Patient question. Can a pharmacist renew and fill my prescription without my consent?

[Halosfan]

Hi smart people

I'm sorry to intrude on your forum, but I'm having difficulty finding any information online.

I had some prescriptions at a pharmacy that I decided to stop using. Once my Chantix medication refills were zeroed out, I received a new prescription from my doctor and brought it to a different Pharmacy.

There were no refills left on the prescription at the previous Pharmacy.

Yesterday I received a voicemail telling me my prescription was ready for pickup. This prescription hadn't been filled with them in 2 months.

I called my doctor to ascertain if the pharmacy had called them to request a new prescription or refills. My doctor said they hadn't received any calls and if they had, I would have known since they charge a $35 phone refill or prescription fee.

I will NOT be picking up the medication. I have an active prescription at my new pharmacy.

This isn't the first prescription she has refilled without my request or consent, which is why I left the pharmacy. I have never signed up for any type of auto refill.

How did (or could) this woman fill a medication without my or my doctor's approval? And exactly how upset about this should I be? I'm not sure it this has already been run through my insurance and if so, how shady that would look since I'm actively refilling a Chantix prescription at my new pharmacy. Zero co-pay on this drug, so my insurance is fully paying for it.

Thank you for any information or advice. And if a patent question is inappropriate here, I apologize and can a moderator please remove the post.

TIA,
Debbie

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[Whereismynorco]

 

[BenJammin]

Whether they did it by accident or on purpose, why do you care? Just call them and tell them to put it on hold. Sounds like you're trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[Halosfan]

Whether they did it by accident or on purpose, why do you care? Just call them and tell them to put it on hold. Sounds like you're trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Because this is not the first time this woman has refilled a prescription that I have not wanted. Once it was a $30 copay but I picked it up anyway and another time it was a medication that I was no longer taking. I don't even know if it's legal for someone to fill a prescription without your permission and I certainly question whether it's legal for them to renew or request a new prescription for you.

 

[Halosfan]

Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea it would be a popcorn eating session. Still curious about the real answer. Hopefully it'll be a little entertainment for people if nothing else. PS, if it's buttered, I want to share it with you.

 

[npage148]

I like halos too but cuties are my favorite brand of clementines

But your saying that they filled an rx with no refills w/o contacting your prescriber for a new rx? I find that doubtful. And also 35$ refill fee!!

 

[Halosfan]

I like halos too but cuties are my favorite brand of clementines

I just figured you were Yankees fan....

 

[owlegrad]

Surprising that your insurance would let it be filled at 2 pharmacies. Sounds like you made the right call changing pharmacies. You should sue them for filling scripts illegally, who knows, you might get a payday.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using SDN mobile

 

[Halosfan]

Surprising that your insurance would let it be filled at 2 pharmacies. Sounds like you made the right call changing pharmacies. You should sue them for filling scripts illegally, who knows, you might get a payday.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using SDN mobile

Thank you for a serious answer. I truly appreciate it. Not looking for a Payday. Was just curious if my gut instinct that this was completely wrong was on target.

 

[Halosfan]

But your saying that they filled an rx with no refills w/o contacting your prescriber for a new rx? I find that doubtful. And also 35$ refill fee!!

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. However, the $35 charge is what my DOCTOR charges to refill or do a phone prescription. I've never done one. Not quite sure of the details. That cost was not in relation to the pharmacy, and I didn't incur that fee because my doctor's office stated they were never contacted.

 

[Halosfan]

Okay guys, seriously, I didn't come on here to troll. It was an honest question that had me confused and thinking, "What the hell?" I thought someone here might be able to provide some insight. This is a small, single owner pharmacy. I've simply chosen to take my business elsewhere, but walked away wondering how any of this was ethical.

Enjoy the popcorn.

Peace out.

 

[a student]

If there was no refills left and your doctor didn't call in a new one, how did they fill it? You can go in and ask to see your prescription.

 

[animalsasleaders]

At some chains, when the patient is picking up the last fill for their medication, it will prompt the tech to automatically send a refill request to ensure seamless adherence of medication between fills. This happens quite often, and we receive the new script (if the doctor approves without needing to see the patient in person), and then it sits in the waiting bin. From there, the patient would pick it up or tell us they don't need it, and we keep it on hold, no harm no foul. However, I never knew that doctor's offices charged the patient if pharmacies contacted them for a refill request. I feel like more patients would be complaining to us about that...

 

[sosoo]

if this is with cvs, they have a weekly pcq program to call customers for refills... they have metrics to measure success rate. with or without customer consent......, the pharmacists have to reach target metrics. otherwise they get yell at by district management. they may also get demoted for not meeting metrics..... again with or without customer consent, each week they have to achieve target success rate on refills. also often times customers are enrolled into automatic refills without their knowledge or consent...... the problem with refills at cvs has been ongoing for years now... if u really want to end your misery, pharmacists' misery, and all other customers' miseries, please do file a lawsuit!

