Cheapest Pharmacy for prescribed Drugs?

FLOOPER

Hi all,

Really just looking for the cheapest pharmacy for prescribed drugs on the south side of Dublin. I know Tesco are supposed to be opening such pharmacys but are there any open yet?

These drugs I'm on now are expensive and any savings would be greatly beneficial.

Thanks.

Flooper

WalterMitty

If you had transport and its a regular prescription then Newry in Northern Ireland are cheap and accept irish prescriptions AFAIK. Stocking up with several months supply makes it worthwhile.

wmpdd3

OP have you asked you doc to prescribe the generic version of your drugs?

nino1

Tesco naas! worth a trip. ring ahead

mrcheez

Just jumping on this thread, can you ring around pharmacies to check prices on a specific drug, or have to physically go in with the prescription?

I just popped into 3 pharmacies in Dublin and price for the same generic brand was €29 in one, €41 in another!

A New earth

https://healthwave.ie/ Cheap prescriptions at the side of Dundrum Shopping - although haven't tried it

Greenmachine

Often depends on the drugs. My previous prescription were more expensive in NI than the cap in ireland substantial more. I believe they would hve come to €280 approx.

Defender OF Faith

are you on any health schemes? ask the doctor to write the generic name of the drug as the pharmacist is obliged by law to offer you the cheapest version available

acermaple

Health wave in Dundrum sc is by far the cheapest I have found, you can check their prices on line, my meds are less than half the price I used to pay, plus I think they do deliveries.

mrcheez

Does the pricelist here list every drug they sell? https://healthwave.ie/price-list/

The one I need isn't there ... also I don't live near Dundrum so I'd need to weigh up the cost of getting there and back

L1011

mrcheez wrote: »

Does the pricelist here list every drug they sell? https://healthwave.ie/price-list/

The one I need isn't there ... also I don't live near Dundrum so I'd need to weigh up the cost of getting there and back

No. Call them for pricing otherwise.

mrcheez

Also what is a "HealthPass price"? These drugs are a once-off so I won't need a subscription or anything.

acermaple

They charge you €25 for a 'health pass', basically a 1 year membership that entitles you to access the scheme, I remember when I joined that they said something about refunding this amount if you don't save more than that amount during the year. Best bet is to probably phone them about you particular situation to see what they can do for you.

mrcheez

As it so happens I'm heading up to Antrim in Norn Iron this month so I reckon I could pick up the stuff there. Are all the pharmacies cheap up there, or should we stop off at the first cross-border shopping mall after we pass Dundalk? Somewhere in Newry perhaps?

I assume I should check with the doc to make sure the prescription is generic?

Gilma2010

You'll need a green NHS prescription to get medicines in the UK. I went to Boots ti buy an inhaler that costs me €77 approx in ROI. Without a green prescription they wanted to charge me £80!
I find Boots Ireland cheaper than most pharmacies, bigger buying power, so they say.

MB Lacey

Boots charged me nearly double for a repeat prescription to what I paid in a pharmacy on Crumlin Rd (D12). I complained when I saw the price and to be fair to Boots they reduced the price for me, but I wouldn't get a prescription from Boots again.
I asked why they were more expensive and he said prices changed from month to month.
The cheap pharmacy on Crumlin Rd is called 'Crumlin Rd pharmacy' (tel 4560019 if you want to call to ask prices). It's next to the Texaco garage. It's also cheaper than the Hickeys pharmacy a few doors down. It was my Dr who recommended there so completely legit. I think the buyer used to be a pharmacy supplier so has contacts.

L1011

Gilma2010 wrote: »

You'll need a green NHS prescription to get medicines in the UK. I went to Boots ti buy an inhaler that costs me €77 approx in ROI. Without a green prescription they wanted to charge me £80!
I find Boots Ireland cheaper than most pharmacies, bigger buying power, so they say.

No, you don't. You can buy them anywhere in the EU with a valid private prescription but you'll pay full price - and NI isn't cheaper for everything.

You need an HSCNI prescription to get them free, but you're not entitled to that anyway.

Buying power has very little impact on prices - nearly every drug sold in every pharmacy is pricing using an equation of the official cost price + a % (sometimes 0%, e.g. Tesco) + a markup fee (anywhere from €0 to €7+ per line item). That larger pharmacies get huge kickbacks on the official cost price rarely comes in to it.

I've seen (previous job, over a year out now so don't know what the current situations) kickback offers along the lines of buying one at full cost price, getting three more free on some drugs but this doesn't apply to everything clearly.

Ten years ago every pharmacy charged the same price for everything; now there's huge variance - so you need to shop around. Don't be afraid to phone prescriptions in for price checks. NI can be worth it in specific circumstances but its not as useful as it once was.

Gilma2010

L1011 wrote: »

No, you don't. You can buy them anywhere in the EU with a valid private prescription but you'll pay full price - and NI isn't cheaper for everything.

You need an HSCNI prescription to get them free, but you're not entitled to that anyway.

Buying power has very little impact on prices - nearly every drug sold in every pharmacy is pricing using an equation of the official cost price + a % (sometimes 0%, e.g. Tesco) + a markup fee (anywhere from €0 to €7+ per line item). That larger pharmacies get huge kickbacks on the official cost price rarely comes in to it.

I've seen (previous job, over a year out now so don't know what the current situations) kickback offers along the lines of buying one at full cost price, getting three more free on some drugs but this doesn't apply to everything clearly.

Ten years ago every pharmacy charged the same price for everything; now there's huge variance - so you need to shop around. Don't be afraid to phone prescriptions in for price checks. NI can be worth it in specific circumstances but its not as useful as it once was.

Thanks for the advice on phoning around. Boots advised me there's a dispensing charge for each item, so I usually get 3 months at a time for repeats .

I'm from the UK so any time I visit, I go to my parent's doctor for an NHS prescription. It costs 7.50 per item.

Gilma2010

MB Lacey wrote: »

Boots charged me nearly double for a repeat prescription to what I paid in a pharmacy on Crumlin Rd (D12). I complained when I saw the price and to be fair to Boots they reduced the price for me, but I wouldn't get a prescription from Boots again.
I asked why they were more expensive and he said prices changed from month to month.
The cheap pharmacy on Crumlin Rd is called 'Crumlin Rd pharmacy' (tel 4560019 if you want to call to ask prices). It's next to the Texaco garage. It's also cheaper than the Hickeys pharmacy a few doors down. It was my Dr who recommended there so completely legit. I think the buyer used to be a pharmacy supplier so has contacts.

I'll be checking out Crumlin Rd Pharmacy next time, thanks for the heads up! :-)

L1011

Gilma2010 wrote: »

I'm from the UK so any time I visit, I go to my parent's doctor for an NHS prescription. It costs 7.50 per item.

Its subsidised by the state (although you're entitled to it obviously in this case), its costing more than 7.50 down the line.

Nearly every pharmacy has the dispensing charge per item so yes, its cheaper to buy many months at once. This isn't always possible - expiry dates, stuff that's controlled, not enough stock and so on.