I only have one on-going prescription and I fill it at Wal-Mart. It's the cheapest. Used Rite Aid in the past and it was much more expensive. I just picked up my new bottle and my 90 day supply was $10 cheaper than it normally is. I didn't ask why. I hate Wal-Mart normally but if I can save a little I will go in...plus their pharmacy in my town is near the front of the store. Most Rite Aids, CVS, and Wal-Greens are at the back...unless you use the drive thru.

From your description, you were expecting a next day reaction for a transfer from one company to another? I don't think that's realistic or even likely. Give it a few weeks' advance proactive action next time when you need something, and call after one week.

I don't have high expectations for retail employees of any kind. I respect the clerks for their hard work and care, for those (not all) for whom it's appropriate, but remember that they're working at relatively unskilled jobs for low wages. If they could qualify for something better, I presume they wouldn't be there.

For prescription matters, I have them on auto. For renewals, I try to rustle up the needed action one month in advance. It doesn't take more time to do it sooner, nor less time to do it late.

I've used both CVS and Walgreens pharmacies and have had very satisfactory experiences with both.

A local pharmacy? No thanks. I know a few pharmacists with their own stores, they're not high on my list of professionals who operate with high levels of ethics. Just look at some of the mark-ups they get to see part of the picture. Same with optometrists.

Elmer, I expected a transfer quickly because that is what they advertised. I was informed, via that first email,that it would be ready that same day,in fact. It was estimated to be ready within 2 hours. Since presumably i can walk in with a prescription and get it filled the same day,I dont see why it should be any different.

I don't think this particular experience reflects on CVS,as a business, as a whole. But it does reflect on the staff of this particular one.

That's another choice, ask your doctor's office to phone in the prescription to the new pharmacy and make it a "right away" order. Or pick up a signed Rx form and walk it in, hoping they can handle it immediately.

I'm using CVS now on an ongoing basis. The folks are very nice, they know me, and they do little things to show they appreciate my politeness to them. But I give them no less than 3 days when it's something other than routine. I never have a problem.

They're busy. Help them be successful by giving them enough time.

Amylou, were it me, I would be looking for the email and offices of the company CEO and would be emailing them with ccs to anyone I thought might be interested. It seems to me that employee action comes a little quicker if the 'request' comes from their boss and not some random customer. Should it be that way? Of course not. But it often will work if it comes from the top.

And them somehow trying to give my pills to Mr. Christopher Allen? How can I help them NOT do that,Elmer????

It sounds more like the system making errors to me, so I don't know if it's really the employee's fault if that's the case. It's possible even Rite Aid made the mistake. I will be curious what happens tomorrow!

"How do you know I'm 'Sweetie'? Did you bite me - like I'm a chocolate bar or some such?".

o j

I am too Chi. We shall see.....

In my family, there is only 1 prescription that's been needed steadily for the past 25 years and I have never had consistently good service from any pharmacy and I've tried many. I will say that our local Walmart pharmacist was surprisingly full of information for me about why I should stick with a name-brand vs. generic of a particular medicine. I did some research, and he was right and my doctor supported it too when I brought it up. Walgreens is hit-or-miss for me. But once my son needed (wanted) an expensive skincare medicine for acne that my insurance wouldn't cover and would have cost a fortune and the pharmacist told me about an online coupon from the manufacturer that saved me quite a bit of money. The whole process is either really really good or really frustrating as you experienced.

If there are so many oversights and errors on this end it sometimes leaves me questioning what's going wrong behind the scenes that we don't know about.

ETA another vote here for the mail-order or other deals offered through insurance. I recently changed insurance companies and the new perk is apparently 3-month supplies. When I went to pay, I balked at the cost... until the pharmacist said it was for 3 months rather than my former monthly. It worked out to be slightly cheaper and at least I don't have to go back as often!

Just a little hint. Many pharmacies are not owned by the store but are a contract to either a pharmacist company or to an individual pharmacist.

As far as mail order being more expensive depending on your insurance company most that I know of will send you three months of drugs for the cost of 2 or 2+ a little more. The cost of three months to be filled, unless the actual cost is less than the copay, should not be less at a store but the same.

