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Not so hypothetical situation

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OneAngryTech (http://one_angry_tech.livejournal.com) wrote in:

Ok.. Pharmacist(s): Time for WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Cash-Patient A comes into your pharmacy with 2 prescriptions, 1 for Vicodin and 1 for Xanax. The prescription for Vicodin is 100 tabs, TID and Xanax is doesn’t matter. Patient inquires as to the price for the Xanax, but not the Vicodin.
Your enterprising tech (me) for some unearthly reason decides to do a central search (which checks all the pharmacies in your chain) and finds that Patient A just filled the same prescription for Vicodin 7 days ago (30 day supply) at the neighboring town store.
What do you do?

This brings up a good point. Whenever someone who usually uses insurance comes to you with a narcotic and demands to pay cash, something isnt right. I always do a courtesy run-through to see what the magical insurance company pops up with. 9 times out of 10 they received some narcotics from another doctor and another pharmacy just like in this instance.
Then I outright ask them if they picked up the Rx from [storename] a week ago. Usually thats enough for them to give me the deer-in-the-headlight look as if to think “holy shit, how does he know?” If they say “no” then I call the other store to see if they are lying (which they are). If its from another doctor I outright ask “Did you tell Dr. A that you are getting pills from Dr. B?” When they say “Yes” I call. You wouldn’t believe how many people I get kicked out of practices that way. They especially get pissed when they tell me “I specifically asked them if they were getting vicodin from another doctor and they outright said no!” Whoops.
Sometimes they demand the Rx back (to try another store). Before I give it back I write on it in pen “Filled [date] [quanity] [store]” on the front of it. Is that an asshole move? Yup. Do I care? Nope. Whats the doctor going to do, bitch at me that I defaced his Rx that he gave to someone who is fraudently doctor shopping? Yeah, lets call the police on that drug dealer that put borax in my cocaine while we are at it. I mean seriously, if there is so much deception going on that they need to outright lie to me, what legitimate purpose do they have trying to get it filled?
If they are up front with me and dont lie/give me any lip, I give it back without question and say that I wont fill it until its due. What they do from there is their own dealing.
Lets see how this story pans out:

When Patient A comes to pick up both RX’s, the Pharmacist in Charge lets patient know we didn’t fill the Vicodin prescription since it was just filled 7 days ago. We have said prescription in the bag.
Patient then remembers that “well.. er someone stole my Vicodin so I went to Dr. Pain Clinic and he wrote me another one.. der der der”
Pharmacist let’s patient know that we will need some kind of proof as to this happening (maybe say a Police Report.. it IS theft after all) and patient angrily walks away and shows us birds.
We then decide it would be a good idea to give neighboring store a call and let them know what happened. They thank us.

Good move. Usually when you say the word “Police” they bail. Works especially well when they use the line “Well I didnt pick up my vicodin Rx, you gave it to someone else”. Just saying “Well I’ll call the police and pull the surveillance tape” turns their bitch into “Oh, I forgot my cousin picked it up for me, no need to call the police”. Its like magic!

They then proceed to fill that prescription the very same night.
I am only a tech, so of course I don’t know shit, but would I be within rights to say WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG HERE AND WHY THE FUCK WOULD THEY FILL IT??!!??
The only response: “Well, it is the pharmacist license..”

Pharmacist, Pharmacist in charge, your store license, and a whole bunch of DEA paperwork. Yeah, fun shit. I hope they jacked the cash price up to cover the cost of all of the crap that could of went down.

Comments #

Comment by one_angry_tech on 2008-01-10 17:34:52 -0800 #

I really was curious what pharmacists would do.. I mean, the whole gift card crap.. fine.. price match evil wally.. fine.. Dispense a controlled medication just 1 week afterward? What the fuck..
And yeah, I bitched and moaned and railed at the injustice of it all… and the only response was “Well… it is the pharmacist license and discretion.. yada yada yada.. you’re just a tech”
Thanks for your answer(s) and help 😀

