Which pharmacy is worse, Walgreens or CVS?

Rite aid and it also sucks.

[quote]Where do you get your Rx filled?

Express Scripts. 90-day supply, delivered. Dealing with them over the phone is never less than infuriating, however.

Profitable prescriptions first! Good customer service is far too expensive.

I get all of my shit filled at CVS.

Never had any issue getting my one scrip auto-filled at Walgreens. I do wish there wasn't one on every third corner, though. How much ChapStick do people need?

R4, do you have to give a lot of stool samples?

I used to like Walgreens but they’ve done everything they can to make their stores sterile and unwelcoming. Plus they don’t accept my insurance so I avoid them.

CVS stores are always overcrowded like they cram too many aisles in so every aisle is super narrow and impossible to get down if someone else is in it.

Rite Aid is the most convenient to me so that’s where I go but I won’t argue it’s much better than the other two. I used to really like Sav-On and Longs but I think both are defunct now.

I love CVS but they are high priced. Walgreens is OK too.

I have never had any issues. I have Atena as my insurance which is a nightmare, because you have to shop around for the best prices. Right now, I have Target for one, Walmart for one, Aetna home (which fills by mail from CVS) for my asthma and you literally have to shop every pharmacy to see which has the best price for that particular med.

It's not hard to do online, but it's a pain.

Walgreens Corporation spent thousands to support GOP politicians in Wisc, Mi & NC that changed state laws to prevent newly elected Gov and Atty Generals from doing the traditional legislative governing duties.

Walgreens is also a company that was recently incorporated overseas to prevent paying of US Taxes and fought to keep those GOP legislators that protected this.

Walgreens is amongst the most treasonous of all Corporations in the US.

If you're in an area that has Kroger (or one of their many subsidiaries), their pharmacy is pretty good.

Walgreens and CVS exist on the same level of hell for Rxes. Walgreens is OK for the occasional OTC item I can't get elsewhere, and for Lindt Excellence 85% when on sale. Their reward program isn't awful, especially if you're an AARP member.

You really want to suffer get your meds filled at a walmart pharmacy ! I used them for a couple of years cause they were so much cheaper,but I finally gave up and started paying more at cvs because it was pure hell at wally each and every time I went to pick up meds.

walmart rx is the worst ever. avoid it at all costs!

My local Wegmans grocery store.

Walgreen

There are two side by side strip malls in the town where I go to shop. The first strip has a CVS dominating everything else. The second has a Target as the dominant store....with a big banner on the outside saying “CVS pharmacy.” Target sold its pharmacy business to CVS.

Walgreens has taken over Rite Aid, hasn't it?

My CVS rocks and is nothing like what OP describes. I use an HSA card to pay for my prescriptions so I probably don't pay enough attention to prices, but they're all generic. A couple of them are under a dollar. Oh, and this CVS is across the street from my home.

R9: Do you have proof "Walgreens is also a company that was recently incorporated overseas"? They merged with Alliance Boots (Switzerland + UK). The surviving company is called Walgreens Boots Alliance, but their operations and HQ remain in Deerfield IL.

Same as R2

CVS was formerly my drug store. There are always 5-6 people behind the counter, but no one ever wants to wait come wait on you. Everytime I picked up a prescription, there was some type of error, wrong medication, wrong dosage, wrong amount, someone else's prescription, etc. I either had to wait a half hour for the error to be corrected, or return the following day. They also took it upon themselves to call my doctor for prescription refills, even though I'm not in an auto refill program. The last straw was the day I came in to pick up my Rx's, and when I questioned why one hadn't been filled, I was told I just picked it up last week, even though I had not. When they checked this, they had punched in someone else's info. I know deal with a locally owned pharmacy, and the service is far superior.

CVS made my local pharmacist an offer he “couldn’t refuse,” so he sold his pharmacy business to them when he retired. They didn’t buy the location, but, I guess, his patient list, or good will, or whatever, so I went along with it, even though I know I can take my business anywhere. I'm just trying to figure out whether anyplace else is better.

Isn’t Walgreens also Duane Reade? I used my Duane Reade card from NYC in a Walgreens in FL.

Bartell Drugs and Costco.

I'm in Southern California and go to the pharmacy at Ralph's grocery store. You can reorder online and they'll text you when its's ready, usually within an hour or 2. It's out of my way, but so worth it. Remember when drugstores used to be fun to shop at? Not anymore.

