[Junie]

Last Month for the first time ever I looked up my meds and each night took out exactly the amount needed for the next day and I new my med count was right.....well towards the end of the month I saw I was gonna be short 3 Kadian..my Valium and percocet were right on the money so since I have used CVS for year and never complained.......I thought (I could go in and talk to pharmacist and explain situation and the laughed in my faced and said they Never make mistakes....always had a double count....so I told them they just lost a **** of a customer and was switching to Walgreen s, and she just laughed again....rude as can be!
Well yesterday it was time to fill my percocet and I was on auto pilot and dropped it off at cvs before thinking...(had a very bad weekend, fall, babysitting two girls 8-9 so I was fried) and I picked them up went home and promply counted them (supposed to be 75) and guess how many was in the never make mistakes cvs??? 78 was how many!!!! How do you recommend I do with this info?? What do you think we can do?? Count with them???
Thanks in advance!!

[Curious]

that is really sad they treated you that way. not right at all.

we had a problem with dad's pd meds a few times. ( not at cvs ) the pharmacist was awesome. he admitted that they are human and that errors can and do happen. but he did say that on some meds his hands are tied if an error is made the customer has left with the rx. ( pain meds especially)

i would hate to think that you have to stand there and count the pills, but maybe if it was done once, they would wise up.

funny how they gave you 3 extra...when they shorted you that many before. woner if they were worried about an audit.

[Junie]

Yeah but they shorted me 3 long acting 100mg morhine and gave me 3 10mg percocet!!!

[Curious]

dang junie. i didn't catch that part. what about contacitn their head courters or the store manager? they might be having a problem with not just your rx's.

[Idealist]

I think you should complain, if for no other reason than that it might make a difference for someone else down the line.

I was shorted once on one of my meds, but since I didn't catch the mistake until a few days later, I never bothered to complain. I just took less than I was supposed to for a few days to make up the difference. Ever since then I've felt bad that I never said anything to the pharmacist about it.

It's so easy to get yourself labeled when you complain about your narcotics, even when you're in the right. One time my doc accidentally prescribed me a twenty-five day supply intead of the usual thirty. He wrote out a hundred, and I was taking them four times a day. When I showed up back at the office twenty-five days later, I was given a lecture on narcotic addiction, along with a hefty amount of paperwork. It took a lot of work to get that corrected in my file.

[Junie]

I have decided to take my new script and old one and raise hell since I was the one that suffered taking one Kadian a day rather then two and maybe get that rude witch in trouble if possible!

[mrsD]

shorted. And they can be over as well.

For meds other than CII (like Kadian) many larger chains use a counting
machine. These are totally inaccurate over time. I have had many battles
with these machines. So if you hear and see one in your pharmacy, you
should count ALL of your meds on a routine basis. These machines most often OVERcount however, than under. It has to do with the calibration screws coming loose and letting more pills thru past the laser, rather than the reverse of shorting. (This of course leads to loss of revenue for the pharmacy).

For controls including CII almost every pharmacy now has double count rules, in place. The volume of RXs keeps going up everywhere, and haste is usually
the cause of a miscount.

For CII's especially pharmacies keep a daily LOG (called a perpetual inventory) and fill in the blanks for every
RX (some Mom and Pop ones do not). These logs are typically tallied at the
end of every month(some at the end of the week) However, I have seen some stores, those with especially high volumes of opiates keep a running count right on the BOTTLE. That is as the RX is filled, the bottle remaining itself is counted, to see if the tallies match. This is the best way, but also the most time consuming.

Employees can be dishonest. Techs come and go, and new help is untested for several months. One really does not know who the employee really is when first hired.
For this reason, you should bring up your short count with the pharmacist.
Many stores require tech initials right on the bottle now, for this reason.
Scarfing a few from each RX is a type of pilfering, and needs to be caught, if it is intentional.

Drugs like Kadian are not fast movers, like Vicodin. Errors with it can be caught quickly, and should show up on the daily log. High volume items are
harder to track, and much more easily diverted by employees.

It is always possible to request a count right at the counseling window.
Expect to be watched closely however, because customers as well as employees have ways of scamming when CII's are involved. This is not a reflection on you per se, but the climate today in our culture.

People are human, they get interrupted while working and can lose concentration, and they can be dishonest. So there are many factors.
If your pharmacy keeps a LOG carefully, and you bring this matter up, and they find an overage they will most likely give you what you are shorted.
However, I have seen "shorts" involving controls, not corrected for customers.
It all depends on the pharmacist, policy of chains, and the situation. If you get an OVERAGE, you cannot return them, as drugs are
not returnable. But I would let them know, so if their log is off they won't blame innocent employees. If you are OVER you can
offer to be shorted 3 next time when you get your next fill. (this will bring the log back to normal), but you don't have to offer that, and they most likely will not suggest it. (It will be considered an "error" not a internal theft).

Non controlled items are often given without questions. But because of strict inventory requirements CIIs are handled somewhat differently. Some chains even have security people come in weekly to check the logs and count the contents of the remaining bottles, now.
Oxycontin is the usual target, but I have seen Adderall get spot checked as well.

One of the biggest diversions I have ever seen occurred at a Mom and Pop, by a male tech,BTW. For now, insist on counting at the counter, before you leave. Your file will probably be flagged and a triple count will be done on your order. And the staff will be alerted to a possibly dishonest employee.

[Junie]

Hi,
I was highly insulted the way she implied there was no way they could make a mistake and that there must be funny business going on at my house!!! In over 5 years I have never complained even when I suspected but this time I knew the added precautions I took so felt justified in bringing this to their attention! I guess I just want my name cleared somehow and want this rude woman punished!

[mrsD]

I find many types like you describe now in pharmacy. This is due to many factors. The excessive theoretical bias in schools now, select against those with helpful personalities. Only the "nerds" can handle the school work anymore.

The same is happening with doctors.

Also, there is a huge upward trend in Rx volume per day. It is reaching
epidemic stress levels. People cannot handle problems every 30 seconds or so...they burn out...even if they had good intentions to begin with.
I just got an Email from Medscape on this problem.

Think of yourself faced with 300+ problems daily... all different. Few can remain
helpful anymore. There is just not time.

If you are insulted.. complain to management--via the main # provided by the store you visit. Often they will give you a gift certificate to use for other merchanize. But don't expect any changes...there is a shortage of pharmacists now due to poor working conditions. At least you can move on and use the $20 as a bandaid.

I am not making excuses, but that is just the way it is today. I left retail, because of it.

[Junie]

I can and have taken insults and just walked away and being a nurse for 15 years and a waitress for 15 years I know how to deal with people....but that 3 pill shortage put me in hell for three days since I decided to just take 1 a day for the last days and I was in complete misery and when working with sick people there is never a good excuse for rudeness....and I am lucky enough to have been on both sides!