Why Won't the Pharmacy Help Me?

 Each time a prescription is faxed, electronically transmitted, or brought into the pharmacy, critical information is being communicated from the doctor to the pharmacist. If any of that information is missing, confusing, or contradictory, the pharmacist will be unable to fill the prescription and release the medication to the patient. That information must be clarified. And yet, more and more, pharmacies are refusing to make the phone calls necessary to fix the miscommunication. 

In the past two years, pharmacies have been faced with a tremendous shift in responsibility. This is mostly due to the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic--care such as testing and vaccinations have shifted away from clinics and towards pharmacies. Pharmacists and pharmacy techs were named as necessary workers during the shutdowns, and thus, had an increase of exposure to the virus--this resulted in a depletion of the regular workforce overall. With an increase in responsibilities with a decrease in necessary manpower, many pharmacies have had no choice but to shift focus and this means they no longer make necessary phone calls, instead pushing that step off onto the patient. 

And yet, many doctors offices and clinics have not changed their standard operating procedure when it comes to handling prescription refills and clarifications. Many clinics will not even take calls related to prescriptions from patients, instead instructing patients to contact the pharmacies to start the process. 

What can a patient do when they are stuck in the middle? The pharmacy does not have the means to call the prescriber, and the prescriber is not going to reach out to the pharmacy on the patient's behalf. Neither will allow the patient to actually be the intermediary to solve this problem. 

But that doesn't mean that there is no option. 

We can help you. 

With your authorization we can reach out to the pharmacy on your behalf to learn exactly what information is missing, what message they have received from the insurance carrier, or what other obstacle they are facing. We can then use this information to ascertain the next best step, including reaching out to your doctor's office, your insurance carrier, or your claims adjuster or case manager. 

Don't let yourself be caught in this endless loop. Let us know what you need and we will let you know how we can help.