How to Refill a Medicine

Your child might take some medicines for weeks, months, or more. If so, the doctor tells the pharmacy to give you a new supply of medicine at a certain time, such as every month. This is called a "refill."

How to tell if a medicine has refills

To find out if your child’s medicine allows refills, look at the most recent medicine bottle. The number of refills is on the bottom left corner of the prescription label. The picture below shows you all the parts of a prescription label, including the number of refills at the bottom corner. The prescription in the picture has 3 refills left.

How to get a refill

If the label says your child's medicine has refills, call your pharmacy. The pharmacy may have an automated system that asks you to input the prescription number by pressing the keys on your phone that correspond with your prescription number. The prescription number is the Rx# listed on the label.

Or you may speak to a pharmacist. Tell them:

• Your child’s name
• The name of the medicine
• The prescription (Rx) number

Ask how and when you should pick up the medicine. If needed, you can also ask if delivery is an option.

Most pharmacies will return the medicine to stock if you do not pick it up within a certain number of days. If this happens, you might need to ask again for a refill.

If you do not have refills

If your prescription label says you do not have refills, call your child’s doctor or clinic. They can send a new prescription to the pharmacy. Let them know how many doses of medicine you have left and if you need a refill right away.

Questions?

If you have questions about refilling a prescription, talk to your child's doctor or nurse. You can also talk to your local pharmacist.