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Old 01-14-2014, 05:53 PM
 
6,293 posts, read 10,543,662 times
Reputation: 7505

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So you're upset because you can't hop from pharmacy to pharmacy and doctor to doctor getting as many pain pills as you like just because you pay cash so the insurance can't stop you? Yep I worked in a pharmacy for many years. I've heard all of the excuses, but that doesn't change the facts. Some people are drug seekers and the pharmacist shouldn't have to risk their license to assist in that activity.

 
Old 01-14-2014, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Mississippi
1,248 posts, read 2,158,566 times
Reputation: 2534
Quote:
Originally Posted by rural lady View Post
Since I finally rec'd an rx for pain meds, my pharmacy never has enough to fill it, meaning I need to go back to the doctors office and get another rx for it. My pharmacy called the other pharmacies and no they haven't got it either. I think they are limited on what they order or what they are allowed to give the person. Maybe a new hidden rule.
I think you may have misunderstood somewhere. If the pharmacy only has half of your prescription on file they will give you the other half when they get it in without you having to go back to the doctor for another prescription for the last half that they already prescribed you. What you can't do is split one prescription between multiple pharmacies. You need to call around and ask different pharmacies if they have what you need in stock. If they do get it filled there and let the pharmacist know that you will require the same amount the next month. Using multiple pharmacies for a narcotic prescription looks suspicious. Pick a pharmacy, let them know in advance what you need, and stick with it. If you go to a pain clinic you need to use the same pharmacy each time because around here you will get cut off by the clinic if you use different ones. As another poster mentioned, people are robbing these pharmacies at gunpoint, so in some cases it is not safe to keep large amounts of narcotics on hand.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 01:42 AM
 
Location: San Francisco
2,279 posts, read 4,727,700 times
Reputation: 4025
Wow, that's unbelievable. I'm infuriated at the idea that a patient in pain could be denied a legally prescribed medication.

This sort of baloney is the last thing you need to deal with when you've had an emergency trip to the ER for an injury or had an emergency appendectomy.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 07:06 AM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,343 posts, read 14,609,076 times
Reputation: 10548
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roselvr View Post
Walgreens has a new policy for pain medications; they are black balling customers both new & old.
The new policy is supposedly designed to protect their pharmacists but in turn; people with chronic pain are being hurt. Right now there is a medication shortage; taking away one pharmacy can really hurt someone that needs medications. I was a customer of Walgreens since November 2009. My store was out of my meds; I filled at a local store; no customer courtesy; the pharmacist black balled me. Once black balled; you can't use any Walgreens period forever. When it happened to me; I could not get a copy of the policy; it's a huge secret. I go to reputable doctors; have been on the same meds for years. Why was my business all of a sudden not wanted? I've spent $5,000 to $10,000. per year out of pocket. I contacted Walgreens corporate who told me that I was only banned from one pharmacist (wrong). I wrote the FB page trying to get a copy of the policy; they told me that my scripts must have been inappropriate. I made a post on a FB group I go to; someone gave me a copy of the story below.

Walgreens' "secret checklist" reveals controversial new policy on pain pills
Walgreens calls it Good Faith Dispensing Policy checklist.

The controversial checklist – and the policy behind it -- first came to light earlier this year after 13 Investigates reported many Walgreens customers are facing problems when trying to get prescription refills for pain medication.

Walgreens patrons across the nation told Eyewitness News their prescriptions were being delayed or denied because of a new pharmacy policy, but Walgreens would not tell them what the policy is. When WTHR contacted The Walgreen Company corporate headquarters for more information, the pharmacy chain declined to provide a copy of its GFD Policy, explaining it is for "internal use only."