 

[steveysmith54]

I think the bigger mystery is why do you go to a doctor that has a 35 dollar refill fee? Do you like throwing money down the drain?

As far as your question; no a pharmacy can not refill an rx without valid rx unless it's deemed to be an emergency. Working at a pharmacy, a lot of pts are not aware of older rx that they have on file at may be active, or # of rfls that they actually have on file.

A lot of places utilize auto-refill with or without consent and you are in no way obligated to pick up the rx that is refilled.

I'd find out if your new pharmacy is using some kind of a manufacturer discount coupon bc a brand name med should be the same cost at any retail pharmacy.

Another thing to rule out if a lot of MD offices receive rx requests and just fax them back without making documenting in your chart. It's not impossible that your MD office found your question to be completely pointless bc this medication is not a narcotic and just told you NO.

Your approach to getting an answer should have been to just call the pharmacy, and inquire the date of the written rx, that was filled in error (as your claim), number of original rfls, etc. The question that you asked us is common sense and we do not have enough information to actually help you

 

[455424]

I'm dying laughing at this post.
This poor guy must have quite the luxurious life if this is what he spends his time worrying about. Some people are concerned with finding a job, or being able to bring food home to their families and then there's this guy.

Why any pharmacist would go out of their way to refill a medication that was not wanted by the patient is beyond me... your solution is simple, ask for it to be put on hold and get on with your life.

 

[ldiot]

I'm not sure how you can sleep at night knowing that this has happened. Hopefully the stress of this situation doesn't take you back to smoking.

Maybe your doctor initially called in two different Chantix prescriptions with different strengths and they were filling month #2? Maybe it actually wasn't out of refills? Maybe the doctor did renew it? Maybe it wasn't Chantix that they filled? Maybe the phone call was to inform you that it is TIME to refill something and not telling you that something WAS refilled?

We need to get to the bottom of this!

 

[confettiflyer]

Whether they did it by accident or on purpose, why do you care? Just call them and tell them to put it on hold. Sounds like you're trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Because calling a retail pharmacy entails a hold time that turns any molehill into a mountain.

Because a wanted Rx at at unwanted pharmacy becomes an insurance block if the wanted Rx is filled at the wanted pharmacy. That's a phone call to back out the first script, another phone call to the other pharmacy to rerun the claim.

 

[confettiflyer]

Why any pharmacist would go out of their way to refill a medication that was not wanted by the patient is beyond me... your solution is simple, ask for it to be put on hold and get on with your life.

Metrics metrics metrics. You figure even with a 10% success rate, that's one extra script picked up for every 10 filled without consent.

 

[doublehh03]

Metrics metrics metrics. You figure even with a 10% success rate, that's one extra script picked up for every 10 filled without consent.

But then you will waste a tech's time RTS a bunch of scripts that were not picked up. No point in filling scripts that will never be picked up. It's wasting more time.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Just tell them you don't want it. Unless there is a forged Rx in play, it isn't illegal for a pharmacist to refill something. It's a waste of their time, maybe. But that's on them. They are contractually obligated to return it within 2 weeks and reverse the insurance claim if you don't pick it up, anyway.

This is why I hate dealing with the general public. They whine about everything.

 

[Sparda29]

Change your doctor. This is the first time I have ever heard of a doctor charging for refills. Kinda seems ethically wrong.

At my doctor's office, when I request a refill, the fax goes, the girl in the front checks off everything and writes 11 refills and faxes it back on everything.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Because this is not the first time this woman has refilled a prescription that I have not wanted. Once it was a $30 copay but I picked it up anyway and another time it was a medication that I was no longer taking. I don't even know if it's legal for someone to fill a prescription without your permission and I certainly question whether it's legal for them to renew or request a new prescription for you.

Who cares.

What you should be concerned with is your doctor's unethical practice of charging you for refills.

It sounds like you're too emotionally invested in whatever conflict you have with "this woman"

What should have been done is New Pharmacy calls This Woman and asks them to reverse the prescription. Less than 3 minutes.

OR, you call old pharmacy and ask the tech to reverse it. Again, less time spent than you've invested in creating your account and posting here.

 

[sosoo]

Metrics metrics metrics. You figure even with a 10% success rate, that's one extra script picked up for every 10 filled without consent.

even if not 1 script is picked up, it will show up on success rate, n management will not be yelling n screaming at u each n every monday.

 

[bulldog1123]

even if not 1 script is picked up, it will show up on success rate, n management will not be yelling n screaming at u each n every monday.

That's actually true and not true at the same time. While your PCQ metrics look nice, they are able to see if your filled are picked up or not and that's a metric we've been called on

 

[sosoo]

yes, it will add to rts workload. n will show on other reports as a failed. but they won't hunt u down n yell at u. each monday they just need u to print screen from the dashboard to show success percent.

