Go in to get my same as every month supplies. …and they start questioning me like the are my damn Dr! " how many times do you test a day? 8 to 10! Why do you need to test that much?"
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Me and my Endocrinologist discuss my disease and she wrote you a script…
SO DO YOUR F*CKING JOB AND FILL IT!!!
I've had the same response from pharmacy staff. Very frustrating!
Yes it is ^
I've gotten along very well with most pharmacists, except for the ones working for a pharmacy benefits manager that tried to ration my strips without my knowledge. They just mailed me a short order. They got an temp nurse at my doctors office to say that 4-5 times per day is plenty.
After I talked with my doctor, I called the the pharmacist who signed for my short order and asked her why they even needed to call the doctors office. I asked if the doctor's order was illegible. Did the test strips interfere with any other drug that they knew I took? Or did they just call to jawbone down the quantity of my order?
I demanded that they make me whole and if they ever do that again I will file a complaint against the license of the pharmacist with the state certifying board. They were simply doing the bidding of their business manager to cut back on various supplies.
I was so hot! I try not to get my blood pressure up so much these days but when it threatens my ability to control my BG, I get a little bit nuts. I should really focus on all the people that have to get by with so few supplies.
As a parent of child with type 1 who buys test strips in seemingly vast quantities, I can empathize with the poster. But a person who has worked as a pharmacy assistant, I can also see why they ask those questions. Pharmacy staff must enter the number of days that a medication (or 100 test strips) will last the customer before completing the transaction. Without this information, the customer may not have their medication covered by their insurance provider. If the number of test strips/day exceeds the 'norm', the pharmacist is required to make a note of this in the event that they are audited. In most cases, pharmacy staff are not trying to be annoying or be nosy but actually are trying to 'get it right' in their computer system so that the customer gets what the want and the pharmacy does its due dilligence. Hope this helps.
Unfortunately the pharmacist is at the front line between you as a patient and insurance (payers) who we all know act as miserly penny pinchers. I think pharmacists would like to act on behalf of patients and doctors but unfortunately things are not so simple. ps. And like Terry I've also been short ordered with a variety of excuses. So I take my revenge, I don't ask for a minimum or average number of test strips I ask for the maximum. I might need to test 10-12 times per day (although rarely).
I don't mind when the pharmacy asks how often I test—I understand that they have to. It's when they follow up with a comment like, "Why do you test so often? You shouldn't need to test that much!" (I've had pretty much that exact comment from a pharmacy I used to go to) that it gets on my nerves.
Your pharmacist may be required to do this by your insurance. There are quantity limits that your insurance has in place and if they need to be overridden then having this info on file helps you to get the amount of strips you need when it comes time for your refills.
There are also people who buy more strips than they need through their insurance and resell them on places like eBay and Craig’s list thus defrauding their insurance. Like it or not it happens and this sort of thing is not good for anybody and it’s why it’s harder for those who test frequently and don’t abuse the system to get the supplies they need.
It doesn’t bother me when they ask, the pharmacist is only trying to get me what I need, and they know what my insurance requires as far as documentation.
"I discussed this with my doctor, please fill the script..." should do the trick.
Pharmacies are also pressured by insurance companies, their biggest customers to gather that information too.
I hate it when they want to do an inventory of every medication I may be taking. They are not licensed to diagnose or prescribe, so if there is a problem with what I am there to collect from them then shouldn't they consult with the physician? I really hate it when I arrange to have my prescription filled ahead of time (a couple of days, usually) and when I am told it is ready... it is not. And then I have to wait half an hour, 45 minutes, for them to put some label stickers on a box. And they wonder why customers yell at them! :-o
Glad to see this here. I now will not switch my strip order from mail order to pharmacy store. I can get the same 90 day supply at the CVS as at Caremark mail order and my internist can actually get the store to take the order whereas he has had trouble with Caremark mailorder.
It really should not be the pharmacist who questions the person. The pharma company should ask the physician if they need an answer. The diabetic does not write the prescription.
Would love to see all the docs getting these calls across the country!!!
Yep, fill it.