This week has been frustrating for a relative of mine who is need of pain medication here in Clark County. The medication is needed for a chronic back injury that was the result of a screwed up back surgery. The injury is confirmed by x-rays, MRI's and other tests.
They were prescribed Oxycodone 10mg along with another medication.
They dropped the prescription off at the Walgreens at Lake Mead and Boulder Highway in Henderson.
They were told the medication would be available the next day.
They then got a phone call from the pharmacist stating she would not fill the prescription. They did not say why.
The next day, I went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription from the Walgreens and I started to ask questions.
I asked the pharmacist on duty and who did not deny my relative the medication she needed.
She stated that Walgreens has guidelines in which they determine if the amount medication prescribed is appropriate. I asked the pharmacist if that means that are overruling what a doctor prescribed and if that means they more about the patient and their needs than Walgreens. She had no answer. I asked if they had contacted the doctor that prescribed the medication and said they had and the doctor said the prescriptions were legitimate.
She stated that Walgreens demands of each doctor that prescribes any kind of narcotic medication give them, Walgreens, all of the patient's medical history. Of course, this violates HIPPA laws about patient privacy.
They then said that the prescription that my relative presented violated Walgreens guidelines in prescribing medication.
I asked which part of the guidelines did the prescription violate and the pharmacist. I had to ask her 3 times when she finally said that she would not answer the question. She said the guidelines are private because Walgreens policy is private.
So, here are three problems with Walgreens and their policy.
1. The pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription for any reason, including discrimination. This may include discrimination against men, women, the handicapped, their skin color, religion, the way they look, sexual orientation etc.
2. It seems that the pharmacists can overrule a doctor and how the prescribe medication, even though the doctor knows the patient, has their medical history. This is wrong and not the role of a pharmacist.
3. It seems that Walgreens wants the patient's medical history, even though it would violate HIPPA laws governing patient privacy. Why would Walgreens demand a patient's medical history?
So, if you want your HIPPA rights violated, have pharmacists over rule doctors and potentially discriminate against you for any reason, go ahead, shop at Walgreens.
Otherwise, please do not patronize Walgreens. They have to be one of the worst pharmacy's in the United States and they are not looking out for your best interests.
And I will be filing a complaint with Nevada Pharmacy Board because of Walgreens outrageous conduct.
This just happened today to my wife with narcotic pain meds she has been on for chronic pain. She has been on these for 15+ years. Our doctor notified us that in his opinion what Walgreens is requesting violates HIPPA and is advising all his patients to switch pharmacy. I went to the Walgreens to question them on the policy and the pharmacist picked up a preprinted card and read me a canned response telling me this is all they were allowed to say on the matter, it was one paragraph of here at walgreens we strive for customer satisfaction and safety blah blah. I then elected to have a regional manager call me to discuss the situation. I was told by this manager that it is a new company policy and they are the only ones in the industry doing it now and they suspect other pharmacys will follow suit. They do not care how many customers will leave because of this and they are aware that some will but don't think it will be a significant amount. The policy is here to stay unless someone challenges it in court and they lose.(she says they are on firm legal footing) I understand why they are doing this but I am a little alarmed when our doctor tells us he feels it is a violation of HIPPA for walgreens to allow their pharmacists to be asking for medical records and taking on the role of doctor to review and arbitrarily decide whether you can have a certain script filled based on your diagnosis. This is a job better left to the better educated, namely the doctor who wrote the script in the first place. I for one sympathize with your plight and will no longer patronize walgreens, they do not deserve the business especially considering this was rolled out on the down low as it seems they were making an effort to keep it as low profile as possible by not allowing their pharmacists to discuss this new policy with the very people whose privacy they are violating in the first place.
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