Pharmacy Troubles

I have not had this exact experience however I have had negative experiences at walmart pharmacies multiple times and now refuse to use wal mart at all. Once I transferred a rx to walmart and they wouldnt fill it for a week after since my insurance said it had not been enough time because it had been rebilled after the date i received the meds, they would not even let me pay the cash price. Another time, they couldnt re-bill my insurance cause they didnt know how so I had to bill ins. myself and another time I got the third degree refilling my clonazepam early (w/ my dr.'s approval) and my dr. had to call THREE separate times to tell them to release my meds! Another time, at walgreens, my next least favorite pharmacy, they called my dr. about my oxycodone rx and said that I had filled multiple narcotics at other pharmacies and I had to go see him and get a signed note by him telling the pharmacist to release the rx. The reason I had other narcs is they were hydrocodone products which he and his team had prescribed that I could not take due to a stomach sensitivity. I have found, at least in my area, that Albertsons/Sav-On pharmacy is by far the best. They have never questioned any rx's or refills, they will match any other pharmacies price, and always have my rx ready in about 10 minutes. I have been going there exclusively now for about 3 months unless I have to got to a 24hr pharmacy in which case I must deal with the evilness at walgreedys or rite-aid. Also, jenniferlynn, what drug is it (if you dont mind me asking) that you have been having problems filling? And if it is not at narcotic or controlled substance, than why might they think it has potential for abuse and that you might be abusing it. Do you have rx's from many different dr's as well? Just curious and wanting to help. I would avoid walmart in the future if I were you, they seem to hire idiots and be very unorganized in their pharmacies. Best of luck and sorry to ramble.

PDX

I have also found that many privately owned, mom and pop, and other small pharmacies usually have much better service than the big chain stores. They are often much quicker, are willing to help out much more w/ ins., and are generally friendlier than big chains. I will always use these as opposed to rite-aid, walgreens, walmart etc. The worst by far though is costco pharmacy. I have also had meds stolen and had to get a police report and the pharmacist thought I was abusing the meds so he told me dr. who gave me ultracet vs. the percocet that was stolen, I never even took a single tab before it went missing. Big thanks to the pharmacist at rite aid who scared my dr. into giving me ultracet, big difference compared to percocet. I changed drs after that and have been with the same PCP for over a year now and we have an awesome dr-patient-pharmacy relationship with Sav-on pharmacy. I have such a trusting relationship with her that she has no problem writing rx's that I suggest after talking to the pharmacy, some she didnt even nkow existed. Bottom line=stay clear of walmart and I think youll find yourself better off.

I'm sure you could bring a suit against the pharmacy, but who knows how far it would go.  They probably have laws that protect them from this sort of situation, and I've heard that they can "reserve the right" to refuse service due to suspicious behavior or simply by reviewing records.  Which, if that's true, I think that's a load of you-know-what.  Especially if your doctor approves it.  But I would say go for it, if you think that's the right course of action.  Soley my opinion.

I've actually only had problems with one Wal-Mart, but it was because of a mistake on my doctor's part.  He wrote "Lortab 10/325", instead of Norco 10/325, so they told me it had to be either Lortab 10/500 or Norco 10/325.  So even after the Dr. approved it over the phone, they still would not fill it unless I went back to get a new prescription.  Understandable, I guess, but CVS ended up filling it anyway, no questions asked.  The other Wal-Mart that I use now has always been courteous and there are never any questions asked.  Lucky me from the sound of it.

Walgreens, on the other hand, I will never go back to unless I need a 24-hour fill.  When my back specialist referred me to a chiropractor, he said that the chiro would take over filling my meds.  Unfortunately, my chiro appt. was 32 days after my specialist visit, so I had one day without meds.  So when I went to Walgreens with the new prescription, they said they could not fill it till the following day because it was a new doctor.  I had them call the chiro so he could explain, and they still would not fill it.  So when I asked for my rx back, she grabbed it and wrote "Too soon until" then whatever the next day's date was--then handed it to me with a sneer on her face.  No othe pharmacy would fill it that day after that, so what did I do?  I went it there at midnight (12:05 a.m. to be exact) and got it filled.  I think I would rather sit in agony now before going to Walgreens again.  Sorry for writing a novel, but I thought I would share a couple of my experiences.

One thing that needs to be kept in mind in regards to this statement, and thread as a whole, prescribing laws are largely left up to the state. So rules and regulations can/will vary.