How to Help Your Patients Find Florical in Stock: A Provider's Guide

If you recommend Florical for otosclerosis or bone health, you've likely seen it: a patient returns for follow-up and admits they stopped taking it weeks ago because they couldn't find it. Or a new patient calls your office asking where to get it. This is a preventable treatment gap, and with the right guidance at point of care, you can keep your patients on their regimen.

Understanding the Availability Challenge

Florical is manufactured exclusively by Mericon Industries (Peoria, IL) and is classified as a dietary supplement. This classification has practical consequences for your patients:

• Chain pharmacies don't have a financial incentive to stock it — no insurance reimbursement, no high-volume demand
• Insurance does not typically cover it — patients pay out of pocket, reducing the pharmacy's exposure to demand signals that would drive ordering
• Only one manufacturer — no generic competition means no distributed supply chain

The result: many pharmacies simply don't order Florical, even though it's not in shortage nationally. Mericon Industries continues to manufacture and distribute it; the product is just not consistently stocked at every pharmacy.

What to Tell Patients at the Time of Recommendation

The most effective intervention is setting expectations before patients leave your office. Here's a simple script your staff can use:

"Florical is available without a prescription, but not all pharmacies stock it. The easiest way to get it is to order it online from Amazon, Walgreens.com, or Target.com. If you want same-day pickup, a service called medfinder can check which pharmacies near you have it in stock and text you the results."

A Tiered Approach to Sourcing Florical for Your Patients

Tier 1: Online Ordering (Easiest, Most Reliable)

Direct your patients to these reliably stocked online sources:

• Amazon — 100-capsule and 500-capsule bottles; Prime shipping available; Subscribe & Save available for recurring delivery
• Walgreens.com — available for home delivery; some stores offer in-store pickup
• Target.com — same-day Drive Up available at select locations
• mericonindustries.com — direct from manufacturer; bulk orders available

38,888+ patients found their medications in stock

38K+

Find Florical In Stock Today →

Tier 2: Local Pharmacy Lookup via medfinder

For patients who need same-day pickup or are not comfortable with online ordering, medfinder is a paid service that calls local pharmacies to check which ones have a specific medication in stock. The patient provides their medication name and location, and medfinder contacts pharmacies on their behalf, texting results directly to the patient. This eliminates the common scenario where patients call five pharmacies and give up before finding stock.

Tier 3: Independent Pharmacy Special Order

Independent community pharmacies have more flexibility to special-order products than chain pharmacies. If you have a relationship with an independent pharmacist in your area, recommending them to your patients is a reliable long-term solution. They can establish a standing order for Florical for your practice's patients. The manufacturer NDCs to reference:

• 100-capsule bottle: NDC 0394-0102-01
• 500-capsule bottle: NDC 0394-0102-05

Skip the calls, skip the stress.

Find Florical In Stock Today →

50K+

Medications
Found

99%

Success
Rate

6+

Hours saved
on average

Counseling Patients on Dose and Compliance

Remind patients of the following at each encounter:

• Always take with meals to reduce gastric distress
• Stop and call if joint pain significantly worsens (sodium fluoride can aggravate pre-existing arthritis)
• Women of childbearing age planning pregnancy should not take Florical — discuss contraception counseling
• At active dosing (6 caps/day), a 100-capsule bottle lasts only ~16 days — help patients plan ahead

If Florical Remains Unavailable: Clinical Alternatives

If a patient cannot reliably access Florical, document the clinical rationale and consider:

• Alendronate 70 mg weekly — widely available generic, covered by most insurance plans; evidence for otosclerosis-related hearing preservation
• Risedronate 35 mg weekly — alternative bisphosphonate; generic available
• Prescription sodium fluoride tablets — allows for dose titration; pair with separate calcium supplementation

For more on savings programs for your patients using Florical, see:

How to Help Your Patients Save Money on Florical: A Provider's Guide to Savings Programs