) will fill them. They just want to make the sale...

I'm sure it depends on what the prescription is, but farmacity has sold me prescriptions medications when I needed it without any prescription and with out the box packaging. I just told them what I needed.

Go to one near a hotel or one that is not big & busy. I think it's a bit hit or miss. Just try another one if they say no.

 

[viviana456]

Hola Soidog:
You must have a prescription or not, depend of many factors.
But the important thing in your case is that: if you have not prescription you can ask for in "farmacias" (not in huge farmacias obviously), surely you will get the pills.

To get more info can see this online vademecum

www.alfabeta.net (only in spanish version)

Look at this too:
http://alfabeta.net/main?svc=content&cmd=viewscreen&sid=mft&consulta=producto&id=2593

Sorry for my bad english.
Regards
Viviana

 

[steveinbsas]

The pharmacist (small neighborhood type pharmacy) across the street just told me he could give me anything but psychotropics without a prescription...as I bought some "Dioxaflex" without one. I think I would have needed a prescription in the US.

He also gave me a discount. By the way, even if you pay ATM fees to get cash, it isn't necessarily that much cheaper to use a credit card here. The foreign currency conversion fees have recently increased...at least on AMEX...to almost 3%.

 

[emilyr]

Steve, I exclusively use my Capital One card here. I applied specifically for a credit card with them to use here because they seem to be the only ones who not only do not have a foreign transaction fee…but they also eat the 1% fee charged by Visa and Mastercard! I have used it a lot and find in practice with the ATM fee, I only get about a 3.7 exchange with the dollar, but with this card get the 3.8 exchange rate.


Careful, though, if you are not a responsible card user because I have heard reports of harsh fee and interest problems with them from my step-sisters who made late payments. So as long as you don´t make any missteps, this is a great deal!

 

[iStar]

You can look up the price of medication sold here in Argentina on this site:

http://www.kairosweb.com.ar/default.asp

 

[jimdepalermo]

You can look up the price of medication sold here in Argentina on this site:

http://www.kairosweb.com.ar/default.asp

iStar has the key - Kairosweb is the online version of the system used by the farmacias. If the drug is listed there, it's available.

Almost everything available in the US or the EU is available here. In fact, the Argentine list of medications is about 3 times the size of the equivalent list in the US, where the creators of many valuable medications don't find it worth the cost/effort to register with the FDA.

If you stick to generic versions, retail prices are seldom more than your co-pay would be in the US. At least here in Palermo, most of the independent farmacias offer a discount of about 20% for purchases in cash, and many of these advertise that offer in the window or at the cajero.

In my experience, you can buy almost any prescription medication without presenting any doctor's prescription. Exceptions are psycho-active drugs and certain medications like seudoefedrina ("sudafed") that can be used to create illegal drugs (like crystal meth). For these, the farmacias by law require 2 individual, hand-written copies of the prescription.

That said, a pharmacist who knows you well may provide small amounts of even the highly-controlled medications without a prescription. Some months ago, when a case of hiccups lasted through the night, I remembered a similar event in the US when my doctor there prescribed a low dose of Thorazine, an old drug that was used to treat schizophrenia. I went to my neighborhood farmacia as soon as it opened and explained - or rather demonstrated - my situation, and they bent the rules and sold me what I needed, after explaining that they shouldn't do it, but in emergencies and for people they know well . . . .

For some reason, Farmacity and a few other stores I've tried require prescriptions for what seems to be a random list of other medications. When one store tells me "no," I just go down the street to the next farmacia, where the answer will be "yes."