Anything involving Express Scripts is horrid. They charge the highest. If you don't use GoodRX and shop the best price for your prescription, you should. I switched pharmacies and reduced my out of pocket by $1000 per month.

My HMO (Kaiser Permanente) has its own pharmacies and I have to use them to get prescriptions under my coverage. That said, I rarely go to the physical pharmacy unless there's something new that gets prescribed when I'm visiting the doctor (whose office is in the same location as the pharmacy.) And everything is done electronically. Anyway, I use their mail order/online order system for my refills; it's very fast (2-3 days) and they don't charge for shipping.

I use OptumRx. There’s one drug they refused to cover, so I was getting it at CVS. It was about $45 after a GoodRx coupon CVS always used. Well, for some reason CVS started charging about $2 for the script. I guess someone who wouldn’t cover it before now does. Or they found a better coupon.

Go to Costco pharmacy. The people are nice and the prices are much cheaper.

I'm a Canadian and I've been to your drugstores. I like Walgreens and Rite-Aid but CVS is the pits - bland, boring, not well kept up, and short on stock. I refuse to go to them anymore.

Express Scripts. Reliable and cheaper.

I switched many years back from CVS to an independent neighborhood pharmacy and I couldn’t be happier. Very personalized service, friendly, courteous. Whenever there’s any kind of insurance glitch they make the calls and solve the problems. They’ll also fax things for me for free. While it’s a very small store, their prices on general items are competitive with the nearby Duane Reade and Rite Aid. Plus, I know the profits are staying in the neighborhood. I hate patronizing the faceless chains when there’s no good reason to.

I spent $138k on scripts at CVS last year or my insurance co did.

Had Ross-Loos when I arrived in LA then Kaiser--Kaiser is really efficient & cost-effective; Costco is also good for things like dentist Rx & they have their own discount plan--easy in & out.

I've found that it depends on who is working behind the counter. Every store is different. I've never had an issue with any pharmacy I've gone to, except how long I wait in line. Though I don't take any medication on an ongoing basis, so I can't speak to those who are on one or more medications and perhaps visit pharmacies on a weekly basis.

CVS on 64th street in Manhattan is the absolute worst. Always out of stock on my medication and, oddly enough, normal sized pill bottles. Last time I was there I got a refill of a 30-day supply of my blood pressure medication that came in a 4-inch tall bottle. The pills are TINY and I only take them once a day. I was told they ran out of the normal sized bottles when I complained because I was traveling and didn't want to pack a giant bottle. They told me I could go to the CVS in the 70s o see if they would switch out the bottles. How does a pharmacy run out of normal sized prescription bottles?

I would consider Costco if they were closer to me, but parking a mile from the store in one of their huge lots and then battling the thousands of customers inside just to get to the pharmacy (at the far end of the store) scarcely seems worth the trouble. Since their pharmacies are open to everyone (by law), why can't they give them a separate entrance?

I stopped using CVS thanks to robocalls saying my prescription "is ready to be picked-up." When I arrived, there were no scripts. Switched to a family-owned store, two doors away. Neighborhood stores need and appreciate our business.

The merger of CVS & Aetna is still in limbo. When Walgreens bought the 200 stores of Duane Reade in New York, prices didn't go down.

I hate neighborhood pharmacies

Never been to Walgreens, CVS, or Rite-Aid.

Get my scripts filled at Wegmans.

CVS is pure garbage. They constantly short my meds and I end up having to go back in to get it corrected.

A hospital pharmacist I know went to CVS, now makes $150,000 a year,

Aetna is BY FAR the most hideous and corrupt organization in all of Big Insurance. And I am in a position to know -

I work in this business (though not in retail and not for either CVS or Walgreens) and I can't say either is great. Pharmacies are frequently understaffed. I think the "shopping" experience is better at CVS but that is discounting the pharmacy experience.

I'd only add that for people who have issues with their scripts:

Go mail - It is usually cheaper and less drama. A mail order pharmacy will often (not always) check rejects. Retail pharmacies just don't have the staff. They will tell you tough shit and call your insurance company.

It isn't Walgreens or CVSs fault that they won't fill your 300 pill oxy script for a 30 days supply (this is an exaggeration but not by much). This is dictated by your insurance company, not the pharmacy.

