Pharmacy Prescriptions: Pill Bottles v Blister Packs

[Rybee]

Kid from London here with a question that I've always wondered...

This has always made me curious... In the UK whenever we get a prescription dispensed, we're given the packaging that it comes in, and the blister pack that the pills are in.

Such as this:

But in America, you seem to get your prescriptions in plastic bottles, such as this:

As if the pharmacist has opened the packet, popped all of the pills out of their blister packs, and then put them in a generic bottle and put a sticker with your name/details on it... instead of just giving you the box?

And this led me to wonder how you know what you're buying?

If I were to go and buy some Valium from someone on the street or whatever in the UK, I'd know they're legit because they'd come in blister packs with the correct packaging. *obviously this can be faked but it heavily cuts out the probability....

But in America, I could buy a bottle of valium *looking* pills in a generic orange bottle with a cap on it, that could be anything?



Is this always the case? Why do your pharmacists do this? Or am I missing something?

 

[Kittycat5]

Price is a big issue. It is often more economical to purchase large stock bottles than unit dose. Also, given the litigous nature of America, a safety cap on a vial is a safeguard.

 

[Rybee]

Price is a big issue. It is often more economical to purchase large stock bottles than unit dose. Also, given the litigous nature of America, a safety cap on a vial is a safeguard.

Aaah okay. In that case, I wonder why our pharmacists don't bulk buy to save the NHS money?

Didn't realise they had a safety cap, just thought it was a pop on/off kinda thing. That makes sense I guess.

 

[Kittycat5]

Perhaps the NHS levels the field for acquisition cost but I can only speculate on that.

 

[BlueIV]

I've never really thought of it, I take daily pills that are both. Maybe because it's Canada, and just like our spelling we go half with the UK and half with the US Name-brand tend to be in blisterpacks a bit more often, although I have generic that are in blister packs. I'm not sure if I've ever had prescription brand-name pills in a bottle.

 

[crzydiamond]

And when people buy on the street, websites such as pill ID on drugs.com enable you to easily look up on your phone anything that looks sketchy. But normally if you are buying pills you know what they look like. For instance I used to buy roxy generic 15s and 30s and I knew what the different generics looked like.

Lol I used to have a neighbor who didnt speak English very well come over with her pill bottles and ask "what's this"? And "do people like those"? ( she got roxy 15s and would sometimes sell them and couldn't understand why she could get a good bit of cash for those pills but not for any of her other prescriptions. Every time she got a new one she would come over looking all hopeful with the bottle...)

Usually, they were stuff like antidepressants. Sometimes Xanax. The even funnier part was she would think she should be able to sell any pill for whatever the number on it (the milligram) said!! I tried to explain common pricing but, well, that's when she would suddenly not speak English well...

 

[¡Rah!McD]

Hi there,

I apologise I'm very new here and really confused as to where I should ask my question. I'm living in Peru (an Aussie) and I'm keen to get my hand on some OTC codine. I've shopped around and no one is giving it up without a script but I've heard talk countless times about people being able to get it (online only). I'd need the pill kind to do a CWS. Again I am sorry as I don't think this is the correct place to be putting this request but I'd love some help!
Cheers

 

[¡Rah!McD]

Also happy to provide any advice/info to people traveling here about how 'other' things work.

 

[Felonious Monk]

Perhaps the NHS levels the field for acquisition cost but I can only speculate on that.

I think this is fairly accurate. NHS buys so much, and seems to prefer blisters, knowing they'll be dispensed directly to people without any concern over cost.

In the US pharmacies get whatever comes from the manufacturer, and have to make their cut on that. So sometimes pills comes in bottles of 60 for less common medications (when I used to get Marinol I'd get the full unopened bottle of 60x5mg capsules every month, direct from Watson---same when I was on Welbutrin XL, I'd get the unopened 30 count bottle from Watson). Most pills come in larger count bottles though, often 500 or 1000, which makes it easy for the pharmacy to simply dump some out into your bottle and put instructions on it.

 

[BlueIV]

I had an odd packaging system from a pharmacy recently. The shoved the blister packs into a large bottle. I guess because I needed 27 pills, which is an odd number? One of the blister packs was cut, as I only needed a portion of it.

 

[Kittycat5]

I had an odd packaging system from a pharmacy recently. The shoved the blister packs into a large bottle. I guess because I needed 27 pills, which is an odd number? One of the blister packs was cut, as I only needed a portion of it.

This happens quite a bit. I actually think it looks more elegant than throwing them in a baggie.

 

[Felonious Monk]

This happens quite a bit. I actually think it looks more elegant than throwing them in a baggie.

I've actually had CVS here in the US do that for me a couple times. I used to get a Niravam script (mouth dissolving Xanax), and they had to stay in the blister because they'd disintegrate otherwise, and the blisters were a really weird size. So the first few times CVS put it in a large bottle, but then they just started putting the blisters in a plastic sandwich bag.