My daughter has a rare, extremely painful, and progressive disease (CRPS) and, unfortunately, needs to be on opiate pain meds. This past Monday her doctor renewed her regular script and added an extended release med because her pain was getting worse--both of which he sent electronically to the Walgreens. Later Monday she called Walgreens to find out when they'd be ready and was told the new med had to be special-ordered and would be available the next day, and the earliest she could pick up the other one would be THURSDAY. So she sucked it up and waited another day.
When I called the next day to make sure the new med was ready, I was told it wouldn't be ready til THURSDAY, and that the soonest they could fill her regular script was now FRIDAY. I spoke to the store manager who advised me that each individual pharmacist could use their own discretion as to when to fill an opiate. So If you called Monday the pharmacist on staff might say Tuesday, but if there was a different pharmacist there on Tuesday they might tell you a different day. And so on. But he made sure there was a note in her file that she'd been PROMISED she could pick up her regular script Thursday, and told us he called the distributor to confirm the extended release would arrive by Thursday. By now her pain is a 10 and getting worse, if possible
IT GETS WORSE
On Thursday there was another pharmacist there who said the new med would not be there til FRIDAY (turns out the pharmacy hadn't even ordered it until WEDNESDAY), and that she couldn't fill the other script until MONDAY. The manager intervened and got the pharmacist to fill her regular script while I waited (for over an hour). As the lines both inside the store and at the drive-thru grew longer and longer, I heard them tell one customer after another that their order wasn't ready and to come back in an hour.
When my daughter's med was finally ready, I was told to go to the end of the line, which now snaked to the front of the store. Again the manager intervened and rang me up right away. But without the new, extended release med, her pain continued to spiral out of control and she ended up in the Emergency Room. one thing we've learned over the past few months is that ERs do not like to treat chronic pain and will often send her away. But we needed to try and, luckily, they put her on some strong intravenous meds, which broke the pain cycle enough for her to go home.
...AND EVEN WORSE
I called FRIDAY evening (purposely waiting for a time I didn't think the store would be so busy)--now 5 days after the script was sent to the store--and was told the script wouldn't be ready until NEXT WEEK because the doctor had neglected to enter a "diagnostic code," and the office wouldn't be open til Monday! So we got ahold of the doctor on call, who said no pharmacy had ever asked for a diagnostic code, and he called the pharmacy and straightened it out.
So now we get in the car and head to the pharmacy and -- believe it or not--he would not give her the med because she did not have a Florida driver's license! (We had recently moved from New York State and hadn't transferred our licenses yet.) This was even more absurd than all their other excuses because, while it's okay for them to require a picture ID, you don't NEED it to be from Florida!
CONFESSION
Beyond frustration, I cussed him out and left the store. My daughter stayed there and cried and begged for the next 10 minutes and, after telling her "I don't NEED to fill this for you," he finally relented and gave her the med.
I've reported all this to Walgreens's Customer Services and, while the rep I talked to was aghast and extremely sympathetic, who knows if my complaint will change anything at all. Needless to say, we will never set foot inside that store again, but for the sake of their other customers, I hope it does!
THE END. Finally! read more