Comment by http://openid.aol.com/rgregg78 on 2008-01-10 17:49:59 -0800 #

I would do what TAP would do, except in SC we have something called DHEC bureau of drug control and I would call the officer that deals with our county. Our DHEC officer is a pharmacist that has gone to the police acad. and works to enforce the pharmacy practice act in SC. It’s WONDERFUL!!! I’ve gotten SO many people arrested for dr shopping, pharmacy shopping, altering rx’s, calling in fake rx’s, it’s WONDERFUL. The 1st time they get caught, the get PTI(pre-trial intervention). This means that they meet the DHEC officer at the jail get finger printed, booked and such and then the DHEC officer RAILS their ass. We got a dentists office on this. The receptionist was calling in rx’s for herself and for the other hygienists and going to pick them up at local pharmacies. She told the hygienists that she was going through a divorce and her soon to be ex cut off her insurance and the dentist said it was ok to call in the rx under their name and use their insurance since hers had been cut off and she had the same insurance. She called in rx’s under 12 different peoples names. And picked them up and the numerous pharmacys. I was doing my rotation with this Agent and when we went in and busted the dentist office, they had to shut down the whole practice for the day and all 3 of his hygienist got arrested for insurance fraud and the other lady(receptionest) got arrested too. It was AWESOME, they were all crying and upset. I can’t believe they were stupid enough to let this lady call in prescriptions under their name , let her use their insurance,and let her have the drugs. NUTS! I love my DHEC agent…

Comment by TNTech on 2008-01-10 19:01:32 -0800 #

Haahaa !! Love it. The Police Report thing. Yes, that usually does the trick. Reminds me of a story that I witnessed many moons ago …….
Mrs. Pill Popper called to tell us she needed a refill on her “Lorytabs” (Vicodin). So Quick Pharmacist checks and sees that they were just filled 6 days earlier. So he says , “Why Mrs Pill Popper, it looks as if you just got those a week ago.”
She says .. “Yes I did. But they were stolen and YOU need to give ME some more now.”
Quick Pharm says .. “Well, the law prevents me from filling things like that too soon. I am going to put you on hold for just a minute while I make a quick call and see what I can do, ok?”
Mrs Pill Popper: “That’s more like it.”
Quick Pharm puts her on hold. Whistles a little. Smiles some. Checks his watch. Couple minutes later he picks up the phone and says “Mrs Pill Popper? I have called the police for you. They are on their way, ok? Turn on your porch lights so they can find you.”
Mrs Pill Popper stammers ..”er, uh, der, ummm, … what ? Oh, ok.”
Quick Pharm says “Just tell them what happened and once we get a copy of their report, we can refill these for you, ok?”
Mrs Pill Popper ..”Uh, der, ummm .. well, ok.” (like, what the fuck can she say? This was something she was NOT prepared for.)
Hangs up phone. Laughs a bit. Phone rings again almost right away. Pharm says ..”I got it.”
Why .. what a surprise! It’s Mrs Pill Popper! She says ..”You need to cancel the police call. I don’t live in your county. Your police can’t come here. … can they?”
Quick Pharm says…(here it comes) …”Oh don’t worry about that. See, these are FEDERAL agents. They can go ANYWHERE.”
I swear, you could hear her shit over the phone.
After a deathly silence, Mrs Pill Popper then says .. “Well, I was actually calling to tell you that I looked in my purse again .. and I found my Lorytabs!”
Uh huh. Yep. I just bet she did.
Quick Pharm says “Why that’s excellent Mrs. Pill Popper! Great news! Well, talk to you another time, then. Have a good night.”
And we laughed all night long. The night a legend was born. Beautiful. Sweet. Priceless.
Feel free to borrow it but give credit to a Quick Pharm somewhere in TN.

Comment by indietech on 2008-01-10 20:01:01 -0800 #

we actually DID have someone yell at us that we were defacing his prescription when we wrote “refill too soon” on it. and i actually had a tech from another pharmacy tell me that we DID deface it and could face legal charges.