KNOW YOUR BENEFITS. All of you with insurance get an SPD (summary of plan design). READ IT. UNDERSTAND IT.

Do you really need/want it? I had this experience myself with a parent recently. Filled a script for an inhaler that costs $100 a month - that she will NEVER USE.

I don't use any prescription meds so I never have to deal with this, thankfully. I had to have antibiotics once in 2001 and got them from the Kaiser on-site pharmacy. All I had to do is stand in line and they were ready immediately. If I did have to go to a pharmacy I would probably try the one at Ralph's (supermarket, one of the Kroger brands). It never seems busy.

For the new year, can we all try to focus on being more healthy so we don't need so many drugs? I get it some things are necessary, but so much is related to poor lifestyle choices combined with an epidemic of over-medication for every tiny thing.

Peace, out.

[quote]Remember when drugstores used to be fun to shop at?

Not since my beloved closed its doors.😭😭😭😭😭😭😿

R45 here. For non-prescription stuff like eye drops, allergy, advil, and general "bathroom stuff" like toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, soap, skin care products, hair products, etc., I usually go to Target at night when it's not busy and do self-checkout. Sometimes I will just pick up a few things at Ralphs. The prices are surprisingly about the same or just slightly higher, but it saves the hassle of going to 2 stores. I may just start ordering everything online from Target or Amazon and have it delivered. My condo has a front desk so packages get signed for so no worries about porch pirates.

Won't go to CVS: the "Minute Clinic" is known as "The Hour and Forty Minutes Clinic." Filling a prescription takes longer than that.

Won't go to Rite Aid: they piss me off what with taking too long, never having the same med I get every month in stock, and screwing around with the co-pays.

Optum Rx's Breova was the worst.

There's still a neighborhood pharmacy near me that delivers for $3 if I don't want to walk the half-mile or so, takes my insurance, and knows my name.

I have used CVS for about eight years, never had a problem. In fact, one of the CVS employees explained an insurance co-pay to me better than the actual insurance provider.

[quote] Plus they don’t accept my insurance so I avoid them.

What insurance do you have, R6? I never heard of a pharmacy rejecting an insurance company.

CVS sells booze, at least

I use OptumRx mail order, before that I used Caremark mail order, I only have one regular prescription and it is free. I haven't had a prescription for something I needed right away in years, the last time I did I used Walmart because it was right there on the trip home from the doctor. The doctor's office called it in and it was ready when I got there and I had no complaints other than waiting in a line which I would probably have had to do anywhere.

R50, where I live, CVS doesn't accept most United Healthcare plans.

Like R31 I go to a small independent neighborhood pharmacy. I love them. Theres always one of the three pharmacists behind the counter, them same trio for a single long as I've been going there, which has to be at least the last 15 years or so. They're patient, calm, caring, precise, understanding, and professional. I pray they stay the same and never sell out. They know their competition Is garbage.

Walgreen's has taken over the pharmacy at my local Rite-Aid. However I have used the pharmacy at the grocery store where I shop (a Giant in DC area) for years. It's convenient and the staff is decent even though they could use more of them.

[quote] Filled a script for an inhaler that costs $100 a month - that she will NEVER USE.

Was it Spiriva? I get them from my dr office now. Optum wanted to charge me almost $500 for a 3 month supply. Screw that

CVS is horrible! It takes them hours or a day to contact you that prescription was filled. I needed antibiotics and I had to wait until the next day to get them. They never answer the phone, so you can't ask questions or get delivery. When you go there the line is 30-40 minutes and half the time they say something wasn't called in and you have to sit there and wait. They have one person at pick-up and drop off. Even at 12am, there's a line. Rite-aid was better.

Find a small local owed pharmacy R57. Fuck that. Even if you have to drive a few miles. The constantly revolving door of staff is probably part of the problem, large corporations like CVS etc are probably like walmart, Kmart, they're greedy and don't pay, so they constantly have a new crop of idiots who have no intention of sticking around while they barely pay attention to learn a basic system. And couldn't give a fuck about your needs. Even a few mile drive is better than standing in line like a schmuck, every time you need something. They also want you to wait; as you wait, you load your basket with needless crap from the rest of their junk pile of a store. And spend, spend, spend. Don't fall into their trap, it's all intentional. I don't need a famed cvs, rite aid, aor walgreens card to save .02¢ on a gallon of bleach and furniture wax. I just want my medicine.

