"Why is everyone out" Oxycodone Issue

[owlegrad]

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What would happen to graveyard pharmacists if they said "yes" thus compromising their safety and if they said "no" thus they check your inventory and if you lied, they call you back and you get a verbal warning?

At which company are you working?

Corporate office types don't work at night, so graveyard shift should be safe.

I wonder if you still get a warning if you answer, "We don't give out that information over the phone." I can see how lying would be against policy, but I doubt there is a policy that says you have to give out inventory information over the phone. How about if they ask how much cash you have in the register?

 

[kbv]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40521295/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

 

[owlegrad]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40521295/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

From the article: If they are on Medicaid, the program is billed about $1,060 for a typical 60-pill, 80-mg prescription, along with the $23-to-$39 cost of the doctor's visit.

A few things pop out at me in this one statement. First, how is 60-pills typical? Second, $1060!!! 😱 Is that true?!

 

[kbv]

From the article: If they are on Medicaid, the program is billed about $1,060 for a typical 60-pill, 80-mg prescription, along with the $23-to-$39 cost of the doctor's visit.

A few things pop out at me in this one statement. First, how is 60-pills typical? Second, $1060!!! 😱 Is that true?!

tk 1 t po bid #60 for 30 days

30 days supply is typical

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Lexi-Comp pricing says: 80 mg (20): $287.10

X3 = $861.30

 

[rph3664]

From the article: If they are on Medicaid, the program is billed about $1,060 for a typical 60-pill, 80-mg prescription, along with the $23-to-$39 cost of the doctor's visit.

A few things pop out at me in this one statement. First, how is 60-pills typical? Second, $1060!!! 😱 Is that true?!

Yep, that's the brand price, and it's normally dosed BID.

 

[Doctor M]

Yep, that's the brand price, and it's normally dosed BID.

thats AWP...not out cost...our cost is much much lower than that...

 

[hcp]

Corporate office types don't work at night, so graveyard shift should be safe.

I wonder if you still get a warning if you answer, "We don't give out that information over the phone." I can see how lying would be against policy, but I doubt there is a policy that says you have to give out inventory information over the phone. How about if they ask how much cash you have in the register?

I work for WAGS. You would still get a warning if you say "we don't give out that information over the phone."

 

[GamecockPharmD]

Well getting the company pissed at you is not worth your safety. Take it from someone who was robbed over Oxycontin 40mg. I never give out any information anymore regarding controlled substances unless I know the customer.

 

[type b pharmD]

some people have to bike or take the bus and cant afford to go hopping from pharmacy to pharmacy all day , especially if they are running out of something they're dependent on.

 

[Pharmavixen]

some people have to bike or take the bus and cant afford to go hopping from pharmacy to pharmacy all day , especially if they are running out of something they're dependent on.

They need to establish a relationship with their closest pharmacy and continue to go there. If they don't try and hop from pharmacy to pharmacy, they won't have a problem.

 

[meister]

She came in to pick up her prescriptions, so there is no way that she is disabled or unable to work.

lmao

 

[owlegrad]

I work for WAGS. You would still get a warning if you say "we don't give out that information over the phone."

I believe what you're saying is true, but I found it odd so I asked a classmate who works for WAGS. She said that whenever someone calls for a CII she has to give this whole spiel to the caller about how the patient has to bring in the script and they will verify the script, check inventory, etc, etc. So I guess this is district dependant. She says she wishes she could just say "sry OOS".

 

[KCflacpht]

I've been lurking on this forum/site for months now, and up until today have been only slightly tempted to chime in. But as this is a subject that I know a little about- from both sides of the counter- I felt the need to post.

I know I'm just a Tech, but having been one for 27 years ( 26 yrs at Wag- 1 at an Indie) and now out of work due to Bone Cancer, I have to take exception to the person who posted this:

"She came in to pick up her prescriptions, so there is no way that she is disabled or unable to work. If you are in that much pain and is unable to work, then you would not be able to pick up your own meds...you most likely need it delivered."

In a word- Bull. I have constant pain but when my medication is working properly, I have no problem running basic errands for needs ( and my meds would most certainly qualify!) I cannot however work, because any slip/fall/wrong turn could break my bones to the point where I would be permanently disabled and turn my situation terminal, which I'm fighting hard to avoid. I'm in a wheelchair right now- but I'm still mobile.

As to the calling for on-hand quantities on C-II's, I know that the Wags in my area were told not to give the "Sorry- OOS" spiel over the phones as well. We were also threatened with the write-ups, etc. But most of the Rph's refused, due to the risk to our safety- and so that issue was dropped.( I remember telling the DM myself that I wanted a written contract stating that Wags would pay for my kids college, the mortgage, and my family's expenses should I be shot on the job- I think I got my point across!)

As I am now a patient, I do the same thing I've told my regular customers for years; Call a couple of days in advance to make sure we have the drug in stock, tell us your name first so we know who you are, and we should have no problems filling the scripts. And since the store is in East-Central Florida we had/have MAJOR problems with the pill-mill patients since we are a straight shot up the interstate from the area with the biggest population of them.

My apologies for the length of the post- I'll go back to lurking now....

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I know I'm just a Tech, but having been one for 27 years ( 26 yrs at Wag- 1 at an Indie) and now out of work due to Bone Cancer, I have to take exception to the person who posted this:

"She came in to pick up her prescriptions, so there is no way that she is disabled or unable to work. If you are in that much pain and is unable to work, then you would not be able to pick up your own meds...you most likely need it delivered."