Comment by Shalom (R.Ph.) on 2008-01-10 20:22:28 -0800 #

Back when I worked in a regional chain in NYC, a cop who dealt with this sort of stuff showed me what a real lost property report looks like. He said, basically, that the con artists aren’t likely to try and get those, because possession of a forged instrument (viz., the report) had a heavier penalty than mere narcotic/Medicaid fraud.
So I started using this method on the customers trying to get early refills. “Why are you refilling this Xanax after only one week, when you had a month’s supply?” “Uhm, I lost it/it was stolen.” (fill in whichever is appropriate) “Okay, go down the precinct and get a lost/stolen property report.” Usually we don’t see them again.
Not always, though. One guy had the balls to come back with a hand-written paper torn from a spiral notebook, that said, verbatim, “To whom it may concern: This is to certify that [Name Of Imbecile] lost his medication on the bus. Signed, the 26th Precinct.”
Shyeah right. I wonder if Epstein’s Mother works there. “What was the name and badge number of the officer you spoke to?” “Uhhhh,…” “Get out of my store.” This guy was the worst liar, and by that I mean “not good at it”. He was always coming in with one BS story after another, trying to get his Celebrex early (not a control, but he was Medicaid; probably selling it). One day he left it in his aunt’s house in North Carolina. Another time he was living in the Bronx with his aunt, and they had a fire, and the firemen weren’t going to let him back into the apartment for another month and they were staying by the Red Cross. “I thought your aunt lived in North Carolina? “Oh, um, this is a different aunt.” “Okay, get me a letter from the Red Cross.” None was forthcoming, obviously.
I also used to run “cash” scripts on their insurance, just for the hell of it, back when I worked chains; there’s a pretty good likelihood that with over 6000 locations in the Chain of Very-large Stores I worked at, they’ve been to one of them at some point or another. It’s harder to do that now I’m at an independent and don’t have access to a national database (if patient is new to me and tells me they have no insurance, I can’t verify that). What I can do, since all the independents in this town are on speaking terms, is call around and find out who filled what when, if I have suspicions. I did catch one woman filling Fioricet at three pharmacies from three doctors; when I mentioned to her that I was aware of this fact, she stopped bringing those here. I dunno where she’s filling them now, and don’t much care as long as she’s a pain in someone else’s ass rather than mine.
(National databases are fun. I scared the Hell out of one guy, back in the old RA days. I tried to enter him in, RADS said he was already there. I widened out the zipcodes and found him in South Carolina somewhere. Asked him casually, “Did you used to live in SC?” and he turned pale. “No, I was never there in my life, you must have me confused with someone else, I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he was going on and on about it. I said, “OK, fine, it must be someone else with your name, your date of birth… your social security number…” (OK, I didn’t say that last part out loud.) But it did make me wonder who was running after him down there. Outstanding arrest warrant, delinquent child support, maybe some girl’s father with a shotgun?)
As far as the Angry Tech’s question: It depends on who filled it. If it wasn’t the RPIC (SP, whatever they call it in your state) who did it, it might help to let that person know what’s going on in his/her store. (Might be better to have *your* RPh make the call, rather than yourself. Be tactful, although I probably wouldn’t.)
If it *was* the RPiC, that’s another ball of wax. I probably would have shrugged and said something like “His license, his problem. I can police my own store; if someone overrides me here I can and will take action, but if someone else beyond my control wants to violate the law that’s between him and the state board.” Depending on how pissed off I was, I might have a quiet word with my pharmacy supervisor as well.
Shalom

Comment by drheidi on 2008-01-10 21:07:12 -0800 #

Had this 20-something guy come in with his hot (she clearly thought), snotty little girlfriend wanting Vicodin for his horrible back pain. Asked my usual–have you gotten any vicodin/percocet/hydrocodone/oxycodone
/codeine or any other pain medications from any other doctors in the last year? No. When did you last have any of those? Never. Checked Walgreens–he had frickin’ Vicodin the day before, plus a bunch of other times from a bunch of other docs.
Confronted them with this information. They became very ticked because someone else must be getting these in his name, and the snotty little girlfriend acted all freaked and concerned. They wanted to know what to do about this–call Walgreens? No, if someone is going all over the city getting Vicodin in your name, you should call the POLICE. Should’ve seen her face then. They shut the hell up and left.
My only regret–not picking up the phone in the exam room and dialing 911 and handing them the phone. That would have been PRICELESS.

Comment by california pharmacist on 2008-01-10 23:18:30 -0800 #

I used to get around this by dispensing 100 days supply, which gives the maximum MAC for a maintenance medication. But, since I am now evaluated on the #rs/week (not an independent, obviously) I use the 30 day supply as often as I can & let the corporation ride the $$ until the TAR is approved. I don’t let the patient go without – I just let the corporation carry the debt. The whole damn process is crazy!
Its bad economics, for sure! But, not as bad as MediCal allowing only the brand name Zoloft rather than sertraline (we need a TAR to continue a generic when someone moves from another state), or allowing only Sandoz brand amoxicillin on one of the speciality county Medicaid plans.
So – who is in who’s pocket & why? But….the gubinator wants to cut the lifeguard staff in half to balance the budget (for a state who has nearly half their boundary on the coast!!! and the lifeguards make a pittance!!!). So – go figure – with that kind of thinking, he can’t make heads or tails out of rational medication management.

Comment by Anon. on 2008-01-11 17:18:19 -0800 #

Angry Tech,
Your not allowed to “change the script” in any way. (Do some reading on your state board of Pharmacy site, it’s very clear) If Pharmacists are not allowed, what gives you the right? Next time I advise that you just have your Pharmacist explain to the customer that it shows up in the computer that they have had it filled somewhere else, unless it’s obviously a fraudulent script, then call the Authorities pronto. Don’t put your career on the line for something like this, it’s not worth it, even if you FEEL justified, don’t let your emotions run the situation and (don’t take this personally) you don’t have the education that prepares Pharmacists to deal with these and other type of situations (another reason why your not allowed to counsel on a med) Remember, there are always other ways of handling situations, when in doubt..hand it off to the Pharmacist in charge.

