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Dispensing Fees - which pharmacy has the lowest?
Dispensing Fees - which pharmacy has the lowest?

dispensing fees, lowest, pharmacy, ODB

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Written by Erika Gemmill
Updated over a week ago

Along with the rising cost of prescription drugs, comes the rising cost of prescription fees.               

As per the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Pharmacists receive a  dispensing fee for filling your prescription(s). This fee covers services such as:

  • Consulting with you about your treatment 

  • Maintaining and checking your medication records

  • Providing drug information to your doctors 

  • Dispensing your drug products

  • Stocking medication 

  • General operating costs such as employees' salaries, rent, and so on

There  are two types of dispensing fees in Ontario:

  • the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) dispensing fee, and; 

  • the "usual and customary" dispensing fee for  prescriptions not claimed under ODB. Example: you pay for a prescription yourself and do not claim it under ODB."

Pharmacists are businesses that want to make a profit, just like any other business, and one of the ways to do that is to charge a dispensing fee.
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Dispensing fees vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, so check around.  If you claim under ODB then the pharmacist are regulated to a set charge.

Currently Costco and Walmart have the best dispensing fees, just under $4.00 per prescription. You don't have to be a member of Costco to utilize their pharmacy.

Compare the $4.00 to Shopper's Drug Mart charge of approximately $12.00 per prescription, and you can see the savings.

If you don't want to leave your current pharmacy, have a conversation with them asking to reduce the dispensing fee..

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