You have insurance...right? The pills are free and month to month. If you order them you get three months at a time...free.

amy, maybe they somehow got wires crossed. Again, don't expect store clerks to be geniuses, the companies (whether local or national) don't pay for nor expect that. If the drug wasn't presented over the counter to you, the 'script remains unfilled and it's their problem, not yours. There's no need to concern yourself with what happened or how to resolve it.

The prescription benefit administrator company that I have offers mail order and 3 month supplies for a reduced charge of 60 day co-pay equivalents. Fine, except everyone there I've spoken to has been hard to talk to. Not a language problem, a lack of careful listening problem by people in their US call center. It's a nationally known company and one of the bigger ones. With regular vacation advance fills and other requirements, I don't want to deal with them.

They used to call me quarterly "did you know you can save on co-pays by using mail order....." I had to tell them "Please mark my record to indicate to please NOT call me ever again to solicit me to use mail order. I don't want to use it and if I change my mind, I know how to contact you. You can call for anything else." All calls stopped.

"Many pharmacies are not owned by the store but are a contract to either a pharmacist company or to an individual pharmacist."

Yes and no. If you walk in to a drug store chain location, it's their pharmacy. Target pharmacies are now branded as CVS in my area.

Nicole, I do have insurance but my pills are not free and never have been. I dont know why. I thought they were supposed to be free as well, but they are not.

Perhaps because my employer is self insured? I am not familiar with the law.

There's no need to concern yourself with what happened or how to resolve it

I disagree. Medication errors of various sorts are responsible for 250,000 deaths per year in the U.S. This time Amylou was not harmed. But if the errors are caused by something or someone where it may be an ongoing problem, I'd want to know what happened and what was done to resolve the issue.

Our experience with CVS was a nightmare. There was always a problem. I'm not saying it's the whole company but it sure turned me off them. Now I go to the pharmacy at my nearest Walmart Neighborhood market. I could cry each time I pick up a prescription and they not only get it right, they go above and beyond to answer any question and make sure I understand.

Recently I went to my doctor because my knees were hurting. I told her the pain wasn't that bad but I wanted to know what was causing the pain. She referred me to an orthopedist and as I was driving home I got a call from the pharmacy. He said they'd just got a call from my doctor's office for a prescription for an opiod. He wanted to know why it was prescribed to me. I told him I had no idea and didn't even have a diagnosis yet. He asked me what my complaint was and I told him I had knee pain but I had told her it was about a two on the pain scale and well controlled with occasional Advil. He took a long pause and then said Ok. When I went to pick it up he spent some time with me explaining it could be habit forming and I should use it carefully. I assured him I'd never used an opiod and didn't plan to use this one unless the pain got a lot worse. I have an appt with my doctor in a couple of weeks and I will be questioning her closely. Do doctors get paid for prescribing certain meds? This isn't the first time I've felt a medication was being forced on me that I didn't need or want.

I agree with you, Lucille. You have to be vigilant. Doctors and pharmacists, and insurance people are just human doing the best they can.

"I'd want to know what happened and what was done to resolve the issue."

What happened was nothing happened. It's not her concern, nor yours. Are you going to walk in with a clipboard and recording device and ask to interview everyone involved? Debug the software? Figure out what steps were taken and who went wrong?

No, of course not. If you don't like the store, you can always go elsewhere.

Elmer the company owning the store may explain what happened, if not there are organizations that will go there with clipboards, as the death rate from medication errors is being taken very seriously and there are proactive steps that can help prevent such errors. Merely because there was no physical harm this time to Amylou is not an acceptable reason to ignore filling one person's prescription for another person. Your passive approach to health care is not a good role model.

Peaceofmind, yes I agree, they are all trying their best. But sometimes researching errors uncovers glitches of one sort or another that are easily correctable and may be lifesaving. Some glitches may not involve people, they may be some sort of computer/mechanical glitch.

