Complaint Review: CVS Pharmacy BHC AZ

I wasn't even considering filing a "rip-off" over my complaint until I saw so many already filed with actual ones just like mine, only of the opposite nature in regards to pharmacy mistakes!  After seeing those, mine deserves to be seen by other consumers (and those who actually know what "per pill" costs big pharma gets on these babies!

I have been a CVS customer for many years, love them overall, but since transferring my scripts there less than 1 yr ago, I have had 4 pharmacy errors in the nature of them giving me too many pills, including as many as 90 when my Rx for this controlled substance (I sure thought so, but maybe not so sure now, and I'm not a professional who should know, so don't care to that degree - this is practice over principle error or it's the principle of the matter, etc) was for only 40 pills! 

I used to work in an ER, so was keenly aware that there are locked "narc boxes" for these that must be accounted for, sometimes even drilled down to the number of whole, half and quarter tabs that should still be the proper inventory.  I assumed pharmacies at least had some kind of similar standard.

Not wanting to see anyone in trouble over these over-counting mistakes on a controlled substance, I called the store immediately to ask what they would like me to do.  Not wanting to, but willing if I must, I was prepared to be asked to bring them back, if for no other reason than to "right a wrong" in their inventory that I might be able to "save" them the headache over not meeting one...etc.

I was told, on 4 occasions so far, this wasn't a big deal, I could do what I wanted, but they didn't need them back.  The pharmacy person I spoke with each time gave me similar "instructions" each time I've called (always doing this just in case it really does matter, but a lazy clerk didn't want to have to bother looking up whether or not I should return the pills, or anything similar.  Evidently not - keep the pills, we don't mind.  (By the way, I am disabled, waiting for SS to approve me, so at the moment, I'm also an AZ recipient of what's called AHCCCS here, "Medicaid" to the rest of the states I think, or at least any I've lived in.

In that regard, it's a rip-off to the state of AZ, right? I'm reporting their ripoff then by doing this as a witness.

More information on the 4 times/too many pills:

1. 1st script I noticed this on was for the anticonvulsant drug Topamax.  Rx was for 150 pills, I received 160 pills.

2. 2nd script I noticed was script for the one above in my "complaint", controlled substance (at least in the last stated I knew this info (or assumed I knew) it was "controlled" - filled for Fiorcet, script filled for 90 Caps, script was only said 40 caps. If not "controlled", it's definately a pretty large overage, right? 

3. 3rd script was for same as #2, and again only 40 pills, but since that 90 lasted me from May till Oct, I didn't notice this extra mistake on this one at first. 

Instead of my 40 prescribed and got 90 for FiorCET, I was given 90 FioriNAL.  I noticed and called the pharmacy re the overage right away, they still said 'go ahead and keep 'em'.  It wasn't until yesterday that I actually looked closely enough at my label to see that my Oct refill wasn't even for what I was supposed to get!  Many times Fiorinal vs Fioricet is no big deal drug wise - unless you need it to be due to yours needing to contain the "tylenol" added version because you have ulcers or other stomach-related issue (mine isn't ulcers, it's gastroparesis) the FioriNAL will excerbate your condition!  So 2 reasons on this one, including an important one to me as a patient. (ripoff to both AZ re the money, and me because I've been sick for nearly 8 consecutive months now and didn't need this condition to get any worse! I get the generic equivilent, and both scripts are almost identical and I almost never think to look that closely if they seem they are what they shoudl be, hence why yesterday was when I noticed the wrong pills even.

When I reported this and was asking for a refill of the right med, they told me my Rx for that one was too old! I had just confirmed with my pain mgmt dr that it was not and they would approve it at my visit less than a week earlier, before asking CVS to fill it, because I had actually thought I was filling a different one mistake by me, gave it no further thought on asking for a refill when i notiiced I didn't "need" that one yet.  Just fooling around reading parts of the label I didn't expect to different FioriNAL stood out from that tiny font to show me the bleeding obvious that I still needed the refill, only in the form of a replacement!!!  I really was feeling sicker than I already had been, because CVS helped that along.

Regarding my "too old" response from the clerk, I argued, won the argument, got the right script approved, offered to return the Fiorinal, and they said only if I don't want them and am opposed to flushing them!!!!!!!! another 50 extra pills I didn't need or could "save for later" that AZ was prob billed for!  Maybe not even that, maybe I'm exaggerating the extent of that kind of "serious" here.  If not, there's one of your medicaid ripoffs right there, folks. It's not me, the person who needs to use the service - it's the pharmacy that fills my scripts that do not care when this total, not even including the last totals way too many drugs given to me that I tried to honestly return for numerous reasons I felt they were wrong to tell me to keep or flush - that was up to me.

#4. Script for dilaudid, which I know with absolute certainty, no doubt about this one by anyone who knows what it is.  Script for 15 pills. CVS gave me 30. 

Doubled some peoples' pleasure, I'm sure, but I truly only take this one prn, and it was a script I could have filled every month if I needed prn that often on this. 

Not being a drug seeker (more of an avoider, because having to simply swallow 1, let alone sometims 4 or more at one sitting, is a virtual version of work and patience for me.  To be sure I keep everything down requires not just the pill and a glass of water, but also a stack of soda crackers and a 7up as a chaser (really a stomach settler to make sure the pill stays where it's intended to land - in my stomach.)  Not always, and the fioricet/fiorinal wouldn't always matter as much to even me, except my gastroparesis is a recent diagnosis, based on my being almost non-stop sick for around 8 months now, in addition to why I'm disabled.

