Pharmacy refusing to tell me over the phone if they have medication in stock - is this usual?
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Anonymous
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This is for a controlled class of stimulants (ADHD meds). Pharmacies often don't have many in stock, so a month ago I called at least 10 pharmacies and only one had the dose prescribed by the doctor (generic or label). And here is my nearest pharmacy refusing to tell me over the phone whether they have any in stock - what bores. What has been your experience? Is there a law regulating what a pharmacist can tell a patient over the phone concerning these meds? |
Anonymous
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I had this same experience when trying to get a vicodin prescription refilled last winter. I was told that there is a concern with drug-seeking patients, fake prescriptions, robbery, etc. and that they generally do not say over the phone whether they have such and such in stock.
I got them to tell me, because it was one of those days when it was a white-out blizzard outside, and I didn't want to drive if they didn't have anything. |
Anonymous
| Robbery. And this one should be common sense. If I were a pharmacist, i wouldn't like for people to be calling multiple pharmacies. Why wouldn't the pharmacy that you refill from begin to count you as a recurring patient - I'm assuming this is one you take regularly - and order accordingly? |
Anonymous
The woman on the phone didn't even ask my name. This is something my child has just started using, and we are in the process of adjusting the dosage, which people have told me can take many months. Therefore there is no refill of an established prescription as yet, and probably won't be until at least the end of the year. His first prescription was last month, and now he needs to try a different dose. The first time, I walked to this pharmacy, who didn't have it, and then called multiple others (who responded over the phone), and only one had the right dose in stock. If there is a law in place for that, then I understand they have to obey by the law, and it's all these other pharmacies that are flouting it. But if they just unilaterally decided to implement this rule, I'm just going to stop going there altogether. |
Anonymous
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That's odd. If you have a prescription with them, they should tell you whether they have it.
Can you get the medication online? |
Anonymous
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As a parent of a child taking ADHD meds, getting the Rx's filled locally is always a "hold your breath and hope they have it" sort of thing. Once I called a pharmacy and they did tell me they had it in stock. Other times I have called, I've been told "we can't give that information over the phone."
Once you get the dose regulated, you are able to do Mail-Order with the Rx, but again, you must mail the Rx to your PBM (per federal law). I spoke with the pediatrician today because our PBM has lost (or never received) the RX that I mailed a week ago and the pediatrician cannot fax or even call it into the PBM it since it is a controlled substance. The law says to dispense the medicine, the pharmacy must have the original copy in hand. Finally, just so you know, the Rx will not be written with refills allowed. It's frustrating, for sure. |
Anonymous
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Pharmacist here-
Pharmacies frequently will not tell callers whether or not a controlled substance is in stock. It is a safety concern. Your best option is to drive to the pharmacy that you intend to use and establish a relationship. At that point, the pharmacy will a) keep the drug in stock for you or b) call other pharmacies on your behalf. Additionally, the Rx will never be written with refills nor will it be allowed to be called in over the phone, faxed in or sent in by the computer. |
Anonymous
| That is completely nuts. When my DH was discharged from the hospital with 6 prescriptions to fill on a Sunday I had to call here, there and everyfuckingwhere, to find them all since some were some pretty obscure drugs. If someone would have refused to answer I would have lost it. I have a lot of sympathy for you OP. God I hate the health "care" industry. |
Anonymous
Yup. They have gotten all weird now that the meth addicts have made it difficult for people who actually need the meds to fill prescriptions. The state of the world today. |
Anonymous
Dear Pharmacist, Thanks for your response. ~Not OP, but someone who has to deal with ADHD meds. |
Anonymous
OP here. Thanks for chiming in. Can you tell me whether the pharmacists have just decided this by themselves, or if there is a legal framework for this? Because honestly, I've never heard of a hold-up at a pharmacy in my area, but I am sure there have been many patients greatly put-out by the necessity of driving to multiple places to find meds. The pharmacy I walked to only called one other place, which didn't have any stock. All the other calls I had to do myself, and thank goodness they weren't crazy and actually gave me info over the phone. |
Anonymous
I recently had to fill a px - that while not a controlled substance, was for allergies - I called multiple pharmacies to determine if was in stock to pick up that day, and associated price. Prices ranged from $110 to $18 (at Costco, where I eventually filled it). So while I can appreciate the concerns of robbery, if all pharmacies had the same pricing structure, this would become much more an argument of convenience only. |
Anonymous
| Dealing with pharmacies ADHD medication is a pain in the ass. Good luck. |
Anonymous
| It's not just ADHD medications, and honestly it's insurance companies that are making getting needed and correctly prescribed medications so difficult. If you want to be mad at anyone it's the insurance companies and big pharma. |
Anonymous
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No pp. be mad at all the abusers.
They drugs are widely abused and sold off market. I work in pharma and believe me the amount of fraud on these meds even with the right controls is still insane In states where there was little control the abuse can be staggering It's a shame the bad ruin it for others |