A repeat for something you are already taking. Most of what the doctor needs is printed on the pharmacy label, so bring it. And if the refills have simply run out, your pharmacy may be able to renew it without you coming in at all.
What the visit covers
- Repeats for blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid, diabetes and asthma medication
- Inhalers, eye drops, creams and patches with no refills left
- Contraception you are already taking
- A prescription that lapsed before you got back in
- A dose review when the medication is not working as it did
- A renewal your pharmacy has already turned down
What your pharmacist can renew without a doctor
If you are settled on a long-term medication and the refills have simply run out, try the pharmacy counter first. Ontario lets a pharmacist renew a prescription for a chronic medication that has no refills left, so your treatment does not lapse while you wait for an appointment. It is not open-ended: the Ontario College of Pharmacists caps a renewal at the quantity originally prescribed including its refills, or a twelve-month supply, whichever is smaller, and the pharmacist has to notify whoever wrote the prescription and record why they renewed it.
Some renewals cannot be done at a counter — a dose that needs changing, a medication that has stopped working, a drug you have not taken before, an opioid or another monitored drug. Phone your pharmacy and ask where yours falls; if the answer is no, book here.
What OHIP covers
A visit is insured whether you come in or the doctor phones you: OHIP covers medically necessary visits in person and by video or telephone. It does not cover care handled through secure messaging, and it never covers the medication itself. That is a drug cost, and whether a provincial plan picks it up turns on how old you are and what private coverage you have, not on who signed the prescription.
Walk in, or book?
Book it rather than walking in. A renewal needs your chart and your recent results looked at, so it is not really a same-day job. If you are nearly out of tablets, mention that when you book.
What to bring
- The pharmacy label off the box or bottle, photographed if you would rather not carry it — drug, strength and directions are all on it
- Your health card
- Everything else you take, including vitamins, herbal products and anything off a pharmacy shelf
- Photo ID if you are renewing an opioid
- The name of your pharmacy, and of the doctor or clinic that started the medication if it was not this one
Questions people ask
My pharmacy renewed it. Do I still need to be seen?
Yes, before that renewal runs out. The pharmacist tells the prescriber who wrote the original, and the renewal is there to bridge you to your next review rather than to replace it. Ask when you should next be seen, and book while there are still tablets in the box.
Why is my painkiller treated differently from my blood pressure pill?
Because it is a monitored drug. For an opioid prescription in Ontario you have to show acceptable ID to the provider, and in certain cases to the pharmacist as well, and a unique number from that ID is recorded on the prescription. The information goes into the province's Narcotics Monitoring System, which is there to check that prescribing and dispensing are done properly. A blood pressure pill carries none of that.
Does a renewal cost me anything?
No, not for a visit — a medically necessary appointment is an insured service and cannot be billed to you. A refill dealt with as paperwork is another matter: the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario gives a phone refill as an example of an uninsured service, and a physician who charges for one has to tell you the amount before doing the work. The desk can tell you which applies here.
Still have a question? Call the front desk.
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