It has been reported that Walgreen & Co. and Express Scripts, Inc. failed to reach an agreement relative to the processing of prescriptions at Walgreen pharmacies and the terms for reimbursement. The current contract will expire on December 31, 2011. Given the substantial number of Louisiana residents enrolled in prescription benefit plans managed by Express Scripts, it is reasonable to expect a large number of prescription transfer requests at other Louisiana pharmacies by patients transferring their prescriptions from a Walgreens pharmacy to a different pharmacy. Given the usual telephone communication procedure for such prescription transfers, it is reasonable to anticipate long wait times or other unusual delays during the conversion process.
As a service to its own and other pharmacies, Walgreen & Co. has developed TransferSafe, a website that allows competitor pharmacists to electronically retrieve a patient's prescription information, document the destination pharmacy information on the transferred prescription record in the Walgreen database, and then print a copy of the prescription information for their own record system. Due to federal limitations regarding prescription transfers, prescriptions for controlled substances cannot be transferred through TransferSafe.
In an effort to prevent or mitigate any delays related to this unusual event that could adversely affect medication therapies of Louisiana residents, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy has authorized Walgreen & Co. to utilize TransferSafe for the transfer of prescription information to other pharmacies for a limited period of time that shall terminate no later than March 31, 2012. Pharmacies may obtain the TransferSafe website address by contacting a Walgreens pharmacy.