Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy

I’m a physician and I have asked the pharmacy to fill a number of prescriptions, some of which are very complicated. The pharmacy has been unbelievably cooperative. The staff is always friendly and responsive. I won’t go any where else to fill our medication requirements.
Also the staff in other sections of the store are very much a pleasure to deal with.
I recommend the pharmacy most enthusiastically.

Excellent selection of natural medicines, homeopathic medicines, vitamins, makeup and traditional medicines (including great pharmacy which I use for regular prescriptions). Knowledgeable, overqualified and kind staff. A bit expensive but so convenient for such a great selection and often I stock up when sales occur for many items.

First time here and my new favorite place! This place is great! Sooo much great stuff. Everyone should check it out!

service is always above and beyond the best– they go the extra mile to be helpful in the pharmacy, dealing with doctors, insurance, medical issues. the pharmacists couldn’t be better– A++++

Walking into Pharmaca is like stepping into a giant Whole Foods body /​wellness section. Hair care, skin care, makeup, vitamins, ibuprofen, healthy snacks, yoga mats, and so much more. They have everything you need and LOTS of options to choose from.
With that said, I love their concept — offering more natural, eco friendly products is really appealing to me and many like-​minded consumers in the Bay Area. Yes, sometimes prices are a little inflated, but they often offer sales and coupons, so check online before you shop. Minus one star for prices.
I encourage you to take a break from your regular CVS or Walgreens, and see what Pharmaca has to offer. I guarantee you’ll find some new favorite products.
I can’t comment on the pharmacy because I’ve never used it, but it’s too bad to hear other Unilocalers reporting a negative experience. Hopefully they work out the kinks!

LOVE my Pharmaca!
My daughter walked in when they first opened downtown and said «I could just hang a hammock in the corner of the store and relax here all day»! I could walk around it all day.
Our customer service from ALL of the staff is above and beyond. And a special call out to the best pharmacists Alina Kerimbekov and Janell Sanford.

This really is one of the BEST pharmacies and alternative integrative stores I have every visited. The pharmacy is focused on their customer service and will go the extra mile to ensure that my medications are not only ready in a timely manner but also that they are the best option out there. The staff is friendly and professional and provides excellent advice for those random things you didn’t ask your doctor about or any questions about over the counter medications. Their range of medicines (traditional and natural/​homeopathic) is quite extensive and the nutritionists, acupuncturists, and other licensed personnel are extremely knowledgeable about this unique niche of healing. Having shopped at other natural food /​health stores from my previous experiences I can say that the staff here is top notch. This is the best place to get your medications filled and get all your pharmacy needs if you’re in the Menlo Park/​Palo Alto/​Redwood City area if you’re looking for great service and don’t want to deal with the chaos of larger chain pharmacies. Definitely check it out!

I previously had a horrific healthcare experience, and, when I met Pharmaca Pharmacist, Alina, her frankness made me know I had come to the right place.
Having a good selection of supplements, cards and healthy beauty products, and Alina, keep me coming back. Naturopath Tracey is pretty cool too.

I use this pharmacy exclusively for my prescriptions and very seldom have a problem. The pharmacy staff is friendly and professional. Prescriptions are filled promptly and it is very convenient to my office. Sometimes the staff on the floor can seem a little haughty — not sure what that’s about. Great rewards program!

They have a big product-​selection for baby care. I like buying the honest diapers over there.
The staff is very nice. I haven’t use the services of the pharmacy yet.
They also have Logona makeup and I love that makeup brand.
They occasionally do beauty events with complimentary mini-​facials and for that only I am a big fan :)

This is a beautiful pharmacy. And that’s about as much as I can compliment it. Their prices are marked up for many items higher than suggested retail price. You are often getting recommendations about supplements that are coming from less than qualified people — or they are doling out medical advice that should be given in a doctor’s office.
They also have very high staff turnover which should tell you something. I go there every so often, but only begrudgingly when I don’t have time to go to my preferred stores!

On the evening of 3÷16÷2015, my wife and daughter went into Pharmaca to buy an herbal medicine. After searching for a while in vain, my wife politely asked an assistant (50s tall blonde) by help. After gruffly agreeing to help, she said to my 11 year old daughter, who was just standing there, to «get out of her feet.» After I recovered from my shock, I said to the assistant: «how can you speak to a child like that. You could have said excuse me.» She said that they were rude first. My wife asked how «do you think you can you help me find …» is rude. The assistant said: «fine, EXCUSE me.» The shop manager was nearby, heard the whole exchange, and did nothing to reprimand the assistant after my wife asked for help. We will never go back to that shop again.

This is a great Pharmaca. I got a large bottle of Natural Indian Cherry Bark Cough Syrup here which really helped cure my very bad cough. Highly recommend!