Comment by Jenn on 2008-01-12 15:32:36 -0800 #

I hate to sound niaeve but why are controlled substances so alluring, is it the ‘street’ value? I hate when I get an RX and they give the price on the sheet and it show’s it costs more through my insurance copay then it would have if I bought it for the cash price. I beleive that you should have the right to pay for your medicines how ever you want.
I agree if you just got something a few days ago and it’s supposed to last 30 days, then the patient has no business getting more or trying to refill it early. I hate the shit that we have to go through. I feel like $10 copay for 10 pills isn’t worth it. I’d rather cash pay it or get 30 days for my copay. I look at it from the Business Expense side and not the pain in the ass aspect.
Why are these med’s so alluring though?

Comment by Susan Cook on 2008-01-12 17:19:06 -0800 #

Quick Pharm Somewhere in TN ROCKS!

Comment by Pharmacy Hell on 2008-01-12 19:54:09 -0800 #

Quick Pharm somewhere in TN is my hero. He ROCKS!!!

Comment by Karoli on 2008-01-14 17:29:08 -0800 #

Or sometimes, their insurance refuses to cover it. I was pegged as a drug seeker for paying cash for mine and my son’s ADHD prescriptions because insurance picked up a piece of everything else. Only…I couldn’t get approval for my son’s prescription despite going to a Tier II appeal for over two years.
They finally just approved it this year. No drug-seeker, I, and it was humiliating to be pegged as one by a harried, tired pharmacist.

Comment by asdafdasdfa on 2008-01-15 12:17:55 -0800 #

I think we should have a hypothetical situation of what you would say to someone that bitches about your prescriptions not being $4 if you didnt have to worry about getting fired

Comment by Angry Male Nurse on 2008-01-21 11:08:08 -0800 #

I don’t know, A.P., you’re kind of crossing over into prick territory here. Who gives a shit if they’re drug addicts playing drug addict games? You still get paid, and seriously, some shitball vicoden humper isn’t going to get your license taken away.
Don’t be a prick. These people have enough personal problems without a bored pharm busting their dopamine-receptor challenged assess.
Truthfully, don’t you enjoy watching how fucked up they get themselves? LIke noticing the changes from month to month. Bigger bags under thee eyes, amazingly even saggier skin tone, the aura of complete emotional instability. That’s comedy to me, because they are doing it to themselves, intentionally. Waiting 16 hours for a bullshit sickle cell crisis in the ER, where they get sickle cell confused with epilepsy, so “when I get the sickle cells I have seizures. It hurts so bad”. But you can’t say no, or “you are so obviously full of shit” because then you become a racist and get sued. So fuck it man, get em high!! Don’t be a prick, be an enabler and let the comedy come to you!

Comment by Kraig on 2008-01-29 16:44:07 -0800 #

What is so alluring? The high, sweetie.
Why do people want money? What is so alluring about sex? What an idiot.
For you self righteous pharmacists, I have a funny story. I was 6 days early filling a prescription for hydrocodone. This snobby individual like yourselves said she wouldn’t fill it and proceeded to pull out a calculator. This person didn’t need it (at least I hope not) and used it for dramatic effect.
Since I didn’t want to get dope sick (the worst feeling in the world, combination of flu and head cold, mixed with anxiety and an overall feeling of dysphoria) I headed over to a residence I knew that held a cancer patient.
Ski mask on, I kicked in the door and grabbed her fentanyl and hydromorphone. Unfortunately, this person awoke and I had to hit them on the head with my flashlight. She was 70 years old or so and very feeble with her disease. But, I got what I needed and was never caught.
Thank god that pharmacist didn’t fill my prescription early. Something bad might have happened.
You people are stupid. If an addict gets denied one place, do you really think they go home and sulk? Like I said, a person will do ANYTHING to avoid withdrawals.
Think about this next time you think it is “funny” to turn away an obvious drug seeker.
“The lesser of two evils” Remember that.

