My Prescriptions Are WHERE?

[F16 1UB]

I'm at the docs office yesterday and was told I need 3 prescriptions filled and was asked "Do you want me to electronically send them in for you?" I said sure and specified what pharmacy. This was 2 PM. At 5 PM I called the pharmacy & still nothing received from the docs office. Pharmacy said to call back at 8 PM because sometimes at the COB they fax all orders at once. Whatever....8 PM call to pharmacy nuttin. :cus:

This morning I called the docs office..... records said I was given prescriptions. BS....The office was informed that NO I'd never received the scrips and they were "supposedly" sent electronically. Docs office apologized and said they made a mistake and would call the pharmacy right away. I said I'd be in to get the scrips from the docs office and deliver them myself. They assured me they'd be called into the pharmacy. I reluctantly said OK. 1 hour later I picked up my scrips from the pharmacy.

A word of advice - Hand carry your scrips to the pharmacy of your choice to ensure they're received. Oh yeah & last May my scrips were sent to the wrong pharmacy. Another reason to hand carry & deliver the scrips yourself especially if the pharmacy is near your home.

Ya can't make this stuff up.

Life is good. Cold but no snow.

[spk7951]

And I might add that if you leave the prescription at the pharmacy to be filled then make sure they do have the medicine to fill the order.

Last week we left a prescription for my wife at the pharmacy in the Publix in Colony around 1pm. They told us it would be ready after 4pm. So about 4:30 I show up only to be told that they do not have the medicine due to a problem with supply from the manufacturer. When I did not get an answer as to why I was not told that at 1pm, I requested the script back and promptly went to Walgreen's who filled the order right away.

[obxgal]

The last time I went to doctor, she told me they no longer give you a perscription. They asked who filled my perscriptions and they faxed it to medco for me.

[njbchbum]

f16 - your post so hit home with me today!

went to the doctor this morning before our saturday departure for the villages....got my scripts in hand to take with me and will send them to the mail order pharmacy myself with my florida addy [after i copy them so that i have a record of what i mail!]. was sooooo afraid that even if i provided a revised mailing address to the doctor's office [who wanted to fax them for me] that my meds would still ship to jersey!

[2BNTV]

I worked in the electronics industry almost all my life.

When computers, fax machines, etc., work, life is a dream come true. Whenthey don't, trying to correct errors can be a nightmare for some people. Especially when providers of a service say they didn't make an error.

Some things I would prefer to remain the "old" way. I rather go the pharmarcy with scripts in my hand but my doctor sends everything electronically. No problems so far except to make sure you ask if you can get a copy of your blood work before he/she hits the "send" button.

spk7951 - Thanks for posting that one sure make sure a pharmarcy has the prescrition needed as this could be very vital for people who really need their medications.

[kb8tpw]

F16 - you are right on target (whoops maybe not a politically correct term this week), as well as some follow on comments. We've been here since May and changed pharmacies 3 times. I've eliminated Publix and Walgreens in Colony and most recently CVS on 441. Going to give Walmart an opportunity to shine. I have decided that they all plan on volume to make their profit and to heck with customer service. Very frustrating. Probably as you, we have Tri-care express mailorder scripts. That didn't work for us either as the doctor's office was not too swift at doing their part and it just became a hassle extraordinaire.

[logdog]

We've used CVS and Walgreens. While they did a good job of filling scripts, they are out for the volume business and therefore a little impersonal. They made no attempt to seek generic equivalents for us.

Last couple of scripts we had filled was at the Medicine Chest in LSL. Much more of a small town pharmacy feel where you can go in back and actually talk to the pharmacist. They also saved us quite a bit by recommending generics. By the way, they take TriCare.

[F16 1UB]

Okay gang the place of origin was where the screw up started. The DOCS office and not the pharmacy. And notice I didn't mention the doc or the pharmacy because if you heed my advice, along with verifying what you need is in stock, there won't be any issues.

BTW Medco is a mail order pharmacy and of course your meds will be faxed by the requesting physicians office. All doctors offices write prescriptions.

[Mudder]

You can talk to pharmaists at CVS to Walgren's. CVS on 441 is very very busy and doesn't seem to have enough people on duty at all times tho. May just give Target a try....oh boy, they probably don't take my insurance ! Any doctor's office will give you a wrtten script if you ask.