Every time I go to my yearly at my gyn,which is in the medical tower of the local hospital, they send me a bill. Not my doctor,but the hospital sends me a bill for the lab work. Every single year. Every single year I have to call and remind them that yes,I do have insurance,its the same as it was last year and PLEASE stop sending any bills to my parents house. I haven't lived there for years. Last year I finally snapped and asked the woman WHAT exactly the problem was. Why do I have to call every year and give the same insurance info over and over when my doctors office has no issue filing correctly? Turns out, the issue was that I live in Alabama ,but i have BCBS of TX and whoever does the filing just couldn't comprehend that. So instead I get call after call from a medical financial assistance company that the hospital had referred me to for the same 65 dollar bill that I dont owe every year. This discovery has helped me avoid such hiccups at other providers. For example, I FINALLY got in at my dermatologists office for a skin cancer screening and happened to notice that they had my insurance listed as BCBS Alabama. I was able to correct them so as to avoid the headache. They thanked me for it. Sometimes it helps to figure out why it happened to help prevent it in the future. Was it something I did? Or something THEY did? No one is perfect,true enough. But sometimes knowing what to look for can help prevent the slip up.

Olychick said: I really miss the local corner pharmacies.

I'm still using one ;0) It's a privately owned Rexall Drug. And really is on a corner. Up until just a few years ago, the same pharmacist had filled every prescription I'd ever taken as an adult. He retired and sold, but still came in about two days a week. I haven't seen him lately, but the two new pharmacists recognize me now. I try to buy a little something else from their gifts, greeting card, toiletries sections when I'm in there, I want them to stay in business. ;0)

I called in a couple of things one morning (automated phone in system) and stopped later that afternoon when I was near there, not knowing if my things would be ready. They were, and surprised, I thanked them. The clerk said - we are not Walmart, after all. ;0) The lines at our Walmart pharmacy are notoriously long.

My drugstore will also deliver to a workplace or home, free. Although I've never had to use that courtesy, it's nice to know its possible.

Downside might be their hours are 9-5, closed at 3 PM at Saturdays, no Sundays.

Sorry for your troubles Amy. I order and handle all my mothers prescriptions in her larger city so I understand. She has a Kaiser Senior Advantage, one of the first things Kaiser pharmacies will tell you is they want 48 hours notice for refills.

Lucille, I think you're well intentioned and idealistic but more than a bit in the dark. It's not your concern nor your business to butt in. If you ask, they should say "sorry" and nothing more. No damage can be done if no medicine has been dispensed and if a mistake was made, well, no repetitive clerical operation is error free. Medicine errors are made in hospitals, for goodness sakes, when there are (theoretically) more experienced and more educated eyes and hands involved than in a retail pharmacy.

amy, your billing problem was caused by a file clerk? I think there's something else amiss. The provider didn't ask you to confirm your address each year and ask for a copy of your insurance card? That should have been enough. Sounds like incompetence in the office staff, not a system problem.

I spent decades under an employer plan administered by a Blue Cross affiliate 3000 miles away. BCBS member companies work collaboratively - my provider billed the local BCBS entity and the group and member number gets it routed to the BCBS where the customer (my employer back East) is serviced. It's assessed and then payment made locally as instructed by the BCBS administrator for the plan. It should be completely invisible to the covered patient.

Haha, Kaiser would require 48 hours notice for their ER if they could get away with it.

Elmer my provider, ie the actual doctors office did confirm my insurance every year. I have never received a bill for their services. Only a statement from my insurance company because THEY file correctly. My problem is not with them. My problem was with the hospital,which my doctor uses for the lab work. I get a bill for lab work every year. And every year when I call to resolve the bill I dont owe I have to emphasize TEXAS not ALABAMA and I always get an "ooooooh THATS why" type of response. Its ridiculous. And I dont think it's a system error. I think someone needs to find a new line of work......

ETA: One of my sisters has the same problem. She lives in Wisconsin but she has BCBS of Illinois. Between her,her husband and two kids, she has to call and correct the same error several times a year. I think the people who handle such things just go on autopilot and stop paying attention after awhile.

Sounds like that's it.

more than a bit in the dark.

I would say that of you. You seem to think that a near miss is fine, in fact the near misses are studied and researched just as much as actual injuries in the ongoing effort to prevent medication error deaths.

