Returning and exchanging meds for different brand

[tompharm]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I know at cvs/walgreens/rite aid they probably wont allow this but I do not see any laws against returning meds and exchanging them for a different brand. Can someone please clarify if this is legal in FL.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

You can exchange it all you want, but anything that's left the pharmacy is unusable if returned.

 

[zelman]

You can exchange it all you want, but anything that's left the pharmacy is unusable if returned.

This. The definition of adulteration includes something like, "a drug is considered to be adulterated if there is any possibility that it may have been adulterated." That means the ProAir inhaler that left your pharmacy 1 hour ago they want to exchange for Ventolin cannot be sold to anyone else because it MAY have been in a car in the hot Florida sun for 59 minutes which is outside the allowable storage temperature range. It technically IS adulterated, whether it actually is or not.

 

[tompharm]

Thanks wvupharm that's what I thought

 

[Wheresmyaricept]

I know at cvs/walgreens/rite aid they probably wont allow this but I do not see any laws against returning meds and exchanging them for a different brand. Can someone please clarify if this is legal in FL.

In Connecticut at least, you cannot return a controlled substance once it leaves the pharmacy. Not sure if that applies federally.

 

[pharm B]

In Connecticut at least, you cannot return a controlled substance once it leaves the pharmacy. Not sure if that applies federally.

Same in Texas.

 

[npage148]

It's like frickin Pringles. Once you start (pop), you can't stop. Don't start doing it because you do it for someone once you are doing it forever. It only creates headaches and problem customers. We have a couple of these patients that were grandfathered in before my tenue and they are headaches. We always have to fix their scripts because they only take mylan amlodipine or sandoz diovan HCT or some other complete nonsense. It's a waste of time everytime

Also, at least in NYS, there is no legal mechanism to dispose of medication received from a patient especially controlled substance

 

[pharm B]

Also, at least in NYS, there is no legal mechanism to dispose of medication received from a patient especially controlled substance

I believe it's a federal issue, pending guidance from the DEA.

 

[HouTX]

from the multiple threads by OP, I am guessing he is a new pharmacist with no mentors/colleagues/friends he can bounce questions off of.

and he is an example of new grads nowadays. all bark, no bite when his license is on the line

 

[owlegrad]

It's like frickin Pringles. Once you start (pop), you can't stop. Don't start doing it because you do it for someone once you are doing it forever. It only creates headaches and problem customers. We have a couple of these patients that were grandfathered in before my tenue and they are headaches. We always have to fix their scripts because they only take mylan amlodipine or sandoz diovan HCT or some other complete nonsense. It's a waste of time everytime

Also, at least in NYS, there is no legal mechanism to dispose of medication received from a patient especially controlled substance

Soooo true!

 

[genesis09]

Per the DEA, to take back controlled medications, you need to have a police officer present. There is a movement to change the rule and just require a pharmacist or something like that to be present.

 

[PolarPop]

We don't take anything back unless it only left for <5 minutes or so.

BUT, something happened to us a while back right after Provigil went generic. We filled modafinil for this lady for the first time and she came back an hour later yelling at us to switch it back to brand name. We opened the bottle and showed her that the tablets literally say "Provigil" on them because they were the brand name drug but it came out of a modafinil stock bottle because it just went generic a week or two ago.

So we took it behind the counter, reversed the script and labeled it as Provigil. Then we billed insurance for brand name and charged her an additional $80 copay and she left happy. It was weird, technically we didn't take anything back from her and technically we billed for Provigil... and then dispensed actual Provigil tablets. We didn't have any brand name tablets at the time.

Is this a gray area or just totally and completely wrong in every way? lol

 

[zelman]

We don't take anything back unless it only left for <5 minutes or so.

BUT, something happened to us a while back right after Provigil went generic. We filled modafinil for this lady for the first time and she came back an hour later yelling at us to switch it back to brand name. We opened the bottle and showed her that the tablets literally say "Provigil" on them because they were the brand name drug but it came out of a modafinil stock bottle because it just went generic a week or two ago.

So we took it behind the counter, reversed the script and labeled it as Provigil. Then we billed insurance for brand name and charged her an additional $80 copay and she left happy. It was weird, technically we didn't take anything back from her and technically we billed for Provigil... and then dispensed actual Provigil tablets. We didn't have any brand name tablets at the time.

Is this a gray area or just totally and completely wrong in every way? lol

Illegal, but common practice in some pharmacies. Not illegal for taking back the med. Illegal for billing the insurance for the wrong product and labeling it as such.

 

[Ackj]

Illegal for billing the insurance for the wrong product and labeling it as such.

That's the gray area. If you define "product" as NDC, yes, you did not dispense what you billed. If you define "product" as a drug/tablet, then you're fine, what you billed is in the bottle. Since billing is done based off of NDC, it's illegal. How can anyone in the world prove that those pills in the vial are not the pills you billed and prosecute you? They can't.

 

[zelman]

That's the gray area. If you define "product" as NDC, yes, you did not dispense what you billed. If you define "product" as a drug/tablet, then you're fine, what you billed is in the bottle. Since billing is done based off of NDC, it's illegal. How can anyone in the world prove that those pills in the vial are not the pills you billed and prosecute you? They can't.

If I were to murder a vagrant with no motive, witnesses or evidence left behind, I could probably get away with it. Doesn't make it legal or acceptable.

People get nailed for billing for the wrong product when they dispense 2000 brand name concerta tablets a month, but their wholesaler has only sold them actavis brand generic for the last 5 years. It's the same item, but an illegal business practice and federally it's misbranding.

Don't do the things you can get away with. Act like someone who deserves provider status. Do the right thing.

 

[PolarPop]

If I were to murder a vagrant with no motive, witnesses or evidence left behind, I could probably get away with it. Doesn't make it legal or acceptable.

People get nailed for billing for the wrong product when they dispense 2000 brand name concerta tablets a month, but their wholesaler has only sold them actavis brand generic for the last 5 years. It's the same item, but an illegal business practice and federally it's misbranding.

Don't do the things you can get away with. Act like someone who deserves provider status. Do the right thing.

Why is it legal to sell our pharmacy mislabeled modafinil tablets (Provigil is a different NDC than modafinil) yet illegal for us to sell it to the patient? It is the same exact concept.

 

[zelman]

Why is it legal to sell our pharmacy mislabeled modafinil tablets (Provigil is a different NDC than modafinil) yet illegal for us to sell it to the patient? It is the same exact concept.

Because they paid the FDA a few hundred thousand dollars to get the "generic" approved. There is a wasteful convoluted procedure for appeasing the government's requirements, as stupid and unfair as they may seem. That does not justify ignoring those requirements.

 

[npage148]

What's a little insurance fraud and misbranding between friends?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

from the multiple threads by OP, I am guessing he is a new pharmacist with no mentors/colleagues/friends he can bounce questions off of.

and he is an example of new grads since the beginning of time. they don't know 100% what to do

FTFY