Target pharmacy sighting

[snugglegirl05]

I went to the Target pharmacy near where I live last Friday to pick up my mom's prescription. As I was walking up to the pharmacy I noticed the pharmacy manager and the pharmacy tech both looking at the computer at the pharmacy & a male customer waiting at the counter. That told me the was a problem with the prescription for the male customer. Here is what happened when I got to the counter.

pharmacy manager: "I'm sorry, but your doctor will have call in for a refill for you prescription. Your prescription is only good for 6 months, & it expired yesterday."
male customer: "So I am a day late?"
pharmacy manager: "I'm sorry, but unfortunately you are a day late, & your doctor has to call in for a refill."
male customer: "Well...that does not seem fair. I am only a day late. Can't you just refill it for me?"
pharmacy manager: "I am sorry, but legally I cannot do that. What I can do is to give you some "loaner" pills. I can give you a couple of pills until your doctor calls in for a refill."
male customer: "Well...I was only a day late. Can't you just refill it for me today?"
pharmacy manager: "I'm sorry, but legally I cannot do that. Plus the computer locks up once your prescription has expired, & so I cannot do anything until your doctor calls in for a refill."
male customer: "Well...I did call in earlier this week on the automated line to refill my prescription. Why can I not get my prescription today?"
pharmacy manager: "I'm sorry, but there were 2 days earlier this week when our automated system was down, & we could not process anyone's prescription."
male customer: "Well...that is not my problem. I am only a day late. It does not seem fair that my refill cannot be processed today."
pharmacy: "I can give some "loaner" pills. I can give you a couple of pills until your doctor calls in for a refill. Legally I cannot refill your prescription until your doctor calls in for a refill."
male customer: "Can't you just refill my prescription for me? I am only a day late."

At this point I was getting tired of hearing the guy not taking no for an answer & insisting on the pharmacy manager doing something she is clearly not able to do, & so I said outloud to him....

"It is the law...HIPPA."

The guy gave me a dirty look & says "Well...I guess I cannot get my prescription today."

The guy then says to the pharmacy manager...

"So my doctor has to call in for a refill."

The pharmacy manger replied...

"Yes, your doctor has to call in for a refill. I'm sorry."

He finally leaves.

[Akasa]

Here you come to save the day!

[Sapphire Silk]

Actually, HIPAA has nothing to do with pharmacy refills. That's the privacy law (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act).

The relevant laws are in the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which specifies what kinds of medications require a prescription. The FDA sets the rules on how prescriptions are filled, and when, and by whom.

But the pharmacist was correct; she couldn't fill the Rx without a valid prescription. Customer was a day late and a dollar short (pun intended), and definitely sucky by trying to wear the pharmacist down.

Still, the OP got the guy to shut up and back down, so it did SOME good

[snugglegirl05]

[QUOTE=Panacea;917123]Actually, HIPAA has nothing to do with pharmacy refills. That's the privacy law (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act).

The relevant laws are in the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which specifies what kinds of medications require a prescription. The FDA sets the rules on how prescriptions are filled, and when, and by whom.

Yeah...thanks for the information. The only thing that came to mind was HIPPA.

If the sucky guy wants to complain, he can complain to the FDA. There is nothing his doctor or the pharmacy manager can do.

I cannot stand it when sucky customers try to wear you down. I get that at work, & so that is the reason I told him what I told him.

[Shalom]

pharmacy manager: male customer: pharmacy manager: male customer: pharmacy manager: male customer: pharmacy manager: male customer: pharmacy manager: male customer: pharmacy manager: male customer:

"Special, today only! Watch as The Irresistible Force meets The Immovable Object! Admission, one doughnut..."

Actually, HIPAA has nothing to do with pharmacy refills. That's the privacy law (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act).

The relevant laws are in the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which specifies what kinds of medications require a prescription. The FDA sets the rules on how prescriptions are filled, and when, and by whom.

