10 drugstore surprises

If you visit your local drugstore only to pick up prescription medications and the occasional birthday card or bottle of nail-polish remover, you're missing some of the best reasons to stop in. Many pharmacies—chains as well as mom-and-pops—are updating their stores and what they offer. If you take advantage, your local pharmacy can help keep you healthy and save you time, money, and maybe even a trip to the doctor. Look for these 10 perks at a store near you:

You may know that you can get a flu shot at the pharmacy, but did you know that you may be able to get other vaccines too? This trend took off a couple of years ago when people became concerned about the H1N1 virus, and in response, more pharmacists began offering everyday vaccination services. Rite Aid, CVS, and other chains offer vaccinations against hepatitis B, meningitis, tetanus, and more.

If you have an ongoing condition such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure, your pharmacist may be a good partner to enlist in helping you to identify triggers and manage your condition more effectively. For instance, he or she can suggest tricks to help you or a family member remember to take medications on time. To find out how your pharmacist may be able to help, you might be able to set up an appointment to sit together, one on one, in a private consultation space away from the pharmacy counter.

Those appointments aren't necessarily free, but a growing number of health insurers, plus Medicare, will cover the cost, particularly for diabetes care or medication-therapy management for people who take several prescription drugs.

Our medical consultants suggest working with your pharmacist or doctor at least once a year—or anytime you start taking something new—and do what's called a "brown-bag review" of all the medications and supplements you take so that you can avoid any potentially dangerous interactions.

Some drugstore chains offer diagnostic tests like bone-density and skin-cancer screenings at special store events. Those tests aren't usually offered every day, because the chains often share expensive scanning machines with other health-care providers and move them to different locations on different days.

Walgreens, for example, co-sponsors a fleet of customized Wellness Tour buses that crisscross the country, offering bone-density and other health screenings at the drugstores. Look for notices of screenings in your local newspapers, posted in stores, and on drugstore websites.

Beyond shots, screenings, and pharmacist consultations, some chain pharmacies, including CVS and Walgreens, have in-store, walk-in healthcare clinics staffed by nurse practitioners or physician assistants. No appointments are necessary, so the clinics are a convenient option if you don't want to wait days to get an appointment with your doctor for ailments like strep throat, pink eye, rashes, or minor wounds. These clinics also offer wellness exams, some health-condition monitoring services, and vaccines. Rite Aid has in-store clinics in some regions staffed by clinicians from local hospitals and other health-care providers. And New York-based Duane Reade stores have doctor-staffed clinics at several locations.

Many chains offer flat-rate pricing on hundreds of commonly prescribed generic drugs. Pay just $4 for a 30-day supply of many generics at Walmart and Target; for an even better bargain, spend $10 to get a 90-day supply.

Similar programs are offered by CVS, Kmart, Kroger, Rite Aid, Sam's Club, and Walgreens. Some mom-and-pop pharmacies will match those low prices, but you have to ask. Lists of discounted drugs should be available at the pharmacy counter and the company website. Just be sure to read the fine print to make sure your particular drug and dosage is covered, and to find whether there are any additional expenses. Some chains, like CVS, charge an annual membership fee. Plus, some discounts aren't available if the drug is already covered by your insurance. But if your medication isn't on the list and you're unhappy with the cost, be sure to say something to the pharmacist. According to a Harris Interactive poll, 13 percent of Americans haggle with their pharmacists, and about half save money as a result.

Too sick to pick up the prescription your doctor phoned in? Many independent drugstores offer home delivery service. "Mail delivery is less predictable and can take a week or more," says Kevin Schweers, spokesman for the National Community Pharmacists Association, "but most independent pharmacies offer prompt home delivery, often free of charge." Some chain pharmacy locations also make deliveries.

Another perk of shopping at independent drugstores is that some allow customers to open a charge account and pay one bill at the end of the month, or on some other schedule. Not surprisingly, charge accounts have been in high demand for the past few years. They might not be publicized, so if you'd like to open one, ask at your local drugstore whether it's an option.

