I sympathize with the list and most are why I wouldn’t want to invest in the time and effort of a PharmD. I do disagree with #4. I think it’s perfectly acceptable to know the price you will be charged before you make a purchase. With the rapid changes in formularies and drug tiers I think it’s the smart thing to do.
We have used the same pharmacy for 6 years; we are on many maintenance meds. My success rate at them properly filling a script and charging it through insurance correctly is about 15-20%…very time consuming and frustrating. I can’t change because they are one of the few that takes D’s secondary insurance. Just thinking of examples raises my blood pressure and I have low blood pressure
I agree…my pharmacists are terrific…and persistent. But I have one control drug RX that needs to be refilled every six months…a maintenance med. The minute they fill the last refill, they fax the refill request to the doctor. The doctors office can’t seem to send that RX back. It always takes weeks…And it’s annoying.
I had to chuckle at the multiple cards issue. One of my frustrations over the years is that the health insurance company doesn’t send cards at a regular time that are dated at least with an ‘issued on’ date. They seem to arrive at random, in quantities too small for the entire family, sometimes with a new merged name even though our coverages through work haven’t changed and the subscriber and group IDs are still the same. I have done that sorting through the wallet to figure out which one is the current one. I have also given an old card with all the correct info but the copay amount to a kid while traveling so that at least they will have their own card while not with their mother.
If you have separate cards for medical, dental and prescriptions and 4 people in your family they should just send you a giant packet with 12 cards every year IMO.
Thanks for a great OP, @VaBluebird! It’s enlightening to have some perspective from the other side of the counter.
Three years ago, an independent pharmacy opened in my town. One employee - the pharmacist/owner. Since switching to him, we have had no problems or issues. He’s now turning a profit, is becoming more popular, and will soon take on some part-time help. He says he remains committed to customer service. I hope so!
I’ve had issues at big chain drug stores, but never with the pharmacist him/herself. I rarely even spoke with a pharmacist, though the option was always offered if I had questions about a drug. The corporate policies and poorly trained pharmacy clerks drove us to the independent pharmacy. The last of many straws was being told that a drug I needed pre-surgery was at a particular store, then finding it wasn’t - but I could drive 10 miles in a bad snowstorm if I really wanted it. The pharmacist had nothing to do with that goof, but that is no longer our pharmacy.
I use a big chain pharmacy (have for years), and I generally have no problems.
I am very thankful that DH is not on any meds whatsoever, and I only take one Rx for high blood pressure. I can’t imagine what life is like for people like many of my patients, who might be on 10 or more medications.
“Zero refills will be noted clearly on the bottle.”
That would involve actually reading what is written on the bottle. I have noticed that an awful lot of people don’t bother reading (anything). But that is another issue …
Yeah, I thought of that as I was typing that sentence, lol. It truly is a patient responsibility to read the bottle carefully (or have the caregiver read it). You want to make sure that you have the right drug, the right dose, and that you have noted any instructions.
There was a time when it was difficult to learn much about medications. No more. I really do not understand people who will put a drug in their bodies without basic due diligence, like reading about it on Wikipedia or many of the other resources on the Internet. (Even lower SES people can check that in a public library.) I take several medications that change my BRAIN chemistry. You bet I want to know more than what color the pill is. I want to know what it does, what the possible side effects are, and how common the side effects are. There’s only so much your doc can tell you during a short appointment.
@saintfan - LOL. Our insurance does send us a card for each of us for medical,dental & prescription. There are 5 of us. so we get 15 cards… everyone has their name on their cards… I carry most of them around in my purse…
As far as reading the bottle… The type size Kroger uses for the number of refills is fine but Walgreens uses a smaller type size. I need my reading glasses for that one.
