Stockmen's Drug

03/20/2026

Are you 65 or older and worried about getting diabetes? Join our STEPS to Prevent Diabetes Program! Get 1 year of support FREE!

03/18/2026

Are you between the ages of 18-45? Stop in and get your HPV vaccine! We have partnered with the American Pharmacist's Association to prove that pharmacies can, AND DO, provide more services than just filling bottles. Help us show legislature and insurance companies that Stockmen's Drug's mission to close gaps in access to healthcare is achievable! Can't get to us, we can come to you!

03/17/2026

It’s the day of being Green and Shenanigans. Well maybe not as much in the way of shenanigans depending on where you are.
I don’t know about the rest of town, but personally I still am not a fan of March in Nebraska. So far, every year since I’ve moved here (going on six years now) something has gone weird in March, not necessarily wrong (though I personally have had wrong as well), just weird. On my first March (the month I moved up here) we had that fun blizzard shift directions and hiding the road we were driving on to get here, and it has just gone on from there. It’s no different in the Pharmacy though.

Weird 1: Mike and Helen got their first actual vacation since she took over the business a little over three years ago (actual vacation, not a working vacation of weddings and funerals). I don’t think I have actually seen Mike take a day off willingly since I started until now.

Weird 2: Daylight savings – I moved here from Arizona where we don’t do this thing, so when working with other states I had to adjust my call hours to match them more but here they all change with me. I don’t think I will get used to this any time soon.

Weird 3: Mother Nature can’t make up her mind to either dump more snow (with wind enough to make for unsafe driving conditions) or give us planting weather. We are supposed to see 80 degrees this weekend, followed by more than 50-60 degree weather. I’m getting climate whiplash here.

Okay, on to the tips side of this post.

Since the beginning of the year, we have had to advise people about co-pays and deductibles, and that is still a thing. Granted, most people that are on expensive medications should be meeting that deductible soon, though it depends on your plan.
The other major point we have noticed on a technician level is a need to update demographics and med lists. Demographics information does not automatically update, and can’t be searched with the tools we have access to (address, phone numbers, and other personal data we would use to reach out). We would love for people to reach out and make sure we have the correct data on file, because when something goes the aforementioned weird we don’t want you to first hear about it when you get to the store wanting your meds.

Second point is primary care physicians – We have new prescribers at the local hospital and clinic, and prescribers in the bigger facilities (such as Rapid City Memorial or the Veterans Association) change prescribers often enough to notice. If you have a new primary care physician let us know so we aren’t trying to send refill requests to the wrong prescriber.
Point the third: Medication lists – some prescribers will adjust the dose of the medication your taking, sometimes right after you refilled that medication. If the dosage is increased or decreased, but the pill is the same (for example if you were taking half a tab of metoprolol twice a day and the prescribers switched you to half a tab daily) you won’t be able to refill it with a new directions label without paying out of pocket as the insurance company says they just paid for it. When this happens we need to know so we can discontinue the old prescription so we don’t fill the wrong one when you call in a refill. While prescriptions are good for 1 year from the date they are written (unless the prescriber calls us to say it’s no longer valid, or loses the permission to write prescriptions) the physicians are not required to inform us of changes. We recommend planning a time to call in, or stop by, and go over the medications you are currently taking.

Point 3 part 2 – We have been a little lax in doing this, but we try to do regular Comprehensive Medication Reviews (CMRs) so that we know we have the correct meds for your situation. Don’t be surprised if you receive a call from one of our technicians wanting to get these started. It does require Mike to actually take the call but shouldn’t take long.

Okay I think that’s more than enough for one post.
We hope you enjoy the rest of the month.

Authored by: Jason Reed CPhT

02/19/2026

What a month it has been. Between the weather being the local version of insane and all the new rules the pharmacy must operate under (every year has some changes) things have just gone from one extreme to the other.
I know today everyone just wants to curl up next to a heater or fireplace and veg out for a bit, the staff here is right there with you.

Recent Events:
• Valentine’s day has passed and we hope everyone enjoyed time with their loved ones.
• Helen recently returned from away in what can be jokingly referred to as plot from a book/movie (Weddings and Funerals) and is playing catch up on all the paperwork we dropped on her desk (queue evil giggles)

Now to the meat of this post with some helpful tips from our Pharmacy Techs:
1) Refill requests: It is better to request refills early, rather than when you’re out. Prescribers have 48-72 hours to respond to requests, and we don’t want you to be out of medication. As an added note, if there are changes in the staff at the hospital/clinic the prescriber works out of there can be further delays. If we can’t fill it because it is too soon for insurance to cover the medication, we will schedule the refill for the date the insurance company tells us we can.
2) Medication costs: I’m sure everyone is aware that costs change over time both up and down, but usually up. As a pharmacy we don’t control what a co-pay or cash cost is going to be. This is determined by your insurance or the manufacturer of that particular bottle of medication. Sometimes the same medication that cost $15.00 one week will cost $17.00 the next simply because the bottle we could get costs more. While unfortunate we are under the same constraints as you, our customer, are in this matter.
3) Fill and Promise times – Our computer system has an error that is currently under investigation that assigns unreasonable promise times, for example sometimes it will say the meds will be ready three months ago when you request the refill. It also won’t consider the volume of refills we already have. Please be patient with us as we do attempt to refill your medication on the same day that we receive the request (assuming we are not waiting for prescriber approval or an out-of-stock medication). Medication we do not have on the shelf generally arrives the next business day by 2pm unless there are delays from the distribution center.