As you probably already know, the big chains have websites where you can order items for home delivery. But we're not talking just shampoo and razor blades. Online shoppers can even order their prescription drugs and digital photo prints, for delivery or in-store pickup. Pointing and clicking has other advantages: You can sign up for prescription refill e-mail reminders. And you may be able to consult a pharmacist without leaving home. Some independent drugstores have their own websites too.

To distinguish themselves from chains, some independent pharmacies offer complimentary personal shopping services. If you need to buy a gift, the personal shopper will pick something in your price range—say, a picture frame, bottle of perfume bottle, or serving platter—wrap it and have it ready when you visit the store, or even deliver it to your home.

Many independents offer another personalized service called compounding, which means that they can customize a medication to suit your needs. For example, if you have trouble swallowing large pills, you may be able to get your medication in liquid or lozenge form. Or the pharmacist can add a favorite flavor to your child's antibiotic to make it easier to get her to take it. Some pharmacies will make up meds for your pets too.

Years ago, the only food items that may have caught your eye at the pharmacy were the Snickers bars near the checkout or the marshmallow Peeps at Easter time. Today it's common for chains to stock bread, milk, yogurt, cereal, soup, pasta, ice cream, frozen dinners, and more, in hopes that their stores will become a go-to destination when customers need to pick up a few things in between their bigger stock-up trips to the supermarket.

Many drugstores are also stocking more fresh foods, including produce and even meat. Rite Aid, for example, has taken it a step further, turning a handful of stores in the Greenville, S.C., area into hybrid drugstore-groceries. Called Save-A-Lot Food Stores, they carry a limited selection of fresh meat, produce, frozen food, and dairy products. A Rite Aid representative says that prices in stores in the pilot program are as much as 40 percent lower than those in conventional grocery stores and that the early feedback from shoppers has been very positive.

Some pharmacy chains are getting innovative. Here are some of the most interesting cutting-edge services we found.

Gourmet food and drinks. The New York-based Duane Reade chain is pioneering many innovative, upscale advancements, including selling pre-packaged sushi and even local craft beers. In one Brooklyn store, customers who purchase 2-quart "growler" containers can choose from six local beers on tap, then take their libations home.

Beauty consultations. Some Duane Reade stores also feature a "brow bar," staffed by a trained technician who can give your eyebrows a tuneup.

Pharmacist live chats online. If you have a question or two for a Rite Aid pharmacist, you can simply go online and use the live-chat option at RiteAid.com.

Phone apps. Walgreens recently unveiled a free app for the iPhone and Android phones that allows you to order a refill by taking a photo of the bar code on your prescription bottle. The app also can determine your location, using GPS coordinates, and help you find your closest Walgreens store. It also allows you to order photo prints directly from your phone.

Big drugstore chains have rewards programs, and so do many local chains. It's worth taking a few minutes to sign up (in stores or online, at the retailer's website) because members are eligible for special savings. Here's a sampling of what you'll get at the big national chains:

CVS ExtraCare. Become a member of this program and you can earn 2 percent of your eligible purchases (on a quarterly basis) in ExtraBucks, coupons you can redeem for future purchases. For more savings, scan your card at the in-store kiosk—it will spew out customized printed coupons you can spend now or later. What's else is new? The ExtraCare Beauty Club nets you discounts on cosmetics. If you're a member, you receive 10 percent off of beauty purchases, and for every $50 you spend on eligible items, you receive $5 in ExtraBucks to spend on anything at the store.

Rite Aid's Wellness+. This is the first rewards program that allows you to earn points toward either shopping discounts or health screenings. Accumulate 500 points, for example, and you're eligible for a free blood glucose screening and total cholesterol workup.

Walgreens' Register Rewards. This program gets you coupons you can use on future shopping trips. Just be sure not to buy stuff you don't need just to get the coupons. (You know who you are!)