Issues with Empower Pharmacy

[0331FTW]

Anyone else had trouble getting ahold of Empower pharmacy in the last few weeks. I’ve been trying to call in a rx refill and I just get put on hold no one’s picked up. They’ve been great up until now. Might have to switch pharmacies. Any recommendations in the US that ships to CA?

 

[La Bull]

Yes, same here. Been going on for several months. They definitely need more employees to answer calls. And once you do get a request they always have shipping delays….
They definitely need to improve before they loose a lot of customers….

 

[0331FTW]

Wow never used to be like that and I’ve been using them for years. They’ve been absolutely perfect up until now. Might have to make the switch

 

[Steve78]

I’m a physician and I call to place an order and I’m always on hold for 30 mins min.

 

[La Bull]

Now hiring…

 

[Nelson Vergel]

The prescription count has more than doubled overnight for the compounding pharmacies that are left open, partially due to consolidation in the compounding industry with other pharmacies shutting down, losing state licensing, or themselves not able to keep up with explosive growth of patients and prescribers of compounded medications. Additionally, there is a nationwide pharmacy technician shortage making it difficult to hire quickly, and due to State regulations they need most of the operational employees to be certified technicians.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

I contacted Empower's management and they sent me this:

"Empower Pharmacy is dedicated to expanding access to quality, affordable medication. In our work to serve others, it is important we communicate with transparency to you - our valued customer.

There are several things that have contributed to delays and longer turnaround times, including rapid increases in prescription volume and staffing shortages.

These challenges have impacted our prescription processing turnaround time, causing a 7–10 business day delay (with Semaglutide orders being longer), which we are working diligently to alleviate. Although these efforts cannot happen overnight, we aim to return to our normal turnaround time quickly, with measurable improvements each week, as well as implement long-term solutions that will ultimately improve your experience with our pharmacy and avoid these issues from recurring.

As a preventative measure to avoid further delays to your patients’ orders, we ask that all prescriptions submitted include the following:

• Patient name
• Patient demographics (address, phone, date of birth)
• Medication name, strength, vial size, quantity, and refills (if any)
• Proper directions for use
• Last office visit date and diagnosis for controlled substances for clinics with out-of-state patients
• Patient ID (driver’s license) on file to ship a controlled substance to the following states: AL, HI, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MS, OK, SD, and WI
• Prescriber's legible signature and date

To request help with viewing the status of your patients’ pending orders in LifeFile, CLICK HERE.

Utilizing LifeFile, our online portal for patient-specific prescriptions, will also increase the speed at which your patient orders are filled. If you require access or additional training, please contact your Empower representative."

 

[La Bull]

Thanks Nelson… but the first action they need is to answer the phones…

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Thanks Nelson… but the first action they need is to answer the phones…

Yes. I am a patient and the wait times are back to where they were over 5 years ago. They are trying to hire phone agents. If you know anyone who wants to work from home, let me know.

Her is the job description. I think we can work towards getting certified after being hired.

Certified Pharmacy Technician - Call Center (up to $1,000 sign on bonus) in Houston, Texas | Empower Pharmacy

 

[BigTex]

Amazing so many people say they needs jobs and great jobs like these can't be filled.

 

[NoVa Biker]

I have also had problems with getting them to answer the phone. In addition, I mailed in a prescription and they say they never got it. (Possibly a post office problem.) My doctor then sent a prescription electronically, which they did receive. However, they called me and said they could not ship to Virginia where I live because their license to ship to Virginia was been delayed in getting approved. (Possibly a State issue, although Virginia prides itself on being a low and efficient regulation State.) All very discouraging.

 

[Steve78]

at my office as well as almost every office I know, we cannot find anyone who wants to work. Offering full benefits and bonuses and no one applies…

 

[0331FTW]

I I tried calling five times and never got through to them so trying out a new pharmacy in southern CA. Really nice customer service but they are telling me there’s a shortage on testosterone now so I’m on a waiting list to get my prescription now. Hopefully no more than a few weeks.

 

[0331FTW]

I contacted Empower's management and they sent me this:

"Empower Pharmacy is dedicated to expanding access to quality, affordable medication. In our work to serve others, it is important we communicate with transparency to you - our valued customer.

There are several things that have contributed to delays and longer turnaround times, including rapid increases in prescription volume and staffing shortages.

These challenges have impacted our prescription processing turnaround time, causing a 7–10 business day delay (with Semaglutide orders being longer), which we are working diligently to alleviate. Although these efforts cannot happen overnight, we aim to return to our normal turnaround time quickly, with measurable improvements each week, as well as implement long-term solutions that will ultimately improve your experience with our pharmacy and avoid these issues from recurring.

