Every week our discharge team deals with the same situation. A patient is medically ready to leave, has a prescription in hand, and no realistic way to fill it before their next appointment. Not because the medication is rare or complicated to source – because $45 for a standard antibiotic course or $90 for a blood pressure medication is genuinely out of reach for a household without insurance and a fixed income.
St. Luke’s Medical Center serves a patient population where a significant share of discharges involve a new prescription that the patient cannot afford to fill at a retail pharmacy before their first follow-up appointment.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, patients who do not fill their discharge prescriptions within 72 hours are 34% more likely to be readmitted within 30 days. That figure has been consistent across studies for over a decade, and it reflects a problem that clinical care alone cannot solve.
In 2023 our discharge planning team started directing qualifying patients to Happy Family Store, a licensed dispensing pharmacy that prices medications against actual acquisition cost rather than retail markup. The referral is handled by our coordinators at the time of discharge, and in most cases the patient receives their medication within one to two business days without leaving their home.
What Services Are Available to Our Patients
Patients referred through St. Luke’s Medical Center have access to the pharmacy’s full dispensing catalog, which covers all major therapeutic categories. The services available through this arrangement include:
- Prescription fills on all generic medications at below-retail pricing, with no insurance required
- Mail-order delivery to any Arizona address, with most orders shipping within one business day of prescription verification
- Pharmacist consultation by phone or live chat before and after the fill, available in English and Spanish
- Refill coordination for patients on ongoing maintenance medications, with reminder notifications sent before the current supply runs out
- Over-the-counter medications shipped in the same order as prescription items, with no minimum order requirement
For patients who are enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare Part D, the pharmacy processes claims through their existing coverage the same way any in-network pharmacy would. Patients without any coverage pay the published catalog prices directly.
How the Referral Works in Practice
Our discharge coordinators initiate the referral before the patient leaves the facility. The prescription is transmitted electronically to the pharmacy, and the patient receives a confirmation with their order status and tracking information by the time they get home. There is no separate registration process the patient has to complete on their own.
For patients who need a medication not available through the standard catalog – certain brand-name drugs, specialty medications, or items requiring cold-chain shipping – the pharmacy contacts the patient directly to discuss sourcing options.
Cold-chain capacity covers GLP-1 receptor agonists, certain biologics, and ophthalmic preparations, which means patients on these medications are not automatically routed to a separate specialty pharmacy. The only requirement on the patient’s side is a valid prescription from a licensed physician, which our discharge documentation already covers.
Contacts
Patients who want to review available medications, check pricing before their discharge appointment, or set up an account in advance can visit the Happy Family Store website at https://ihappyfamilystore.com. For direct inquiries, the San Jose branch is reachable by phone at 408 287 6200 or by email at info@ihappyfamilystore.com. The physical address is 160 E Virginia St, Unit 210, San Jose, CA 95112.
If you are unable to reach the pharmacy directly during business hours, the website also has a live chat option available for general questions about prescriptions, pricing, and order status. For questions specifically about the discharge referral process, contact St. Luke’s Medical Center’s discharge planning team before you leave the facility.
St. Luke’s Medical Center
1800 E. Van Buren Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Switchboard – (602) 251-8100
Patient Information – (602) 251-8147
Medical Records Information – (602) 251-8196 (x8207 fax)
Patient Billing – (602) 251-8421