All Southern California Kaiser Outpatient Pharmacies May Close Temporarily Starting May 19th -
Friday, May 16, 2014
Source: Kaiser Permanente
To view this message on the Kaiser website, click here.
The Guild for Professional Pharmacists is planning to conduct a work stoppage starting at 7 a.m. on Monday, May 19. Most other inpatient and outpatient services will continue as normal, and your clients’ employees are encouraged to keep their doctor’s appointments, get their lab tests, and have other scheduled procedures performed.
Plans are in place to ensure your clients’ employees can continue to receive the medications they need. Here’s what you need to know if the work stoppage occurs:
Ongoing and inpatient prescriptions not affected
- Inpatient pharmacies won’t be affected — hospitalized patients will continue to receive their medications.
- Members who submitted refills prior to the work stoppage are being notified and encouraged to pick up their prescriptions at a Kaiser Permanente outpatient pharmacy prior to the work stoppage.
How members can get new prescriptions and refills
- Your clients’ employees can fill new prescriptions and urgent refills at CVS Caremark, Ralphs, Rite Aid, Target, Vons, Walgreens, and Walmart during the work stoppage. Members who receive new prescriptions or who come to one of our outpatient pharmacies will be notified by a Kaiser Permanente employee of the nearest local pharmacies.
- Members who urgently need a new prescription can contact their doctor to receive a written prescription they can take to one of the pharmacies listed above. Members who fill their prescriptions at these pharmacies will have the same copay or coinsurance they would have at a Kaiser Permanente pharmacy.
- Members can still refill prescriptions online at kp.org/rxrefill and have them sent to their homes at no extra charge.
We consider our pharmacists valued members of the Kaiser Permanente health care team. Negotiations will continue so that we can reach a fair and equitable contract.