[homeball]

My experience dealing with doctors and pharmacies here is that written prescriptions hand delivered to the pharmacy is the best route. The new electronic med system now in place in most docs' offices, etc, still has bugs in it that have to be ironed out. The last time the doc's office electronically sent over a prescription to CVS it never got there and I went and fetched a hard copy to deliver myself. Then a week later, after I already picked up the prescription from CVS, I get a call from CVS to say that my prescription is filled. It turned out that the electronic version had arrived a week later than my hand delivered one and they went ahead and filled both. Go figure.

:shrug:

[Pturner]

My doc in ATL sends scripts electronically too and sometimes he says he sent one and the pharmacy says they didn't get it. Think I'll go back to hand carry too.

[Jane52]

The feds are pushing for more of it. I've met various medical office personnel who have quit or are quitting because of the trainwreck that can happen when changing to all electronic medical records (too much pressure already, trying to keep a practice and employees afloat and solvent). This article explains some of the problems:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/15/AR2009021501284.html

[The Great Fumar]

I still go to my same old doctor that I've gone to for years......I can't afford not too ...
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE OPERATION , FOR $10.00 HE'LL TOUCH UP YOUR X-RAY'S..............
never felt better ..fumar:shrug:

[kofficer]

If you are near a super target, at least in Tampa, I get wonderful service from them, unlike Walmart.

[silvertoken]

I'm at the docs office yesterday and was told I need 3 prescriptions filled and was asked "Do you want me to electronically send them in for you?" I said sure and specified what pharmacy. This was 2 PM. At 5 PM I called the pharmacy & still nothing received from the docs office. Pharmacy said to call back at 8 PM because sometimes at the COB they fax all orders at once. Whatever....8 PM call to pharmacy nuttin. :cus:

This morning I called the docs office..... records said I was given prescriptions. BS....The office was informed that NO I'd never received the scrips and they were "supposedly" sent electronically. Docs office apologized and said they made a mistake and would call the pharmacy right away. I said I'd be in to get the scrips from the docs office and deliver them myself. They assured me they'd be called into the pharmacy. I reluctantly said OK. 1 hour later I picked up my scrips from the pharmacy.

A word of advice - Hand carry your scrips to the pharmacy of your choice to ensure they're received. Oh yeah & last May my scrips were sent to the wrong pharmacy. Another reason to hand carry & deliver the scrips yourself especially if the pharmacy is near your home.

Ya can't make this stuff up.

Life is good. Cold but no snow.
So true.....so common....lot of meatheads out there.....must have the same Doc.

[graciegirl]

Kinda on the same subject, prescriptions, I have had two friends in The Villages in the last month hand carry their prescriptions, one to CVS and the other to Walgreens to be told that they did not have the medication and would not have it until the next day. One friend was very ill and needed the antibiotic asap and the other was picking up two prescriptions, one for pain and an antibiotic drop, for her husband who just had cateract removal. They both were needed immediately.

I wonder if anyone else has had this problem and if so, I wonder why.

[kb8tpw]

Good morning Gracie, you are up and at'em way too early. That is normal procedure, be it Walgreens or CVS, even Walmart. I can understand if it is something maybe not too common, but I have had high usage meds and get the same treatment. I wonder what they use to maintain their shelf level? Without shooting this thread over to political I wonder just where all of this is headed. It is getting worse, week by week. In the past 9 months I have experienced each scenario outlined in this thread multiple times and it doesn't seem to change, or get any better, even with changing pharmacies. As someone said earlier here it is often the doctor or his/her staff too. That's another story for another day.

Remember being thankful for not having to deal with the daily hassle at your place of employment when you moved to TV? Well, the hassle has been replaced.

[marianne237]

Have been filling scripts at Sweetbay for about a year and find they do recommend generics when available and have saved us time and money. We normally mail away to Caremark, but do fill the occasional one locally.

[nitakk]

My doc's office electronically sent in a 30 day supply with no refills and it should have been a 90 day with 3 refills. Had to pay $50 copay for the 30 day (same copay for 90) and got shorted 60 pills. They insist they sent the right prescription and the drug people said they didn't. Meanwhile, we got shorted and paid more than we should have. When I told the doc's office I'd pick up the prescriptions from now on, they said there will soon be no written prescriptions at all - everything will be electronically filed. Yikes, we all better stock up on the blood pressure meds - we're gonna need them!!

[LindaManson]

kb8tpw, I am sorry you had an issue with Publix at Colony, we have been using them since they opened and have had nothing but great service. we have both BCBS and tricare, and that gets a bit confusing sometimes, I am usually called by name when I walk up to the counter and I don't go in there except once a month. Have had a few issues with insurance not wanting to pay and they called and got it straightened out while I waited. The one time they didn't have the eds they called and found it for me and sent me there, and it was not a publix. Love their phone order also, so refills are ready when I get there or I get a call if there is an issue.