Your pharmacist has years of training on drugs and their effect on the body, why they interact, etc. Also many have years of experience in their field, and dealing with doctors, patients, insurance companies, and the like. They are also dealing with pressure from their employers to work faster and with less help all the time. Choose your pharmacist as carefully as you choose your doctor. They don’t just throw pills in a bottle, they can be a huge resource. The good ones do care about your health, and they know a mistake or delay on a vital medication can have severe consequences. They want good outcomes for their patients. DH is a pharmacist. He runs into his patients all over town. He genuinely cares about them and is interested in their lives. It makes him sad when he’s genuinely too busy at work to listen to their stories. He grieves as he watches someone suffer through a terminal illness and then die. He’s willing to work with his patients to understand their concerns and help them resolve problems. He knows he is dealing with people who are sick, and frustrated, and stressed, but he really appreciates those people who treat him and his staff with courtesy and respect and patience. He works 10 hour days and is allowed one 30 min lunch break. That’s 10 hours the pharmacy is open. He usually is at work closer to 12 hours and nearly always works through his lunch. When he worked for a chain pharmacy like CVS/Walgreens it was worse.
@Parentof2014grad Your DH sounds like a gem! Your town is lucky to have him.
Let’s also remember to be compassionate…the folks often standing in long pharmacy lines aren’t there because they are feeling great and healthy. Being sick can make even the sweetest old lady snap. Not justifying being a pill (see what I did there? ) but understanding and compassion and empathy can go a long way in dealing with folks who are not at their best physically or mentally.
We got a Rx filled and got home and counted out the pills. The bottle said #20 but only held 14 pills. I called the phamarcist and she apologized and mailed me the additional 6 pills without us having to drive back to pick it up. It was a rare susprise that the count didn’t match what the bottle said (and the MD had ordered). It’s always good to check to be sure everything matches up and you pick up what you were told bly the MD, as sometimes there ARE mistakes.
Romani - CVS is difficult for providers as well. If you are on a chronic medication and it runs out in January, and you get “refills” from your doctor in December, it will alert you that the January one runs out. It is actually not a refilled prescription, but a new prescription under a new rx number even though it’s an identical prescription. CVS does not cancel the old prescription when the new one is written. It also generates a request to your medical provider as well. There is a lot of CVS electronic %&@ that comes our way. Also, is you have a bottle of the “old” prescription and try to refill it, it generates another request to the provider even with a new prescription of the exact same medication.
Marian, I too have been on the consumer side and I switched pharmacies in the last year because of something that happened that was totally unnecessary.
Pharmacists are first and foremost supposed to help their patients. We take an oath just as doctors do. I was taught that I’d be in as much trouble for denying a patient a life-saving drug as I would be if I did something illegal. State Boards of Pharmacy highly frown on that.
I can’t speak for all pharmacists, but if I did not have your life-saving med, I would get on the phone and find a pharmacy that had it and transfer the Rx. I would like to think most would do this.
And the very things you mention is why it’s vital for pharmacists to be able to concentrate on what they are doing and not pulled in 25 unnecessary directions. Our hosp. techs are required to answer the phone and screen the calls. Interruptions are the number one reason for errors.
We have been blessed to have 2 very special pharmacists take care of our prescriptions over the years. The first was a new pharmacist when my son was little and was diagnosed with ADHD and there was a shortage of methylphenidate. She worked very hard to secure the medication and would keep us posted as to availability and she would secure pills from all over to make up the prescription, somehow we were never out of the medicine. (She still fills son’s medications, he lives in NY and comes to CT, and she says she takes pride and credit in his achievements and her part in helping). The other is the pharmacist who for many years took care of filling my mother’s prescriptions and dealt with her numerous phone calls to him, (she is bipolar and very difficult). While we use mail order with her company now, he still inquires about her and has been VERY kind and compassionate and always professional.
I have a lot of meds (thank you, Mr. Diabetes) and I use a chain pharmacy. I LOVE the pharmacists at the branch I use.
The only problems I’ve incurred are not the fault of my pharmacy but more the fault of my crazy insurance company. For example, at one time they (the insurer) would not pay for my insulin refill because, according to their records, I had another 4 days left of insulin in my old insulin pen. (I did not have that much left.) Ummm - you DO realize that my insulin usage varies depending on what I’m eating? If I have a sandwich instead of a salad, I’m going to need more insulin - are you telling me that my insurance company is now dictating what I can and cannot eat? My pharmacist, my doctor, and I got it all resolved - but, brother, what an aggravation.
) but understanding and compassion and empathy can go a long way in dealing with folks who are not at their best physically or mentally.