In a word- Bull. I have constant pain but when my medication is working properly, I have no problem running basic errands for needs ( and my meds would most certainly qualify!) I cannot however work, because any slip/fall/wrong turn could break my bones to the point where I would be permanently disabled and turn my situation terminal, which I'm fighting hard to avoid. I'm in a wheelchair right now- but I'm still mobile.

I'm sorry to hear about your illness. Please pay no attention to the person who said that. She's obviously clueless.

Thanks for sharing your perspective with us. 🙂

 

[JoshR]

Do you guys also tell every patient asking for C-II's(like oxycodone) over the phone that you dont have any in stock even though you have plenty?

Both of my pharmacist arent doing any more C-II's for people that ask for them over the phone...and the guy I spoke to on the phone today was wondering why every one is out.

They're probably turning you down, because most people who are prescribed a C-II, more than likely already have a place that they regularly go to. Why not just drive to the nearest pharmacy, and if you are lazy - go through the drive-in window, and politely ask, and show them your prescription. I could understand asking the stock on a c3/4/5, since the average opioid fiend doesn't care about codeine or hydrocodone.

 

[spacecowgirl]

since the average opioid fiend doesn't care about codeine or hydrocodone.

I disagree. Vicodin, tramadol, cough syrup w/codeine - forgeries abound for all of those.

 

[rph3664]

When I was in high school ca. 1980, long before I had any inkling that I wanted to be a pharmacist, I was part of a debate tournament that was ultimately won by two guys who defended a proposal to put ipecac in some tranquilizers and narcotics, so people who OD'd would throw it up and not die or anything.

BAAAAAAD IDEA! But it sure led to some entertaining conversations!

Several weeks ago, I posted somewhere here that I applied for a job in a small town several hours away, remembered that I had a classmate from this town, and found out that he died 5 years ago (and had a terrible thought - that at least I wouldn't have to compete with him for this job). At the time, I didn't find out how he died.

A little more sleuthing revealed that yeah, his death was ruled accidental, but it sure sounded like a suicide to me. (edited to remove potentially identifying information) He died from a drug overdose.

😱 🙁

 

[phenolred]

I found this clip quite humorous!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGwQzBLjOZI&feature=player_embedded

 

[FarscapeGirl]

The pharmacist can get in trouble for refusing to fill a legit prescription because of a blanket policy about CIIs. If you fill a forged or doctor shopping prescription, and got duped, you probably won't get in trouble. IMO, just fill it if you have it in stock, and let nature have its way when they OD and go into respiratory depression.

There's other things going on, however. You fill an Rx for a 'junkie', who goes out, drives impaired, and kills someone. That's not really nature taking its course. As well, in some states, you could lose your license if you had been warned that someone was a likely addict that was drug-shopping, yet you still filled the Rx and that patient killed people in a car accident. In WA, we have a law that pharmacists are not allowed to give drugs to a known drug addict. Do so, and it's your livelihood at risk.

Also, the pharmacies I'm at are having a hard time getting CII pain meds right now. We're outpatient hospital, so there's a lot of people with cancer pain and going through surgeries. Apparently, the DEA limits how much of the CII pain meds a factory can produce each year. If other pharmacies choose to fill questionable prescriptions, it then means legitimate patients can get screwed at the end of the year. (Not that I agree with the DEA's policies, but I doubt they'll be changed anytime soon).

Besides those, people who are addicted deserve to not be exposed to enabling behaviors that allow them to continue their destructive behavior and hurt themselves, their families, and their communities. I will certainly sell clean needles to someone, as I live in a state that allows it, and I'd rather reduce the spread of blood-born pathogens and prevent them from getting abscesses. But I'd certainly counsel about disposing those needles the right way and see if they want treatment. The sad thing is, there's so few places people can get treatment that it's hard for those who want to change their lives to do so.

 

[FarscapeGirl]

She came in to pick up her prescriptions, so there is no way that she is disabled or unable to work. If you are in that much pain and is unable to work, then you would not be able to pick up your own meds...you most likely need it delivered.

Every pharmacists that I have worked with have said something about their patients that is judgemental. Saying that you never judge anyone is like saying that you are perfect and never make any mistakes...and we all know how true that is.

Thanks, SHC1984. You just implied my mother is trash. My mother, who is basically dying slowly from cancer, is on Medicaid and is on multiple pain meds (although not oxycodone because she can't tolerate it). Granted, now you may say if you saw my mother that she is disabled. She can walk around the house but often uses a walker and a wheelchair. But when she started on those meds, she looked much healthier than she was. Even now, she goes around town and has better and worse days.

I try my hardest not to say or even think anything judgmental about my patients. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. Are there people who I'd rather not deal with? Yes, but it's because their personality rubs me wrong, and, for instance, they answer their cell phone in the middle of me talking to them and then wonder where I went when they hang up. But I know people judge my mother and have no idea what she's going through. I'd rather not do the same to anyone else's.

 

[rph3664]

Thanks, SHC1984. You just implied my mother is trash. My mother, who is basically dying slowly from cancer, is on Medicaid and is on multiple pain meds (although not oxycodone because she can't tolerate it). Granted, now you may say if you saw my mother that she is disabled. She can walk around the house but often uses a walker and a wheelchair. But when she started on those meds, she looked much healthier than she was. Even now, she goes around town and has better and worse days.

I try my hardest not to say or even think anything judgmental about my patients. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. Are there people who I'd rather not deal with? Yes, but it's because their personality rubs me wrong, and, for instance, they answer their cell phone in the middle of me talking to them and then wonder where I went when they hang up. But I know people judge my mother and have no idea what she's going through. I'd rather not do the same to anyone else's.

I looked for a hug smiley but didn't see one. It's because of addicts and drug seekers that people like your mother are judged, and that's just wrong.