Question about pharmacies in Spain
 

I hope I am not duplicating this question. My last post did not show up on the board, so I am trying this again.
My son is leaving for Spain to live there for about 6 months. He will need to find some way to fill a US prescription because he is quiting his job & will have minimal insurance. Can he take a US presciption & have it filled there? Are the prices like the US or cheaper like in Canada? Thanks

The prescription should be cheaper. It might be filled on the US script, but he may have to go to a Spanish doctor to have another one written. No general rule about this. Also depends on the type of medicine.

Some prescription medications sold in the US are not available in Europe and/or could be sold under different names.
I've been able to get refills in Spain by showing my prescription container.
Prices there can be the same as in the US or much cheaper, depending on the drug.
Agree that if any problem exists at a local pharmacy, just see a doctor there to write up a new prescription.

very useful: www.multimadrid.com (+ talkforum)
It's a site by and for American expats in Madrid and Spain in general. If you have specific questions, they can help you.

Thanks. I will pass on the info.

Earlier point re different names is a good one. In advance of the actural need for a refill, I'd go to a pharmacy and verify that the names are the same or that they can determine what the Spanish name is. They have a huge book that provides such translations. I ran into a situation where the book was not definitive and it was necessary to contact the sales rep to verify. This might take a day or two as it did in my case. However, I benefitted rom one of the most gracious acts that a "local" could do for a tourist: The sales rep came to my hotel in Santiago de Compostela to assure that there was no confusion in the matter and that my needs were met! It don't get much better than that!

The web site, www.multimadrid.com, really helped us out. The posts there suggested that because of social health care, foreigners were likely to receive free care & are able to get prescriptions sometimes using just the empty pill bottle.

The people on multimadrid are always helpful. I'm very glad you got the right information.