Do you do such study and research? Why do you keep straying off the topic - amy and her experience? She doesn't do such studies or research either, she just wants her prescription filled conveniently.

I'd be surprised if incompetence at a retail pharmacy is what anyone studies. The chains wouldn't open their records to anyone other than regulators, if any (who would keep the info confidential anyway)

I have no problem with my local RiteAid although Walgreens now owns their pharmacy, a new development. The pharmacy at Ft Knox is outstanding - it uses robots to do much of the work, but a pharmacist actually looks at the meds when I pick them up. I can re-order online and just go pick them up within a week; annual new prescriptions take about 20 minutes. The quickness, now that they use robots, is astounding.

But ExpressScripts where I must get things that are not on the Ft Knox or Tricare formulary? Geeze...every single time I try to fill a prescription for my 7% inhaled saline, they tell me it's not eligible for re-fill as I have filled one for 9% saline at another pharmacy. I then have to speak with a pharmacist - at least a 10-15 minute wait on hold. I explain that these 9% is for an inhaled antibiotic and is not the same as the 7%. He understands. I request that he put a note in the electronic files. He assures me he will do so. And then 3 months later, we play this same game yet again.

Some of it is the fault of indifferent clerks, but much is due to really poorly designed computer software that is either difficult for the indifferent clerks to use or just plain doesn't work, even if Bill Gates of Steve Jobs (yes, I do know he's dead) were entering the data.

As someone who takes multiple prescriptions meds daily for my pulmonary problems, this is very frustrating and a waste of my very limited and valuable breath.

It took me a couple trips to adjust to "CVS-time." Now I know to NEVER wait for a prescription, even if I hand it to them and they say 15 minutes. It just won't happen.

Thankfully I'm able to understand the concept of autofills and automated phone and text messages. I stood behind a gentleman who didn't -- the poor man was so indignant and irrate: "What right do YOU have to HARRASS me with ALL THESE phone calls about a prescription that MY DOCTOR did not order!!!" Poor clerk explained several times that his doctor had marked the medication order as a refill and she could amend his record to not call him when it was ready ... but he was having none of it.

Interesting conversation. I wasn't going to add anything until I saw nickel's response above and thought I would make a comment on my own experience.

Because a close family member used to have an Rx that had to be hand carried to the pharmacy, we spent a lot of time sitting around waiting for the Rx to be filled. I had lots of time to watch what it looks like to be a customer service person in that pharmacy. They get yelled at on a regular basis. They have to give complex messages to people who can't understand either because of a language or comprehension barrier - and the customer gets upset. They have to deal with customers who have gone to the wrong pharmacy and refuse to accept that fact. They have to deal with people who are upset that their Rx is expensive and/or not covered by their insurance. They have to deal with unhappy customers because their supplier didn't show up that day, so the med isn't there yet. And so on.

All that happens all day and yet the reps at our pharmacy are kind, patient, and resilient. So if I was treated badly at a pharmacy, I would understand, but I would still complain and make sure I knew the name of the person who did it. They need more training or shouldn't be working out front.

Amy, I don’t do any of our prescription orders online but even so I’m not sure how or why that would make a difference, especially with the programming they have now in these larger pharmacies. For them to have a completely different name though does reflect that something in their process was definitly mishandled and you have every right to be aggitated and even concerned about the quality of service.

DH needs several prescriptions on a monthly basis and unfortunately, the CVS closest to our house is fairly problematic as well. We used to use the Walgreens on the opposite corner and I really liked them because at the time, the Pharmacist was helpful and made a point of getting to know her regulars. Unfortunately, for us, a few years ago, Walgreens had a falling out with the insurance we had and it would no longer allow us to use them. We were basically forced to switch to CVS which we were not thrilled to do; by the time the dispute contract was resolved, that pharmacist had changed stores! I tried switching back anyways, in person, but the new pharmacist was argumentive and not helpful AT ALL so we dropped that idea real quick. Fortunately, for us, a few weeks after that, our CVS was out of an important medication my DH needed. They directed us to another store about 3 miles in the opposite direction and the Pharmacist there is much like the one we had originally at Walgreens, so we go there now as much as possible.