Comment by sleepstate on 2008-02-03 02:31:02 -0800 #

Here’s a thought, what if these “drug Addicts” aren’t drug addicts? But are people who have the misfortune of having medical conditions, (some debilitating medical conditions) that are, treated with narcotics? And its not drugs they are seeking but some quality of life that the drugs provide they are seeking? And they are being given minimal quantities of Vicodin, Codeine, adderall whatever the case maybe because of this country’s preoccupation with “drug addicts”? From 2yrs-about 21yrs of age Iwas a steroid dependent statisasthmatic. At age 23 I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy with cataplexy. There are few drugs that provide any speakable relief. The one type of drug that has to some measurable degree worked are opiates. Now these are drugs that are typically sedating pain killers that a lot of people like. They are also the drugs that allow me to take my son to football practice or read directions to put together his toys. They allow me to be awake and alert for 2 or 3 hours to get things done. But being able to get the meds is a major deal, and I have felt like I am asking for somebodies life fortune or something to get it. I feel so angry, so cheated because I have missed so much of my kids lives. I have no life of my own, no friends, no career because Ive been asleep most of the time. And to know that there is no good reason for it.
Bottom line is when I don’t get the meds, my son doesn’t go to football practice or games. He’s been late and missed a lot of school and school activities because I don’t have the medication or enough of it do it. Because the drugs are opiates, and if they make me feel better I must be an addict looking for a fix.
To label someone as a “drug seeker/drug addict” the way you people have described is presumptious at the very least. I’ll be willing to bet that there are a lot of other conditions that could be treated with these drugs that are yet to be discovered that will explain a lot of why people look for some of these drugs.

Comment by Joshua on 2008-02-10 22:20:17 -0800 #

Sleepstate…that’s a very sad story. And it is unfortunate that people abuse medications that are so helpful for you. You seem to understand that the medications you are on are being used in your case for a very specific reason. Is this something you’ve ever talked to your pharmacist about in a reasonable manner (ie: not in the middle of the busiest portion of the day or right after your insurance has rejected an early refill?) You seem to understand your need for these medications. I would advise that you make sure that the physician you go to understands your needs clearly and write your prescriptions accordingly. Then BEFORE filling prescriptions with the pharmacy let them know what your condition is. This will clue us in on whether there are going to be possible insurance problems. If there are insurance problems…take care of them accordingly. Which means…not yelling at the pharmacist because we are withholding the medication that will help you get your kid to practice. You need to get in contact with your insurance provider and have them arrange your benefits according to your needs. Or perhaps the physician needs to explain to the insurance company why you need more of a controlled medication. In any case, if you are level headed and reasonable with the pharmacy, we will be much more likely to try to accomadate your situation.

Comment by Just-A-Tech on 2008-02-15 09:41:03 -0800 #

QuickPharm in TN is my hero as well. I did copy that situation and will be printing it out to take to work today. I’ll make sure to give credit to QuickPharm in TN for the lovely scenario! Thanks again!

Comment by Just-A-Tech on 2008-02-15 21:45:59 -0800 #

By the way *Anon* – You should read a little bit more closely before you start asking the technician, “What gives you the right if a pharmacist can’t do it?” The person that said this quote:
“Sometimes they demand the Rx back (to try another store). Before I give it back I write on it in pen “Filled [date] [quanity] [store]” on the front of it. Is that an asshole move? Yup. Do I care? Nope. Whats the doctor going to do, bitch at me that I defaced his Rx that he gave to someone who is fraudently doctor shopping? Yeah, lets call the police on that drug dealer that put borax in my cocaine while we are at it. I mean seriously, if there is so much deception going on that they need to outright lie to me, what legitimate purpose do they have trying to get it filled?”
-was TAP.
For the record, we do the same thing at my pharmacy and every pharmacy I’ve ever worked in throughout the state. This is a method of *controlling* a *control* medication.

Comment by jster on 2009-02-21 09:11:12 -0800 #

Sleepstate I’m in the same situation as yourself. I’ve had two back surgeries in the last year and may require a third. I’m only 27 years old so I feel that I am automatically pegged by these damn pharmacist that think they understand my condition when they don’t. My Dr. has went to much more schooling than they have and has actually treated me for the condition so how do all you stuck up ass pharmies go deciding whether or not you feel like filling a script or treating a customer like a druggie an belittling them and laughing about it when they leave??? All I can say is do YOUR job and leave these people aline you freaks. Im tired of the way I’m looked at when i fill my scripts legitimatly and the way I’m treated. Well you pharmacist that judge before knowing somebodys background can go fuck yourselves!!

Comment by roy on 2009-05-30 23:01:26 -0700 #

To all you wannabe DEA agents:
Why not apply with DHEC. Last time I looked they were in need of help. It is obvious to me that you made the wrong career choice. Unless I completely missed it, I did not sense a whit of compassion for an alleged drug addict. Funny thing is, if they came in with a diagnosis of cancer, you would probably kiss their asses and comfort them.
Well my overzealous workers (especially you techs) addiction is a disease just as real as cancer. If you can’t wrap your dense head around that fact, apply for a law enforcement job, carry a gun, and shoot bad guys. You apparently are a miserable control freak whose only pleasure in life is the make sick people more miserable. You make me want to hurl.