According to the GFD checklist: a pharmacist is required to complete four mandatory steps before filling a prescription for one of the GFD Policy target drugs:

Check Walgreens' national Itercom Plus computer system to confirm the prescription has not been previously denied by another Walgreens pharmacy
Review a customer's personal prescription drug history maintained by a state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). In Indiana, the state tracks all residents' opiod prescriptions using an online PDMP system called INSPECT.
Photocopy a valid government photo ID for the individual(s) dropping off and picking up each prescription
Answer a series of seven questions about the prescription, patient and prescribing doctor to look for "red flags" of possible prescription drug abuse

The additional seven questions include:

Whether the patient has previously received the same medication from Walgreens (new prescription or new patient is a red flag)
Whether the prescription is written for the same medication and from the same doctor as the previous fill (new doctor is possible red flag)
Whether the patient and doctor listed on the prescription are within close geographical proximity to the drug store (far distances that cannot be explained are a red flag)
Whether the prescription is being filled on time (attempt to fill early is a red flag)
Whether the patient is paying for the prescription using insurance (cash is a red flag)
Whether the quantity of pills prescribed is considered excessive (more than 120 pills is a red flag if paying by insurance; more than 60 pills is a red flag if paying cash)
Whether the patient has been taking the same medication and dosage for a long time (more than 6 months is a red flag)

Based on the results of the previous steps and questions, Walgreen's checklist instructs pharmacists to use their "professional judgement" (sic) to determine whether the prescription should be filled or the pharmacy should take the additional step of calling the prescribing doctor to ask more questions.

If a call to the physician is needed to further verify the prescription, the checklist directs Walgreens staff to "verify/confirm any number of the following points" with the doctor:

Prescription is written within prescriber's scope of practice
Diagnosis
Therapeutic regimen is within standard of care
Expected length of treatment
Date of last physical and pain assessment
Use of alternative/lesser prescription medications for pain control
Coordination with other clinicians involved in patient care


Having trouble getting a prescription for pain medication filled at Walgreens? File a complaint here.
The problem here isn't Walgreens, but government intrusion into your private medical records.

The "drug war" isn't a valid excuse for government investigators to snoop and pry into everyone's private medical records, nor is it a valid reason to allow government agents to second guess your doctor or pharmacist.

don't lose sight of the forest for the trees.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 07:13 AM
 
Location: Sloooowcala Florida
1,392 posts, read 3,116,371 times
Reputation: 1232
This is truly sad... The people who genuinely need these medications are being treated like criminals. There has got to be a better way to deal with this situation. Many people will have pain and need medicine for the rest of their lives. Not everything can be fixed by surgery or alternative medicine.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 07:14 AM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,343 posts, read 14,609,076 times
Reputation: 10548
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl View Post
Florida has a HUGE problem with prescription drug abuse. NOT all docs are legit, there are many who are just pill mills and give prescriptions to people who sell them on the street or abuse them. Florida starting really cracking down in the last couple of years. My best friend is a pharmacist in Florida and has told me about all the issues and all the extra steps they are required to take (she does not work for Walgreen's). If Walgreen's really did get that fine, it is understandable they are going to go overboard in the other direction until it evens out.
It isn't "understandable" for the government to insert itself between you and your doctor. The "drug war" already failed.. it's over, done, kaput.. anyone who hasn't figured that out yet is either lying or isn't very smart, and certainly has no business looking at *my* medical records.

FWIW, I don't currently take any pain meds, and haven't for years, but I want them to be easily available if I do need them.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 11:54 AM
 
2,845 posts, read 5,993,300 times
Reputation: 3749
That's terrible! I had surgery once, was given percocet at the hospital (1 pill) then a prescription for vicodin. A few hours after we got home I was in agony so hubby rushed to the store. They gave him about 1/4 of the prescription but we got the rest the next day.

I don't understand if you have a legitimate/legal/valid prescription from the doctor, how it's an business of the pharmacist to do anything BUT give you your medication? Even if some entity were to check, they'd see - valid prescription, CHECK, correct number of pills given, CHECK. DONE.

There's always Canadian pharmacies...
 
Old 01-15-2014, 12:09 PM
 
50,191 posts, read 35,868,562 times
Reputation: 76155
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wry_Martini View Post
Wow, that's unbelievable. I'm infuriated at the idea that a patient in pain could be denied a legally prescribed medication.

