How to transfer your international prescription to a Florida pharmacy

If you've just arrived in Florida — or your mom is visiting with this month's medications — you probably have your home-country prescription in hand and the same question on your mind: will they accept it here?

Short answer: yes, in most cases. But there's a process, and it helps to know it before you walk into any pharmacy. Here's what you need and how we handle it at Pharm-Aid.

What to bring

Before you leave home, make sure you have:

• The original prescription (not just a photo on your phone, if possible). We accept prescriptions from Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and many other countries.
• A photo ID — passport, driver's license, or consular ID.
• Your US insurance card, if you have one. If you don't, we can also fill your medication in cash at very competitive prices.
• The original medication (the box or bottle) if you still have it. This helps us confirm the dose and active ingredient when brand names differ from what's sold here.

Pharm-Aid tip: if your prescription is in another language (Portuguese, French, Italian), bring it anyway. Our team is bilingual and we work with non-English, non-Spanish prescriptions regularly.

The process, step by step

1. Prescription verification

The first thing we do is verify that the prescription is valid. We confirm that the doctor who wrote it is registered in your home country and that the medication is one that can legally be filled in Florida.

For most everyday medications — blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid — this step takes minutes. For controlled substances (anxiolytics, opioids, certain stimulants) we cannot transfer directly from an international prescription; in those cases we'll connect you with a local doctor to evaluate and write a new prescription.

2. Medication equivalence

Brand names change country to country. The losartan you take in Colombia may be called Cozaar here; the Adalat you know in Mexico is nifedipine at most US pharmacies. Our pharmacist reviews the active ingredient and dose to make sure you get exactly the same medication, even if the box looks different.

If the presentation doesn't exist the same way in the US (for example, a combination of two medications in one pill), we'll explain your options before filling anything.

3. Insurance coverage

If you have US insurance, we verify coverage while you wait. We work with all major insurance plans — Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, Cigna, Tricare, and many more.

If your insurance doesn't cover the medication, we show you what it would cost in cash and, where one exists, suggest a generic alternative that is covered. We never fill a medication without you knowing exactly what you'll pay.

4. Delivery or pickup

Once the medication is approved, you pick it up at the store or we deliver to your home free if you live within 5 miles of any of our three locations — Pembroke Pines, Doral, or Kissimmee.

Questions we hear often

Can you fill prescriptions from my doctor in Cuba / Venezuela / Argentina? Yes. We fill prescriptions from practically any country, as long as the medication is FDA-approved and not a controlled substance.

Do I need to come in person the first time? Yes, the first visit is in person — we need to see the original prescription and your ID. After that, refills can be ordered by phone or WhatsApp.

How long does the whole process take? Most verifications are done the same day. For more complex cases (for example, a medication that needs an alternative or adjustment), we may take 24–48 hours. We'll tell you before you leave how long your case will take.

Why do this at Pharm-Aid?

We're a family-run Latin community pharmacy. We handle international prescriptions every day because our customers are our neighbors — and many came to Florida the same way you did, with a prescription from their longtime doctor in their wallet. We're not going to tell you to "come back with a US prescription" and send you home. We'll help you sort it out at the counter.

If you want to talk it through before coming in, call us — your call is answered by a bilingual person who works in the pharmacy. No menu, no call center.

Here You Matter!