As a preventative measure to avoid further delays to your patients’ orders, we ask that all prescriptions submitted include the following:

• Patient name
• Patient demographics (address, phone, date of birth)
• Medication name, strength, vial size, quantity, and refills (if any)
• Proper directions for use
• Last office visit date and diagnosis for controlled substances for clinics with out-of-state patients
• Patient ID (driver’s license) on file to ship a controlled substance to the following states: AL, HI, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MS, OK, SD, and WI
• Prescriber's legible signature and date

To request help with viewing the status of your patients’ pending orders in LifeFile, CLICK HERE.

Utilizing LifeFile, our online portal for patient-specific prescriptions, will also increase the speed at which your patient orders are filled. If you require access or additional training, please contact your Empower representative."

Thank you for this and thank you to everyone who replied. Input is greatly appreciated. Hopefully they can hire some more people and get back to where they were. They are really a great pharmacy.

 

[equisette]

Anyone else had trouble getting ahold of Empower pharmacy in the last few weeks. I’ve been trying to call in a rx refill and I just get put on hold no one’s picked up. They’ve been great up until now. Might have to switch pharmacies. Any recommendations in the US that ships to CA?

I have been with Dr. Saya and used Empower for years, in the beginning they were great, now I pay a small fee and used a compounding pharmacy (Phil's Pharmacy) in New Mexico and the meds were cheaper, they are awesome and I get my meds in a few days....just in case here is their number (505) 232-4222. Trish

 

[La Bull]

The on line refill process is lacking as well…

 

[equisette]

Anyone else had trouble getting ahold of Empower pharmacy in the last few weeks. I’ve been trying to call in a rx refill and I just get put on hold no one’s picked up. They’ve been great up until now. Might have to switch pharmacies. Any recommendations in the US that ships to CA?

I posted somewhere the other day, I am still with Defy, but got fed up with their pharmacies, I pay a small fee and they send my prescriptions to HAAC in New Mexico, fast and efficient and always answer their phones, cheaper for me too.....here is their number 505-232-4222

 

[Steve78]

I posted somewhere the other day, I am still with Defy, but got fed up with their pharmacies, I pay a small fee and they send my prescriptions to HAAC in New Mexico, fast and efficient and always answer their phones, cheaper for me too.....here is their number 505-232-4222

They don’t have any hcg sadly

 

[Over50Adventurer]

I get HCG from Optum Specialty Pharmacy. Defy works with them for HCG after Empower had to stop compounding it. They are amazing on the phone and have good pricing on Pregnyl. $138 for 10,000 IU and that includes shipping, syringes, and even a sharps container if you ask for one.

 

[ReGenesis1]

I contacted Empower's management and they sent me this:

"Empower Pharmacy is dedicated to expanding access to quality, affordable medication. In our work to serve others, it is important we communicate with transparency to you - our valued customer.

There are several things that have contributed to delays and longer turnaround times, including rapid increases in prescription volume and staffing shortages.

These challenges have impacted our prescription processing turnaround time, causing a 7–10 business day delay (with Semaglutide orders being longer), which we are working diligently to alleviate. Although these efforts cannot happen overnight, we aim to return to our normal turnaround time quickly, with measurable improvements each week, as well as implement long-term solutions that will ultimately improve your experience with our pharmacy and avoid these issues from recurring.

As a preventative measure to avoid further delays to your patients’ orders, we ask that all prescriptions submitted include the following:

• Patient name
• Patient demographics (address, phone, date of birth)
• Medication name, strength, vial size, quantity, and refills (if any)
• Proper directions for use
• Last office visit date and diagnosis for controlled substances for clinics with out-of-state patients
• Patient ID (driver’s license) on file to ship a controlled substance to the following states: AL, HI, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MS, OK, SD, and WI
• Prescriber's legible signature and date

To request help with viewing the status of your patients’ pending orders in LifeFile, CLICK HERE.

Utilizing LifeFile, our online portal for patient-specific prescriptions, will also increase the speed at which your patient orders are filled. If you require access or additional training, please contact your Empower representative."

The main reason for these delays is Semaglutide. The pharmacies have decided to take on all these new weight loss clinics that recently popped up to sell semaglutide. I told my contacts at Empower that they need to have two separate pathways for incoming prescriptions and ensure that HRT prescriptions are given priority. I also told them that if they take on all these new clinics just for semaglutide, it is short sighted as Novo Nordisk will certainly stop them from manufacturing and selling semaglutide as soon as they are back on track. As a result, they will lose their bread and butter HRT clinics for this short term gain with semaglutide. They have to do something. I have patients who are well over two weeks now, waiting for prescriptions. It’s hurting all of the clinics who have been with them.