Very annoyed with pharmacy, not sure if it's me or them.

[Randi]

It has been a number of years since I used a pharmacy for prescriptions. My son has been on a couple of meds for several years and used to work at a large grocery store. He used the in-store pharmacy to get his meds. The last summer he had to leave work as he is now considered disabled. He can no longer drive and is on more meds. I though it would be convenient if we continued to use the same place & I would just get them. Well it seems that I have had nothing but problems. They don't have enough of the med on hand so give me a few pills to tide us over, then I have to return for the rest. This is a regular occurance. then today I was told that I couldn't get a refill as the prescription was 6 months old. Now when did that change from 1 year? The doctor wrote it for 1 yr because I always read the form. Of course the doctor will have to be called by them, but it was after office hours so I will have to go back again. I am starting to wonder if this is done on purpose to keep people coming back as it is likely they will make other purchases while in the store. Could this be possible? I don't remember having problems like this years ago when my kids were small and were always getting sick.
Can someone enlighten me as to whether this is normal practice now?

 

[nhrenee]

I don't know if what you're describing is "normal practice" or not. But if I need to refill a prescription it can be done over the phone through an automated system. That way it is ready for me ahead of time. Is it possible for you to do this? BTW I go to a local RiteAid.

 

[DebbieB]

I know some prescriptions such as tranquilizers are only good for 6 months.

My company has mail order and I usually use that but for quick prescriptions I have used the local grocery store pharmacy. They also frequently run out of medications and you have to return the next day to get the rest (or sometimes later). I guess they only have so much on hand and if they have alot of requests for one kind in a day they have to ration what they have left.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Acquisition cost on many prescription drugs are sky high.... if a pharmacy buys a bottle of 100 and your Dr. prescribes 10, the bottle may sit on the shelf and expire before another prescription is seen for the same med. Some companies are great with returns, others allow none. We have many expensive meds that we only order if we get the prescription. It is just not cost effective to try to keep everything in stock all the time.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[CarolA]

Well....I think this is bad management. Let's see you come in EVERY month and they don't know you ware going to want the drugs. I would discuss this with them and see what they say.

It sounds to me like this Pharmacy is not doing a large volume. That is true of some grocery stores. You might look around for someplace that does a lot of volume. For example, in my boyfriend's home town EVERYONE gets their prescriptions at WalMart so they have a large formulary!

I agree about calling in and I would give them a 24 to 48 hour notice. Also, some Narcotics and drugs like that are regulated so even if the MD writes a one year prescription they still expire.

 

[Piglet's Pal]

A few years ago I had a problem with Eckerd Drug only giving me enough meds for one day and they told me to come back the next day for the rest. Well, I went back the next day and they only had enough for one more day. I had sick children at home and did not appreciate all the trips to the Pharmacy. I asked them why they didn't tell me up front that there wasn't enough meds and give me a choice to go somewhere else. The pharmacist got really nasty and finally did give me my prescription back so I could go elsewhere. Ever since I have been going to the smaller pharmacy in town and have never had problems. Many other people I talked to had problems with Eckerd also. I will never go there again.
PP

 

[luvdzny]

I don't think that they are trying to get you to come back to the store so you will spend more money. I am the pricing manager of a large grocery store with an in-store pharmacy. The sales at the grocery store have nothing to do with the sales at the pharmacy. They do all there own bookkeeping and we do ours so it would not matter to them if you spent money at the grocery store. Have you tried calling in to order as others have suggested? DD is on lots of medication and I always call a few days before she runs out just to make sure it is going to be there when we need it.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by Piglet's Pal
A few years ago I had a problem with Eckerd Drug only giving me enough meds for one day and they told me to come back the next day for the rest.

I had the same problem with Eckerd Drug. I will no longer shop there. They would never say anything about not having the drug in stock when I dropped off with a sick child in tow. Later when I'd come back to pick up, "oh sorry we're out". I now go to a smaller, family owned pharmacy that is across the street from the doctor's office. They seem to have much better inventory control.