My point is that we learned through the process that with the big chains, some locations really are better than others and it’s the Pharmacist that kind of drives the over all experience for their patrons.

I had a similar experience at wally world where ordering many gift cards all at once was concerned. It was part of my job. I had never picked them up before. They were pre-orderd over the phone. I asked the greeter where would I go? Sent to the back of the store. Nope go to credit. Nope not here go to a register and have them ring it up. I told the clerk I have a tax exempt and a PO and I need 20 gift cards to be worth $10. She forgot the PO code...she didn't load them properly .... I finally said I would pick them up later and walked out. When my boss went to get the they asked him who the crabby lady was. The next times he went and came back ready to explode. I agree, LEAVE NOW. To assume this was a fluke bad day is setting yourself up for more abuse.

Just in case it comes up for anyone again (as it did for peaceofmind) you never have to accept a prescription that you think is inappropriate. It does sound like that one was; perhaps it was a mistake on the part of the MDs office (and a serious one). I wonder that the pharmacist didn't follow up with "In that case, do you want me to fill this?" or offer to take the step of confirming the necessity with the MD (I do realize that all retail pharmacists are very time crunched)

Well, I am happy to report that i FINALLY got my pills. Not the prescribed ones. Well, not the brand prescribed, but another brand. Which is fine. So many of them are interchangeable. As long as they do the job, I am good. The pharmacist remembered me from the debacle yesterday, so he pulled my prescription when he saw me in line. It still took 15 minutes to get out of there. I guess Saturday afternoon isn't the best time to go. I will remember that next month.

Amy, I hope you get your prescription straightened out. I shop occasionally at CVS and Walgreens, but because we personally know the pharmacist at Publix and we are usually grocery shopping there anyway, we use their pharmacy. They use a lot of generics, unless you ask them not to do so, but I don’t mind that. I use the automated phone-in refill service and they usually have it ready the next day.

I have only had one issue in all the years with them, when they shorted the number of migraine pills I received once. I expect someone made a mistake the way these are torn apart and placed in a bag. They corrected it, with no problem. The clerks are efficient and friendly and the pharmacists in the rotation are great and helpful.

My DD had a gift-card purchase issue at Wally World before Christmas also. She wanted to purchase one $20 Starbucks gift card. Didn’t realize the guy had picked up a pack of 5 $20 gift cards. So he rang up $100, and when she realized what had happened he would not refund her. Said they couldn’t refund gift cards. Fortunately we needed a couple of gift cards so we bought a couple from her, and she found a use for the other two.

AmyLou -- you said in your initial post that this is a prescription for birth control pills. Now you say "not the brand prescribed, but another brand. Which is fine. So many of them are interchangeable. As long as they do the job, I am good."

Different brands of birth control pills have different amounts of the active ingredients (e.g., progesterone, estrogen). Some brands have only progesterone. Your body may react very differently to a different concoction. Have you verified that the brand you received today has the same active ingredients in the same amounts as your usual brand?

Yes.

I was originally prescribed loestrin. Since then I have been given:

Loestrin

Minastrin

Larin

Blisovi and now

Junel.

All at the discretion of the pharmacy. I have never asked for one over another. And I have never asked my doc to switch me. My prescription is still for Larin. I believe that loestrin and minastrin had some sort of legal thing going on,which lead to the change to Larin by my doc.

They are all the same. I have never had any side effects and I think those women who claim that switching from one to the other (of the same pill with a different name) leaves them with horrendous side effects are often victims of their own imaginations. I get if it has different levels of hormones,but not if it's the same. As these are...

But,as I never had any issue switching from one to the other, what do I know?

Haha look at the ads I'm getting in Facebook now due to this thread!

Ha!

"They are all the same. I have never had any side effects and I think those women who claim that switching from one to the other (of the same pill with a different name) leaves them with horrendous side effects are often victims of their own imaginations. I get if it has different levels of hormones,but not if it's the same. As these are..."