[MrMark]

We've used CVS and Walgreens. While they did a good job of filling scripts, they are out for the volume business and therefore a little impersonal. They made no attempt to seek generic equivalents for us.

Last couple of scripts we had filled was at the Medicine Chest in LSL. Much more of a small town pharmacy feel where you can go in back and actually talk to the pharmacist. They also saved us quite a bit by recommending generics. By the way, they take TriCare.

Regarding your comment as follows: They made no attempt to seek generic equivalents for us.

Under Florida Statute the pharmacy must supply a generic equivalent unless otherwise requested by the patient or specified as "dispense as written" by the Dr.

[jwh0307]

You'd better get used to the electronic prescribing but don't blame your doctor! Any office not using electronic scripts by the end of June 2011 will be penalized with a 1% reduction in Medicare payments for 2012. That penalty amount increases each year. I work in a medical office and believe me, we'd rather hand you the script also. Unfortunately, big brother won't let us do that! Just thought you should know what's really behind the new electronic rage.

[villages3412]

Not sure how to get word out. Walgreens will be be ending it's contract with the drug company E-scripts. They contract for tricare mail order and drug stores to fill your presciptions I transfered to CVS.


http://www.pharmacytimes.com/market-news/Walgreens-Express-Scripts-Part-Ways

[villages3412]

DOD Notice: Walgreens to Leave TRICARE Pharmacy Network
Beginning January 1, 2012 Walgreens drug stores will no longer be part of the network used by the TRICARE Pharmacy plan known as Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI), which is a Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) company that processes TRICARE pharmacy claims. TRICARE beneficiaries filling a prescription at Walgreens after December 31, 2011, will pay 100 percent of the cost up-front and than file a paper claim for non-network benefit reimbursement, that will dramatically increase out of pocket costs.
Other retail pharmacy options include CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart and Safeway stores and some smaller local pharmacies. In addition, this is a good time to consider TRICARE Home Delivery.

[Russ_Boston]

If it's a long term chronic med then I don't worry about electronic. A day or two delay is no biggie.

But for an immediate need script it never hurts to get the paper!

[blueash]

A little information.. Almost always a pharmacy makes a greater profit by selling you a generic with the obvious exceptions of when they give free antibiotics to get you in the store shopping while you wait. If the brand name wholesale costs 2.50 a pill and they sell it for 3.50 a pill, they make a dollar and had an expensive pill sitting on the shelf for x weeks (time is $$). The generic wholesale is .10 a pill and they sell it for 1.50. You are happy to get the pill for $2 less than the brand name, they made a profit of 1400% WOW. So if a pharmacist did not substitute a generic, the doctor specified brand name only or there is not a generic available, with rare exceptions.

Electronic prescribing is being encouraged by Congress, as begun in the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 and updated in 2006. There is no penalty for not E-prescribing, but there is an incentive to do so. Much of the basis for this came from the inability of pharmacists to read doctors handwriting meaning patients got the wrong drug, the wrong dose, and the wrong outcome. Additionally most electronic prescribing programs have features to check for drug interactions and allergies. The only down side is that you need to pick your pharmacy, although if you change your mind the new pharmacy can call the old one and get the order transferred easily. And if you plan on getting your meds from Canada it won't work for you. Yes, sometimes someone fails to push the right button but a large study from the Institute of Medicine in 2006 for Congress
http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2006/Preventing-Medication-Errors-Quality-Chasm-Series/medicationerrorsnew.pdf
presented data which convincingly showed the harm that patients incur from preventable medication errors. Every electronic prescription program that I am aware of has the capability to also print a paper copy for the patient. At this time you cannot e-script a controlled drug, those must be hand signed on special security paper and given to the patient.

[Russ_Boston]

At this time you cannot e-script a controlled drug, those must be hand signed on special security paper and given to the patient.

Correct. (At least in our practice in MA which has almost 75K patients). They must also show ID and have previously signed a controlled substance release sheet.

[homeball]

Correct. (At least in our practice in MA which has almost 75K patients). They must also show ID and have previously signed a controlled substance release sheet.

Gee, I don't know about that. My Dr e-scripted a controlled drug to my pharmacy CVS last week. The pharmacy filled the prescription with no problem and called me when it was ready. No PAPERWORK required and no ID. I guess the actual fact of what is required is shown by what is experienced by the individual and not the thinking of others.

