Who takes Tylenol #4? And why?
Question from a Patient - CVS Error
- Thread starter Spinalpatient
- Start date
I apologize for kicking this forum back into view. But I'm amazed at the responses this woman received in regards to the errors that were made by the pharmacy in regards to her medication. I mean seriously suck it up? You got your meds what's the problem? I'll tell you what the problem is. The problem is is that now that they have changed all the narcotic laws, this should be taken a lot more seriously than it is. They're making patients jump through hoops to get their medications. But the pharmacist can make a major mistake and it's just suck it up. This patient is has been on pain medications for a while. You don't seem to understand the difficulties that patients that are on pain medications go through. And as an advocate for pain patients I'm here to I'm here to tell all of you that this is a problem. It always gets blamed on the patient I understand that there are drug abusers regardless the patient should not be convicted when a thorough investigation hasn't been performed. I found this site exactly the same way my daughter was shorted 20 long acting dilaudid. She was also told she took too many she lost them it was her fault. 3 weeks later they gave her the prescription and said so sorry that we made a mistake. During those three weeks she went through great anxiety over how she was going to get through the rest of the month being shorted 20 dilaudid. If a patient stole 20 dilaudid they would be in jail. Yet you have the audacity to tell a legitimate patient with a legitimate error on the pharmacist part suck it up? I too am a pain patient and I had this happen to me also 20 years ago. Which they also found to have been a pharmacist error but because of the new laws that have been passed this time for the sake of my daughter and all chronic pain patients I am going to take this to the utmost highest level. I am a retired nurse and I find this to be horrifying that you would do this to a patient. Also I guess there's no drug addicts that are in the pharmacy business, because that would be impossible.
You've never worked behind the counter, you have no idea how many times per day this happens.
Wagrxm made a great point, and I believe this to be the crux of where the story crumbles, about how odd it was that the count was only #10 instead of #30, for the factors I am about to list:
-I'd estimate that > 75% of scripts (that are in pill-form), are written for a #30 count, making it very unlikely that the tech mis-read the count and filled for a different quantity.
-They are double-counted, but I've seen tech's circle and initial the count without actually doing it, it happens, you get busy, but I'd say it is unlikely they did this but for the following scenarios, let's assume they were lazy and just circled that it had been double-counted.
-If there were a deviation from the #30, it would've likely been 25(5 counts of 5),29(5 counts of 5 with a count of 4),31(5 counts of 5 with a count of 6), or 35 (7 counts of 5) count, again assuming the tech didn't actually double-count them.
-When the pharmacist received the basket from the tech to verify the prescription, it would've been hard not to recognize immediately that the weight of 10 tablets vs 30 tablets in a bottle, especially in something that is a decent-sized tablet like tylenol #4, was substantially lighter.
-The count was not different from what was expected when inventory occurred.
-Even if the pharmacist hadn't noticed the weight difference, the tech didn't double count, and the tech mis-read the script for only 10 tablets instead of thirty, the pharmacist would've caught the mistake when she opened the bottle to ensure the correct medication was filled.
Case dismissed. Next time fill at Walgreens, where our policy is to never double-count CIII-V, and always replenish the difference in what the customer claims was missing...True story.
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Well that is a ****ty situation. However, if our inventory matches what the computer says we have, we cannot just give out extra pills. This isn't something like cholesterol medication where it is highly regulated. If the DEA came in and audited the pharmacy and found funny things going on with controlled substances, there would be fines up to the sky and maybe even licenses revoked. What good is a pharmacist without a license? Their life is practically over.
In addition to that, what happens if the pharmacist just gives out the extra pain pills, the person takes them all and OD and dies. Who is liable? The pharmacist.
So before you get on your high horse you need to realize that by giving out just one extra pill of a controlled substance is a huge liability to a pharmacist and that's why you are seeing these types of responses. There is typically a wait time of several days or weeks before you get the extra pills because an investigation needs to be done, potentially contact the DEA or State Drug Control, and then do a ton of paperwork because the pharmacist and pharmacy need to cover their own ass. It's not as easy as handing over extra pills.
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The problem patients don't seem to understand is we get these stories everyday. All we can do is check our count and if its not off then there's nothing we can do. I understand some pharmacists don't take them seriously and I'm sorry if you go there, find a different pharmacy. Unfortunately they've probably experienced too many patients lying to them. The rare instances where the pharmacy is wrong does not mean we're always wrong. I can't even count the amount of times where a patient is upset then realizes they either have the wrong bottle or its in their car. Do they apologize to us? No but I also don't expect it.
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This is why I'm all for gov't controlled healthcare. This capitalism nonsense is bull****. We have to take the abuse of the general public due to competition. Imagine if the table were turned? I'd love to DMV my CVS. They got a problem? Too bad.
Yep - this is the key. If you say I shorted you, it is very simple to do an inventory count. If we are right on, you are getting nothing. If you say you are missing 20 and we are 20 over, then the mistake is clear and you will receive the remainder. When it comes to controlled substances, a patient's word means nothing. If I do not have proof in the inventory, you are SOL. I think the pharmacist in the OP was quite generous in saying that s/he would replace the 20 tablets but the patient could not return. It is more than most would do.
