Below is your question and answer. Have another question? Click frequently asked questions in the right column for answers. What else is sacrificed when drugs are ordered by mail?   When prescriptions are picked up in person by a patient, relative or caregiver, the community pharmacist can answer any questions about when and how to take each drug – such as before or after meals, or with liquids. Although those instructions are printed, some patrons benefit from clear, personal advice and are comfortable talking with a trusted neighbor they may have known for years. Pharmacists have six years of training and are the healthcare professional most patients see most often. An anonymous phone technician hundreds of miles away at a mail-order firm can’t provide the same level of service.   Welcome | Latest News | Your Legislator | Mail Order | Questions Contact Us | Petition | Links Coalition for Quality Healthcare "Upholding high standards of personal service, assuring full access to consumer options and preserving the traditional contributions of local pharmacies to the state's economy" © Copyright 2004 Coalition for Quality Healthcare. All rights reserved.

1. What is the Coalition for Quality Healthcare? 2. What does the Coalition hope to accomplish? 3. What is a “pharmacy benefit manager,” or “PBM?” 4. How do PBMs make money? 5. What’s wrong with the way PBMs currently operate? 6. Why should consumers care about mandatory mail-order prescriptions? 7. Won’t forcing PBMs to give local pharmacies the same financial terms they give their own mail-order units raise healthcare expenses for businesses? 8. Filling prescriptions by mail order seems like a great idea. Why are local pharmacies against it? 9. Instead of complaining about the special deals that mail-order companies make with PBMs, why don’t local pharmacies make their own deals with the PBMs? 10. If pharmacies could fill 90-day prescriptions for just one co-pay, would businesses save just as much as through mail order? 11. Can’t I just tell my pharmacist which maintenance drugs I receive through mail order, so that he/she is aware of possible drug interaction or overlap problems? 12. What else is sacrificed when drugs are ordered by mail? 13. Explain the rebate and discount system that exists between PBMs, drug manufacturers and mail-order companies? How are pharmacies hurt by that system? 14. How could the loss of that business affect some drugstores? 15. What would be the wider impact of that development? 16. What portion of local pharmacy revenues are comprised of maintenance drugs? 17. Where does the Coalition for Quality Healthcare get its funding? 18. How much does the Coalition for Quality Healthcare spend on administration?