Patients demanding emergency supply

[CountBy5s]

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Recently has a customer upset for denial of emergency supply. Having not filled for the patient in 8 months and no response from MD, I did not feel comfortable dispensing 72hrs of medication. What are your opinions, criteria, and/or reasons for denial for emergency refills?

 

[Litha]

What medication is it?

Emergency supply of atorvastatin is different than, say, alprazolam.... Attempting the contact the MD is always my first go-to. Also, if the patient is a regular, that matters versus somebody who filled here once a year ago.

So your answer is, it depends.

 

[CountBy5s]

What medication is it?

Emergency supply of atorvastatin is different than, say, alprazolam.... Attempting the contact the MD is always my first go-to. Also, if the patient is a regular, that matters versus somebody who filled here once a year ago.

So your answer is, it depends.

Just curious what criteria you run down on supplying an emergency fill. I know it is different in every states but dispensing without a prescription ,which is what an emergency supply is, has its own risks. What are some reasons you would not dispense? When would you dispense?

 

[Lnsean]

i always thought that it was a courtesy and not a law....it's at the discretion of the pharmacist/pharmacy.

something that the patient hasn't been on in 8 months...no way I would advance that.

 

[Sine Cura]

If the prescriber denied refills and requested an appt and you did an emergency fill after the fact, I wonder what the BOP would think about that if the prescriber complained.

 

[owlegrad]

I was always pretty generous with giving emergency supplies. No controls (although I did make an exception for seizure medication) was about my exclusion criteria. Otherwise I figure, stuff happens, it is not worth arguing about and besides if it was my family I would hope that a pharmacist would help them out. FL specifically does allow for emergency supplies, even for controls. I also never attempted to keep track of "loans" in order to subtract them from later fills (CVS system doesn't track loans).

 

[HouTX]

8 months? no way, go demand loaners from your last pharmacy. and if it's us, go pound sand.

had a "patient" demand loaners for zoloft in the drive thru at 7-8p. she last filled it 6 months prior. she pleaded with me and didn't go anywhere. had some tears in there. demanded store manager and he deferred to me. after a while, i just turned off the drive thru mic and continued my business. she eventually drove off. called MD in the morning and they haven't seen her in over a year. denied refill request. went in to put a note in her profile and another store loaned her some the next morning. why didn't the RPh called the MD since it was business hours is beyond me

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Back in my retail days I would do a lot for people who asked nicely. I figured it would give them a positive view of our chain which would make them more likely to give us business in the future. But people who "demand" things they are not entitled to can F*** right off.


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[a student]

When they ask for an advance because they can't pay for it

 

[sosoo]

emergency supply is a way to increase script sales. type in as a new script and write emergency supply on the duplicate hardcopy. this will increase script sales n profits.... or it can be given freely n generously without charge, and like pilferage, it will do damage to your profits. and u can believe they will come back time n time again. the loss pills each day (including pilferage) will add up to significant loss.... other than that, 8 months, 8 years, no one really cares. u are operating a business. minimiE your daily loss.

 

[Sine Cura]

In California, idiot nurses and MAs like to wave around the fee-for-service Medi-Cal "emergency medical condition" requirement where pharmacies are supposed to dispense up to a 72-hour supply of a drug, even for those pending a treatment authorization request. Like if we don't dispense Abilify pending TAR they gonna die.

Thing is... you are supposed to submit paper claim forms for these "emergency fills" in 2017? WTF?!?!?!

Medi-Cal NewsFlash: Reminder for Providers: 72-Hour Dispensing in an Emergency

 

[6GodPharm]

If its Lipitor #30 picked up 8 months ago they can kick rocks. If you're a regular, take it consistently and aren't an ass i'll do it. Dr's offices can take a while sometimes. But I give one emergency supply and then it's up to you and the Dr. It's your health you figure it out if you care enough.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

Never understood "emergency" statins. Not like your cholesterol suddenly surges causing a heart attack.


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[Rouelle]

Never understood "emergency" statins. Not like your cholesterol suddenly surges causing a heart attack.


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I had a patient insist to me that after being without simvastatin for 5 days she was going through horrible withdrawals. I wasn't able to convince her otherwise.