Shugardrawers
<font color=teal><b>Ovarian Cancer Survivor!<br><f
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2003
- Messages
- 9,309
Does this make any sense to you? Because they lost me on the logic here.
Dr S. gives me pain meds (Darvocet) for a shoulder injury. He can't get me in for surgery until next month so they are just to keep me comfortable until then. The dosage is 1 or 2 every 6 hours as needed-MAX 6 per day. So at minimum a bottle of 30 lasts 5 or more days. So when you write a script for 1 bottle of 30 plus 2 refills you think you'd be eligible for a refill anytime after those 15 days pass right? Wrong apparently. Yesterday I called for a refill (it had actually been 22 days since the original rx was written and I'll be out tomorrow so 24 days will have passed). Simple math says I'm taking an average of 3-4 per day which is under the max stated on the rx.
The receptionist looks at my chart and tells me I'm not eligible for a refill for 4 more days. I tell her I'm not taking more than is prescribed so that can't be. She argues with me a little bit then says that Dr S is on vacation and Dr M's nurse will have to call me back. First, why is the receptionist even making this judgement? It's between me and my Dr. Shortly thereafter, the nurse calls. She says that office policy is that the Dr. on call will only refill pain meds for recent post op patients. Any others have to wait for their dr. to return. Coincidentally, it's 4 days until he gets back (remember the receptionist said I wasn't eligible for 4 days). Had I known this was the policy I'd have told him I would be needing a refill around now at my last visit but I didn't. When I asked the nurse what Dr. M suggested I do for pain relief between now and Tuesday when Dr. S. returns she said if it was that bad to go to the ER.
If I were to go to the ER for pain meds I'd not only be wasting the ER's time (they have more important things to do) I'd be wasting $1000's of dollars of the insurance company's money. Yes, it hurts, no, not enough for me to justify such waste. Besides, if their goal is to keep from over prescribing and preventing abuse, wouldn't it be best to keep it all in the same practice where the right hand knows what the left hand is doing? If I were truly just after the buzz I could go to the doc down the street and start all over. And then to the doc next door to him. But since I didn't feel the need to beg for a refill until I actually needed it I screwed myself.
In what universe does this make sense? Isn't this just benefitting the people who know how to work the system and leaving those of us who aren't trying to out in the cold??
Dr S. gives me pain meds (Darvocet) for a shoulder injury. He can't get me in for surgery until next month so they are just to keep me comfortable until then. The dosage is 1 or 2 every 6 hours as needed-MAX 6 per day. So at minimum a bottle of 30 lasts 5 or more days. So when you write a script for 1 bottle of 30 plus 2 refills you think you'd be eligible for a refill anytime after those 15 days pass right? Wrong apparently. Yesterday I called for a refill (it had actually been 22 days since the original rx was written and I'll be out tomorrow so 24 days will have passed). Simple math says I'm taking an average of 3-4 per day which is under the max stated on the rx.
The receptionist looks at my chart and tells me I'm not eligible for a refill for 4 more days. I tell her I'm not taking more than is prescribed so that can't be. She argues with me a little bit then says that Dr S is on vacation and Dr M's nurse will have to call me back. First, why is the receptionist even making this judgement? It's between me and my Dr. Shortly thereafter, the nurse calls. She says that office policy is that the Dr. on call will only refill pain meds for recent post op patients. Any others have to wait for their dr. to return. Coincidentally, it's 4 days until he gets back (remember the receptionist said I wasn't eligible for 4 days). Had I known this was the policy I'd have told him I would be needing a refill around now at my last visit but I didn't. When I asked the nurse what Dr. M suggested I do for pain relief between now and Tuesday when Dr. S. returns she said if it was that bad to go to the ER.
If I were to go to the ER for pain meds I'd not only be wasting the ER's time (they have more important things to do) I'd be wasting $1000's of dollars of the insurance company's money. Yes, it hurts, no, not enough for me to justify such waste. Besides, if their goal is to keep from over prescribing and preventing abuse, wouldn't it be best to keep it all in the same practice where the right hand knows what the left hand is doing? If I were truly just after the buzz I could go to the doc down the street and start all over. And then to the doc next door to him. But since I didn't feel the need to beg for a refill until I actually needed it I screwed myself.
In what universe does this make sense? Isn't this just benefitting the people who know how to work the system and leaving those of us who aren't trying to out in the cold??
) It says "1-2 tablets every 6 hours as needed for pain -MAX 6 PER DAY Quantity:30 Refills: 2". While Doc may have mixed up quantity with #of days supply, the pharmacy did dispense as written. Unfortunately, the doc isn't in until Tues to fix it and in the meantime, everyone else in the office is making me feel like a druggie for even asking for the refill even though I'm taking 1/2 the prescribed max. I've been told absolutely not end of story. Why do some people think anyone on a narcotic is an addict??
