BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam’s Club has launched Making Sense of Your Medications, an awareness campaign to spur patient consultations with a pharmacist to review their medications.
To that end, Sam’s Club pharmacists will offer free prescription checkups to members and nonmembers in honor of American Pharmacists Month in October, the Walmart warehouse club subsidiary said Monday.
The free prescription checkup includes advice on how to take medications to optimize effectiveness — such as when and how to use them, whether they should be taken with food, what side effects may occur and more — as well as a comprehensive assessment of all prescription medications to determine possible interactions, no matter where the customer filled the prescriptions.
To participate, customers can bring all their medications, regardless of the pharmacy that filled the prescription, to one of the more than 500 Sam’s Club pharmacies during regular pharmacy hours through Oct. 31. No appointment is needed.
"At Sam’s Club, we believe that our pharmacists play an integral part of a patient’s medical team," Jill Turner-Mitchael, senior vice president of Sam’s Club Health and Wellness, said in a statement. "Free prescription checkups are a service that we provide year round, but many customers may not be aware that this service is available to them. That is why we are launching this awareness campaign during American Pharmacists Month.
"Our pharmacists know that being available for questions is important to our pharmacy customers," she added.
In addition, more than 400 Sam’s Club pharmacies are offering free health screenings on Oct. 9. The screenings, held quarterly, may include bone density tests, screenings for osteoporosis, blood pressure checks, and tests for cholesterol and glucose for people age 18 and older.
Sam’s Club also noted that with many companies offering health and drug plan benefits enrollment in October, and with the federal government’s Medicare Part D prescription drug plan enrollment period running from Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, customers can also take advantage of free help navigating the national online enrollment site offered by the attending pharmacist.
"You don’t need a membership to use our pharmacy, so we want to invite our communities in and show them all the resources available at their local Sam’s Club," stated Turner-Mitchael. "We want people to know that our pharmacists are there for them, and available to provide trusted advice on the decisions that can affect their quality of life the most."