Well this seems enough to keep everyone from being too overloaded. Stay warm and from the staff here at Stockmen’s Drug we thank you for letting us help you take your health by the horns.

Author: Jason R. CPhT

02/17/2026

Pink Co***ne Hitting American Communities

Several states are warning of pink co***ne – a powdered
mixture of substances, which is dyed pink, may have a
sweet smell, and typically produces mind-altering,
hallucinogenic effects.
DEA laboratory testing has identified pink powders containing ketamine, M**A, methamphetamine, co***ne, fentanyl, and xylazine.
Since 2020, DEA has seized a total of 960 pink powders...
To put that into perspective, within that same time, DEA has
seized 180 million fentanyl pills.

Credit: Diversion Control Division News (February 2026), DEA

02/07/2026

Which Warmie do you love? Let us know your favorite Warmie!!

02/06/2026

YOUR local pharmacy has been chosen to participate in American Pharmacists Association 's Project Impact: HPV! Just one more way we are fulfilling our mission to closing gaps in access to healthcare. If you are between 18-45, stop by and talk to Mike about HPV and why the vaccine may be right for you!! Walk Ins accepted in Gordon. Appointments required in Crawford. AND with our Mobile Vaccine Program, we are even be able to go to your home or business!!

01/27/2026

In a small community like ours, a pharmacist isn’t just someone behind the counter — they’re a neighbor, a listener, and a trusted friend. 💙

For over a decade, Mike has been exactly that. He knows his patients by name, takes the time to explain medications, and makes sure no one leaves with unanswered questions. Whether it’s helping manage chronic conditions, offering guidance during tough times, or simply checking in, Mike shows up with compassion and consistency every day.

His clinical expertise and genuine care have made a real difference for families across our community. We’re grateful to have someone who truly looks out for us — not just as patients, but as people.

Thank you, Mike, for everything you do for our town.

01/27/2026

Our Crawford location passed our State Inspection with flying colors! 100% perfect. Congratulate Harley, your Certified Pharmacy technician on doing such an excellent job! Last year, 3 Nebraska telepharmacies were shut down. Our commitment to safe practices and closing gaps in rural healthcare remains stronger and better than ever! 100%...that is our commitment to YOU!

01/05/2026

Stockmen's Drug (also Stockmen's Drug Crawford) Blog

January 2026
Welcome everyone to the New Year.
Helen (the owner) was kind enough to allow the staff to start a monthly blog post on social media so we can touch base with the community,
New years bring challenges and changes that must be addressed on both sides of the customer/business line. From a pharmacy perspective here are a few things everyone should keep in mind:
Insurance changes – sometimes there are behind the scenes changes, other times you participated in open enrollment and made changes to your insurance. January or the first time you fill medication in a new year there may be delays or costs associated with this. If you had a change of insurance plans it may be a good idea to pass that information to your pharmacy ahead of time. If the insurance changed terms behind the scenes they may have sent a new insurance card with either a different policy or group number (we need this).

• Deductibles – It’s never fun, but insurance deductibles roll back over on the 1st of January. That means they will show up again.
• We encountered last year (2025) that the Insurance companies made changes to the policy numbers for insurances around February or March. If this happens there may be delays as in 2025 new cards were not issued without the patient requesting.
• Prior Authorizations: Prior Authorizations may need to be restarted. For certain medications, such as insulin injections (such as Ozempic and Mounjaro) or blood thinners (such as Eliquis), a new prior authorization may need to be obtained. This can delay refills and should be taken into account.
• Friday fills – due to price changes and new releases taking place among normally brand only medications the on hand inventory of some medications (such as Jardiance, Xarelto, and Eliquis) was kept low. We ran into complications filling medications on 01/02/2026 as we didn’t have any inventory to fill with. We the technicians advise to call in your refills before 5:00 PM on Thursdays if you are expecting to run out over the weekend. This gives us time to order replacement stock and have the fills ready before the weekend.

Winter Wonderland
This has been an interesting winter so far, having lived here for just about 6 years myself I have seen quite a bit of variation in how the winters hit. So far, the pattern we have seen is when it has been a light winter early in the year, we have a wet and icy winter in March and April. We hope everyone is safe and prepared.

Authored by: Jason R. CPhT

12/10/2025

11/07/2025

Are you a business in Northwest Nebraska that wants to provide a vaccine clinic for your employees? Call 308.282.1114, ext 124 and Jason will get one scheduled for you!