Advanced Rx: A Pharmacy You Can Trust

By Matt Sage, Pharmacist in Charge 

Do you feel lost in a sea of customers when you’re trying to get quality service at a big chain pharmacy? 

I hope you’ll consider visiting us at Advanced Rx Pharmacy instead. We offer a level of personal care that keeps our customers happy they made the switch.

There’s a lot to be proud of at Advanced Rx, but I’ve picked a couple of customer favorites to highlight for you.

Before we dive in, you should know this: You don’t have to be an Advanced Pain Care patient to visit our pharmacy.

Next time you’re running errands, stop by our pharmacy to see what makes us special.

We Watch Your Bottom Line

Almost all of the pharmacy products we offer are from the direct input of our APC practitioners. They know what works for their patients. 

It might surprise you that we frequently talk with APC doctors to find the most cost-effective option for you, too.

For example, Belbuca is prescribed frequently for pain. It can cost up to one-thousand dollars for a month’s supply. 

We can compound a troche version (i.e., lozenge) that has the same active ingredient, just a little bit different dosing, and — depending on how much you get — the cost usually falls to $30 to $60 a month. We can offer significant cost savings to you, depending on the medication.

Our goal is to keep all of our products — whether it’s a compound or regular medication — cost competitive, because at the end of the day we are here as a service to you. That means making sure that you have a great experience, and a big part of that is financial. 

So we keep it as inexpensive as possible, which is not necessarily something you’re going to find at other pharmacies.

Related: How to Find the Right Pain Management Doctor

Integrated Care as an APC Patient

If you’re an APC patient, we collaborate with your pain doctors throughout your entire pain treatment journey.

That’s a level of integrated, quality care that Walgreens or CVS can’t provide.

We have a dedicated APC staff member who handles prior authorizations, maneuvering on the insurance side to get your medications paid through insurance. 

If you’re having issues with your medications, I just pick up the phone and call your doctor directly. That direct line of communication with the APC practitioners enables us to provide you an unparalleled quality of service — in the pharmacy and the clinic.

I participate in all of the provider meetings so that I can hear exactly what new treatment modalities they’re considering. From these meetings, I’ve been able to understand the rationale behind different approaches to treatment and figure out where the pharmacy can play a role

We play an active part in figuring out what treatment looks like for APC patients.

All-Around Convenience

Customer service is the number one reason why someone should switch to Advanced Rx. Our approach to customer service covers a lot of territory.

As I’ve discussed, from a pricing perspective, we help you to get the best price possible. 

From a convenience perspective, we make sure to keep a healthy supply of medications in stock so you’re never waiting long for what you need. 

Another aspect of convenience is making sure it’s easy for you to get your meds.

We offer curbside pickup and delivery services so you don’t have to worry about coming into the pharmacy. This is especially important in light of COVID-19.

After you pay for your medications over the phone, you decide between pickup or delivery.

We have dedicated parking spots for curbside pickup. You just sit in your car and we bring your order out to you.

We also offer next day delivery anywhere in the Austin area, delivered right to your door. 

Convenience also means we jump the logistical hoops on your behalf for insurance authorizations and workman’s compensation claims, as well as handle prior authorizations. 

We also specialize in handling workman’s compensation patients and handling the billing associated with that too.

Some of that can be pretty difficult for patients to manage on their own — there can be long waits at a regular retail pharmacy. 

We’re able to work directly with APC to expedite the billing so that workman’s compensation patients wait the minimum amount of time to get their medications. Most of the time we can get something for them within 24 hours.

Understanding CBD for Pain Treatment

Treating chronic pain is our focus — and our customers fit along the entire pain spectrum — which means we provide options that fit a variety of preferences.

Cannabidiol — more commonly referred to as CBD — is a popular pain treatment option, but you might have a lot of unanswered questions about it. 

CBD is derived from the hemp plant. While CBD is one of the hundreds of components found in marijuana, when taken by itself it does not cause a “high.”

Uncertain whether CBD is a good solution for you? We’ll talk to you about your existing problems and pain medications to see if you’re a good fit.

Make no mistake: you’re not a guinea pig. When it comes to your pain care, we pride ourselves on talking you through your options first. If you’ve got a lot of questions, we are ready to answer all of them.

Compounding: Your Custom-Made Medication

Pharmaceutical compounding creates custom strengths or dosage forms of medications that aren’t commercially available.

Here’s an example: One of the most frequently requested compounds we make is a product called Low Dose Naltrexone. Naltrexone is sold commercially in a 50-milligram dose. 

That commercially available high dose is used for things like alcohol withdrawal and opioid dependence.

But we can create an ultra low dose version — 1.5 to 4.5 milligrams — for things like autoimmune disorders, inflammation issues, and weight loss.

If you hate the taste of a medication — there’s a sublingual tablet that tastes pretty terrible, and it’s prescribed frequently — we can compound it into something more like a lozenge, and flavor it to be more palatable. 

We have pharmacists on staff who have focused their career training specifically on pharmaceutical compounding, which means our customers get a robust, reliable compounding service at our pharmacy.

Perks of the Advanced Rx App

Existing APC patients can download our mobile app and use their prescription number and date of birth to sign in. 

The app is a great way for you to:

• Request refills
• See if your prescription is ready for pickup
• Manage multiple family members prescriptions in one spot
• Update your insurance information
• Have a secure, two-way chat with a pharmacist if you have questions. Yes, it’s a real person!

That last feature is probably one of the best perks of the app. 

When you send us a text message via the app, it pops up as a priority message for us to respond to. And you get an immediate response from the pharmacy team. 

And at the end of the day, that’s the key to our service — a personal connection with someone who cares, which is a rare and precious thing.

Related: The Advanced Rx Pharmacy and App