Key Post The Chemist Warehouse half the price of Healthwave!

In my case I get two statins.
One costs €4.99 and the other costs €2.99.
I pay €7.98 for a month's supply.
There is no other charge.
I never recall paying more than the price of the individual meds with any pharmacy.

This seems dumb for meds that some people will be on indefinitely or for life (statins, blood pressure meds etc) and which would be very difficult to OD on.

I suspect that it's just an excuse by some pharmacies. Buying 6 months at a time was much cheaper than buying 1 month at a time. I would always prefer to just do one trip to the chemist rather than six. Also, pretty often the prescription would have expired (six months after date of issue) by the time I was getting the final month.

So, how does it work?

€20 for the drugs and €3 dispensing charge, just shown as €23

And if you order two months, it's €43?

Brendan

I picked up a prescription in a non-native pharmacy chain once for a relative and they gave me some generic medicine instead of what was on the prescription (but didn't mention this to me). When I checked the bag I raised the issue with the counter assistant and said that they had given me the wrong medicine. A discussion ensued and I cannot remember exactly how we got on to talking about the prescription charge but I remember she couldn't tell me how much it was or how much the generic medicine was either. I don't know if they charge the prescription charge every time or just for the initial reading of the script. She also admitted that they had a policy of only dispensing 3 months at a time (for any medicine).
 
What does this mean? Thanks.

BTW, no matter what meds I was checking (not all for me! :) ) they were by far the cheapest.
Grey import is where they buy from another supplier within the EU rather than the official distributor here. - I think the rules changed a couple of years ago on this and made it possible. That why you might see a sticker with a local address over a european address.
 
I picked up a prescription in a non-native pharmacy chain once
What is a "non-native" pharmacy chain?
for a relative and they gave me some generic medicine instead of what was on the prescription (but didn't mention this to me). When I checked the bag I raised the issue with the counter assistant and said that they had given me the wrong medicine. A discussion ensued and I cannot remember exactly how we got on to talking about the prescription charge but I remember she couldn't tell me how much it was or how much the generic medicine was either. I don't know if they charge the prescription charge every time or just for the initial reading of the script. She also admitted that they had a policy of only dispensing 3 months at a time (for any medicine).
I've never had that sort of problem or any issue with getting prices from any pharmacy that I've dealt with.
I always ask for generics as it happens.
And I've never had any problems getting meds dispensed in the most cost effective way.
E.g. I was prescribed 2 x 75mg of some med and to get it that way would have been twice the price of 1 x 150mg and there was no problem getting the latter. (I also checked with the doc afterwards that there was no dosage/effectiveness issue with the single dose).
And my GP prescribes a combined statin that is quite expensive but it's much cheaper to get the two component meds in generic form separately.
Chemist Warehouse had no problem doing this when I requested it.
 
Just back from Cyprus where I got my monthly prescription (5 meds) for €42, as against €75 here at home in my local chemist. There's 3 BP related medicines, one for Thyroid with one for prostate and Yes, I found all the chemist shops asked for Dr's original signed presc before selling you anything. They also varied in price in each shop. They're used to being asked for prices and don't mind telling you their prices. I didn't get all the meds in the one place but picked the best prices from the 5 that I asked, hence the saving of €33.00 overall on a months supply. The money's as good in my pocket as it is in the chemists till.
The same medicine I've now checked on the chemist warehouse and it comes to €21.00. Is there postage or anything extra on this and can anyone tell me how safe it is to order this medicine online please? Certainly on first impression the prices are very good. That saving will go a fair bit in topping up my oil tank for next winter.
 
The same medicine I've now checked on the chemist warehouse and it comes to €21.00. Is there postage or anything extra on this and can anyone tell me how safe it is to order this medicine online please?
I don't think that Chemist Warehouse do online/posted orders at the moment. Somebody mentioned earlier that they may be rolling such an option out soon. As far as I know, at the moment, you have to attend in person to get a prescription dispensed. I'm open to correction though.

Edit: or do you mean ordering from the Australian site? I'm not sure that that's possible for customers in Ireland?
 
I don't think that Chemist Warehouse do online/posted orders at the moment. Somebody mentioned earlier that they may be rolling such an option out soon. As far as I know, at the moment, you have to attend in person to get a prescription dispensed. I'm open to correction though.

Edit: or do you mean ordering from the Australian site? I'm not sure that that's possible for customers in Ireland?
Sorry, I took the prices from the last attachment of their price list. Thought I could order online but now I don't know.
 
Chemist Warehouse seem to offer good prescription prices as a way to entice people in to their stores.

But a lot of the non-prescription items in Chemist Warehouse are cheaper elsewhere. Chemist Warehouse compares their prices to RRP but few charge RRP. I find Lir Pharmacy online good for many non-prescription items.
 
I tried emailing ChemistWH but the email was being stopped by the server software (gmail) 550 Administrative prohibition - envelope blocked. I'm not sure if they are on a blocked list but I had to go into them. I'm pretty sure I got an email thru' before though but never bothered a follow up as it's as handy for me to call in.
Actually maybe I'm blocked for some reason.
 
I only mentioned this to someone the other day. Certainly on perfumes and toiletries they don't appear any cheaper . Their lack of branches is a pain too.
I read they intend to open more stores. I'm part of the Irish Menopause FB group and that chemist is mentioned a lot.
 
I tried emailing ChemistWH but the email was being stopped by the server software (gmail) 550 Administrative prohibition - envelope blocked. I'm not sure if they are on a blocked list but I had to go into them. I'm pretty sure I got an email thru' before though but never bothered a follow up as it's as handy for me to call in.
Actually maybe I'm blocked for some reason.
I got a bounce too so it's most likely a problem at their end.
 
But a lot of the non-prescription items in Chemist Warehouse are cheaper elsewhere. Chemist Warehouse compares their prices to RRP but few charge RRP. I find Lir Pharmacy online good for many non-prescription items.
I've found their non prescription over the counter medical stuff competitively priced too. I would never buy anything other than prescription meds, OTC meds and maybe supplements (if directed by medical professionals) in a pharmacy myself. But I guess that others might shop there for perfumes, quack therapies (homoeopathic etc.) etc...
 
But I guess that others might shop there for perfumes, quack therapies (homoeopathic etc.) etc...
I suspect it is shop policy. Anytime I am there I am advised that it will take 20 minutes and I should browse around while I'm waiting. I often ask for generics which are way cheaper but they only have maybe two months left in stock so I need to go back at a later date. I'm off to read conspiracytheories.com now :)
 
My experience today...
Arrived 12:09, presented my prescription and explained that I wanted generics and my 225mg dose as 1 x 150mg + 1 x 75mg rather than 3 x 75mg as the former is €10 while the latter is €15. (Strange that the price is €5 no matter what the dose). She had to check that with the pharmacist, came back to say that that was ok, and that it would take 15 minutes or so. 12:24 I've paid and am off home with my 3 months' supply.
Efficient and friendly service and unbeatable prices for what I needed.
 
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