A few days ago, I lost my prescription for Depakote which was prescribed for the treatment of chronic migraines. After experiencing unrelenting and debilitating headaches yesterday morning, I decided to go to an urgent care center to see if I could get an emergency supply of the drug until I could meet with my PCP the following week. Upon arrival in the urgent care center, the medical assistant approached me essentially as if I were a drug addict. My blood pressure was around 150/95 due to the obvious pain that I was in. She contacted the pharmacy where I last refilled my prescription and essentially walked into the room with a "gotcha" type smirk on her face, since the day I got my prescription turned out to be the day I lost it. She was upset because I didn't tell her this before she made the call. To be honest, I didn't even think that information was necessary, but she was extremely critical of me from there on out since apparently my story was "skeptical to the doctor".
Regardless of which, this was the first time I had ever lost a prescription. It also makes sense that I lost the medication the day I picked it up, since it's the only time the bottle is ever outside of my kitchen cabinet. I lost the medication while at work, because I accidentally left the bottle on the lab refrigerator (which is cleaned routinely by the custodians every afternoon). Essentially the rest of the conversation went like this:
Her: "...so you lost your prescription the day you refilled it? I don't see how that is plausible."
Me: "I don't see how the date when I refilled my prescription and when I lost it makes much of a difference."
Her: "Well the doctor said he won't refill the medication for you."
Me: "I'm in a lot of pain, and you have already verified that I indeed have a prescription for this drug. It's not a controlled substance, and the doctor still has yet to actually see me in person. No offense to you lady, but you aren't qualified to make medical diagnoses, and I don't see how the doctor can legally make the decision to not prescribe me Depakote without even physically seeing me. I've heard your chatter outside the room, and it essentially seems like you and him think that I am a drug addict, which I find to be highly offensive. I am hypertensive, which extremely abnormal for me. I have a rapid heart rate. I am profusely sweating. And I don't see how, or why, anyone would want to abuse a drug as disgusting as Depakote. So..."
Her: "Well the doctor has made up his mind, sir."
Then she just walks away.
I got a refund for my co-pay, but this whole experience just really made me extremely upset. Throughout this whole encounter, not once did I actually get to see or talk to the physician who was apparently making all of these decisions. I had a completely immature, untrained medical assistant acting in his role. I later went to an emergency room because my blood pressure spiked to 170 systolic from the pain. The ER docs had to place me on an IV drip of a cocktail of pain medications before my blood pressure stabilized. I'm thinking about filing a complaint to the appropriate authorities about this urgent care center, and maybe filing a suit for medical malpractice. Maybe I am just unnecessarily upset, but from an MD's perspective, would this be an appropriate approach?
Regardless of which, this was the first time I had ever lost a prescription. It also makes sense that I lost the medication the day I picked it up, since it's the only time the bottle is ever outside of my kitchen cabinet. I lost the medication while at work, because I accidentally left the bottle on the lab refrigerator (which is cleaned routinely by the custodians every afternoon). Essentially the rest of the conversation went like this:
Her: "...so you lost your prescription the day you refilled it? I don't see how that is plausible."
Me: "I don't see how the date when I refilled my prescription and when I lost it makes much of a difference."
Her: "Well the doctor said he won't refill the medication for you."
Me: "I'm in a lot of pain, and you have already verified that I indeed have a prescription for this drug. It's not a controlled substance, and the doctor still has yet to actually see me in person. No offense to you lady, but you aren't qualified to make medical diagnoses, and I don't see how the doctor can legally make the decision to not prescribe me Depakote without even physically seeing me. I've heard your chatter outside the room, and it essentially seems like you and him think that I am a drug addict, which I find to be highly offensive. I am hypertensive, which extremely abnormal for me. I have a rapid heart rate. I am profusely sweating. And I don't see how, or why, anyone would want to abuse a drug as disgusting as Depakote. So..."
Her: "Well the doctor has made up his mind, sir."
Then she just walks away.
I got a refund for my co-pay, but this whole experience just really made me extremely upset. Throughout this whole encounter, not once did I actually get to see or talk to the physician who was apparently making all of these decisions. I had a completely immature, untrained medical assistant acting in his role. I later went to an emergency room because my blood pressure spiked to 170 systolic from the pain. The ER docs had to place me on an IV drip of a cocktail of pain medications before my blood pressure stabilized. I'm thinking about filing a complaint to the appropriate authorities about this urgent care center, and maybe filing a suit for medical malpractice. Maybe I am just unnecessarily upset, but from an MD's perspective, would this be an appropriate approach?
