Have you ever been treated poorly at a pharmacy or other healthcare provider?
Too Nice = Less Respect If You Are A Caregiver.
A few days ago I went in to our local 24 hour pharmacy and was treated disrespectfully by a new pharmacist behind the counter. The more I tried to fix the problem with a prescription I was picking up, the less helpful he became. Then it hit me - I looked like h*ll. I had been caring for a parent with pneumonia for a full 10 days and was exhausted. I was wearing a pony tail, t-shirt and jeans and I was old, I was being nice and obviously must have been acting like a typical caregiver - being nicer than I should to try to fix a problem. Although the information in his system was wrong, he would not take the time to research the error - instead he suggested that I call my insurance carrier as it was showing "expired". He made the point that the conversation was over by picking up the bag with my prescription and tossing it to a basket across the workspace. Discussion over. Go away. With no prescription I was forced to go home and wait until I could confirm with my insurer that there was *no expiration* on the prescription benefit. They added that the pharmacist was wrong and should have given me a few day's supply if he was not willing to fix the billing issue. When I contacted the pharmacy's customer service line they said they were sorry I was frustrated.
Then I got mad. I told the CSR that I had been up with little sleep and no help for 10 days and referenced the multiple prescriptions my parent had at that pharmacy. I pointed out that I was there at midnight to pick up a necessary prescription for me that was overdue and could not wait. I followed it up with the fact that I had been a loyal customer. The CSR said "sorry". I said, No you don't understand. I am one of millions of tired old ladies who are caring for a loved one - we do it for free, manage everything including building relationships with healthcare providers to AVOID these problems and the value of all of our services total $470 Billion a year. The CSR said "sorry". I was still very angry and then I said in a quiet voice, OK, you are "sorry" - but I still have to get this prescription at the copay amount, not full retail due to your pharmacists' mistake. How will I do that until I can get a free minute to drive 20 miles back to the pharmacy - probably at night. Can you guarantee the problem will be fixed? She said "sorry, I can't guarantee anything". That is up to you to talk to the pharmacist about. I said wait a minute - why don't you call the pharmacy for me and fix the problem ... "sorry" we can't do that. As your insurer to do that. What? Why can't you fix the problem, make amends and have the prescription delivered to our house? "No, I'm afraid not - sorry". I began to cry. At that point the CSR broke down and said this
"I know what you are going through, you sound just like my mom who is caring for my dad who has cancer". I truly am sorry, but the corporation that I work for won't let me do anything other than log this call as a customer complaint. Someone is supposed to get back to you within 3 business days." Now I felt bad, and I said "sorry; I know it must be hard for you as well sharing the burden with your mom. I truly appreciate the fact that you listened and talked to me like a human being. I would like a favor from you". She said OK, if I can and here is what I finally said after I put on my big girl pants and realized that nothing corporations say or do is there for caregivers and nothing will ever change unless we change it the only way we can. Here is what I said:
"I am transferring my prescriptions, never shopping at the ______ chain again, going on social media and yelp to complain and sharing my story with every other caregiver on forums (like this one)."
She chucked and then laughed. "OK, I'll write that down, she said" and then she added - "give them hell, you DO sound alot like my mom".
So my question is twofold - 1. what is YOUR Story? Share it here - discuss it and let's raise enough awareness that the companies that don't recognize us start paying attention. 2. What Else Is Bugging You As A Caregiver?
I feel better writing this - now I am no longer sorry.
I really don't think it had anything to do with how you were dressed. Heck, the same could have happened if your were dressed like a bank President, or picking up your order via drive-thru.
I wouldn't waste my time adding negative reviews on yelp or any other review site, because most people when they have 100% good service never write a comment, but one bad time they are all over the internet with negative comments. Thus, those reviews are meaningless.
Rarely do I run into any problems at the pharmacy. Usually if there is an issue, like no order is waiting, it was because my Dad had forgot to call in for a refill yet told me pills were waiting :P
I do realize that the Walgreen's and similar pharmacy people are expected to ring up non-pharmacy purchases, deal with long lines of impatient people, and in general are not getting tons of respect themselves, nevertheless, you learn to cope with that, or hate it but hang in until with enough pressure, corporate policies need to, and could, change for the better, or get out. This kind of thing can hurt people. I have had patients hospitalized because a prescription was denied when a single phone call or fax could have taken care of it, but they were too busy and didn't care enough about the Spanish speaking single mom with two special needs kids...You know how they say "don't get me started"? - well, you got me started!
When my Mom was transferred to the NH he made all the arrangements for her prescriptions to be done there properly without me even having to ask. Even said kindly to me "now you can rest"
But change your approach and be very rational about it; anger just makes you seem more dismissible. It's easy to decide that you're irrational and angry and ignore your complaint.
And frankly, given that he was new, he might not have known how to address the problem. He relied on the store's computer system which indicated the script had expired. A good pharmacy, an individual one like the one we eventually selected, will offer to contact the scripting physician to get a renewal on the script, unless perhaps it's a narcotic.