This sort of baloney is the last thing you need to deal with when you've had an emergency trip to the ER for an injury or had an emergency appendectomy.
I am assuming this more applies to those with chronic pain, not someone who rarely takes pain meds. They are not after the occasional users of these meds. But to deny the very real problem of prescription drug abuse in this country is living in fantasy. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world that the states, who are having to pay for abusers via the correctional system, health care system, unemployment, etc, are holding accountable the corporations who profit greatly by our increasingly drug-addled country.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 06:17 PM
 
Location: NJ
23,803 posts, read 33,292,662 times
Reputation: 30646
Quote:
Originally Posted by wit-nit View Post
I don't believe that at all. Their pharmacists are not doctors and I've never experienced their opinion on medical issues. The only thing I've ever been asked is if I've taken this medicine before and do I know hoe to use it.
If a pharmacists asks you about personal medical conditions that didn't apply to the meds prescribed that would be an individual pharmacist action, not Walgreens policy. That person should be reported if they are violating policies.
Walgreens pharmacists as any other pharmacists do have the right and obligation to check with your doctor if they detect an uncommon or unusual amount of prescriptions being submitted by a consumer in a very short period of time. Also most insurance companies may want to know also as they only pay for a certain amount of prescribed meds in a years timetable.
The 1st step in this was for the pharmacist to contact my doctor to get my diagnosis. They have had all of that. I normally only use one Walgreens pharmacy until this back order of medications. I have been on the same medication for years; which can all be seen in my profile. This one pharmacist decides that I now fall under their no fill criteria without asking questions. It pisses me off they are giving this much power to one pharmacist because of how he interpreted their rules. I do not have an issue if Walgreens allows their pharmacist to not want to put their license on the line but to ban loyal patient from every store?

I really need to write corporate. This won't get better if none of us complain.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shirina View Post
I'm not surprised by any of this considering how messed up our priorties are.

I suffer from a very severe case of peripheral neuropathy that no one can pinpoint the cause or even adequately treat the pain. I spend SO much of my time in bed with a death grip on the sheets, yowling like a wolf, in extreme pain.

Can I get pain meds? No, because the nanny state says I might abuse them. Who cares? It's like what a nurse told me: If you're going to be on pain meds the rest of your life, who cares if you get addicted to them?

But because we have become a legal society filled with litigation and lawyers and people wanting a pound of flesh for every tiny infraction, this is what we get - a society that spends more time punishing than helping. If we spent our time and resources on just about any other endeavor as we do on punishing and avoiding punishment, our species would probably be 50 to 100 years ahead of where we currently are.

We would rather spend our energies keeping pain meds away from one individual who abuses them than to place them into the hands of a thousand people who genuinely need them.

We're so paranoid about drug use that even medications are practically outlawed. I sometimes take a drug called Trama-Dol or Ultram. It is okay - it is a far better for pain relief than neurontin/gabapentin alone. But, even though it is a NON-NARCOTIC pain med, I've heard they want to make it a scheduled drug and regulate it the same way they would oxycodone and vicadin, etc.

Well, if they do that, I swear, I'll just euthanize myself. There is no way I'm going to live the next 50 years with that kind of pain and no way to effectively relieve it.

