I Just Need A Couple Of My Pills!

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

For those of you who remain outraged by our pitiful healthcare system, this story isn’t going to change your mind about it.  A couple of days ago my life-partner and dearest friend had run out of her blood pressure medicine.  She had been unusually busy the whole week and simply had mismanaged her pills, it can happen to anyone.  After she had discovered her mistake, she quickly contacted her physician for a refill.  Her physician called in the script and everything was cool, right?  Wrong!

My friend generally uses one of the largest drug store chains (hint; there is a color in its name), as there are stores convenient to our home.  Her prescription record is on file with this chain of stores and refills are generally easy-peasy.  However, when she went to pick up the prescription, she was told by a pharmacy tech that the script had already been accounted for or claimed.  Puzzled, my friend asked, how this could be possible?  It was explained that another store must have put a claim on the prescription which means that they are the only ones who can release it.

After a lengthy discussion and efforts to reach the doctor’s office (which failed because it was after 5PM), my friend was told that there was nothing else that the pharmacy could do for her.  Now, keep in mind that the drug we are referring to here is Metoprolol, a blood pressure medicine which must be taken every day to maintain good pressure.  My friend requested a small order of the pills (10 or less), which is usually available under circumstances such as these for regular price (not the insurance price).  If you have a script on file with a pharmacist, especially in the case of a “life critical drug”, they should able to sell a couple of tablets to you at regular price.

This sweet woman is also a licensed and registered nurse who is up to date on the laws and happenings in the medical world.  After asking to see a manager, a very young man (probably a recent pharmacy school graduate) came to counter only to confirm the same response given by the pharmacy tech.  The evening manager told her, “we cannot offer you any pills without the script, there is nothing more we can do, if there is a problem please go to an urgent care center”.  So, having exhausted every effort, my partner returned home.

We managed to get through the night and the following morning were able to reach the nurse at the doctor’s office who confirmed that the script had been sent to the drug store that we went to, she also advised us that the store should have offered a few pills at cash price (an option never offered to us).  Next, we reached out to the corporate drug store again via cell phone and this time they said they had the script in their system.  Well, at this point, ole Grumpy is pretty pissed off and decided to tag along with his friend to the drug store.  After the transaction was completed, I requested an audience with the pharmacy manager.

The manager, who was only slightly older than the young person who spoke with my friend the night before came to the counter and we explained the situation.  After listening to us, this manager copped somewhat of a snippy attitude and even though she agreed that the store was wrong in its position of denying us the pills and that the tech and evening manager should know better, her apology was somewhat less than warm.  With hackles beginning to rise, I pointed out that we are not talking about a cartoon chewable vitamin here, but rather a necessary medication and that some additional training may be needed here.  In a snarky tone, the manager assured me that this situation will be addressed.

I was not satisfied with this response and in fact, was rather pissed off.  It seems again, that these corporate stores do little to prepare their associates properly for the duties that they perform.  This would not be quite so alarming if this person were working in the make-up department or even vitamins and the store had run of your favorite gummy vitamin.  But instead, these employees work in a very serious department—medications.  They should surely be aware of the procedures and practices in a situation like this one where the health of the customer could be at risk.

Not to mention the fact that it was their computer system that f—up the whole situation to begin with.  I am sure that this is not the first time that this has happened.  With millions of customers who need medications every day, I am sure that the stores encounter this issue occasionally.  Maybe legislation needs to be made clearer regarding this issue, after all, we are not talking about an addictive opioid here and I can’t imagine anyone selling a blood pressure med on the street.

One of the points made in this debacle was that a prescription cannot be refilled prior to the date it is anticipated to run out (not sure what that had to do with this, it was post-date), is that a problem even if it is only a couple of days early?  What do people do who are going to travel abroad?  You would have to get additional meds to cover the period that you are away.  I guess maybe the physician can help with that.

A large part of this problem can be attributed to the insurance companies who must approve every new script even though some patients need a medication like these in order to keep living.  We constantly hear just how great this freaking, free-market medical system is and how screwed up it would be if the government ran it.  Seriously, it seems to me that the problems just keep getting worse and worse.  For example, a recent report shows that the cost of insulin has risen so much that many patients can no longer afford it.

I realize that living a better healthier life can help eliminate many of these problems, but some people are just predisposed to medical issues and must rely on innovation in medicine to help them live a better life.  However, in the constant need for greed, we realize that life is not as important as money.  And corporations continue to treat customers like dirt, guess that is just the way of it!

Talk to Ya Later

The Grumpy Old Fart Customer @2019 All Rights Reserved