I've been using this pharmacy for four years. Some of the people are very nice so I have not wanted to review them badly.
However the techs have stolen my medications -shorted my meds because they are controlled substances in the past, and today I encountered a super dismissive snarky tech who just blew my mind with his disrespect.
I'm not sure if he was a manager but I sure hope not.
I have epilepsy. I require brand name medications. I have used generics in the past and they don't control my seizures.
Regarding the stealing of my medicines: I use Klonapin as both a daily and an emergency medication. It's a controlled substance. For multiple months the pharmacy techs were stealing between 5-15 of my pills, I guess thinking I wouldn't notice!? I'd get home and the number of pills would be low, so I'd call the pharmacy, wait on the phone, MAYBE someone would answer, then I'd go back in and wait in line -a line that is regularly at least 15 minutes long. Then I'd wait for the person at the counter to get the manager, to confer about the situation, then I'd have to wait for them to find the photo, and count each pill in the photo to determine that I'm not lying that my meds were shorted. It happened at least four times over five months. My doctor rewrote the script so it comes in a sealed bottle from the manufacturer and no tech has to count or steal them.
Regarding filling my meds with generics: Last week they filled my other medication with a generic. I got home and immediately called to let them know I need the brand name. My doctor (an epileptologist from UCSF Epilepsy Center) understands that generics are not the same for controlling epilepsy.
A week has passed and still no word... called multiple times since then and today I finally got a human. That human said it was filled last week and I'd need to take it up with my insurance. I explained that last week they made a mistake and needed to order the brand name. This person passed me on to the manager. After some time consuming confusion the manager saw a note from last week and said come in they'll fill it.
When I arrived, the tech at the counter says "You know they're the same right?"
As if my insistence for the brand name is frivolous... As if my doctor writing it "Dispense as Written" is not as smart as this pharmacy tech, and I want to pay 5x as much money for my medications, and I want to jump through hoops with my insurance company just because I enjoy the hassle.
He said he had to refund the generic I bought back to my card, then said it wasn't the right card. I said I probably paid in cash (it was $3 for the generic). Exasperated, he opened the drawer and counted out $3 in cash.
He pushed the bottle of generics back toward me. I asked if they would take back the bottle of pills because they are trash to me. He said "we cant take it back", I said "you can't dispose of it for me?" he begrudgingly took it back and put it to the side.
Because it seemed important to me that he not spread this misinformation and hold an erroneous belief that makes him dismissive of people who require brand name medicines, I said "there is a 2% fail rate for certain generics, and I'm in that 2%". He said under his breath "that's because..." (I didn't hear the rest) and then he said "I'm not gonna argue with you". I said "thank you", even though I'm pretty sure he was insinuating that I was arguing with him, versus trying to educate him.
Generic manufacturers have legal latitude to use LESS of the actual drug up to a certain point. I researched this extensively when I was having break-through seizures on generics. Generics use different fillers which I've had allergic reactions to. They ARE different in a few ways, and they don't work for my brain. This is acknowledged by my doctor who is an epilepsy specialist.
Unfortunately most of the pharmacies in my area have closed, so this is the only one near me. read more