Lost/Stolen Medication and the Ulcers they Cause

You sound like a republican, but I can't say I disagree with you!~ I've tutored at schools and seen first hand a woman who had 5 daughters all under the age of 7 who each had a different dad. YEP, FIVE different daddies! To top it all off, she was about 250-300lbs of fun

Yeah, where i work, every single day we hear: "dropped them on a dirty floor" "left them on the bus" left them at the restaurant" "left them at the hotel" "dog ate them" "dropped them in the toilet" "spilled coffee on them" "got ruined when there was a leak in the ceiling" -- it's so IRRITATING! And, since our patients don't pay for them, they are replaced without hesitation, lest they call their congressman and complain of how we are denying meds to someone who "fought for this country". Never mind that they just got out of jail after being arrested for SELLING VICODIN! $#$%$^*#@@!! Seriously, can't they just lose their atenolol once and a while to humor us?

Hey TAP,

Ok, so this isn't really related to your post, but I saw this and thought of you: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/dlw/484597226.html
I'm not sure if it's comforting or alarming to have kindred souls in other professions...but at least we don't have a monopoly on the market of dumbfuckery.

One word, AMEN!!!! Preach it! I'm on the front row with my hands in the air. You speak the truth young wise one! Thanks for keeping this pharmacist with a big ol smile on her face!!!!!

Damn straight!

Well, this explains why my pharmacist almost died of shock the other day.

I came in with my bottle of medicine, happily turned to paste, thanks to my cat knocking it into a soaking pan, and it sitting, cap side down, over night. I was about half way through the month, and I have to take it every day, so I went to get it replaced. I knew insurance wouldn't cover it, and the cat wasn't coming up with any money, so I was ready to pay the 15 bucks it was going to cost for a half month supply.

In any case, the pharmacist acted so shocked when I was like "Yeah, I'll pay out of pocket" without a quibble. I'm the idiot who left a bottle of pills next to a pan of sitting water with a rambunctious teenage kitten in the house.

The one (and probably only) thing I love about our state Medicaid program: they WILL NOT cover lost or stolen meds. The only exception to this is when the patient files a police report, and the state requires a case number before they cover said lost/stolen med.

In all 5 1/2 years interning, I have heard tons of Medicaid whiners with their "stolen" medications, but only one time have we ever had a police report filed.

The rest of the Medicaid program is a fucking headache, but that's a different rant altogether...

Our store (an independent) refuses to deal with lost meds. If they loose them, they can go to the doctor, get a new rx, and go to another pharmacy.

As it turns out, since we instituted that policy the number of lost prescriptions has decreased dramatically. Now we have more lipitor lost (or spilled down the sink, etc) than controls.

Thanks to the democrats for all of these programs that created this mess. You wanted BIG government you got it! A big thank you to the dems for all of these problems you have created!!. And you want Obama to fix this ... Wake up and get ready mor more BIG government if the Dems get in.

Doug, I never you were so fucking funny!

Yup. Dogs have a magical ability to eat only Oxycontin and never docusate. And the idjit never seems worried about the dog dying of an overdose either. Hmmmmmm....

My favorite is "I left them on the bus".

There are some things that I do over a sink, like brush my teeth, wash my hands, wash dishes, pots and pans. There are some other things that I would NEVER do over a sink. Stuff like repairing a wrist watch. "What if one of the small parts were to fall?" I would ask myself. If the drain were open one of those tiny gear wheels or sprockets might be irretrievably lost. If the drain were closed and the sink contained water, the delicately machined parts might be damaged. I'd be too smart to do something this foolish!

So why the fuck do I get a call about once a week from some drug-abusing welfare moron who lost ALL his/her/their pills when the vial was opened "over a sink full of soapy water"? Isn't their life saving/sustaining medicine even more important than the inner workings of their Rolex?

Ask yourself if you've EVER, even once, opened a bottle of pills over a sink full of water. The answer is probably not, because you realize that YOU'D have to pay for the medicine you spoiled, or do without. Yet as TAP points out, they expect us to pay for their carelessness ......over and over and over, again. Not to mention how insulting this is to the intelligence of the average person.