Oh yeah, euthanasia is illegal too! Haha! I think our society is a bunch of sado-masochists who get off on seeing other people in pain. It has to be that. Or something. I dunnae.
That's exactly what they're doing; keeping them away from people that need them. There are other articles where Walgreens are doing just that to people with chronic pain. The main article is due to an ex Walgreens pharmacist who also would have been black balled because she suffers chronic pain.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rural lady View Post
They are going to go after Neurontin and Gabapentin? For Gods sake this is horrible! and you're right I'd rather euthanize myself than to go through the pain every day, how much does a person need to take? We are punished for the few, some people are not happy unless they are interfering in someone else's lives. Its not our fault someone overdosed, maybe they wanted to. Those kids are well aware what they are doing, don't blame the rest of us.
It's addicting; so they will go after it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spazkat9696 View Post
So you're upset because you can't hop from pharmacy to pharmacy and doctor to doctor getting as many pain pills as you like just because you pay cash so the insurance can't stop you? Yep I worked in a pharmacy for many years. I've heard all of the excuses, but that doesn't change the facts. Some people are drug seekers and the pharmacist shouldn't have to risk their license to assist in that activity.
Who is this directed to?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Madeline2121 View Post
I think you may have misunderstood somewhere. If the pharmacy only has half of your prescription on file they will give you the other half when they get it in without you having to go back to the doctor for another prescription for the last half that they already prescribed you. What you can't do is split one prescription between multiple pharmacies. You need to call around and ask different pharmacies if they have what you need in stock. If they do get it filled there and let the pharmacist know that you will require the same amount the next month. Using multiple pharmacies for a narcotic prescription looks suspicious. Pick a pharmacy, let them know in advance what you need, and stick with it. If you go to a pain clinic you need to use the same pharmacy each time because around here you will get cut off by the clinic if you use different ones. As another poster mentioned, people are robbing these pharmacies at gunpoint, so in some cases it is not safe to keep large amounts of narcotics on hand.
Some pharmacies will not do that with narcotics so you have to forfeit the script. My doctor will not let me do that; I would have to bring the script back so she could write it for the amount they had.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zippyman View Post
The problem here isn't Walgreens, but government intrusion into your private medical records.

The "drug war" isn't a valid excuse for government investigators to snoop and pry into everyone's private medical records, nor is it a valid reason to allow government agents to second guess your doctor or pharmacist.

don't lose sight of the forest for the trees.
The problem here is Walgreens. Those of us with chronic pain have jumped through hoops. In most states you have to go to pain management. The doctors have also written medical necessity letters as well as helped with denials. We sign pain management contracts where we can't accept certain medications from other doctors; including pain meds for oral surgery or any type of surgery. If you're having surgery; you then are the patient of the surgeon until they write you a referral back to pain management. It all depends on the doctor & what's being done.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zippyman View Post
It isn't "understandable" for the government to insert itself between you and your doctor. The "drug war" already failed.. it's over, done, kaput.. anyone who hasn't figured that out yet is either lying or isn't very smart, and certainly has no business looking at *my* medical records.

FWIW, I don't currently take any pain meds, and haven't for years, but I want them to be easily available if I do need them.
If you need them; you may be able to get them at 1st; it's when there is no other hope is when you get screwed!

Quote:
Originally Posted by beera View Post
That's terrible! I had surgery once, was given percocet at the hospital (1 pill) then a prescription for vicodin. A few hours after we got home I was in agony so hubby rushed to the store. They gave him about 1/4 of the prescription but we got the rest the next day.

I don't understand if you have a legitimate/legal/valid prescription from the doctor, how it's an business of the pharmacist to do anything BUT give you your medication? Even if some entity were to check, they'd see - valid prescription, CHECK, correct number of pills given, CHECK. DONE.

There's always Canadian pharmacies...
Valid prescription from a respected doctor; not just any doctor. I know people that get medications long term from a family doctor. I'm not talking percocet either; I'm talking high powered medication & a lot of it

Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl View Post
I am assuming this more applies to those with chronic pain, not someone who rarely takes pain meds. They are not after the occasional users of these meds. But to deny the very real problem of prescription drug abuse in this country is living in fantasy. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world that the states, who are having to pay for abusers via the correctional system, health care system, unemployment, etc, are holding accountable the corporations who profit greatly by our increasingly drug-addled country.
It also depends what medication it is; even for someone that rarely takes it.
 
Old 01-15-2014, 07:12 PM
 
Location: southern born and southern bred
12,477 posts, read 17,732,076 times
Reputation: 19590
Quote:
Originally Posted by beera View Post
There's always Canadian pharmacies...

???? and who pray tell can simply go to Canada to visit a pharmacy?

Our govt. needs to butt out of private citizens lives and obey HIPAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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