Technically it's the Durham-Humphrey Amendments of 1951 to the Pure Food & Drug Act that set up the Rx-only status of so-called "legend drugs". (The "Legend" in question used to be "Caution: Federal law prohibits dispensing without prescription"; within the past few years they've made it a more succinct "Rx Only".)

Senator (later V.P.) Hubert H. Humphrey, who wrote much of that law, was a pharmacist before he decided to go into politics. Perhaps this is why these laws have stood for more than a half century without much change, because they were written by someone who had the experience to know What He Was Talking About.

Yeah...thanks for the information. The only thing that came to mind was HIPAA.

If the sucky guy wants to complain, he can complain to the FDA. There is nothing his doctor or the pharmacy manager can do.

The agency to complain at would be the State Board of Pharmacy for whichever state you're in. However, I doubt that they'd do anything but laugh in the face of this SC for complaining that the pharmacist refused to break the law, you know, the one that particular Board is charged with enforcing...

(ETA: well, they can complain to Coprorate and probably get a damn gift card. One thing I did like about working for the Chain of Verylarge Stores was that my pharmacy supervisor (like a D.M.) had my back. If anyone tried to complain about my refusing to break laws, he had the spine to tell them they weren't getting what they wanted. If he'd had any hair, it wouldn't have been pointy.)

[Jay 2K Winger]

Yes, HIPAA was not the correct thing to cite in this case.

However, citing it still interrupted the broken record cycle and got the Sucktomer to leave.

So, it served its purpose.

[emax4]

Sheezus! The guy kept starting every sentence with "Well..." . I would have had to bite my tongue from me saying, "well well well well NOTHING! You're not 'well' at all and you need to call your doctor to have him redo the prescription... WELL, are you just going to stand there? WELL get going!"

[Captain Trips]

"I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it "

"You can't have it."
"Well, but I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it "

"Sorry, but I legally can't do that."
"Well, but I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it "

"Sorry, but acting like a big baby and repeating "I want it" won't change the fact that I COULD LOSE MY PHARMACIST LICENSE if I gave it to you."
"Well, but I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it I want it............I guess I won't be getting it today, then?"

[wolfie]

male customer: "Well...I was only a day late. Can't you just refill it for me today?"
pharmacy manager: "I'm sorry, but legally I cannot do that. Plus the computer locks up once your prescription has expired, & so I cannot do anything until your doctor calls in for a refill."
male customer: "Well...I did call in earlier this week on the automated line to refill my prescription. Why can I not get my prescription today?"
pharmacy manager: "I'm sorry, but there were 2 days earlier this week when our automated system was down, & we could not process anyone's prescription."
male customer: "Well...that is not my problem. I am only a day late. It does not seem fair that my refill cannot be processed today."

Looks like the patient had acted responsibly (called the automated refill line before the prescription expired), but due to a foul-up at the pharmacy's end it didn't work. Did the failure of the automated system give the customers a "refill accepted, your medication will be ready at specified time" message and then drop the ball, or did it give a "refill rejected" message? If the former, the patient has every reason to be upset, since from information the pharmacy gave him, it looked like the refill had been processed.

[AquaGirl]

Looks like the patient had acted responsibly (called the automated refill line before the prescription expired), but due to a foul-up at the pharmacy's end it didn't work. Did the failure of the automated system give the customers a "refill accepted, your medication will be ready at specified time" message and then drop the ball, or did it give a "refill rejected" message? If the former, the patient has every reason to be upset, since from information the pharmacy gave him, it looked like the refill had been processed.

I can totally understand him being upset were this the case, but upset or not, the law cannot be broken to accomodate him. This is one of those situations where customer service cannot really help you get what you want. Lie, scream, ect., but you still can't have it. It sounded like the pharmacist was being very polite and doing all he could to help the situation by providing loaner pills. The customer just didn't seem to want to accept this and was not understanding that it wasn't a choice. It was not the Burger King pharmacy