Prescription Refills – Planning an extended period overseas? What You Need To Know About Prescription Refills Abroad
We’re Jeff and Sandra, a retired couple who travel full-time. As you can imagine, with my (Jeff’s) heart condition; planning and packing prescription medications for extended travel is/was a crucial part of our journey.
During our planning, we heard plenty of stories about how challenging it is to get prescriptions filled in the United States if you need a large supply for extended travel. In contrast, most of the world has better systems where, as long as the medication isn’t a Schedule 1 drug, you can just go buy it.
In this post we share with you our experiences dealing with securing a extended prescription supply before with left the US, navigated different healthcare systems abroad while getting prescriptions refilled and the lessons we learned along the way.
Planning and Preparation
I discussed this with my cardiologists PA at my last pre-departure appointment. She said one of my medications might be more difficult to obtain outside the US, but the other four were extremely common.
Getting a 6-month supply in the US: The biggest hurdle
Discretion being the better part of valor I asked my provider to write my scrips for 180 day refills rather than 90 so I could leave the US with a comfortable supply. No problem, she wrote new prescriptions with 180 day refills.
That’s where the fun began. I submitted them to my regular pharmacy and was told that I needed to call my insurance company and get approval because they would only authorize a 90 day supply. And by “authorize” they mean “pay for”.
I explained that I would just pay for them out of pocket because, with the GoodRX app, the total would be less than $200 for a 180-day supply. Dealing with my insurance company would cause at least $100 worth of stress on top of the $150ish co-pay.
And they said “you really need to call your insurance company to get authorization.” Again I explained that there was no need, just refill the prescriptions as written and I’ll give you money in exchange.
Spoiler alert: After involving the pharmacist and explaining a third time that cost wasn’t a gating factor for me, so it shouldn’t be a gating factor for them, I ended up getting a 90-day refill, and then I transferred my prescriptions to a new pharmacy. The second 90-day refill at the new pharmacy cost about $30, and I never even gave them my insurance info.
This whole saga took up a couple of hours over the course of a week because I had to wait for the scrips to be filled each time and make multiple trips to the pharmacies. I am thankful I had done my research and had planned ahead. We were able to set off to our first destination with somewhere between 100 to 150 days worth of my five prescriptions.
Refills Abroad – A Breeze (Mostly):
Portugal – Refills in a Flash!
Our first refill test came in Portugal, and let me tell you, it couple not have been simpler! I walked into a local pharmacy, showed them the prescription label from the US, and that was it. Within minutes, I had a 28-day supply in hand. Total time in the pharmacy less than five minutes.
It took longer to walk to the pharmacy than I spent in the pharmacy. So much so that Sandra said “No luck?” when I got back to the apartment since I had been gone for such a short time. Bonus: The total cost for the refill was lower than what our co-pay would have been back home!
Second Experience Getting Prescription Refill Abroad
A few weeks later I needed to have two more prescriptions refilled so I went to the pharmacy in the shopping center near our apartment and asked about getting refills for the two medications.
The tech behind the counter asked if they were for me. I said “Yes”. They: Do you have some ID? I showed my Passport. She punches a bunch of keys and says that one of the prescriptions was no problem but the other prescription (the one my doc warned me may not be as common) wasn’t available in 120mg dosage; only 80 or 160. Since my dosage is 120 mg twice daily I said I would take the 160mg and break pills to make it work. 160 in the morning and 80 at night is the same 240mg per day and if that caused me any issues then I would adjust accordingly. Got a 28 day supply for each, total time in the pharmacy was maybe 10 minutes and part of that was spent waiting in line. The total cost was about the same as what we usually pay as a co-pay back home!
I want to point out here that the tech behind provided me with a different dosage than what was on the prescription based solely on my saying it was okay. No need to consult a doctor and confirm it was alright; as an adult I was allowed to make the decision on my own.
Third Experience Getting Prescription Refill Abroad
Spain followed suit with Portugal’s ease of refills. Just like before, a quick visit to a local pharmacy with our US prescription was all it took. No need to see a doctor, and the process was smooth and efficient. We got another 28-day supply and the price was slightly more (by a buck or two) than our usual co-pay in the US.
Fourth Experience Getting Prescription Refill Abroad
Next up, we were in England and I was running low on several medications. Stopped into a pharmacy to inquire about refills. My expectation was that it would be a pretty simple process at least partly because, unlike Portugal and Spain, there would be zero language barrier (right?!) I showed the pharmacist the prescriptions and he said “Ooooh, are those from America?”
Yes
“Sorry, we can’t fill them. You’ll have to get them redone by an NHS physician”
Okay. No problem. Can do. However, we had just a day or two left at this location and figuring that our next stop was going to be for a full week, we’d just sort it out there.
So, we got to our next destination (still in England). Stopped into the local doctors surgery (office) and explained the situation again, filled out an intake form (form asked for my contact info and asked if I wanted to see a doctor). I was able to see the doctor the same afternoon. He rewrote all the prescriptions so I could get two months worth and within 24 hours I had all my prescriptions (they were out of one of them so I had to go back the next day). A completely unremarkable transaction.
