Mail Order Pharmacy vs. Local Pickup: Which Is Right for You?

Medically Reviewed by Blair Miller, RPh, PharmD, Director, Centralized Pharmacy Services

Not so long ago, if you needed a prescription filled, you took a paper prescription down to the corner drugstore. These days, you have many options for getting the medications you need, including through a mail order pharmacy.

Mail order and local pharmacies offer distinct benefits—and both can be safe methods of obtaining the medications you need. How can you know when to choose one or the other?

What Is a Mail Order Pharmacy?

A mail order pharmacy is a service that fills prescriptions and sends them through the mail, often within a few days of your provider sending the prescription order. You can even receive prescriptions that need to be refrigerated, which are usually shipped overnight.

Typically, mail order pharmacy services deliver medications through the United States Postal Service or another shipping carrier. The carriers can provide tracking numbers, allowing you to see when your prescription is expected to arrive and report any issues that may arise with the delivery.

Through the Essentia Mail Order Pharmacy service, you can have prescriptions mailed to your home in Iowa, Minnesota, or North Dakota—or to another home, like a vacation rental, in a few other states. This makes it easy to refill prescriptions when you’re traveling.

When It Makes Sense to Choose Mail Order

If you have a chronic condition and take medication regularly, a mail order pharmacy may help you save time and manage your prescriptions without extra effort. Prescriptions are refilled and delivered directly to your home. This frees you from needing to make a trip to the local pharmacy to pick them up, taking one item off your to-do list.

You may also benefit from cost savings. Some insurance providers offer lower copays when you fill your prescriptions through a mail order pharmacy. Your insurer may also allow several months’ worth of prescriptions to be filled at once.

Unlike your local drugstore, a mail order pharmacy doesn’t have a storefront, so you can’t receive your prescriptions immediately. Although overnight delivery is often available, mail order usually works best for medications that you don’t need on the same day.

When to Visit a Local Pharmacy

Needing a medication, like an antibiotic, immediately is a good reason to visit your local pharmacy.

“When you’re experiencing an acute illness or otherwise have a need to begin taking a new medication quickly, it’s best to have the prescription filled by your local pharmacy,” said Blair Miller, RPh, PharmD, Director of Centralized Pharmacy Services at Essentia Health. “We can usually fill that prescription within a few hours, and you can pick it up or have it delivered using our home delivery services. That way, you can begin taking it and feeling the benefits as soon as possible.”

A local pharmacy also works best in situations where your provider changes the dosage of a medication you’re taking, if you’re taking a medication for only a short time, or if you’re working with a provider to find the medication that will work best for you.

At a local pharmacy, you can visit in person and talk with the pharmacist to ask questions about your medications. Mail order services can also answer questions about your medications, but if you prefer face-to-face interaction, you may feel more comfortable visiting a brick-and-mortar location.

The Bottom Line

Whether you choose a local or mail order pharmacy often comes down to personal preference. If you regularly take medications to manage a chronic health condition, it may be convenient and even cost-efficient to fill your prescriptions through the mail.

When you need a prescription filled on a more immediate basis or prefer a personal touch, a local pharmacy is the better option. You can pick up the medication and talk with the pharmacy staff, or have it delivered to your home within a few hours.

At Essentia Health, we offer easy access to prescription medications through in-person and mail order services, giving you the option to choose the solution that works best for your needs. Our local pharmacies also offer home delivery to addresses within city limits.

Whether you prefer medications delivered to your home or would like to visit us in person, we can meet your needs. Learn more about Essentia Health’s pharmacy services.