AmyLou, not all generics are equal. Even if they have the same active ingredients, it's the inactive ingredients that can make a lot of difference. Perhaps more in meds other than birth control pills -- I don't know, because I haven't taken birth control pills since sometime in the late 1970s when I switched from birth control pills to an IUD. Eventually went off that, too, and ultimately had a hysterectomy in 1991 that put an end to the need for birth control of any sort.

BUT, I do take two prescriptions for high blood pressure, and one for a blood thinner (because of a cardiac stent), and I can say with absolute certainty that generics ARE different. Immediately after getting the stent I was prescribed Effient - the generic name is prasugrel, and I was given the generic at the pharmacy. I was horribly dizzy 24/7, and almost fell a few times because of it. Falls can lead to excessive internal bleeding, which is dangerous when on a blood thinner. I prefer always to take an authorized generic if I have to take a generic, and I found out that there was an authorized generic for Effient, so when I got my first refill, I asked for, and received, the authorized generic. As soon as I switched to the authorized generic, the dizziness stopped. Then the pharmaceutical company that was marketing the authorized generic ended its affiliation for it, so I switched to the brand name Effient. I pay $100 for a 90-day supply, rather than $10 for a 90-day supply of a generic. It's worth it to me. One of my blood pressure medications is Toprol XL. I have been on that since it was still under patent so there wasn't a generic. When the patent expired and generics came on the market, I was given the authorized generic and over all the years since then, I've only been given the authorized generic. There are plenty of legitimate stories out there about people who had real problems when they switched from the brand name Toprol to generic metoprolol succinate but they didn't get the authorized generic. As soon as their doctors wrote new prescriptions for Toprol and checked the box for "dispense as written," their problems stopped. The other blood pressure med that I take is Diovan (generic is valsartan). I've taken the generic for many years, because I cannot find an authorized generic for it. But, with all of the problems that valsartan has been having lately with recalls because of a cancer-causing ingredient, I switched to the brand name Diovan. I don't mess around with my health and safety if I can help it.

Well, I don't know anything about blood pressure meds,so I will take your word for it. As for my BC, I haven't had any issues with a switch. I will see if that streak continues with the Junel.

I would prefer to just get sterilized. But I haven't found a doctor who will do it for me as I havent had any kids and they are skittish about that. But in the end there are other benefits to taking the pill that I like,including clear skin and a lower risk of certain cancers(allegedly).

One thing to watch for when switching brands even it they appear the same is to use a backup birth control for at least the first month while your body adjusts. I have known people that discovered this the hard way.

Really? I haven't heard that. Good to know.

It's a shame they won't sterilize you. I guess they must see women who don't want kids but change their mind later. But still, I think a doctor should listen and do what the patient wants within reason. But if you definitely don't want kids you might want to consider something else as birth control pills do have a fairly high failure rate unless taken with absolute perfection, and most people aren't perfect about it. 99% perfect use, 91% typical use.

Generics have the same active ingredients. As long as they are generic to the original formula the efficacy will be the same even if you switched mid cycle as long as the pills were taken properly as prescribed and on schedule.

Some women may have reactions to in active ingredients and fillers. Like if one was lactose intolerant and the generic used lactose as an inactive filler.

Inactive ingredients cannot change the efficacy of the pills. There is nothing for the body to adjust to. No form of birth control is 100%. Add human error at the users end and it drops further. Blaming a generic on pregnancy is just looking for something to blame.

I do pretty good with them. I have my alarm set on my phone for 6 pm every day to remind me. 10 years and no baby!

I don't like the idea of having a foreign body implanted in me. So I am good with the pills for now.

I really dont want children. But if for some reason I do get pregnant.....well.... let's not tempt fate okay?

Yeah I can understand that. I don't think I'd like it either but I've been trying to get pregnant forever now and I doubt birth control is in my future anytime soon! The universe is funny sometimes.

Sounds pretty typical for CVS, that's about what I've seen for their quality of work when I tried using them once. Never again, I'll only go to a pharmacy even if I have to go to another town.

I rarely need any prescriptions and the local doc-in-the-box fills them in house before check out.