Crying Pharmacist???

[susiestar]

Our local pharmacy, which we really like, has had 9 of hte last 12 prescriptions be off count in a substantial way. Some of the medications included my pain medications. Going cold turkey off of them is NOT a good thing for my health. I have gotten LOTS of warnings about that from my docs.

I called today because Jessie's new rx was short 10. I think they got confused and thought it was for 20 instead of 30. Either way they fixed up the 10 pills and of course didn't charge us.

husband waited for an hour because they were swamped. One of the top pharmacists, C, pulled him aside and was trying not to cry as she told him they would understand if we took our business elsewhere. He didn't know how to handle it, esp from her. C can seem very unsociable but is a very caring and sweet person. She is just not always good at social stuff.

I don't want to move my business. I just appreciate not being treated like a junkie when I call and say they have made a mistake.

It was nice to know someone cared though. At least we have good pharmacists (they ARE good, just had a huge increase in business lately).

So we know ONE part of our medical team is listening and caring about what is going on! If only the docs were more like that.

 

[Hound dog]

Good thing you count medications to make sure they're accurate. But that can happen anywhere for a wide variety of reasons. Being swamped is a good one, although they still should be careful filling each order. in my opinion

Wallie world hates it when I call them on a mistake. But I never back down.

Hugs

 

[susiestar]

Our Wallie world has called the police if a customer is insistent that they made a mistake on a pain medication or muscle relaxer. Not on me, but I have been there while a very polite woman insisted they were off. It is one major reason I don't get rx's there if I can help it.

 

[GoingNorth]

Must be WalMart management in given areas. Ours up here is very good and they are routinely swamped.\

I think a lot of the problem is that it's the so-called 'pharmacy techs' who do the actual filling and dispensing and the sole pharmacist on duty does the check out and pushes paperwork.

by the way. You CAN ask that a pharmacist recount medications in front of you. They hate it because it slows them down, but it covers both of you from problems.

 

[flutterby]

I don't know if it's my state or my pharmacy, but my controlled substances (klonopin, vicodin, etc) are double counted before given to me. And the person who does the second count circles the quantity number on the bottle and initials it.

Seems like good practice to me.

 

[TPaul]

I would call your states office that overseas pharmacies in your state. It sounds like they know they have a problem, and someone needs to make sure they handle it correctly. The crying could have been to cover guilt, you never know.

Tpaul

 

[Lothlorien]

From now on, I would check the count of the pain medications while you are there. That is ridiculous and it seems fishy to me....especially the pain medications. I bet the antibiotics filled haven't been off, have they? I would make a report. I would bet dollars to donuts that someone is skimming medications hoping it would go unnoticed.

 

[Mattsmom277]

This has happened to my cousin 3 seperate times, her narc pain medications being short. She too can't go cold turkey without them. She spoke the the doctor about the issue and the doctor told her that she was to have the pharmacy note on her file that they are to count the pills in front of her each time she fills the script. They initially didn't like it, but they have grown accustomed. When you face so many occurences, it is not only insuring you don't get treated like a scammer looking for extra medications, it also insures the pharmacy that their reputation remains intact as you get what you paid for and were prescribed.
I do believe that the pharmacy can be told gently but firmly that it is also in their best interest. If they are nasty about it, I'd smile and say "Well it insures that nobody here in you employ is STEALING my narcotic medications, and that has to be good company policy".

 

[Shari]

We have a great pharmacist, too.

Its a small mom and pop place, but they have caught several things that I'm sure would have been undetected at a walmart or other big place. They KNOW difficult child. They've even called and looked into changing recommendations for cold medicines that have hyperactivity as a side effect. When I lost a bottle of Risperdal, I called to see when the soonest I could refill it was. She called me back the next day with a replacement. She had worked with our doctor to rewrite the script so the insurance would fill it again right away. (I still haven't found that lost bottle...) I know they spent a lot of time getting that done, and I had no idea!

I could get difficult child's medications cheaper via mail order or wally world. But you know what? That $6 a month is worth it to have people who actually care.

 

[DammitJanet]

I have only had my medications come up short one time and it was by 30 pills! I came home from the pharmacy and took the bottle of my pain medications out of the bag and looked at the bottle...and knew immediately that something was wrong! Normally they give me two bottles of pills with 45 in each bottle and the label is written 45/90 on it. Well this bottle was was one big bottle with just 90 written on it. I looked at that bottle and knew there was no way in hades there were 90 pills in it! The bottle was thinner around than the shorter, fatter bottles and not that much taller. So I took them out and counted them...there were only 60 in the bottle! I called the pharmacy immediately. There was no way I could get back down there that evening because it was already 9:30 and they close at 10 so I told them I would come in the next day. They were nice about it. They claimed their electronic counting machine must have been off. I dont know about that but they didnt give me any grief and it has only happened the one time that I know about.