Famed= Damned

CVS stores in Chicago are so ghetto. Narrow aisles, with shelves stacked with crap all the way to the ceiling. Walgreens at least looks a little less like a dollar store.

Target. (Pronounced like Tar-JAAY, NOT like TAR-git). Check it.

I’m on anti-depressants and get them in a 90 day supply. I’ve been using Walgreens for years. Never had a problem with insurance, only rarely have a problem with long lines.

CVS, when I’ve had to use them, is slow, less personable, and, as R60 notes, has a dollar store vibe.

RiteAid, I never used because their OTC meds were so expensive.

I'm going to try and do that R58. It's not so easy though. I'm in Brooklyn and much like CVS, nothing is really convenient here. CVS and Rite Aid dominate too, and there aren't many small pharmacies around.

I went to Walgreens today to pick up a new medication. The one I'd been taking has been discontinued. I asked the pharmacist if this medication was more expensive than the other one. She checked and said yes "it's $330". So I asked her if there were any coupons/discounts as I have to pay for all medication and send the bills to the insurance company to get reimbursed. So she checked and sold it to me for $33.

What the actual fuck???

r61 Target's pharmacies are all run by CVS now.

LOL ok R65. I was thinking more about shopping for non-prescription shit. I never need prescriptions.

A new law went into effect where pharmacies are supposed to tell you of cheaper alternatives, r64. With antidepressants, it's often cheaper to pay out of pocket rather than go through insurance and your pharmacist is now required to tell you.

Target online is always at least 10 dollars cheaper than anything in store. You can go up and get a price adjustment in the store. I've found that Walmart online is truly the cheapest for most everyday items.

CVS made a ton of errors in the 5-6 years I used them. Switched to Walgreens. No errors. But I don’t like their politics.

R64 Now you're learning. Many prescriptions have enormous copays you have to pay to the insurance company that are massively upcharged. Ask what the pharmacy charges and whether there's a coupon or discount program available. In some cases, the insurance surcharge is a huge multiplier over what the direct pharmacy price is.

That's why you need to create spreadsheets of all the local retail prices. It's a pain in the ass but if you take prescriptions, you have to know what your drugs actually cost - not just what your copay is.

Didn’t Sav-on get absorbed into Albertsons grocery stores?

R54 hang onto your local pharmacy as long as you can. The neighborhood pharmacy nearby that got bought out even had a small post office in it, and was staffed by locals. I know there are trade-offs in life all the time, but dealing with huge bureaucratic, incompetent pharmacies and ins co's hasn’t made life any easier for patients.

Why is insurance even in the picture, anyway? It’s not like auto or fire insurance, where one in 10 insureds will get hit by car crash or fire and the rest of us pay for protection— we all need health care. I don’t get what huge ins co's bring to the table in the health care picture.

^^sorry—off topic comment

R72 ....

Not to pick on you, but health insurance works EXACTLY in the same fashion. Not to call you out, but insurance (in general) works on the theory/idea of pooled risk. This is why Obamacare (God I hate that term) imposed a tax penalty on those who didn't have insurance. It was to induce young and healthy people into the pool, so their premiums could be used for the older and sicker.

It is the same with car insurance. You take the responsible drivers, then you take the 16 year olds, charge them upon their risk factor, and then take that money and pay claims. Hopefully, if you did your actuterial duty, you will come out ahead. It is the core basis of how insurance works.

Walgreens, at least in my city. I actually switched over to CVS because the pharmacy staff at Walgreens was inappropriate—- they weren’t discreet about one’s personal business and information. I had to complain about it to the regional office.

R71, I think they did, at least initially when the free standing Sav-Ons all closed. But all the Albertons near me are gone now as well and I have no idea if either brand still exists.

I only take a couple of ancient generics that cost little to nothing and it makes almost no difference where & how I buy them. But my elderly mother, who is struggling with dementia, was getting ripped off by the local Walgreens (which she liked mainly because it's a small one and they would take the time to chat with her). We recently switched her to pillpack.com. Her meds come in a box with a strip that has a three month supply of labeled tear-off packets for AM and PM each day, which they configure out based on the prescriptions. Now there's no guessing if she's taken her all of her meds and the cost is equivalent to filling them with a 30 day pharmacy co-pay, so more expensive than doing standard 90 day mail order but worth it in this case. Plus they'll add vitamins, supplements and OTC drugs to the packets (although they can be quite pricey).

