Pharmacy

Prescription Services

 The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders has two medically integrated pharmacies to help manage your care. The Center Pharmacy is located on the first floor of The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders – Magnolia campus and The Center Pharmacy # 2 is located in The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders – Las Colinas campus.

The pharmacy staff understands that your medical condition may be complex and require special knowledge when communicating with your medical provider and insurance company. The Center Pharmacy is dedicated to serve you through the following services:

• Medically integrated with your cancer therapy team
• Assistance with verifying prescription insurance benefits
• Dispensing of prescription medications for supportive care
• Dispensing of oral chemotherapy medications
• Counseling on new medications
• Adherence monitoring for oral chemotherapies
• Obtaining additional financial assistance when available
• Over the counter product recommendations
• Nutritional supplement products

New Prescriptions

The Center Pharmacy and The Center Pharmacy # 2 requires a prescription to be written by a provider from The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. The pharmacy may receive prescriptions from the provider’s office electronically, via fax or phone; you may also bring in a paper prescription. Once the prescription is received, the pharmacy staff will work with your insurance company to determine a processing timeline (managing prior authorizations, etc.) and any out-of-pocket expenses/copays.

Drug Claims and Payment Policy

Our pharmacy works with most major insurance companies and will submit claims to your carrier on the date your prescription is received. If the claim is rejected, a staff member will notify you so we can work together to resolve the issue.

Before your prescription is filled, you will be informed of your financial obligations that may not be covered by your insurance or other third-party sources. The obligations include but are not limited to out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and copayments. Your insurance company determines your co-pay; we cannot discount your co-payment. Payments are accepted via credit card, check or cash.

If you do not have prescription drug coverage or if you cannot afford your copayment amount,

A pharmacy team member will refer you to a social worker from The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders to aid in finding financial assistance for your prescription.

Ordering Refills

Please call, during normal business hours, at least 3 days before you run out of your medication. You may also have a clinic staff member contact the pharmacy to request a refill on your behalf. For oral chemotherapies, a pharmacy staff member will contact you to arrange a new prescription. During this call, the staff member will confirm that you are still taking the medication, that your prescriber has not changed the dose and that you are not having any unmanageable side effects.

Oral Chemotherapies

Most oral chemotherapy prescriptions will require prior authorization from your insurance plan. The Center Pharmacy and The Center Pharmacy # 2 will work with your prescriber to help with the prior authorization process. This process may take a few business days to complete.

The pharmacy team will ensure that you and the prescriber are informed throughout the process.

When your prescription is available, a pharmacist will contact you to review:

• How to take your medication
• Potential interactions with other medications
• Storage
• Side effects
• When to call provider
• Drug disposal

You will be contacted monthly by a pharmacy team member to:

• Review your medication
• Assess side effects
• Discuss any questions you may have
• Schedule your next refill

You may opt out from receiving educational or adherence phone calls at any time. If you would like to opt out, please notify a member of the pharmacy team.

Medication Substitution

Unless otherwise indicated, The Center Pharmacy and The Center Pharmacy # 2 will fill all prescriptions with an FDA-approved generic when available. Please contact the pharmacy if you have any questions about substitution.

Medication Order Status and Delays

You may call The Center Pharmacy and The Center Pharmacy # 2 to check the status of your prescription. If your medication is delayed, a pharmacy team member will call you to provide assistance.

Medications Not Available at The Center Pharmacy and The Center Pharmacy # 2

We may not be able to fill your medication because we cannot acquire the medication or because some insurance plans may require you to fill your prescription at another pharmacy. If either of these situations happen, we will notify you and work with your provider to have the prescription sent to the correct pharmacy.

If you want your prescription transferred to another pharmacy, please contact the pharmacy to transfer the prescription on your behalf.

Support

The Center Pharmacy and The Center Pharmacy # 2 is here to help you manage your health and compliance with taking your medication. Any time you have a question or problem, please contact us as soon as possible.

Resources

Medication Disposal

• Follow disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that comes with your medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information tells you to do so. Check with your pharmacist if you are unsure.
• If available in your area, use a drug take-back program that allows you to bring unused drugs to a central location for disposal. Call your city or county government’s trash and recycling service to see if your city has such a program.
• If disposal instructions are not given on the drug label and no take back program is available in your area, throw the drugs in the trash, but first:
• Take them out of the original containers.
• Mix them with something like used coffee grounds or kitty litter so the medication will be unrecognizable to people who may go through your trash and less appealing to children and pets.
• Put the mixture in a sealable bag, empty can, or another container. This will prevent the medication from leaking or falling out of the garbage bag.
• For inhalers and aerosol products, follow the handling and disposal instructions on the patient information sheet. These items could be dangerous if punctured or thrown into a fire or incinerator.
• Additional Tips
• Before throwing out a drug container, scratch out personal information on the label like your name, the drug name, etc. This will help protect your privacy and your health information.
• Do not give medication to friends. A drug that works for you could be dangerous for someone else.
• If you are not sure how to get rid of your medicine, talk to your pharmacist.
• The same steps above can also be used to dispose of over-the-counter medications.

Above information is adapted from the FDA article, How to Dispose of Unused Medicines, available at:  https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/where-and-how-dispose-unused-medicines

Visit https://takebackday.dea.gov/ for information on national take-back events.

Visit https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch/spring/main?execution=e2s1 to search for an authorized collector in your area.

Emergency Preparedness

Visit https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies.html for information on how to prepare for emergencies.

Visit https://www.redcross.org/get-help.html for information on getting help from disasters.

Patient Grievances

Any internal complaints should be reported to a member of the management team, or you may contact Healthcare Compliance Pros (HCP) at the following:

Compliance Hotline 1-800-585-0375

Compliance Portal    Support@hcp.md/www.hcp.md

Texas State Board of Pharmacy

George H. W. Bush State Office Building

1801 Congress Avenue

Suite 13.100

Austin, TX 78701-1319

1-800-821-3205

https://www.pharmacy.texas.gov/consumer/complaint.asp

Anyone may file a complaint against a pharmacy, but complaints must be received in writing. A consumer may fill out the online complaint form or call the number above to have one mailed to you.

ACHC Complaint Info

For further information, you may contact ACHC toll-free at (855) 937-2242 or 919-785-1214 and request the Complaints Department.

Website: http://achc.org/contact/complaint-policy-process

CMS Medicare

If you have Original Medicare, call your Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organization (BFCC-QIO). Visit Medicare.gov/contacts or call 1-800-MEDICARE to get your BFCC-QIO’s phone number.

If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO), Medicare drug plan, or other Medicare health plan, call the BFCC-QIO, your plan or both.