Comment by John Mc on 2009-07-30 08:05:29 -0700 #

Wow.. I have a high stress job and I might complain a bit about it to my friends and family.. But the utter arrogance and glee that you people get from abusing these addicts.. Is this fun for you? Do you get a little “rise” when you abuse an abuser.. I can see how it would be not much of a challenge with your education and all to abuse thses people.. And since in your words all these addicts are not edumicated and who should care anyway . You guys are pricks and as one of the complainers you should watch out for Karma as she is a bitch …

Comment by grace on 2010-01-12 10:06:54 -0800 #

Just went to cvs pharmacy yesterday to fill a ligitimate script for vicodin from my dentist. Went in to pick them up and was told by one of the pharmicists (who seemed very pleased with herself i might add) that she had gotten my script voided after calling my dentist office to let them know i had also been receiving narcotics from another dentist as well. ? Another dentist? Hmmm or maybe it was the ORAL SURGEON that my dentist REFERRED me to that just yanked all of my wisdom teeth out of my head afew weeks before! When I relayed this to the pharmie she then said that didnt matter i had also been prescribed antabuse and naltrexone which apparently are used to help druggies get off of opiates and she was kind enough to let my dentists office know that. To which i informed her that NO i was prescribed those to help me kick alcohol after I started drinking due to the loss of my son in 2005! She the hesitantly let me use the phone to call my dentist and explain all of this BS. The receptionist aplolgized and told the self-righteous pharmicist to fill the script which is all fine and dandy but now my whole dentist office knows about my past acohol abuse and other private info that SHOULD be protected under HIPPA or some shit right? If she had just been a little less judgemental and a little more intelligent she could have avoided me anouncing that i didnt appreciate her actions and would never give them business again.

Comment by Ryan34 on 2010-02-06 15:13:14 -0800 #

Im a CPhT in DE, once they hand us the RX, it is legally ours. So we can write on it as much as we want. Of course they can always ask us for it back, but not before its been well documented that the patient is shady. LOL, i love it.

Comment by Ryan34 on 2010-02-06 15:28:49 -0800 #

Except no one chooses to get cancer, the addict did choose to put that pill in his/her mouth. NO sympathy here. Especially for the ones that are TRYING to deceive the pharmacists and doctors.

Comment by Ryan34 on 2010-02-06 15:32:23 -0800 #

LMAO, they are committing crimes and WE gotta watch out for karma……

Comment by your lame on 2010-04-16 21:52:04 -0700 #

You guys are some high and mighty cashiers with a lab coat. Wow you are really saving the world one asshole power trip at a time. I can respect the pharmacist a little bit but you weenie no degree techs getting a mall cop/god complex? Go f yourself immediately.

Comment by Icandy on 2010-06-21 17:35:48 -0700 #

I would have reported her to the BBB or whoever you can report that to.She did not follow the HIPPA law. I would had sued the hell outta that lil nut job and her pompus arse! NO,no one working in a pharmacy can do that,telling your medical history in front of other customers,she just broke that law,and would lose her chance at even becoming a real pharmisist! She nor anyone else can tell anyone else,unless by law for crime enforcement or something like that,tell anyone your medical history or what you are taking!! Karma,she quickly follows on those heels of people who enjoy playing God

Comment by Feeduppharmacist on 2010-06-21 23:58:26 -0700 #

Hippa law says that health care professionals can share what ever information they feel is necessary with other health care professionals also involved in a patients care. If the pharmacist thought they saw a pattern of abuse in your med profile they have a DUTY to point it out to your prescriber. Hippa 100% protects such exchanges of information between healthcare providers.

Comment by Curtis Statinki, MD on 2010-07-11 13:20:10 -0700 #

The author of this article needs to complete his/her formal education and become state-licensed in order to justify their ego-driven motives. In my practice, I work closely with pharmacies. I choose pharmacies with pharmacists that are well respected within the local medical community. Pharmacists almost all have stories like this: A pharm tech with an attitude lets his ego and personal vendettas get in the way of properly running the pharmacy. I DO NOT advocate improper filling of any medication, however, making assumptions as to what, why, or how a medication was previously distributed is a very dangerous thing to do. Techs should simply inform the head pharmicist and tell the patient to call back or stop by when the head pharmacist is working. Usually, as told by pharmacists with decades of experience, technicians that exhibit this sort of “superiority infatuation” are the result of emotional or mental disorders. In the “Not so hypothetical” case forementioned, the pharmacy technician probably suffers from a lack of peer-based communication. It woud explain why he poses such a a question on an online forum, rather from asking people in, or in related fields, this same question. His innappropriate attitude (anger) can be attributed to the same inability to establish interest in himself in his endeavors. In any industry that deals directly with people, certain social skills should be mandatory. Attacking customers based on assumptions is NOT the proper way to conduct business. I hope since this article was written, the the technician has left the pharmeceutical industry in search of more appropriate lines of work. Perhaps police work…or perhaps he has since found acceptance and no longer feels the need to lash out at people in order to compensate for his internal disapointment.

