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VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network

 

Your VA Drug Coverage

VA Drug Policy

The policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs is to provide complete medical care for all veteran patients. Patients may only be prescribed drugs for conditions or problems that are treated and followed by a VA doctor. Medications may have side effects or may interact with other medicines you are taking. For these reasons, the VA doctors need to know all of the drugs (prescription and over-the-counter) that you are taking.

Many medications also require close monitoring. For your safety, it is important to keep all appointments for doctor visits and lab work.

Veteran Responsibilities

  • Inform your outside doctors of care being provided at the VA.
  • Provide your VA doctor with the name and address of all outside doctors that you are seeing.
  • Obtain all necessary records and documentation from outside doctors.

  • Inform your VA doctors of all medications and supplements you take.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q:   Can the VA doctor just rewrite my prescriptions from my private doctor?

A:    No. It is not legal or safe for a doctor to rewrite a prescription without review of your records and examining you for the problem.  The doctor who writes a prescription is responsible for the drug, its side effects, and the medical problem being treated.

Q:   What if I am admitted to an outside hospital and my medications are changed?

A:    VA doctors cannot safely prescribe the new medications for you until they have seen the medical reports.  You must get a copy of these reports from the outside hospital when you are discharged and consult with your VA doctor.

Q:    Will the VA have all my medications?

A:    The VA has a complete drug formulary for all your medication needs.  VA doctors may replace some of your drugs with medications that work the same way and are on the VA National Formulary.

For Additional Information:

VA North Texas Health Care System - Dallas, Texas
Dallas: 1-800-849-3597
Ft.Worth: 1-800-443-9672
Bonham: 1-800-924-8387

Central Texas Veterans Health Care System - Temple, Texas
1-800-423-2111
Option #4

South Texas Veterans Health Care System - San Antonio, Texas
1-800-209-7377
 
VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System - Harlingen, Texas
1-877-752-0650

Numbers are Toll Free in Texas only.

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