My all time favorite request, though, is the early refill (usually for Vicodin, alprazolam, etc.) because they're "going on vacation." From WHAT? Certainly not from their job!!! How would one who does not work differentiate a "vacation" from the rest of his/her useless fuckin' life?

Finally, could some MPH/PhD candidate please do a study to find out why those who are on the state tit have such low pain thresholds, coupled with such high anxiety levels, that medication becomes a way of life. What could possibly make them all so nervous? The prospect of being required to get a job is the only thing that comes to mind.

They have such high anxiety because they are afraid that they are going to get caught for selling their kids Adderall!!!!!!!!

I once saw a young mother at Wal-Mart asking a manager to give her a new gallon of milk for free because her son dropped the one they bought in the parking lot and the container broke. No joke.

How often do you think normal people actually lose their medications? I never have. Plus, I have four cats and they have NEVER spilled any of my pills into the toilet or anywhere else. Now I suppose that's because I DON'T TAKE NARCOTICS. Those are the only pills that seem to get lost, stolen, spilled. I mean, I've dropped an Ibuprofen or two down the sink, maybe even an Allegra or Synthroid, but not enough to require a whole early refill.

I refuse to refill patients' narcotics that have been "stolen". I tell them that if I can see a police report I might consider it--funny how that ends the conversation. I also don't refill "spilled" narcotics. I tell them it's their responsibility to keep them safe--after all they are controlled substances that could end up in the wrong hands and get sold on the street or something...

This was a GREAT rant, TAP. Thanks!

Who can guarantee they dont sell their drugs?

Who can guarantee you that you are not part of a criminal act when you dispense this medication for free?

I come from Greece where this thing doesnt happen but i am very sure that if we did give out drugs for free, there would certainly be cases like that.

>

Someone like the people described in that rant, if they DID purchase and use a turkey fryer, would probably do something that would qualify them for a Darwin Award.

Now, to read the rest of the thread.

Major props for this post!

No sooner did I read this post than someone called and told me me her Vicodin was stolen. Of course she took 15 minutes to tell her story, but I knew where it was leading. Told her there were no refills, my hands were tied unless I heard from the doctor. She was like, "Even with a police report?!" Well, unless the police report has the doctor's authorization for more refills..um...NOPE. Sorry biatch.

You rock, TAP. We need to go have a beer or 2.. or 3... or some tequila.. sometime!

SIGH....After a long day in the bad part of town on the FIRST of the MONTH I log on and here's such a wonderfully relevant post!! Not to mention the lazy fuckers (who had all damn day to come in) wait till the last 30 minutes we are open to all rush their asses in and try to get "everything I can get filled" before we close. Know why the FIRST of the MONTH sucks so bad? It's because the government assistance programs all "start over" then! Welfare checks, medicaid refills, all of the wonderful "free rides" out there. You don't see all the private insurance people running to the pharmacy a certain time of the month, do you?

Anyway, I had a lovely baby momma tonight wait till 10 minutes before we close to fly in the door with her new "state card" (the good old free one) for her son's breathing medicine (174 days since the inhaler had been filled, but guess that's not too important?) It doesn't help that she called 2 hrs before to ask if there were refills "available" but didn't say she wanted it filled, she was just "checking." Then she proceeded to buy a few STEAKS and her 200 pount 10 yr old started belting out "B-I-N-G-O, and Bingo was his NAME-O" right in the window when she was picking it up. (I'll give you a guess whether she even reprimanded him for being rude...) Anyway I got a tight lipped smirk as a "thank you/goodbye" even though it was after closing when we finished up. I really didn't want the kid having an asthma attack b/c the mom was so slack...guess thinking like that will always keep me late, huh?

Anyway, thanks as always for being so refreshingly direct regarding freeloaders and their shitty habits. It always makes me feel so much better that I'm not the only one that thinks these things!

Hey. That actually happened to me once. I dropped a jar of Ragu in the parking lot and the grocery store DID give me a new one for free!

I didn't even ask for it!

