Small Vent:Pharmacist refused to fill fentanyl patch.

Omg, I am so sorry. That is why I only use one mom and pop pharmacy. I am sooooo sorry.

I would be back up there in the am having a serious discussion with the manager and the pharmacist. I'd also remind them of your history and the amount of time your dr wasted with all of this for someone to dare to override an approved insurance and dr organized scripting of a legal medication. First, do no harm.....and this is doing harm to you.

Oh that makes me angry!

Kind of sounds like to me you have run into wanna-be doctors at your pharmacy. Since they had to contact your doctor to get more information so the insurance company would pay they pretty much already got confirmation on that script, the dose, etc.

I totally agree with the above. If I were you I would return to that pharmacy and tell them that they have 2 choices. Fill the script now since they already have confirmation that it is correct due to having to get it authorized through the insurance company or return the script to you and you will be taking ALL of your business elsewhere.

In either case I would also be writing a letter to this pharmacy's corporate office about the issues you have been having there. You don't have to mention specifics about the medicine, script, etc. You only need to tell about the pharmacy need prior insurance approval and contacting your doctor to get it and then only after that refusing to fill it before talking with your doctor to supposedly verify the script and waiting to do that until after normal doctor's office hours. Also mention that you told by one pharmacist that your script was ready to be picked up but when you went to get it they refused to give it to you because of "concerns".

Hi Randy....I'm wondering if it's because in the last 6 months or so your PM has been switching medications and dosages left and right so that the Pharmacist was starting to really worry about what is going on.

It seems like in each thread lately your PM has been so random with their prescribing for you. Last time it was to where they refused to go over the specific amount of morphine daily and they even sited some new law to where they couldn't do this. So they dropped you to the 60mg of Methadone without any breakthrough. Then went to Exalgo, then back to Methadone without BT and then with the Oxycodone again...

And now they go all the way up to 200mcgh of Fentanyl and immediately go to the 48 hours???? PLUS 120mg of Morphine daily!!!....That is just crazy in my mind when they were telling you in no certain terms that they would go over the 220mg of morphine equivalent. As far as equivalents go...this amount of Fentanyl would equal more than double the amount of morphine....and that doesn't even include the morphine they are adding for BT....

So, I'm not questioning your need for pain control....I'm just saying that this PM is all over the place and I wouldn't doubt that it has raised not only red flags with the Pharmacy but it may even be with the state or DEA. The Pharmacy may even contact them based on the wild swing in dosages and meds over these months as none of makes sense and have them look over your Drs. prescribing habits for their patients.

It's not just the high number of the dosage itself to start at 200mcgh....but starting with 48 hours instead of 72 without knowing how it was going to work for you. So this would cause a Pharmacist to be worried about the prescription for your safety.

Usually when people are just starting out with a new medication, especially the Fentanyl patch which is the strongest out there....A Dr. will start low and tirate up as needed.

So, just trying to let you know that Pharmacists absolutely have the right to question or even refuse to fill a prescription if they feel that someone's safety is in question or that the conversions don't make sense to them based on what you were just taking previously. They are just as important in our health care as our Dr.

I hope you can get things straightened out and PLEASE be careful when you start this medication and read all the directions associated with it....We care about you!

Post Edited (Snowbunny21) : 12/24/2012 8:09:44 AM (GMT-7)

Snowbunny, that was a wonderful point. I didn't se it that was to start with, but you are so right. I know my pharmacist(s)...we have two who own the store....would NEVER fill for me if it were dangerous because they care. This is an excellent point.

Just for the record, one of my pharmacists had to deal with his own addiction issue years ago after a bad surgery. He can spot an addict a mile away. He does not judge, but I have personally seen him pull someone to the side for a little personal counseling about med abuse & I also know they have refused to do business with one or two from time to time because they were "certain" the meds were being improperly used.

Thanks for making the point. We can all learn from each other.

Well this is an eye opener post! Im new to all this but wow. I really hope you were able to get your medicine and that your not suffering!
I cant even imagine a pharmacy doing such a thing unless like a previous post mentioned they were trying to look out for you, but still when the doctor is completely involved??? how does that happen???

I also agree that a pharmacist has no right to make a judgement on a person based on his thinking or impression of someone. If the pharmacist is filling the medicine at an alarming rate then I think he may have reason to pull someone aside and say something. However if someone is doing everything as scheduled and is abusing behind closed doors, then thats their business not the pharmacist. !! all he/she has to do is fill it the way prescribed.

KUP on how things turn out for you!! I hope its all in your favour!

Glad you got that taken care of.

There's a good and bad side to the chain pharms. On one hand there's the convenience, and you can even refill a scrip if you happen to be out of state. On the other hand, there's all of these people who had to finish with a C average and barely pass state boards to become certified to staff the 24 hour locations.

The problem with mom and pops, unless you have a stellar one nearby, is that you have to fit things to their schedule.

It's a tradeoff.