Pharmacy
About This Service
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders offers an onsite medically integrated pharmacy. Our certified pharmacist is here to answer any questions and provide easy access to the medication you need. The pharmacy is open during business hours and provides a quick turnaround for your convenience.
The Center Pharmacy provides patient-centered care through comprehensive services. We are certified by the Accreditation Commission of Healthcare as a Specialty Pharmacy with a Distinction in Oncology. We provide convenient dispensing of the most advanced oral oncology and hematology medications to The Center patients. Our knowledgeable pharmacy professionals assist patients throughout their medical journey and work in close partnership with clinicians.
The pharmacy is open during regular business hours and offers quick turnaround times to support your comfort and continuity of care. By filling prescriptions onsite, patients can avoid unnecessary trips to outside pharmacies and receive personalized support from a team familiar with their diagnosis and treatment.
Prescription Services
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 pharmacy 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. Payment 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 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 medications. You may also have a clinic staff member contact the pharmacy to request 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 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 through 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
Unless otherwise indicated, the pharmacy will fill all prescriptions with an FDA-approved generic when available. Please contact the pharmacy if you have any questions about substitution.
You may call the pharmacy to check the status of your prescription. If your medication is delayed, a pharmacy team member will call you to provide assistance.
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.
- 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 governments' 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
Take-Back Events.
Authorized Collectors in your area
FAQs
Oral chemotherapy is treatment with medications given by mouth to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. These medications are often expensive, require patient education and are not available through most local pharmacies.
Following your prescriber's instructions for the medication is the best thing you can do to ensure a successful course of treatment. We understand that some medications may have unpleasant side effects or may be difficult to administer. Our staff is available to offer advice about resolving these issues or to contact your prescriber about the management of these side effects.
Once your prescription has been approved by the insurance and any financial issues have been resolved, most medications will be available on the following business day.
If you have questions about your medications, please call the pharmacy during normal business hours. If it is after hours and you are having side effects that require immediate care, call The Center's main number and ask to speak with the on-call clinician. If you are having an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
If you feel there is an error with your prescription, please contact the pharmacy right away.
The pharmacy will notify any affected patients of a consumer level recall. You may stop by or contact the pharmacy if you have any questions about a recall.
Pharmacy law prohibits the return of medications once they have been received by a patient.
Frequently Used Insurance Terms
You are trying to refill a prescription sooner than your insurance company will allow. Most insurance companies allow you to refill a prescription once a certain amount of your medication is used. This is based off the anticipated number of days your current supply should last. If your dose has increased or you are going on vacation, the pharmacy may contact the insurance for a possible override.
Your provider has written for a certain amount of medication, but it is more than your insurance will cover. This can be limited to tablets per day or by how many months of medication you can receive per fill. The pharmacy staff will explain this and answer any questions or concerns.
The medication prescribed to you is not covered by your plan without supportive information such as other treatments tried and failed. The pharmacy team will work with your provider's staff to get this authorization and will keep you updated throughout the process.
Your insurance plan wants you to try alternative medications, or "steps", before they will approve the prescribed medication.
This is the portion of the cost owed by the patients after the insurance company has been billed. Depending on the insurance plan, copayments may be fixed or variable for covered services received.
A pharmacy that contracts with an insurance plan to offer covered services at a lower rate to members of that insurance plan. The pharmacy staff will contact you if any prescription filled has limitations from your insurance company.
Resources
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.
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 [at] hcp.md (Support[at]hcp[dot]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.
For further information, you may contact ACHC toll-free at (855) 937-2242 or 919-785-1214 and request the Complaints Department.
If you have Original Medicare, call your Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improved 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.
800 West Magnolia Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104
United States
(817) 759-7000
Related Resources
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Our mission is simple: to care for every patient as we would a cherished member of our own family.
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Research & Clinical Trials
Clinical research is central to our mission. Led by Dr. Ray Page, we offer access to innovative clinical trials that bring leading-edge cancer therapies closer to home.