I'm smart and I've lost a written prescription before (which makes me stupid, I guess). After I had surgery, my ortho doc kept giving me prescriptions for percocet. I was still working on the first prescription when he wrote me a THIRD prescription. I lost both the second and third prescriptions, but it didn't matter because by the time I needed more, he wrote me a forth prescription. No one ever knew I lost those prescriptions. In fact, I sometimes wonder what the hell happened to them. I lived in a metro area and left them on my car seat. They probably got stolen, not lost.

I'm double-stupid.

Good call SCPharm.....
After I too worked the 1st, and stayed 25 minutes late because no one gets sick until 5:50pm on a Saturday night (when we close at 6) or they immediately needed their prescription filled today that was written 2 months ago....it makes you realize how ungrateful these lazy welfare people are. I don't think I would have such a bad taste in my mouth if ANY showed me some appreciation for the things I go out of my way to do for them. Now, not only does my single, child free income go to support these people, but I have to bend over and take it up the ass all in the name of customer service. Aargh...bring on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th of the month before my next day off!!!!! Hopefully, I'll get to see my sweet cAsh paying customers soon!!!

Speaking of druggies...my rural pharmacy never fails to attract stupidity and ignorance: Here is an actual encounter I had with a customer:

A druggie hooked on hydrocodone has been hopping and
shopping so I called the docs to let them know, and
the docs both proceeded to call the patient to inform
her she is no longer welcome at their office. Well
I'll be damned if the pt didnt come waltzing into the
pharmacy today with a chip on her shoulder...Imagine a
tall mid 30's woman trying to sound
intelligent...these are her exact words regarding her
so-called naivete about controlled substances...
" Youknow I ain't know the rules of engagement in
rufurence
to the alleged infarction! You know I gots da kids and
I gots to be functional and you know theyz at da
ballpark and I gots to sit on da bleachers, you know
and I caint take that Ot-zy-cont cuz you know I got
dat L-5 diskus problem. Last night when you said it
was illegal to fill that rx, a flash-bulb went off in
my haid, you know, and I aint no specimen to be poked
and prodded you know cuz you know what I sayin? " ,
followed by a delirious chuckling laugh that continued
for another 53.2 seconds!

* Profanity was flying out of my head like a ticker
tape at a stock crash, while I smiled at her the whole
time, at the same time flicking the bird behind the
partition.

If I become insane before my time, y'all will know
it's because I put up with this bullshit everyday!!!

My favorite is explaining that the medication does not actually cost "Only $5." when someone wants an early refill b/c of a meds loss. I weep for the day a person comes in b/c they lost their Lovenox.

Whomever mentioned "vacation" - I totally agree. "I need to get away" - um, from your free everything lifestyle? I want to know right now what state pays for these people's vacations - because I want to move there, gain 400 lbs, claim my back hurts too much to work, and live off everyone. :)

My personal favorite - when I am revewing meds of people that get admitted to the hospital - is the Provigil. Provigil, last time I checked, was a butt-load of money. As a doc, I NEED PROVIGIL TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT ADMITTING YOUR ASS FOR THE 3RD TIME THIS WEEK FOR A FRIGGIN' COLD. I NEED PROVIGIL TO KEEP COMING TO SEE YOU IN YOUR PRIVATE HOSPITAL ROOM ALL NIGHT BECAUSE YOU WANT A SLEEPER - OR 2 - WHEN YOU'VE GOT YOUR ROOM FULL OF 27 FAMILY MEMBERS BLARING THE TV - ALL THANKFUL THEY HAVE A PLACE TO CRASH FOR THE NIGHT! Why are physicians giving these people provigil? WHAT DO THEY NEED TO BE not-fatiged for? Why on earth do I care if a medicaid gal stays awake or not???????? Go to sleep for goodness sake - the more hours you sleep, the less time that leaves for you to rush your 14 kids to the ER because you've got nothing better to do that day...the less time there is for you to lose your meds over your bathwater full of bubble bath (would ruin the taste of the pills if they fell into bubble bath)...etc...

Okay - that was therapeutic. But, I still don't understand the provigil!