I went in today to fill a prescription and the pharmacy refused to give me discount through GoodRx that I have since confirmed that they are contractually obligated to honor.
So now I have to waste hours fixing this because they are not familiar with their own policies.
And yes, it’s worth spending the time. They charged me a flat $ 200 for a prescription (odd that the number is round… given that it was for a 90 day supply) and should have been $ 68.50.
I could just eat the $ 131.50 but as a healthcare administrator, it is obviously an error that they will repeat until someone stops it. And I guess that someone is me.
And to think that I have been recommending Pharmaca to othes for years. Ugh…

I have a love/​hate relationship with Pharmaca. Love the fact that they have natural beauty stuff and a conventional pharmacy. Nice products. Some of the staff are really nice. But OMG the pharmacy is terrible. Had so many problems with them!
Management — please read reviews — it would be so easy to turn this pharmacy into the best one around! First — fix your alert system: If someone wants a medication alert don’t cancel it every time the prescription is refilled — it’s stupid. Also don’t have the system say «patient refused alerts» when the patient certainly did not.
Also, if the alert says the medication is ready, guess what? It should be ready! I shouldn’t have to wait for my medication when I just got an alert it is waiting for me and will be there for the next 3 days. For extra points — have the system alert the patient that their prescription is about to run out like a month in advance. So it won’t come as a surprise. Because patients have better things to do than put on their calendars when it’s time to renew their prescriptions. Duh. You are a business — make us feel care for and you will have us forever.
Finally, when all said things happen — instruct your pharmacy staff to act like they give a damn, and not blame the patient, and certainly NOT to give the stink eye. Thankyouverymuch.

If I could give negative stars, I would. Worst business model ever– let’s combine horrific customer service with prices even higher than Whole Foods. I have been here four times and never ever setting foot in this place again. No one to greet you or help you– you have to find them and beg for help. One time an employee said,” What do you want?” Instead of «Welcome, how can I help you?» Another time, I asked for advice on which product to buy and was told to look it up myself on the Internet. Another time, they gave my loyalty points to another customer and when I asked them to fix it, they said it was only worth 3%. So many more irritating experiences! New business model suggestion: use robots. They would be more competent and less negative.

I filled a prescription for a prenatal at Pharmaca, and was blown away by the price. I was totally confused, because my employer’s website told be it should be only half the cost. What is more they could not answer my questions about why it was so expensive, and the person I talked to was unable to tell me what the contract rate with my insurer, which my insurer told me was public info that every pharmacy should know.
Perhaps this wasn’t totally Pharmaca’s fault — as I still find pricing out insurance pretty opaque. However when ended up going back to Safeway I was astonished to find that the same prescription was HALF THE PRICE! Lesson: I will never go to Pharmaca again.

Pharmaca is the answer for the shopper who needs multiple items of different departments! I used to go to Whole Foods to get a variety of things but always dreaded the parking and the ill-​knowledgeable staff especially in the skin care dept. In one stop I can buy my vitamins, protein powder, probiotics, teas, skin care, hair care products, toothpaste, Advil– you name it! Makes my life very easy.
The staff here at Pharmaca Menlo Park illustrate what punctual, thorough, kind customer service is. Victoria in particular always delivers consistent and personal service whenever I shop here. Always makes eye contact and makes the time to help. If I buy something cold she always offers an ice pack. She has helped me transform my blemish prone skin with her product and supplement recommendations.
I would not go anywhere else! Honestly a great place.

A pharmacy with not entirely mainstream products though there are some here and there. Couldnt find the products I was initially looking for, but found a number of cool beverages in the cold case. Definitely a good alternative to the Walgreens down the way

Let’s start with the good: it’s a beautiful, well-​lit store with a large selection of healthy, holistic items. The gentleman with the green «lab coat» (sorry, didn’t catch his name) is helpful and also knowledgeable about the products they carry. And you will find all sorts of intriguing things you might not have known existed (stone-​paper notebook? Neat!). If you’re new to natural treatments this is a great place to begin exploring.
The OK: mostly comes into play when you’re considering the types of items you can find elsewhere, in a regular drug store — these are more expensive here. Also: read labels. Ingredients matter; I found a product that intrigued me, only to discover it was simply miconazole with another name.
The definitely bad: when I came in today, I was «greeted» by someone who said «don’t shut the door! It’s automatic!» in a very condescending tone. No «hello,» no «don’t worry, it shuts on its own» — instead, I was spoken to as if I was a child in need of discipline simply because I was trying to shut a door that I didn’t realize was automatic. What a turnoff. I came in with the mindset to purchase a lot of products… But every time I picked something up, I thought back to the way I was spoken to and decided against it.
I would love to return but I hope that I’m spoken to with more respect next time. It seems that any business would try to KEEP customers, not reproach them the moment they set foot in the store.