First, there is the terminology. I know that you know the proper terminology, but the patients and seemingly the pharmacists don't, so we are specific with it.
A "refill" is listed on the bottle and no new Rx is needed. This is what we tell patients. If the bottle says "# Refills 0" then what you are asking for is a "Renewal" of the prescription. All renewals require an office visit. We do not honor renewal requests directly from the pharmacy. Patient must come in. And yes, sometimes there is some objection on the part of the patient about this, especially if they don't think its a serious issue (or sometimes even when they do.) We tell them, if you need a prescription for it, or if you need a doctor to tell you if/how to use it, it is a potentially serious issue and you must come in. Even for OC renewals. But remember, a certain number or refills were included in the initial Rx, so typically its been 6 months, or possibly 12 for some women taking OC.
