The store gets 2 stars overall, because it is neat and clean, and the folks in general are quite friendly. That part should get three stars -- A-OK. But, to me, the most important function is at the back, in the pharmacy.... that drags the rating down.
The pharmacy is the WORST... except for the Walgreens on Soquel Ave, which is MUCH worse, way slower, etc. -- or, at least, it was, some years back. I haven't had the stomach to go back there.
At this CVS, I have had my dr.'s office fax in prescriptions, and they have not only gotten them wrong, they have entered them in MULTIPLE in the computer, and in various stages of incomplete and incorrect -- wrong instructions, wrong dosage, etc. I was able to see it via the web site access. I printed it out, and still have that printout, it was so beyond the pale that anything could get THAT messed up. On other occasions, the prescriptions have not been on time, even giving them an extra 8 hours from the promised/scheduled time given by the computer. They explained that their pharmacy had undergone several personnel shifts all at once, but come on, isn't there a way to adjust for that in your production rate? so you can at least give people a reasonable ETA? Folks don't mind having it delayed if they know when it will be ready and only have to stand in line to pick it up. To have to wait, then learn its not ready, and you have to go kill 15-20 minutes to have them expedite the fill.... that gets old after three or four repeats. That's what was happening for at least a month or more, and they just couldn't seem to get a handle on it. It's finally improved, after quite a period of being pretty awful with the not-yet-ready situation, so I have to give them credit for that. But, there are other, deeper issues, like incompetence at the supervisory level.
One time, when I asked the pharmacist about a problem filling the prescription, she gave me THREE different excuses, all of them just "made up" and definitely not the actual problem (because she didn't bother looking in the computer's audit trail records, and those supposed scenarios could not have possibly happened), and when I told her she wasn't actually answering my question, and merely speculating, she said "well, you can talk to Brigitte our manager then...". On a different occasion, this same pharmacist was asked about the rules regarding new medicine consultations, and she said "You know, I just can't remember, what's the actual law, and what's the store policy!" This is a LICENSED pharmacist! She is nominally in charge of everything that happens in the pharmacy with regards to dispensing of drugs, while she is the pharmacist on duty.
Seriously. Messed. Up.
I can understand corporate doesn't give you enough people, or the people are poorly trained, but not knowing the legal requirements of your own licensed profession? That's not ok. They have recurring professional education for that.
On another occasion, I was picking up an Rx. A tech who was definitely from Central or South America, and not a strong English speaker, couldn't find my Rx. I waited in line to talk with the pharmacist for an extra 15 minutes, to find out what went wrong. It was there the whole time. The tech couldn't spell my name! They just need the first three letters of the first name and the last name, plus the birth date, to find your Rx in their system. She couldn't even do that! It's fine to have ESL workers, but don't put them in positions where their lack of familiarity seriously hampers their effectiveness! Or, at least coach them to ask to spell the name. I wonder how many others had this same frustration with her, because she was too proud? afraid? to ask for name spelling? This was not her fault; it was a failure to properly supervise.
CVS has been taken to task by the DEA, because a pharmacy employee in a Sacramento store admitted to stealing 20,000 Vicodin, I believe it was back in March of 2014. How did they not notice, until the DEA performed an audit? They are also being sued for millions for various irregularities in filling Rx's for Medicare patients. Millions.
Clearly, the pharmacy staff isn't well trained enough, and their procedures just aren't tight enough. Not my opinion -- these are realities, as reported in the news after DEA investigations uncovered massive failures to account for controlled substances. I hope they get their act together. There are few alternatives in a town dominated by the 2 big chain pharmacies, both of which have recently been the subject of some harsh criticism and even severe sanctioning by the DEA. read more
