Before I describe this pharmacy, I should describe my perspective. I am an educated, reasonable, understanding, respectful, and forgiving person (to a fault) who takes responsibility for my actions, and I am neither a snowflake nor a criminal. I simply suffer from a severe neurodevelopment disorder (ADHD) and, like anyone else with an incurable condition that can be treated with medication, I require the services of a pharmacy to fill my prescriptions to help manage the symptoms of my disorder.
Regarding this pharmacy, even though most of the staff members here are very friendly and genuinely caring (to a point), I have consistently experienced systemic discrimination at this location. This pharmacy does not treat me like any other patient who deserves adequate assistance to get their prescriptions filled. Instead, I am treated as though my physician's diagnosis is fictional and my prescribed medication is elective and unnecessary. Time after time, whoever is in charge acts as though simply filling my prescription on time would require some kind of extraordinary special service from them, and the very real suffering I endure when I do not have my medication is callously ignored. I have seen little to no evidence that the staff actually care whether the service they provide me is adequate, even though being unmedicated results in many significant adverse effects for me, including impaired cognitive functioning, emotional dysregulation, and increased mortality.
I fully understand that my medication is a controlled substance that has tragically been over prescribed and that it is currently in short supply. I don't expect any pharmacy to be able to circumvent the law or make the shortage disappear. However, I do expect pharmacy staff to act professionally and honestly and not blame someone else when they make mistakes navigating an admittedly complicated process, such as when they make factually incorrect statements that they have not attempted to verify or when they drop the ball on an in-progress order without ever following up, both of which have occurred multiple times. Moreover, I expect the feedback about my experience that I have offered to be given due consideration. Instead, it has been immediately contradicted and dismissed out of hand.
The nationwide circumstances surrounding my medication are challenging for everyone involved. However, professionals need to take responsibility for the quality of their work in light of these challenges, and not blame me, a patient, for the challenges that they are facing. Not only are the challenges not my fault, they have far greater impact on me than they do on pharmacy staff.
I believe that the biases I have encountered are probably unconscious and that the pharmacy staff members truly believe that they are doing the best they can. Nonetheless, I doubt I would be treated this way if I required insulin to manage diabetes. Unfair treatment based on an individual's diagnosis is discrimination, and it harms not only me but our society. Although tackling unconscious and systemic prejudice is difficult and painful, I urge both Safeway and the pharmacy staff to address their harmful policies and attitudes. In the meantime, I am shopping for a new pharmacy. read more