Fifth Experience Getting Prescription Refill Abroad
Well, we ended up staying in England a bit longer than we had originally planned, so that meant that I was running low on a couple of medications as we wound down our stay. Since our last long stay was in a slightly larger town, I assumed that the refill process would be similar to the first go round. Get an appointment with a local doctor, get the refills authorized, move on with my life.
Nope.
The local doctors office was, um, ‘disinterested’? I guess; I explained to the receptionist what was going on. She sent out the practice manager to talk to me. After explaining again, she said that they would have to charge me as a private patient, if they could see me at all. But she needed to make some calls. After about a ten minute she came back out to tell me that they simply couldn’t help me.
I decided to try a telehealth provider. After all that had been my solution to getting a travel C-PAP before we left since the regular system was so broken.
The only option I found that looked like they could handle prescriptions for heart medications required downloading an app, easy right… nope, Google Play store wouldn’t let me download the app because the app is for UK resident only.
Since I wasn’t out of any meds and we were headed to Canada shortly, I let it go.
Sixth Experience Getting Prescription Refill Abroad
We arrived to Winnipeg and I stopped in to a pharmacy to see what the process for getting a refill looked like. “Get the prescription rewritten by a Canadian doctor.” Okely dokely.
We settled into our next destination on a holiday weekend so on Tuesday I walked to the nearest ‘walk-in clinic’. Well, almost. There was construction on the route and I ended up going right past the hospital so I stopped at the info desk to see what’s up. I was informed that the clinic I was planning to visit didn’t do walk-ins anymore and they gave me the names of two other clinics to try. Both were further than I was comfortable walking that afternoon so I planned to go the next day.
Wednesday morning I headed to the walk-in clinic. Explained the situation to the receptionist who told me it would be no problem; did I want to pay the visit fee as US$50 or CDN$60 ? It’s cash only, BTW. <Sigh> Back to the house to get some cash and try again.
Spent maybe 10 to 15 minutes in the waiting area, explained the scene to the doctor who wrote me the three prescriptions I asked for. He did suggest there might be dosage issues and if the pharmacy had any questions they should call him. They did have questions but we got them sorted and Thursday morning I picked up CDN$175 (US$120) worth of medications to cover me for the next 60 days. Based on what I paid for 28 day refills of these same meds in Portugal, I paid almost double in Canada.
Note for those travelers on Low Dose Aspirin
If you are on an aspirin regimen, plan carefully. I haven’t done an exhaustive search but we haven’t seen low dose (81mg) aspirin in the shops. I’ll update you all if I do find it but for now I’m glad I packed extra, along with the desiccant packets that came in the original bottles.
Our Space saving Prescription Packing Hack
Prior to leaving the United States I repackaged all of my prescriptions into snack-sized Ziploc bags (less wasted space in my suitcase) with the bottle label attached.
In order to remove the label from the bottle; I warmed up the (empty) pill bottles in the microwave for a few seconds and carefully peeled off the labels (warming the bottles allowed the adhesive to stay on the label rather than the bottle). I then applied the labels to the snack-sized Ziploc bags. Sandra also did this but added a layer of clear packing tape to the label after sticking them on the bag.
We have visited 7 countries so far and have traveled by plane, bus, train, van and ferry. We have been through formal customs checkpoints in Panama, Portugal, England and Canada and not once has anyone asked about my medications.
We also carried the written prescriptions with us, just incase.
Oh, and it should go without saying but we always pack our prescriptions in our carry-on bag
What Medications Did We Pack?
The meds I take are all fairly common throughout the western world. Treatments for a-Fib and hypertension along with a statin.
In most cases the pharmacy abroad had what I needed in stock and when that wasn’t the case it was either a modified dosage or a 24 hour delay. If any of them had been narcotics or really ‘serious’ drugs then things probably would have gone differently so, your mileage may vary.
So there you have it. Our journey to manage Jeff’s medication while traveling full-time has been a mix of challenges and smooth sailing. From the initial hurdles of securing a six-month supply in the U.S. to the ease of getting refills abroad, we’ve navigated different healthcare systems and learned valuable lessons along the way. Planning ahead, communicating clearly with pharmacists, and being flexible with dosages have been key to ensuring Jeff’s health needs are met no matter where we are in the world. Whether it’s the straightforward process in Portugal and Spain or the more complex steps in England and Canada, each experience has taught us something new and reinforced the importance of thorough preparation. As we continue our nomadic adventure, we hope our story helps fellow travelers facing similar challenges.
Disclaimer: Hey everyone! Just a quick heads-up in case you hadn’t already figured this out: we’re sharing our personal experiences with managing Jeff’s medications while traveling full-time. We’re not doctors or medical professionals, so please don’t take this as medical advice. Always chat with your healthcare provider about your own health needs and travel plans. What worked for us might not work for everyone, so use this info as a guide and do your own research. Safe travels and stay healthy!
