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If you live in Ohio and have prescriptions you have filled regularly, you need to pay attention to this new rule.  If you regularly get gift cards for transferring your prescriptions then you will want to pay attention too.Starting today, Ohio residents will be limited to ONE prescription transfer per medicine, per year.  That's right--you will only be allowed to transfer your prescription to a new pharmacy once per year.  This includes those who travel out of state and transfer them there, then back into Ohio when they return.  You may however, transfer it between different locations of the same chain, provided they are using the same pharmacy database.The Ohio Board of Pharmacy changed this rule after complaints from pharmacists that they were spending too much time transferring prescriptions due to the gift card offers at the big chains.  (CVS, Walgreens, Kmart, etc)  They also said it created a drug interaction risk for patients who had multiple prescriptions at different pharmacies.I can see that being true--and I can definitely see it being a huge pain in the neck for the pharmacists.  However, this little trick has made prescriptions a lot more affordable for a lot of hurting families. I know in our household we have six different medicines that need to be refilled each and every month. Even with excellent insurance and copays, that adds up very quickly!  I only transferred them once every 4-6 months, so this wouldn't impact me too much.  But those bonus gift cards really do help--especially when we hit those unexpected illnesses and the prescriptions that go with them!  This also can be a real hassle for those who travel frequently--for instance, those who live in Florida part of the year.  If they transfer their prescriptions down to Florida, will they be allowed to transfer them back to Ohio for the rest of the year?  I think this really limits patient choice, as well as limiting competition.Make sure to discuss this with your pharmacist and your doctor, to see how the rule will affect you.  If you live in Kentucky or Indiana, this does not affect you or your pharmacy rules.

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