Biggest Fan, you and your physician colleagues would be envious of the vacation destinations that have been mentioned to me over the years! Many involve cruise ships; all involve places that are sunny, warm, fun, and (usually) expensive. Naturally, welfare recipients consistently tell me that they are the beneficiaries of the generosity of others, e.g. the boyfriend, the boyfriend's parents, etc. As the "most vulnerable members of society," they lack the wherewithal to finance these junkets themselves. How fortunate that the kindness of others always manages to inject itself (pun intended) at the moment of their greatest fatigue, and just when the winter is exacting its heaviest toll by exacerbating their seasonal affective disorder!

There may be a kernel of truth to the "boyfriend is paying" story. But I think careful detective work might shed some light onto the true, and significantly greater, source of the vacationers' income.

Sorry. I've become SOOOOOO CYNICAL!

A while back, I arrived at the airport at Cancun.As I entered the main area I heard this voice calling me.
I look over and it is one of my Canadian welfare mom and 2 kids.
She said--wow, hope you have as good a time as me and the kids.
I asked how long she had been down, 2 weeks--I could only get enough non-welfare money for 1 week.
ldm in Canada

My favorite thing when I worked retail was when they WOULDN'T TELL YOU they lost it or they were going on vacation. You get the order on the auto-que, you'd try to process it and it would be refill too soon... like, 25 days too soon. Maybe you call the patient and make sure they realize they just picked that up a few days ago, did they mean to order a different drug? Yeah, I would just delete the order and figure they had a brain fart. But then the customer shows up an hour before you get off shift/take your dinner/close and really wants to pick that rx up. "But it was 25 days early.. we just filled it for you 5 days ago." "Well YEAH but I LOST it (on the bus)/my purse was STOLEN so I need more/but I'm going out of the COUNTRY for TWO MONTHS!"

Biggest Fan, you and your physician colleagues would be envious of the vacation destinations that have been mentioned to me over the years! Many involve cruise ships; all involve places that are sunny, warm, fun, and (usually) expensive. Naturally, welfare recipients consistently tell me that they are the beneficiaries of the generosity of others, e.g. the boyfriend, the boyfriend's parents, etc. As the "most vulnerable members of society," they lack the wherewithal to finance these junkets themselves. How fortunate that the kindness of others always manages to inject itself (pun intended) at the moment of their greatest fatigue, and just when the winter is exacting its heaviest toll by exacerbating their seasonal affective disorder!

There may be a kernel of truth to the "boyfriend is paying" story. But I think careful detective work might shed some light onto the true, and significantly greater, source of the vacationers' income.

Sorry. I've become SOOOOOO CYNICAL!

Beg your pardon.

I forgot to mention the disposition of the children (that she's so busy caring for that she can't work outside her home) during the vacation to far-flung, sunny shores. "My mom's gonna take them for me," is the usual answer. Well sure, she's on welfare, too, so she's DISGUSTINGLY available. Too bad this is such a temporary arrangement. If we could make this a long term deal, then mom could get off her welfare-fattened ass and have a job.......from which she might even get a well earned vacation some day!

Whats great is that here in Maine, Medicaid no longer accepts vacation overrides. So when someone picks up their Norco, they can no longer come in a week later saying that their leaving for 2 months. HOWEVER, there was a short boom where everyones grandmother died and they needed an early refill. Hopefully they will implement the Airlines Bereavement Flight rules and require a Death certificate before the override is approved.

I've had someone on medicaid needing a 3 month vacation override because they were going out of the country. WTF, 3 months, and fucken medicaid was willing to cover it too. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the approval.

I always like it when they ask you to "just give them the medicine" because they are in a hurry and can't I just "take care of the insurance stuff" without them there? I guess I should realize how valuable their time is (obviously mine is not!) and let them go. These are the days I wonder how far back my eyes can roll in my head without permanent damage, not to mention the teeth grinding because where would we all be without good customer service. ;)

you inspire me more than ever to be a phamacist, the money helps alot too. was school hard? classes? the material? were you still able to party? you should talk about your past, love to hear the stories...

I started giggling yesterday!!!

