Filled a new generic perscription through CVS for a medicine I have never used in the past. The first perscription of the medicine worked well without any side effects but I did run out of the medicine early. All pharmacies I have used in the past have given me a few pills for free till they get the doctors ok to refill the perscription which they did verify with the doctor.
Bao Tran the CVS Pharmacist charged me $9.95 for 2 pills that would last me two days. I then asked him how much it would cost for a full perscription of the medicine he said it would be $53.00 for 25 pills which works out to $2.12 per pill after I questioned him why he charged me $ 9.95 for two his response was that he would work it out when he got the authorization from the doctor to fill the full perscription. I thought to myself work it out this isn't a side street bizarre auctioning off out of the gutter health potions or snake oil where the highest price wins! I noticed that the pills were different looking then the first but on the CVS paperwork it said that medicine was the same. Took the medicine that nite had adverse effects that startled me to say the least. After checking on line about the manufacturer of the 2 pills CVS /Bao Tran provided I foundout that this generic brand medicine has had many negative reviews from some of the patents that have used it in the past (see links below) http://www.fibrotalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=27601
https://www.druginformer.com/search/side_effect/intermezzo/?page=717&ipp=10
On CVS perscription documentation in the message center portion of the document it clearly states in bold This is the same medication you have been receiving the color,size or shape may appear to be different (see photos) That statement on CVS paperwork based on third party patent reviews, various medical websites, my personal experiance clearly shows in my opinbion CVS at the very least do not research the generic pharmaceutials they sell you. When I did call to let them know about the side affects they didn't seem to care at all . I will never use this CVS for perscriptions in the future.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Psomegid
Georgia,Georgia Pharmacy Technician
#2UPDATE Employee
Thu, July 11, 2013
CVS Pharmacy has it's own pricing for it's medication without insurance. Some medications do in fact lower in price per unit the higher the quantity is.
Pharmacists have to be very cautious about medications like Ambien since it is a controlled substance, thus having much higher risk of being abused. It is often a judgment call with their license on the line when it comes to refilling these medications earlier than their state law instructs them.
With many drugs such as ones for blood pressures or cholesterol, so long as they are not expensive brand names, a pharmacist will be more than happy to loan you some to keep you on track.
CVS Pharmacy will occasionally order multiple generic manufactured drugs of the same brand. This may be for a variety of reasons: customer preference, cheaper in cost, insurance formularies including only specific NDCs, et cetera. If you prefer a specific generic manufacturer, any pharmacy would be happy to order it for you if it is supplied by a local warehouse or Cardinal Health.
If the customer has not made any preference known to their manufacturer, a technician may change it depending on which is currently in stock.
From the inside, I can easily see why a patient would be frustrated with issues such as these.