Now, knowing I have 15 extra dilaudid pills, I'm positive they will want those for sure - nope.  Same answer.  I had actually filled this script at the same time as my other back in may, but honestly did not notice this until last, once I decided to add up my current bottles of everything just to check for an exact figure as of that day that I could account for (this being yesterday when I was really mad now over the Fiorinal so I was really going to let somebody have it over that plus my grand total of too many pills, including 50 I didn't need, shouldn't have gotten anyway, could not use them (could, sometimes, but wont because I already "have to" for other drugs, and specifically my pain mgmt dr's instructions and reasons why it has the CET request on the Rx (still mad, sorry for the extra ranting)...dilaudid pills are tiny, and I used them extremely sparingly.  I still have leftovers of these from the too many, 30 over 15 is my rough estimate based on how many I should have gotten, minus those I still have, and an estimated subtraction of what I've used is right around the 15, and if not 15, maybe 16-17 extra (err on the side of caution, etc, right?)

Script filled w/ estimated grand total of too many pills, as of yesterday, that I know of, in less than 1 year from the same pharmacy, same answer when I noticed each time - 130 pills? (not a math in the head whiz sitting here...not stupid by any stretch of the imagine, only in math, and I hate counting things for math reasons - a lot though, am I wrong?  Over 100 is discraceful to me. I just found another extra 5, if you're keeping track, (AZ will prob get the figure correct when I send a copy of this to them).  This new extra 5 is on the script my boyfriend just picked up a couple hours ago - my Fioricet replacement for the Fiorinal that they at first said they couldn't even let me have until I added their mixup factoid in too.  I had also checked at my appt regarding a possible mistake, that I seriously doubted, but checked only because I knew the person at CVS would try and tell me I could not "know" for sure if it was their mixup and not my dr's flip.  Didn't buy that when I asked at my dr visit to please verify CET (knew they could do it, knew I'd get no grief from them requesting the exchange, etc), but went to CVS already assured that I could honestly claim I indeed do know they are to blame and not my dr, and refute their "blame the dr for this one UH OH, since I told her their mixup made me sick. 

Maybe that's why the cut my bonus on this script from 50 "free" to only 5.  They're mad now, because somebody made a mistake that was negative to me as the consumer for a health reason!  I still wouldn't have done this whole fraud report. Typing can get painful quickly, impossible for long in one stretch, and more. It's taken me the entire day to type this.

To me too many, in less than a year is a big deal.  Their response to a customer trying to be honest (and aware that these are on the state, not me, and as a taxpayer for the majority of my life until 2006, I get those concerns myself, but know people really do exist who truly need this - lots of them. 

After reading some other CVS complaints on being shorted, it's almost like I'm getting somebody's shorted script, in a way.  I'm sorry - I tried to give them back as I caught them.  I'm not bothering with the overages anymore though.  They don't seem to mind (even for dilaudid).  I hate to even say this part, because in my case it makes no difference, but is both embarrassing and shocking to my town - lots here would be happy to be me for profitable reasons, if not for user reasons to have a handful of these...I have no clue what that "profit" might be, but even a nickel is a profit on somthing you didn't pay your own money for.  I've been asked if I have any "extras" a few times (a lot of times while still living in Vegas) and say "no" no matter what (obvious reason why not to everyone).  "No" and keep walking is more like it.  I refuse any further exchange of words from the person, in some instances rude, in that one, appropriate in my opinion. I may even sympathy with their real reason they are asking, but I will not stick around long enough to hear what it is.

I'm not saying don't go to CVS stores and not eve don't use the pharmacy (just maybe count before you leave their presence and make them fix mistakes before you let them move on to the next person and the line's out the door if this bothers you very much like it all does me right now.  If you like to just buy stuff there, like I do, none of this will cause me to "never go there".  I still will.  I looked at their online ad earlier to see if anything I needed was on sale.  Yep.  Another visit to CVS as soon as I can get there (can't drive at the present, so boyfriend has to want or need and have time to go too).

That's it.  The degree of the seriousness it represents? I leave that up to the reader. I have a sense that AZ may care a lot, just knowing AZ as I do.  I honestly am more just mad that this all happened when I realized their mixup on my med.  The overages they didn't care for mostly just astounded me when I was told, in a roundabout way, to stop bugging them, they know they do it, shut up and let them "work". I'm sure I'm knonw as "that complaining woman who whines over too many pills all the time" (prob called something that rhymes with stitch, but not concerned anyway, only slightly amused that I know this is true.  makes me laugh.  I already realize certain factual mistakes exist here, but all have to do with things that do not matter enough for me to make myself remember exactly at any point, when the main ones are in regards to things I have no doubt about - way to many  pills received by me and an Rx mixup that they were responsible for, NOT my dr even though I knew they'd try to blame him (one of the best I've ever gone to in my life, and I've been to many).  I can prove it was not him, it was at least over 100 pills, how far over is always going to be an estimate - deliberately lower than it probably truly was by an insignifant amt, but essentially factual as an element of my complaint.  I think Rx mistakes always matter, and that CVS was extra cautious when they shut up and went back to work once I told them I knew I could get the refil, my dr wasn't at fault, and yes it was CVS who made the Rx mixup that made me sicker - checked it all out before I accused anybody of anything.  Let me know how you feel if you read this.  Thank you.