 

[luv2nascar]

I had the same problem with Eckerd &CVS
Walmart doesnt even carry my husbands blood pressure med only the generic version so I have to call couple of days in advance to get it filled
seems to me its all pharmacies any more
they keep their overhead low by not stocking the meds
it is so annoying to the customer

 

[Poohnatic]

I know a lot of time, stock isn't there on less prescribed medicines due to cost.

I had to take blood thinners during my second pregnancy. The dose would be adjusted weekly. I started with the supermarket pharmacy and did my best to call them ahead of time, but with dosage changes, they couldn't keep up.

Then one day, I happened by the pharmacy in Target (at that time, I was in target at least twice a week and never tried their pharmacy) The pharmacist had a lot of info for me about the medication and their price was better, so I switched. The best part was their automated call ahead.

Five years later, we've had a turnaround in pharmacists at that store, but every one of them has been fantastic. They've gotten used to our calls three to four days before we need a refill (lots of meds between DS and I) and I can refill at any other target when traveling.

I think the most important thing is establishing a rapport with your pharmacy team. Sounds like the team at the location you are at now is overworked and doesn't have the time to give you the heads up on important stuff. I'd shop around, talk to other pharmacies and find one that you like the answers you get.

In 16 years and four moves around my state, I've been very fortunate to have had two extremely long term relationships with excellent pharmacies. Both have been like the pharmacy in my hometown, you walk up and are greeted by name! (one at a grocery store and the Target location) You can find that quality of service where you are...good luck!



Suzanne

 

[Randi]

I appreciate your replies to my post. I didn't think to call in prior to picking the meds up. It has been a long time since I had to deal with prescriptions and I just bring in the bottles and hand them to the pharmacist & wait for the refill. Guess I never thought of calling in ahead. Duh. The meds we use are very common, a diuretic (generic) and a blood pressure one, also generic. ACE inhibitor to be exact. The pharmacy is in the largest grocery store in the area, and seems always busy. At least 2 pharmacists and a clerk on duty when I am there.
So I will definitely call ahead & see if that improves matters. Otherwise I will do some shopping for a better place.

the funny thing is on the ACE inhibitor bottle that he said needed a new prescription, it is printed that it's OK to refill until 8/14/04, which would be a year.

 

[ebaynut31]

I work in a Mass pharmacy and if your child's insurance is Masshealth or thru the state, THEY will only honor the rx for 6 mos. They require the patient to get a new rx every 6 mos. Not the pharmacy. If you have more questions, I would love to answer them. Just pm me and I will give you all the info I have.

I can tell you that we run into many arguements because of that.

We also have gone to a new reordering system that has had many, many problems. We try our best but sometimes we just don't have the full product in stock. Giving 2 or 3 days notice definitely helps because we can get the product the next day.

 

[lsyorke]

I use CVS in NJ and our prescriptions are only good for 6 months regardless of what the doctor writes. Needless to say I get new prescriptions for DH whenever he goes to the Doctor. The Doctor can extend the time by calling the pharmacy which is recorded as a new prescription.(a renewal!). I use the Rapid Refill all the time(call ahead to a machine) and the pharmacist will call if they have to order the medication or don't have a full supply available.

It's got to be expensive for a pharmacy to keep a ton of medications in stock just in case someone needs it. That accounts for the partial fills that are completed after the medications are delivered from the warehouse.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Originally posted by ebaynut31


We try our best but sometimes we just don't have the full product in stock. Giving 2 or 3 days notice definitely helps because we can get the product the next day.

Exactly!!

Sometimes, even though deliveries are received every day..... there are backorders that are beyond the pharmacy's control. Also, there are times when the pharmacy is only allowed to order a specified quantity of any given drug. Many times they can pass this info on to the consumer, but other times they do not find out themselves until the item is ordered.

 

[shortbun]

Ds was on liquid Zantac for years. It became harder and
harder to find as the manufacturer kept stopping or delaying
production and distribution. I had to call around every month
to find a pharmacy that had it. Not the fault of the pharmacist
but a pain.

 

[ebaynut31]

And, the liquid Zantac goes real fast when there are gastric bypass surgeries done. We couldn't get it fast enough. You never can tell who is going to need what, when. We had 4 people in one month come in for their meds and we just couldn't anticipate that.

Otherwise, I think we have a good pharmacy.