And we had a new variation on this story tonight ....
Person (I didn't see if was male or female) pulled into the drive-thru. Wants their medicine (naturally!) Tech looks it up and sees that there was no refills available, but we *did* contact the doctor's office to see about renewing it. Uh oh, no go. There is a response from the doctor's office that this person's "prescription will NOT be renewed until they make a payment on their account".
Now just soak that in for a minute....... Got it? Okay, here we go. BTW, I'm just a bystander listening to my tech, she's awesome!
"I'm sorry we can't refill your prescription because the doctor refused it. No, not the insurance company, the doctor. No, the doctor said you can't have it until you make a payment on your account. I understand that you write a check every month for your insurance, but the doctor's office says you need to make a payment to them. No, not the insurance company - the doctor. I don't know how much you owe them, I don't have access to that information. No, I can't just give you a "few pills". Your doctor refused to renew the prescription, until you make a payment. No, I don't know how much you owe. No, I can't call them to find out how much you owe (this is 8:30 at night), they are closed, you will have to do that in the morning. You only got 30 pills last time when you usually get 90 and where are the other 60?? Our records show you received what was prescribed. Yes, I'm sure. Yes, absolutely. Yes, I will ask the pharmacist. (Pharmacist looks at the records. They have received every SINGLE one of the 330 pills they were prescribed over the past year). The pharmacist has checked the records and you have gotten all the pills that were prescribed. Yes, I'm sure. Yes, the pharmacist is sure. You want to talk to the pharmacist? Pharmacist tells them the same thing. No, we cannot give you any pills, you will have to contact your doctor's office in the morning. What's that? You want the number for our corporate customer service department because I am rude? Here ya go ... have a good night!"
Whew! She never lost her cool ... at least not until they left :-) She was WAY more professional that I probably would have been. Isn't she awesome?
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Mom calls ahead and makes sure hers are ready to be picked up around the 3rd of the month when she gets her social security as well as most of her other daily meds.Quoth MoonCat View Post
Luckily, Perfect Drugstore (located at the corner of Happy and Healthy) calls w/reminders when meds are due for refill. Let them know which ones you want refilled (usually we refill all of them) and we go about life until we are ready to pick them up on the way home.
Using their automated phone refills, we had a total of 8 to pick up last Friday just for Mom and my brother alone (3 were Mom's and 5 were for my brother - had to get the Byetta pen refilled the next day, but NBD - we just requested it at the drive thru when we picked up everything else.)
And in a separate transaction, I had 2 for me that time. The one I pick up around the middle of the month I won't have refilled (Dr. switched meds last week) so I'll have one around the 3rd of the month next month (unless I have to have my other Dr. call in the pain meds in since I don't have refills on that one.)
Either way it sounds to me like the SC in the OP tried to cash the two party check b/c she had a negative balance in her account and couldn't cash it at her bank (banks won't allow you to cash a check into your account if you have a negative balance - they'll apply it toward the overdraft.)
Now if she had thought about it, she could have had the check cashed at the bank where the check was written from (say the friend uses bankAmerica and the SC has Stagecoach - she could have went to a BankAmerica branch and cashed the check - know this b/c my Mom has had to do that back when she was working and would cash the Dr.'s check at his bank and get the cash. Of course this was a number of years ago as well, so I'm not sure if banks still do that or not.)
Either way you slice it, the SC just didn't plan ahead.
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Well, maintenance drugs for diabetes ARE important, but that's why you plan ahead and make sure you can pay for them, whether you get some kind of help with it, or you use your own money, whatever.Leave a comment:
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Haha, drug companies aren't charities, and neither is the pharmacy you work for. If it's life or death, probably the hospital can get those pills for free. Not quite sure on that. But it doesn't matter, because "I don't trust banks" isn't a valid emergency.Quoth Teefies2 View PostLeave a comment:
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Well it might have been, but the point is, the check was for $3. Her scrips that she NEEDED totalled over $20. HTH is that gonna work???Quoth MoonCat View Post
What I think was bogus was her. She thought that she would try every excuse she could think of not to pay for the scrips, and she would wear me down so that I would give it to her just to get her to go away. Nope not gonna happen.
And to answer a previous poster, none of the scrips were the type that affect your behavior, they were maintenance drugs for diabetes. Yes, I know people are cranky when they don't feel well, but jeez! My mom suggested that she might have been senile, but she didn't appear that way to me, nor was she of that age.
Anyway, we got a good laugh out of it afterwards .... as did all of the people in line behind her.
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Kinda makes me wonder what drugs she "needed," and whether at least one of them would help her NOT act like this...
Then again, I kinda doubt she needed anything she couldn't do without for a day or to...Otherwise, they would have already been ordered.Leave a comment:
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I'm so mean ......
I got called to the pharmacy tonight to deal with a female (not gonna call her a lady). Seems she had 4 prescriptions that she "had to have". The problem? She didn't have any money.
But you see, she had this check her friend wrote her and why couldn't we cash that???? I declined. "But I don't have any cash!!!"
Do you have a checking account? Why yes, yes she does. But you see, she doesn't have any checks with her.
Okay, do you have a credit or debit card? Why yes, yes she does. But you see, she doesn't have any money in that account, because it's from Social Security, it doesn't get put in the account until the 3rd. The 3rd is Saturday, so YAY she will get the money on Friday. I should be excited!
Umm no. "So you won't give me my medicine????" No, ma'am, not until it's paid for. "But I NEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDD it!!!!" I understand that ma'am, but you'll *need* to pay for it before we can give it to you.
"I'm good for it!" (I guess she meant she'd pay us later??) I again declined.
"Well what am I to do?" You could go to a bank and cash that check your friend gave you. "But no I don't trust banks, they are very rude (cue rambling about they should be happy you give them your money, etc etc etc). I use a credit union." Okay, then go to your credit union, cash the check and we'll be right here waiting for you to return.
"No I can't do that! I had someone bring me here. My credit union is in H******* (town about 20 miles from where we are). I'm thinking so why didn't you go to the <my store> in that town?
Well, I'm sorry ma'am, we are unable to help you. "So you're going to deny me my medicine unless I pay for it???????" Yes, (thinking to myself, that's about the size of it). You have a nice day. Customers behind her are trying really really hard not to laugh in her face
At that point, I beat a hasty retreat. WTH???? In what universe do you get products/services/drugs WITHOUT paying for them????
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