 

[bulldog1123]

yes, it will add to rts workload. n will show on other reports as a failed. but they won't hunt u down n yell at u. each monday they just need u to print screen from the dashboard to show success percent.

Not true. I handle my PCQ called at my store on the weekends and my supe has called me to give me pointers on those calls since I would have scripted filled that were never picked up. So while my PCQ reach and success looks nice, there is another call down the road you can get if you don't fudge the numbers properly.

 

[Carbon14]

There's a law on the books which allows maintenance meds to be refilled up to 3 months at a time solely based on the pharmacists judgment. If that option is exercised, the doctor has to be notified that it was done. That law may have been exercised in your case depending on the state you're in.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

There's a law on the books which allows maintenance meds to be refilled up to 3 months at a time solely based on the pharmacists judgment. If that option is exercised, the doctor has to be notified that it was done. That law may have been exercised in your case depending on the state you're in.

In Texas, at least, that's only partially correct.

Many people believe they have an obligation to notify the prescriber, but this is mostly a requirement by insurance companies, not a law.

 

[ajay4321]

Hi smart people

I'm sorry to intrude on your forum, but I'm having difficulty finding any information online.

I had some prescriptions at a pharmacy that I decided to stop using. Once my Chantix medication refills were zeroed out, I received a new prescription from my doctor and brought it to a different Pharmacy.

There were no refills left on the prescription at the previous Pharmacy.

Yesterday I received a voicemail telling me my prescription was ready for pickup. This prescription hadn't been filled with them in 2 months.

I called my doctor to ascertain if the pharmacy had called them to request a new prescription or refills. My doctor said they hadn't received any calls and if they had, I would have known since they charge a $35 phone refill or prescription fee.

I will NOT be picking up the medication. I have an active prescription at my new pharmacy.

This isn't the first prescription she has refilled without my request or consent, which is why I left the pharmacy. I have never signed up for any type of auto refill.

How did (or could) this woman fill a medication without my or my doctor's approval? And exactly how upset about this should I be? I'm not sure it this has already been run through my insurance and if so, how shady that would look since I'm actively refilling a Chantix prescription at my new pharmacy. Zero co-pay on this drug, so my insurance is fully paying for it.

Thank you for any information or advice. And if a patent question is inappropriate here, I apologize and can a moderator please remove the post.

TIA,
Debbie

Debbie,

No pharmacy is legally allowed to fill a prescription without the doctors and the patients consent. It is illegal and this is not a trivial matter. It will stop you from filling this medication at a pharmacy that you DO want to use. This is illegal behavior and you should contact the board of pharmacy and report the offending pharmacy. Also contact the states attorney general, and report the pharmacy to that office.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Debbie,

No pharmacy is legally allowed to fill a prescription without the doctors and the patients consent. It is illegal and this is not a trivial matter. It will stop you from filling this medication at a pharmacy that you DO want to use. This is illegal behavior and you should contact the board of pharmacy and report the offending pharmacy. Also contact the states attorney general, and report the pharmacy to that office.

Lol GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

 

[tobie]

I think the bigger mystery is why do you go to a doctor that has a 35 dollar refill fee? Do you like throwing money down the drain?

Change your doctor. This is the first time I have ever heard of a doctor charging for refills. Kinda seems ethically wrong. At my doctor's office, when I request a refill, the fax goes, the girl in the front checks off everything and writes 11 refills and faxes it back on everything.

For sure. Sounds like the MD just being a jerk. Why pay $35 refill copay, when 'most' insurances have a $10-$30 copay for an office visit. Just make sure he gives you enough for atleast 6 months... problem solved.

Just tell them you don't want it. Unless there is a forged Rx in play, it isn't illegal for a pharmacist to refill something. It's a waste of their time, maybe. But that's on them. They are contractually obligated to return it within 2 weeks and reverse the insurance claim if you don't pick it up, anyway.

This is why I hate dealing with the general public. They whine about everything.

amen. Did the OP ever consider, that there was a refill on the Rx, OR perhaps an additional refill was added by mistake? small mistakes like this can happen.

Debbie,
No pharmacy is legally allowed to fill a prescription without the doctors and the patients consent. It is illegal and this is not a trivial matter. It will stop you from filling this medication at a pharmacy that you DO want to use. This is illegal behavior and you should contact the board of pharmacy and report the offending pharmacy. Also contact the states attorney general, and report the pharmacy to that office.

Not sure what to make out on this. can you imagine the cops arresting pharmacists for this? wait, maybe this would be a good thing. get rid of the pharmacist surplus and get back to tons of job offers and big sign on bonuses.

 

[BidingMyTime]

How did I miss this thread when it was first posted?

We need an update from the OP, did she get the original pharmacist arrested? If not, is she continuing to get auto-refilled/auto-renewed medicines each month? Did she sue and get a billion bucks from the offending pharmacy?