Had a patient that dropped her clonazepam in the sink while the water was running and wanted me to sell her more (she was title 19 but would pay cash). The best part was that her MD said no, the ER wouldn't give her any, but she thought that because I was a nice person, I would give her some. I am a nice person, but I am no sucker! :)

My favorite is one of my transplant patients who now demands 3 month supplies, since his Medicare plan will allow. He got swapped to Medicare from Medicaid after his transplant. He gets angry over any little copay now, and when he went overseas for 3 months (and must've been gone longer, since it was over 90 days for a refill), he got pissed that for about 20 meds, it was about $50 for his copays total, including Gengraf and Cellcept. When he bitched, I got pissed at him and made up a list of his drugs with the copay versus cash price, and the totals. I handed it to him next time he came in, and when he saw $50 vs. $6,500 (seriously, that was the total), and how I said if he wasn't happy with the $50 total, I could always bill him cash, he shut up real quick.

I once heard about a transplant patient who got his meds through the VA, which at the time of his transplant had a zero copay. When they decided to start a $2 copay, he decided to stop taking his meds.

It was pointed out to him that the cash price for his meds was a couple thousand a month (he didn't know that) and that if this $20 a month really did create a hardship for him, he could contact the DAV or VFW and they would pay it for him.

He continued taking his meds.

I remember two incidents where a parent yelled at a child, in front of me, for the cost of their medicine. One was a guy who lived in a wealthy neighborhood who didn't know his own son's birthdate (and yes, he was the biodad who was married to his mom) and the other was - gulp! - a foster parent! The FP hadn't received the Medicaid card (foster children in this state are automatically covered on Medicaid regardless of the foster family's income) and had to pay the regular copay. And the wealthy neighborhood kid's medicine was less than $10.

grrrrrr

I am abit offended, not so much about what TAP said, it's the comments that are pissing me off!! I am a WORKING single mother, I only have 1 child. I am on MEDICAID too. Not all of us are like that. I HAVE lost meds, actually someone I was staying with stole them. It was tramadol, same addicting effects as Vicodin, but I guess it's not a controlled. They told me I needed a police report. OK I got one! I PAID out of pocket, but was reinbursed later on. You ASSume that because we are on the system we're all lazy fucks! Do I not deserve a vacation once a year with my son? I DO! I work my ass off full time for next to nothing! I don't get $400.00 worth of stamps or $300.00 cash, boy I wish I did, my friend makes over $700.00 a month from aid. I could save up for a mighty good vacation.....

I thought this topic was played, but you just keep winding my spring!

Mellee, here's two free lessons for you. First, don't make a political discussion into a personal discussion. Second, if you feel compelled to do so, don't prove my point for me.

You are the mother of a child that you can't afford to raise. I understand. People make mistakes.

You lost your meds, no wait, they were stolen. Nice group you hang with! One of your "friends" didn't give two shits that you were in pain, and copped your meds. Another "mistake". But I can see already that you're "turning your life around." At least you did the right thing and paid for the purloined meds...no wait, I paid for the meds when you got reimbursed. Way to step up to the plate and take responsibility for your life, girl! After all, you probably didn't even have to ask to be reimbursed, they just somehow sent the money to you, right?

You and your son probably do deserve a vacation, what with all the hard work you've been doing, and for a mere pittance, as well. Those benefits you got from the "system" seem so paltry, compared to the 700 bucks a month I give your friend! You surely could save up for a nice vacation with that kind of generosity from the working stiffs. But somehow I suspect that instead of working your way out of the fuckin' mess you're making out of your life, and your son's, you'll be holding your hand out at the welfare office for "your" $700 a month, too.

You haven't mentioned the proud father of your son. Unless he has died uninsured, or become disabled since the birth of the blessed child, maybe HE COULD PAY FOR YOUR FUCKIN' VACATION! That might happen, right after monkeys fly out of your ass! But if he does pony up for that long overdue vacation, maybe he could reimburse ME for the meds I paid for TWICE, and take care of his own family!

WHAT COLLOSAL BALLS YOU HAVE!

Enjoy your free lessons in rhetoric, and let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to do for you, perhaps deluxe accomodations when you FINALLY get your vacation in some tropical paradise. Don't worry about us, we'll pay the fuckin' bill for you. We always do!

I have had retarded moments when i lost my medicine, but as soon as i stopped panicking, i found the medication. Now i keep it in the one place, and have yet to lose it. And if i lost anything schedule 2, i'd damn sure file A police report!