BTW, you mentioned this is a 24 hour pharmacy. What time of day or night were you there?
The news article is here or probably in most major news sites.abc7./news/cvs-accused-of-overcharging-for-generic-drugs/895185/ They are going to be sued in a huge class action suit.
Thanks for all the comments - I really believe after reading this article that posting on social media like Yelp does matter hugs to everyone who shared support.
We deal with so many different issues with medicines. Like cases where a pharmaceutical manufacturer stops production of a pill because there is no profit in making that pill or the company had merged with another company, thus changing the fillers/binders/coatings on a pill. I am hyper-sensitive to certain products and found just one manufacturer where I can deal with a certain prescription. Nothing worse than finding you can't get that pill anymore :(
Last year my grocery store pharmacy told me I couldn't get my favorite pharmaceutical manufacturer for an anti-cancer pill I was taking. Sorry, nothing they could do. So I tried other pharmacy chains with no luck, but found a pharmacist at a local CVS who wanted to help. He searched and searched, and a week later lo and behold he found a full bottle of pills which he had sent over to their store, put my name on it, thus every time I came in for a refill, it was good to know on the shelf were my pills :)
As far as feeling that I was looked down for how I was dressed, yes I believe that that was the case. I felt bad because I know that appearances do result in snap judgements by strangers. Call it profiling, ageism or what you will, it does happen. DId anyone read the article in the paper - if so what do you think, will it change things for the better and make prices fairer? I found another pharmacy that charged me a fraction of what the original pharmacy quoted me as the generic cost - that type of price gouging makes a huge difference to me as a caregiver, How about you?
Prescriptions are not optional and are regulated. That makes them different from a grocery chain's prices. Most grocery stores run on slim margins averaging aroung 2% markup and are very competative.
"If every store had the same price than it would be considered "price fixing", and we wouldn't want that."
I looked around and found that Consumer Reports in April 2011 lead their article off with the following information, that I have found to be exactly correct:
"Chalk one up for the little guy. Consumer Reports’ latest drugstore study (available to subscribers) affirms that the top-rated walk-in stores are neighborhood independents, not giant chains such as Walgreens and CVS.
Ninety-four (94%) percent of readers who shopped at independent drugstores were highly satisfied with their experiences. Included in this group are The Medicine Shoppe and Health Mart, independent-like chains that are individually owned and operated but have a common parent company. Independents made fewer errors, offered swifter service at the pharmacy counter, and were much more likely to have medications ready for pickup when promised than traditional chain, supermarket, or big-box-store pharmacies, our survey found.
People who filled their prescriptions at independent stores also praised the pharmacists’ accessibility and personal service, and encountered fewer delays and medication mix-ups than those who shopped elsewhere."
I do use an Albertson's SavOn pharmacy and it's just great. I have a personal relationship with all the pharmacists; they know me and my family on sight. I also negotiate price with them by printing out coupons from GoodRX and most of the time the cash price via the coupon is about half what the copay would have been.
When I was disrespected several years ago elsewhere and given the wrong prescription by a pharmacy, I complained to corporate, only after I filed a complaint with the pharmacy board. That got their attention. I insisted on a written apology and proof that the errant pharmacist received more training. I got that, too.
Be nice, be tough.
My pharmacy is lovely and while the pharmacist is a bit stand-offish the staff who work there know me and my situation and just steam roller the pharmacist if she or he gets on their high horse about anything. I wanted my mums meds in dosette boxes but the pharmacist said she didn't have meds that could go in rosette boxes because they changed a lot. I wasn't having any of it and was my usual blunt self - the staff stepped in and told her you don't understand the situation she does need them that way and she is more than capable of making the adjustments when they are made and then we adjust the dosette box next time....no problem - I do always go to the same pharmacy and for me that works really well - heavens they even called me Jude now
The guy was a jerk and did not choose to fix the problem because people who are out of their medicine normally choose to pay for it despite the high price. I suspect that he knew full well what the side effects were if the medication was stopped, so the odds were good that I would be back and pay the price.
The people I spoke to along the way while I was researching and looking for better prices confirmed what I believe to be true - we are held hostage when pharmacies don't disclose prices on the telephone or list the prices of generics on their websites making shopping around almost impossible. I also learned that there are prescription discount cards that will get you a lower price than your insurance. It pays to stick to your guns and keep calling around until you find people who will provide the right info and help you.
The pharmacy chain that took the complaint and said they would be back to me in "2 business days" has yet to call. I suspect that once they saw I had transferred the prescription, it was obvious they were not going to win back my business.
Here is the 'almost' part! Every article tells a caregiver to 'get away, take a vacation, have time to yourself'. One day in the summer years ago, me and my husband went to the shore for the day, just to get away and walk the boardwalk. We weren't even staying overnight.
I got a call, answered it, it was my Mom's caregiver agency. Not the nurse, just the office worker. She must have heard the seagulls or the ocean, she started snapping at me, "where are you? what is that? what are you doing?" and I felt of course that she was implying I ought to feel guilty that I was not by my mother's side that moment. It worked, I felt guilty.