Below there is some Important Information regarding Key Policies and New Developments about our service.
If you have a question about any of these announcements, please feel free to
contact us.
..Staff at International Meds USA, Inc.
 Decrease in Shipping Charge to $10.00, effective May 28,
2004
Change in Personal Check Processing Fee to $5.00 Flat Charge, effective January 1, 2003
New Prescriptions Submitted After Placement of Initial Order Are Filled Separately Unless Otherwise Requested
Policy Regarding “Replacement Prescriptions” for Medications Previously Filled by Total Care Pharmacy
Refrigerated Items No Longer Available
Generic Drugs Automatically Substituted for Brand Name Drugs Unless Customer or Physician Indicates Substitution Not Allowed
90-Day Supply Automatically Shipped Unless Smaller Quantity is Specifically Requested
Delivery Time Guidelines
Decrease in Shipping Charge to $10.00, effective May 28, 2004
Effective May 28, 2004, the flat shipping charge per package is
$10.00. International Meds USA and Total Care will continue to combine orders for husbands and wives into the same shipment whenever possible.
Change in Personal Check and Money Order Processing Fee to $5.00 Flat Charge, effective January 1,
2003
Effective January 1, 2003, the “per order” processing fee for personal checks
and money orders changed to a flat charge of $5.00. Please note that this amount is still significantly less than the actual cost of processing personal checks, since all check amounts must be carefully verified, and additional customer assistance is required when checks are received for the wrong amount. [Please note that IMUSA’s policy is to process checks “as is” if they are within $5.00, either above or below, the correct amount, including the shipping charge and check processing fee. If a check is received that involves an overage greater than $5.00, a refund for the full amount of the overage is automatically
issued. If the check is more than $5.00 short, the customer is called and asked to mail a supplemental check for the difference.]
New Prescriptions Submitted After Placement of Initial Order Are Filled Separately Unless Otherwise Requested
If you are an existing customer and have a totally new prescription that you want mailed to you in the same package as your next refill, you must do the following: |
WAIT until you have approximately a 4-week supply remaining of the medications from your last refill, AND
Mail or fax your new prescription to International Meds USA along with a note stating that you are ready for your next refill to be processed AND that you want your new prescription to be included in the same shipment as your next refill. |
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If you want your new prescription filled and shipped immediately, you must include a specific note to this effect when you send your prescription to International Meds USA.
It is also important to allow sufficient time for processing and delivery. This would be when
you have a 4-week supply of medications remaining.
[Note: Sending a prescription too soon could result in it either being (a) filled immediately (and mailed separately from your next refill), OR (b) put “on hold”.
Prescriptions that are placed “on hold” will not be filled until the customer contacts IMUSA (or Total Care Pharmacy) and indicates that he or she is ready for that prescription to be shipped.]
Policy Regarding “Replacement Prescriptions” for Medications Previously Filled by Total Care Pharmacy
A “replacement prescription” is a new prescription for a medication previously filled for a customer by Total Care Pharmacy. When a “replacement prescription” is filled by Total Care, any remaining refills on the prescription that is being replaced automatically become VOID and cannot be used.
If you are an existing customer and have a “replacement prescription” that you do not want filled until all of the refills on the prescription it is replacing have been completely used, AND you want the replacement prescription mailed to you in the same package as your next refill, you must do the following: |
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WAIT until you have approximately a 4-week supply remaining of the medications on
the FINAL refill for the prescription that is being replaced, AND |
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Mail or fax your new prescription to International Meds USA along with a note stating that you are ready for your next refill to be processed AND that you want your replacement prescription to be included in the same shipment as the next refill for your other prescriptions.
On the other hand, if you want your replacement prescription filled and shipped immediately, you should include a specific note to this effect when you send your prescription to International Meds USA. Please note that, in this case, your replacement prescription will be shipped separately and a separate shipping charge will be billed to you.
If you send a replacement prescription to International Meds USA too soon, it will either be (a) filled immediately (and mailed separately from your next refill), or (b) put “on hold”.
Prescriptions that are placed “on hold” will not be filled until the customer contacts IMUSA (or Total Care Pharmacy) and indicates that he or she is ready for that prescription to be shipped.
Refrigerated Items No Longer Available
Total Care Pharmacy has determined that, even with the use of cool packs, it cannot be assured that the suggested maximum temperature will not be exceeded during the shipping of prescription drugs that the manufacturer recommends be refrigerated during storage. Total Care has therefore stopped filling orders for all drugs for which refrigeration is recommended. A contributing reason for this decision is that International Meds USA and Total Care have no control over the amount of time that may be required for a particular order to reach its destination after it leaves the pharmacy. Generally, the shipping time required is 5 to 7 days, but delays in shipping sometimes occur because of security measures on the part of U.S. Customs (which have nothing to do with the nature of the package’s contents). Additionally, as a result of the shipping requirements for prescription drugs imposed by U.S. Customs, “express mail” shipping of medications is not possible.
If a new formulation for one of these drugs becomes available which does not require refrigeration (e.g., as is currently anticipated for Xalatan eye drops), International Meds USA will post an announcement on its website. You can also periodically check on availability with our Call Center using our toll-free telephone number (1-877-933-0505).
Generic Drugs Automatically Substituted for Brand Name Drugs Unless Customer or Physician Indicates Substitution Not Allowed
Whenever U.S.-approved generic versions of brand name drugs are available, the general policy of Total Care Pharmacy is to automatically substitute the generic version in order to maximize the customer’s savings. However, either the U.S. physician or the customer can specify on a drug-by-drug basis that no substitution is allowed. Accordingly, if you do not want generic substitution, it is important to include a note to this effect with any prescription that you fax or mail to us. You can also indicate this preference when submitting an order online.
90-Day Supply Automatically Shipped Unless Smaller Quantity is Specifically Requested
Total Care Pharmacy will automatically fill and ship a 90-day supply for each prescription drug ordered (so long as the number of refills authorized is sufficient), unless the customer specifies otherwise. [Example: Even if a prescription is written for a quantity of 30 tabs, Total Care will fill the prescription for either 90 or 100 tabs, depending on the package size, if the prescription authorizes enough refills to cover a 90-day supply.] Total Care Pharmacy follows this policy because it: (1) maximizes savings and minimizes shipping charges, and (2) agrees with the intent and the objective of most of our customers.
However, we understand that there may be valid reasons why someone does not want to order a 90-supply. In such cases, it is important that you include a note to this effect with any prescription that you fax or mail to us. You can also indicate this preference when submitting an order online.
Delivery Time Guidelines
Initial orders for new prescriptions are generally delivered approximately 21 days after a complete order has been received by the pharmacy. Refills are generally delivered in approximately 14 days. However, if new prescriptions are added to a refill, additional time is required for the Canadian doctor to review them. Additionally, the use of a personal check may add several days to the order processing time. It is also important to note that delays in shipping sometimes occur because of security measures on the part of U.S. Customs (which have nothing to do with the nature of the package’s contents). International Meds USA and Total Care Pharmacy have no control over the amount of time that may be required for a particular order to reach its destination after it leaves the pharmacy. Generally, the shipping time required is 5 to 7 days. Nevertheless, International Meds USA and Total Care are working together to do everything reasonably possible to otherwise minimize the time required to process orders, and to do so on a consistent basis.
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