[Russ_Boston]

Gee, I don't know about that. My Dr e-scripted a controlled drug to my pharmacy CVS last week. The pharmacy filled the prescription with no problem and called me when it was ready. No PAPERWORK required and no ID. I guess the actual fact of what is required is shown by what is experienced by the individual and not the thinking of others.

I was speaking for our practice (I work there as a RN and do handle Rx's) at South Shore Medical Center which is part of Atrius Health (half a million patients in MA). We do not allow controlled substances (think Oxy) which are chronic to be electronically delivered. We also require that patient to come in for a least a 6 month med check before prescribing a renewal. And we require a contract with them that they must sign before beginning the controlled RX.

PS> I didn't like the tone of your response as if I was making it up ("the thinking of others"). I was not "thinking", I was telling you how we do it at our place which isn't a small place my any means. Now if you are talking about a one time RX (for some class of pain killers) then yes we do e-script those.

[brostholder]

As a pharmacist, I may be able to clear this up. Controlled drugs are classified as CI, CII, CIII, CIV. and CV. There is also a class 3N but that is not important for this discussion. CI drugs are those that have high abuse potential and little medical benefit (i.e. heroin, LSD). CII drugs have high abuse potential but also have medical benefit (oxycodone, percocet, morphine, dilaudid). CIII thru CV drugs have lesser degrees of abuse potential and have medical benefit. Doctors are permitted to e-script CIII thru CV drugs. They are not allowed to e-script CII drugs. This may vary from state to state but I have found it to be pretty standard. Some doctors require people that are on long term controlled drugs to sign a contract that only allows the controlled drugs to be filled at a single pharmacy and only written by that doctor. I believe this is one of the things that Russ was referring to. This is an effort to prevent abuse. I am registered in a number of states, but not in Florida, so if any florida laws are substantially different, I am sure someone will post.

[Russ_Boston]

Thanks for the clarification. I only know what we are required/allowed to do in MA.

A good lesson in the classification system. I wasn't aware of the particulars. Learn something every day!

[JohnN]

I've had the same bad experience with electronic Rx's, had to go back and get paper

[Mallory Voice]

I'm at the docs office yesterday and was told I need 3 prescriptions filled and was asked "Do you want me to electronically send them in for you?" I said sure and specified what pharmacy. This was 2 PM. At 5 PM I called the pharmacy & still nothing received from the docs office. Pharmacy said to call back at 8 PM because sometimes at the COB they fax all orders at once. Whatever....8 PM call to pharmacy nuttin. :cus:

This morning I called the docs office..... records said I was given prescriptions. BS....The office was informed that NO I'd never received the scrips and they were "supposedly" sent electronically. Docs office apologized and said they made a mistake and would call the pharmacy right away. I said I'd be in to get the scrips from the docs office and deliver them myself. They assured me they'd be called into the pharmacy. I reluctantly said OK. 1 hour later I picked up my scrips from the pharmacy.

A word of advice - Hand carry your scrips to the pharmacy of your choice to ensure they're received. Oh yeah & last May my scrips were sent to the wrong pharmacy. Another reason to hand carry & deliver the scrips yourself especially if the pharmacy is near your home.

Ya can't make this stuff up.

Life is good. Cold but no snow.

GREAT ADVICE! Thanks, Mallory Voice

[Bonnevie]

I'm a pharmacist, also. I used to work in a retail pharmacy but got out because of the abuse pharmacists take on a daily basis. Believe me, we want as much as you do, to have things go smoothly. Any problems cause work to back up and make us more behind. A considerable amount of the time it is the physician who made the mistake, yet we take the abuse. Retail pharmacies are a business like any other. Just as getting thru to customer service to any place these days requires going thru multiple phone trees, retail pharmacies are trying to do more with less. That includes cutting staff and keeping inventory to a minimum. Obviously, fast movers are in stock all the time. But odd ball items may not be--or they may have had some but the same doc likes to use it and has prescribed it to more than one patient that day. No business, whether pharmacy or any other, wants to keep expensive merchandise on the shelf and with drugs shelf life is limited.
As patients given the new environment, it's important to stay on top of things. Order refills in plenty of time to give a place time to order if they are out. They usually can get an item in a day. Take note when you get your last refill....make sure you either have the pharmacy call or you call your doctor before you run out. Again, the key is not to wait until you are out or almost out.
and please, don't take it out on the poor pharmacists in these stores. they are under incredible pressure...increased work load, constant interruptions, now they have to give vaccine shots and their work has to be perfect. At my hospital we just got a pharmacist from CVS and she said she was yelled at everyday. she took a pay cut but is thankful every day to be out of retail pharmacy. Even at our hospital we take a lot of abuse, but she said it is nothing like CVS.