Comment by RC on 2010-11-08 14:04:48 -0800 #

What a little beeeotch. Why go through all that bull shit? Oh I know, you got the shit kicked out of you continuously in school and this is your little way of enforcing what little power you have in your little retail world. Hahahaha. What a fucking pussy.

Comment by Angie on 2011-08-12 14:05:33 -0700 #

Unfortunately there are some of us out there who really are in some type of pain daily, & no it’s not all the elderly who are hurting everyday. I’m 37 & I have Degenerative Disc Disease in L1 & L2 discs of my lower back. I don’t take what is considered a narcotic, I tried Vicodin a few times but it didn’t help very much plus I don’t like the way narcotics make me feel, I prefer to be alert most of the time. I have been taking something called Tramadol which helps a great deal with the stiffness in my lower back & hips area, & sometimes with the pain that radiates down the back of my legs. I have to take it daily or else I move like a 100 yr old person. Sometimes it seems like you’re automatically assumed to be an addict if you’re young, no young person could possibly have daily pain……sometimes we do. I have heard Tramadol, althpough not a narcotic, is sometimes considered an opiate so some pharmacists will monitor its useage. For a while I found that 2 pills in the morning & 2 in the evening worked better than 1 in the morn & 1 in the evening, so I took them that way however my script was set at 1 in the morn & 1 in the evening. This caused trouble when I went to refill, I had no clue about refilling too early, didn’t know anything about this as I’ve never really taken anything that was “controlled” prior to this. Long story short it caused an issue & it seemed I was pegged as trying to get more pills or something like that. Eventually after speaking with my doctor he called in a new script & changed the doseage for 2 in the nmorning & 2 in the evening but wow what a mess trying to get a refill. I felt humiliated, they made me feel like some kind of trash street druggie trying to get a fix or something. It felt absolutely horrible. I’m a wife & a stay at home mom, my only concern daily is what to make for dinner, I’m hardly trying to get some kind of fix or anything like that, the whole thing just made me feel bad like I did something horribly wrong. It was the p harmacy that did this & I told my doctor about it, he said not to worry about it. Some of us out there really aren’t addicts, we’re wives, mothers, husbands, etc. average everyday people & we have to suffer because of those who really do abuse the system, but to label all of us in the same category is preposterous. After this I was abpout to go away on vacation for 2 weeks & I knew I’d run out while there, I was afraid to even call the pharmacy to ask if I cpould refill early so I’d have the pills with me, they made me taht paranoid, so I just went away & went to the same pharmacy chain while I was away & everything went ok. But they had me actually scared to even call & ask. Good grief, I’m just trying to manage back pain for God’s sakem, I’m not selling the stuff or abusing it or anything else.

Comment by Bill on 2012-03-06 09:57:07 -0800 #

I was wondering about the new dhec laws myself. I was informed that I have to see my doctor every time I need a prescription for adderoll ($95) and in between visits pay a 40 d0llar fee to document the prescription written between visits. Just wondering…cause it is getting expensive.

Comment by Bill on 2012-03-06 10:00:55 -0800 #

Sorry..I left out the fact that I am from South Carolina.

Comment by Layna25 on 2012-06-14 09:59:52 -0700 #

Yes, you need to watch out for karma, do your job, and let the police do thiers. You obviously don’t know anything about addiction, no addict chooses to be one, no one who smokes chooses to have lung cancer, and if so, do you get a kick out of watching them die a slow miserable death as well? Let me guess, they deserve it right? I’m so glad people like yourself feel the need to go way over and beyond what they are paid to do to right all the wrongs in society. Get a life.

Comment by BC on 2012-07-05 13:09:24 -0700 #

Agreed regarding the techs. My mother-in-law is one and all she talks about are the druggies picking up scripts. She is just one of the idiots and it proves to me that they all judge and talk crap when they know nothing. I have had back surgeries and a car accident and can’t even be treated for it because of all of this crap from the pharmacies. Doctor’s are afraid of losing their licences because of what the pharmacies are doing to them too.

