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Reordering Your Medicines from the VA Pharmacy
1. What is My HealtheVet and can I use it to order my prescriptions online? My HealtheVet is a web-based product that gives veterans information and tools to improve their health. Registration is required to have full access to all features. Registrants can access more than 18 million pages of health information from the site’s Health Education Library. They are able to: · Refill your VA prescriptions and view your VA prescription history online. · Add information to a personal health journal about over-the-counter medications, allergies, military health history, medical events, tests and allergies. · Record and track personal information such as contact information, emergency contacts, health care providers, and health insurance information. · Record and track personal health measurements (blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, heart rate, body temperature, weight, and pain) in Health E-logs. · Print a wallet ID card with the personal information entered into the personal health record. For complete details, go to the My HealtheVet website at www.myhealth.va.gov
3. When I use My HealtheVet to refill prescriptions online, where do I refill my prescriptions? When you are logged in with your registered User ID and password, click the Pharmacy tab. Under this tab, you will be able to renew prescriptions, view your refill history, enter and print a comprehensive list of your medications. To learn more about how to refill your prescriptions via My HealtheVet, go to the home page and click on the “Rx Refill Guide”. This will bring up a page with detailed instructions. 4. To view the names of my medication in My HealtheVet I must be IPA’d, what is IPA? IPA stands for In-Person Authentication. As part of the My HealtheVet security measures, you will be asked to verify your identity in person at a VA Medical Center or Community Based Outpatient Clinic. You will be required to view an orientation video and present a signed VA Form 10-5345a-MHV overprint along with a valid government issued photo identification card. To be IPA’d, you should report to the Release of Information area of your local VA facility. 5. When using My HealtheVet to refill my prescriptions online, why can't I see all of my prescriptions? Most of your prescriptions can be refilled online; however, not all of your medications may be listed. The VA divides its drug formulary into Schedules. Schedule 2 prescriptions, such as some pain medications and narcotics, are not refillable. You must obtain a new prescription from your provider for each fill of these medications. If you believe you have refillable prescriptions that are not being displayed, please contact the pharmacy staff at the VA facility that prescribed your medication. The phone number should be provided on the label of your prescription bottle. 6. If I have refills left on my prescription, should I come to the VA Pharmacy to get more medicine? No. If you have a touch-tone telephone, you can save gasoline and time by using the VA automated telephone refill system (Dial-A-Refill). If you do not have a touch-tone telephone, you can mail the refill requests for your medicines to your VA Pharmacy. Most Veterans living in the VA Southwest Health Care Network area have their prescriptions refilled by a VA Mail-Order Pharmacy in Arizona or Texas. No. When you use the touch-tone telephone refill system, your medicines are sent directly to your home address. 8. When should I ask for a refill of my medicine? You need to request a refill AT LEAST 2 WEEKS before you run out of your medicine. You can ask for a refill of your medicine earlier. If you ask for your refill too early, the computer will put your refill on hold and then allow it to be filled about 2 weeks before the time you should run out of your medicine. If you do not have an address where your medicine can be delivered or if your medicine cannot be sent through the mail, you need to call your local VA Telephone Linked Care (TLC) service at least 48 hours before you plan to pick up your medicine so the VA Pharmacy has enough time to refill your prescription. 9. How do I order refills of my medicines using the VA touch-tone telephone refill system? To order prescription refills using a touch-tone telephone, call your local VA prescription refill telephone number. The Dial-A-Refill system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Listed below are the telephone numbers for the automated refill systems at each of the VA Southwest Health Care Network locations. Remember, you must call the telephone number for the VA location that originally filled the prescription for your medicine.
Put in only the numbers. Do NOT enter any letters that are printed after the prescription number on the bottle. 11. If I don't have a touch-tone telephone, what should I do to order refills by telephone? If you do not have a touch-tone telephone, you must order your refills by mail. Follow these steps:
12. Can I order refills for more than one medicine at the same time? You can order refills for more than one medicine by going back through the touch-tone telephone refill system. If you mail in your prescription refill slips, you can put all of the slips into one envelope and mail them to your VA Pharmacy. No. You must order a refill every time you need more medicine. Your medicine is not mailed to you unless you ask for it. Be sure to ask for a prescription refill at least 2 weeks before you run out of your medicine. You will need to contact your local VA Telephone Linked Care (TLC) service. If you do not have any more refills left, you need to ask for a renewal of your prescription. Listed below are the telephone numbers for the Pharmacy TLC services at each of the VA Southwest Health Care Network locations. Remember, you must call the TLC telephone number for the VA location that originally filled the prescription for your medicine.
Using your touch-tone telephone and the VA Dial-A-Refill System can avoid waiting in line at the Pharmacy window to get your refill medicines. However, the VA Pharmacy will fill any NEW prescriptions for antibiotics or other medicines you need right away that are ordered by your provider during your clinic appointment that same day. Requesting non-urgent refill medicine at the Pharmacy window can add to the waiting time of other Veterans with more urgent needs for newly prescribed medicines. 16. What should I do about ordering refills of my medicines if I will be going on vacation? If you are going on a long vacation, you should give your local VA Pharmacy a temporary address for the exact dates that you will be out of town and then order refills of your medicines as usual. As long as you will be on vacation within the United States, the medicines will be sent to your temporary address. Be sure to let your VA Pharmacy know if the date you will return from vacation changes so that you continue to receive your medicines. If you are going on a short vacation, call your local VA Telephone Linked Care (TLC) service and ask if you can get an early refill so that you do not run out of your medicine while you are away from home. All VA Pharmacies can provide vacation refills. If your usual home VA provides your medicines and you are in the VISN 18 area as a visitor, your home VA should continue to provide your refill medicines by mail. Be sure you order your refills from your home VA at least 2 WEEKS before you run out of your medicines. 17. Will the VA Pharmacy send controlled medicines, such as narcotics, to me through the mail? Yes, but Schedule II medicines may be sent by certified mail or other courier, such as Federal Express (Fed-Ex) or United Parcel Service (UPS), and you must sign to get them. Medicines sent by courier require a specific mailing address and cannot be sent to post office boxes. 18. Why do I sometimes get medicines in the mail when I haven't asked for refills? Renewal medicines probably were ordered by your VA provider at the time of your last appointment and were not sent to you until about 2 weeks before you were due to run out of them. During your appointment, be sure to remind your provider which medicines you will need refilled. 19. Why can't I get a 90-day supply of all my medicines? Ninety-day prescription refills are provided only for medicines that do not have the potential for abuse and for those that are taken for chronic conditions. Some chronic medicines are filled for only 1 month at a time because of side effects that can occur if too much medicine is taken by mistake. Talk to your pharmacist to see if your medicine could be filled for 90 days. If there is a chance that the medicine will be stopped or changed within the next few months, it is better to get a 30-day fill. |
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