My local Walmart is actually decent in terms of pharmacy. The store itself isn't great but their pharmacists are really good.

I always disliked Walgreens and CVS. Both got rid of their cheap generics program.

I always use the H.E.B. Pharmacy and it’s very good. Cheapest prices and great customer service if you live in the good part of town like me.

ouvert 24/7

What happened r75?

R75,:R81, Was it something like this scene in Magnolia with Julianne Moore?

my local cvs is a very small home-town sized store. no public restrooms in it and if you ask to use the employee restroom there are unflushed turds in the toilet. god help me.

CVS charges an arm and a leg compared to Costco, the latter has some of the best prices available. The trick is to go during off peak hours (once you know your script is filled), and I usually go 30 minutes before they close to pick it up. Kroger grocery stores are reasonable as well and Walgreens is definitely better than CVS.

I miss Phar Mor.

R80: Fabulous place and people. I banged up my knee once retrieving the luggage when we landed at CDG and by that night it hurt like hell. The hotel sent me around to them. The pharmacist there sat me down on a stool and fitted me for an elastic knee brace/stabilizer that allowed me to walk with a lot less pain and enjoy the rest of the week.

Their windows are probably covered with plywood these days from the riots but it's a glimpse of what a pharmacy should be.

I learned when I went to Mexico that most of what they sell in the pharmacy there isn't allowed to come back over the border with you.

It all depends. I remember asking for Tylenol in a Boots in London and the pharmacist looking at me in alarm: "We can't sell you that. Do you know how dangerous that can be to your liver?"

So they gave me codeine instead. Gotta say that I felt better fast.

i buy cvs brand products because they're good and a hell of a lot cheaper than their outrageous brand name prices.

Completely off topic, but reading the response from R35 reminded me of something that happened to me. I went to an Arby's once who said they ran out of beef. Okay, continue on folks...

R90, I was at a Jack in the Box last week at lunchtime. They were out of french fries, curly and regular! They didn't tell customers until after they ordered (combo meals). They wouldn't discount or substitute something else. People were so pissed off. Hilarious.

CVS prices are truly outrageous for most items. I try to avoid shopping there for household items.

CVS prices are a joke. After signing up for their frequent flyer program, I got a coupon for 40% off 1 item. Most items I wanted, even after the discount, were still more expensive than other stores in the area, except Walgreens of course.

I don't remember, honey.

Sometimes Cook is Driver, and Driver is Pharmy One, and Maid is Pharmy Two.......

R87 What did you have trouble with? We usually stock up on our prescriptions when we travel there. We've never had a problem. We only bring back what we have a US prescription for, though.

I second the recommendation of Kroger pharmacies, but they have run out of my Flonase every month for four months now. I cancelled the prescription and buy it OTC now, which is about 60 cents more expensive but at least I get it on time.

That happened to me once, too, R90. They announced they were out of beef, and someone in the back wheeled in a big slicing machine and started slicing what looked like a 30 lbs slab of meat-like product.

Hey, R63 and anyone else in North Brooklyn. I’m one of the posters from above pushing people to use their neighborhood independent pharmacy. I’m going to put in a plug here for my pharmacy because - as I said earlier- it’s a great business and they have genuine concern for their customers. Very convenient if you live in Bushwick or Bed-Stuy or even Williamsburg on the Southside. It’s called MG Pharmacy, right downstairs from the big JMZ transfer point at Myrtle Ave & Broadway. (Plus, the best local produce market, Mr. Kiwi, is right across the street so you can kill two birds with one stone. They make awesome fresh juices there, too. Might help you cut back on meds!)

Why are the big chain pharmacies so chronically understaffed? I'll never understand it. If they have enough money to be buying out their competitors, they have enough money to add some staff.

One person mentioned CVS in Manhattan. But, not too many mentioned where they are at. If you’re in a heavily populous area, the chances are you have a hard time. I am in a suburb of Detroit, in a city with less than 50,000 residents. I don’t have the wait times other have in Manhattan. So, obviously the chances are better—as in my case—the pharmacy will be more positive [good].