Comment by Norman Bowman on 2013-03-01 05:52:02 -0800 #

I got Oxycontin I think 30mg right after I had my third back surgery, I had insurance and it was workers comp, I am not not sure if it was a special price for that insurance company or not but the pharmacy would always put the price on the bag even though comp paid and the drug store cost of 60 Oxycontins 30mg I am pretty sure was right around $647.00, Thats not a street price hun thats was the drug store cost, It’s been a few years but I am close to the right price so yep they are expensive.If i had have had to pay I would not have gotten them I would have went back to the hospital and told them to put me back in.. LOL that’s crazy

Comment by VegasVixen on 2013-05-30 15:52:10 -0700 #

I, similar sleepstate, suffer from debilitating back pain that sometimes is so overwhelming I cannot get up for work, and also have narcolepsy. Thus, I am guilty of having taken an extra pill here and there….resulting in coming up short at the end of the month. So do I miss work periodically during the month….or at the end of the month when I am short. I am screwed either way, and just lost my job because my doctor tried a different pain med that didn’t work well. My performance dropped…and I was canned. I do not believe that having to take extra periodically to be able to function makes me an addict. My doctor (and I) truly do not wish to increase the dosage as I’ll get used to that too. I have a handicapped placard because of my back…and the looks I get as I walk to the store (slowly) along with the looks the pharmacy tech gives me because I have to take 3 different kinds of pain medicine make me want to crawl under a chair.

As far as addiction, well only the uneducated do not realize its a disease. I watched my son-in-law, who was a well paid individual at CitiBank lose his job, his wife, his children & end up in jail as a bath salt addict. He was looking for something to help “pep” him up as he worked long hours to support his family. He looked on the internet and found “bath salts”…sold at smoke shops so it was legal. Soon he became addicted and started smoking it, and its like smoking amphetamines. He was caught with 20 bags in his backpack, a stolen credit card, and this was after robbing his own home and his mother’s twice. He WAS a great dad, loving husband and a fine upstanding citizen…who ACCIDENTALLY tried something he didn’t know would cause immediate addiction and ruin his life. Unless you’ve been an addict, or know an existing/recovered one…you don’t know shit about “choices made”. If you haven’t walked in those shoes…don’t comment because you sound ignorant.

Its also sad that someone like you, who had the opportunity to become a pharmacy tech/pharmacist has the audacity to make fun of people. I would think you are of above average intelligence, thus would know better than to get a jolly out of others’ misfortune. If they are an addict, and did pick up pills elsewhere, feel good that you stopped them from picking up pills again and call it a day. It isn’t necessary for you to get off on making them uncomfortable, afraid, etc. I wouldn’t wish addiction on you or anyone you know, but you won’t learn until you experience it close to home so think about it and try to learn it on your own. We are Human, we are not infallible and we are not perfect. But not every one of us are addicts either. Maybe it was me you made fun of when I came a couple days early. Did you watch how I walked as I walked away? Did you notice I don’t smile because I am in pain? Did you see the beads of perspiration on my forehead from being in pain so long? No, you didn’t….you just found ways to make fun of me. Who is the joke now?

Comment by Norman Bowman on 2013-06-24 15:08:50 -0700 #

I agree, I have a degree in Psychology and do not practice as one because I have to use pain med’s because I broke my back in 1997, I have had 4 back surgeries,I am a member of the AMA and I also hold a state license in counseling and I do however practice hypnosis, I made these adjustment to my own life because I feel it would be in violation of my ethics to treat anyone while I might be impaired in anyway, The hypnosis I can practice without being in danger of damaging anyone, I have had to trow away a great income and a great part of my life because I was injured, It is bad enough having to deal with the DEA changing the laws constantly, And I also have to go threw being treated like an addict, Being a member of the AMA I have access to all medical trades code of ethics and it is unfortunate that they are allowed to make the call anytime they wish not to fill a prescription if it is violation of what they believe is right, They however do not have the right to make us feel like animals because we are in need of pain med’s to function anywhere near normally in a demanding world. In short they SUCK for doing it, As far as there education, I have much more medical education than most of them could ever dream of having yet they feel the need to treat us all like second class citizens because we need pain med’s to live, Also I have lived far to long when the government can spend so much time controlling our prescribed, LEGAL drugs when they could be out catching people running crack houses and meth labs that are the main causes for prostitution and crime in America, Again, In short they can kiss my rear end. Norman Bowman CH.t Cr.c

Comment by Norman Bowman on 2013-06-24 15:24:26 -0700 #

Here is the deal, You guys are Pharmacist not cop’s< When the DEA and local law enforcement start to ask you to do there job they should have gave all you guys badges and gun’s so that you would be safe doing it, I live in a very small town and I do not mind them telling me politely that they are able to fill my med’s for me, But if they wish to laugh, Smile or abuse me in anyway about it, They must remember that those parking lot’s are dark and could be dangerous leaving so late at night, And anyone could have an accident when walking in the dark at that time of night, My point here is that people can be polite while doing there job, But if they wish to abuse me in anyway, Well you take someone that is really hurt and not feeling to good to start with, Well you just don’t know how they might react. Norman