Pharmacies

I use Wellspring on Piedmont Avenue.  Their hours are shorter than the big chains, but they’ve been communicative and haven’t made mistakes.   They deliver.

Check out Alto. Mail delivery pharmacy, works with your insurance. Good customer, personalized service. Great at helping when a prior authorization is needed too. Just ask your provider to switch over your meds to Alto. 

Alto is fabulous! We switched from CVS and never looked back.

I have been satisfied with the service at CVS at 2000 Mountain Blvd. Oakland (Montclair district) for a long time.  When my prescription(s) is ready to pick up they send me a text. 

Pharmaca on College Ave in Rockridge is amazing. They don’t have extended hours like CVS or Walgreens, but they are so so much better. Whenever there is an issue with my prescription, they proactively call my doctor and/or me to try to resolve it. Walgreens and CVS are a nightmare. They don’t tell me when there are problems or that they don’t have a medication in stock until I arrive to pick it up. I’ve had them tell me something needs to be ordered and will arrive in 3 days, only to show up 3 days later and be told that no one ordered the meds. This never happens with Pharmaca. 

High marks for cvs on Solano Ave in albany.  They text when order is ready and you can get free delivery in two days.  Great for reg meds.  I have also found them very helpful and accommodating over the years.  

Agree about Pharmaca on College (next to Trader Joes Rockridge).  They answer the phone, rarely a line, and delivery available.  Also efficient for vaccines. 

I also switched from Walgreens to the Pharmaca on College. They have real people who are courteous. A world of difference!

I really like Pharmaca in Rockridge. I shop at TJ’s next door so it been convenient for me. My family has 3 prescriptions/month. They answer the phone and are earnest about answering questions. Also, they will deliver for a fee which a few times has been a lifesaver when I’ve been very ill. 
safeway, cvs, Target, Costco are all too big and  impersonal. I’m older and old school so I prefer to get to know my pharmacists. 
hours are more limited, no drive-thru.

If you use these medication on an ongoing basis, check to see if your insurance has a mail-order option.  I know ours offers a three-month supply by mail for any ongoing meds (and our copay for the three months is just two months of copay, another benefit). 

Pharmaca next to Trader Joe's on College Ave!  I used Chime Pharmacy before they closed (when the new giant Safeway moved in) and I love it.  I won't go to a large chain anymore.  Pharmaca is a small chain (Solano Ave is the other local one, rest in Colorado? Not sure...)  with very competent pharmacists -- many have been working there for years.  Text message updates etc.  Great service.  

Have you considered Amazon pharmacy? No having to make trips to the pharmacy or waiting. Delivered to your door. Good pricing:

https://amzn.to/3w1y44C
 

in an emergency you can always go to a local place as well.

I see other people recommended Alto (courier delivery) pharmacy. I just want to chime in and say they are FANTASTIC.  I discovered Alto while briefly taking a specialty drug that regular pharmacies don't carry, but I now use them for all prescriptions. It's easy to switch over and easy to get new prescriptions sent there once you have their info. The only thing you can't easily do is give them a physical piece of paper. That would require going to their San Francisco location to drop it off (I asked). This happened to me only one time -- stubborn ER insisted on paper. But for literally every other prescription in three years I've had no problems doing everything through Alto. And it doesn't cost anything more than you'd pay at Walgreens, etc. You can get things the same day, too. 

I feel your pain. The Pharmaca in Rockridge is incredible. The staff is so kind, helpful, and efficient. We recently moved to North Berkeley and transferred to the Solano Ave one, and it’s not nearly as good (the Oakland peeps warned me….). I miss the Rockridge one so much. I just transferred everything over to Alto Pharmacy which provides free same day or next day delivery via an app and that has simplified my life greatly. For me, there was no difference in cost with Alto but it depends on your insurance. 

Alto Pharmacy delivers to your doorstep. They often do same day delivery and are great with recurring prescriptions. 

I've recently switched to the Safeway Pharmacy on Broadway and it is worlds more convenient and pleasant than the Walgreens on 51st, plus you can double up on other errands.

Another happy Alto customer.  Their app is great and I often get same day delivery.

I recommend Alto as well. They deliver from their San Francisco location. I am a physician and they are very responsive, keep in touch with the office and deliver meds quickly. They are great at figuring out insurance issues and prior auths- especially for new medications. I have used CVS on Mountain and had many issues such as being overcharged and taking hours (literally) of my time to resolve. The pharmacists there can be helpful - but it really depends on who is on. 

I evangelize about the CVS inside the Emeryville Target. I didn’t know it was possible to adore a pharmacy. They’re just always so CLEAR and KEEP RECORDS and are friendly and communicative.

BPN readers have posted excellent suggestions, but here's my take.

In 2021 I went from one regular prescription to five.  With just one, the cost of enrolling in Medicare Part D was not justified by the cost of the one drug.

With five drugs, however, it is complicated by a factor of ten-to-the-fifth.  There is always some screw-up.  (I will spare you the details.)

Another factor is that the doctors are experimenting with which drugs work best, so it does not make sense to engage with an insurance carrier that may or may not have various drugs on their formulary.

For this reason, I am continuing to go to the CVS that is five minutes from where we live, in the Redwood Heights district. There I have discovered that they actually give me a discount for not having insurance. I am well-rooted in their database as a non-insured person.  When I had to get a novel drug that is still under patent, very expensive, and not covered by insurance, the clerks tried three different "manufacturer coupon" billing strategies to get me the lowest price.

Two weeks ago I switched doctors, and there was a major screw-up with my eyedrops.  The pharmacy said that it was not in stock.  Presumably it was caught in a supply chain snafu on the slow boat from India.  So I asked the pharmacy to send the scrip to Rite-Aide in Montclair.  This pharmacy could get it, but they proposed to charge me 2x what CVS charges.

The saga continues, but the moral of my story is that dealing with the pharmacy is always a headache, so I chose the one that is easy to get to, so that when i must go back repeatedly to thrash with them, it is only five minutes away.

I like Costco - the staff is happy, friendly, and unchanging.  And the wait's never long.

Hi,

I originally responded to this post with a recommendation for Pharmaca, that I now want to retract. I’ve now had two experiences with them where they’ve known they didn’t have the medication but waited for me to drive from Lafayette to Oakland only to tell me they’re having supply chain issues and that I should call another pharmacy to get my meds. In other words, they’re no better than CVS or Walgreens anymore. But their hours are worse.