[NotGolfer]

I'm a pharmacist, also. I used to work in a retail pharmacy but got out because of the abuse pharmacists take on a daily basis. Believe me, we want as much as you do, to have things go smoothly. Any problems cause work to back up and make us more behind. A considerable amount of the time it is the physician who made the mistake, yet we take the abuse. Retail pharmacies are a business like any other. Just as getting thru to customer service to any place these days requires going thru multiple phone trees, retail pharmacies are trying to do more with less. That includes cutting staff and keeping inventory to a minimum. Obviously, fast movers are in stock all the time. But odd ball items may not be--or they may have had some but the same doc likes to use it and has prescribed it to more than one patient that day. No business, whether pharmacy or any other, wants to keep expensive merchandise on the shelf and with drugs shelf life is limited.
As patients given the new environment, it's important to stay on top of things. Order refills in plenty of time to give a place time to order if they are out. They usually can get an item in a day. Take note when you get your last refill....make sure you either have the pharmacy call or you call your doctor before you run out. Again, the key is not to wait until you are out or almost out.
and please, don't take it out on the poor pharmacists in these stores. they are under incredible pressure...increased work load, constant interruptions, now they have to give vaccine shots and their work has to be perfect. At my hospital we just got a pharmacist from CVS and she said she was yelled at everyday. she took a pay cut but is thankful every day to be out of retail pharmacy. Even at our hospital we take a lot of abuse, but she said it is nothing like CVS.

I believe this!!! As an aside to this....we live near 466A where the "traffic" has gotten incredible. Colony Plaza is "crazy" busy and it's not even "high season" yet. When picking up RX's at Walgreens a lot of the time there is a wait (meaning a line). I've seen people be down-right nasty, swearing and taking it out on others (in the line and behind the counter). I've observed the pharmacy workers smile and take it, which is good customer service for sure but I've wanted to give them a hug after some of the scenes I've observed. I really don't want my RX's messed up! Granted some folks don't feel well so that could be part of the behavior but really people, does it get the job done faster to have an out-burst?? Anything given with "sugar" will work better in the long run!

[BarryRX]

I believe this!!! As an aside to this....we live near 466A where the "traffic" has gotten incredible. Colony Plaza is "crazy" busy and it's not even "high season" yet. When picking up RX's at Walgreens a lot of the time there is a wait (meaning a line). I've seen people be down-right nasty, swearing and taking it out on others (in the line and behind the counter). I've observed the pharmacy workers smile and take it, which is good customer service for sure but I've wanted to give them a hug after some of the scenes I've observed. I really don't want my RX's messed up! Granted some folks don't feel well so that could be part of the behavior but really people, does it get the job done faster to have an out-burst?? Anything given with "sugar" will work better in the long run!

As a pharmacist, I'd like to add that while we have to deal with some pretty nasty acting folks, most of also realize that when folks are sick or worried about someone that is sick they can be unpleasant. Most of my customers were patient, appreciative, and just plain nice. Many became friends and remain so until this day. I especially remember the kids, some of whom were quite ill. When their parents would come up to me and tell me that their child was happy that day because they were going to see pharmacist Barry, it would get to me a bit.

[Pa & Giggi]

Barry, as a patient I surely have met a nasty pharmacist (CVS on 441). I will never step foot into that CVS again even though my insurance requires my 90 day Rx's to be filled by CVS. Fortunately, I can use the mail order so that is what I will do from now on.

Having worked for a group of cardiologists I realize just as you do how taxing it can be working with patients, however I believe that some pharmacies go for volume rather than customer service. I have never been treated badly at The Medicine Chest which is where all of my 30 day Rx's will be filled from now on, and my insurance does allow that.

Barry continue to be a pleasant pharmacist and your customers will appreciate it. It doesn't go unnoticed, believe me.

[Bonnevie]

I'm certainly not saying every pharmacist is blameless. I've had bad experiences myself. I'm just saying most problems can be avoided with some foresight and that some patients take their frustration over what was a problem due to their doctors or insurance company on the poor pharmacist or tech. Like Barry, when I am able to help a patient with a problem or have caught a dosing error, or bad drug interaction and prevented a bad outcome, I remember why I went into pharmacy...