needing to vent about med policies

My pdoc's office recently changed their policy and no longer even gives you prescriptions in the office -- they fax them over to your pharmacy so the paper never touches your hands.

Thanks to my bank, which holds all but $100 of self-deposited checks for a couple days (direct deposit you have access to immediately), I am a bit short on cash right now, and called to ask for samples to get me through to my next paycheck. It turns out that with this new policy, *they no longer have samples*.

It is a small town and my entire pharmacy staff knows me by name, and they will defer billing till I have the money, which is kind of them, and also unusual, I know. But I just wanted to vent, because WTF are people supposed to do now if they have an emergency or something or just plain can't afford their meds in the first place? Who ever heard of a doctor's office not having samples available? I don't want to pay for a whole month of something if I don't know it's going to work, for example. Instead of a straight $20 copay or whatever, I pay 20 percent of the total cost of the prescription, and that can run into serious bucks.

For a variety of reasons, I really hate my pdoc anyway -- I guess this is just the final straw to get me to switch!

ARGH. I know nobody ever said life was fair, but it sucks that the rich get richer and the poor get more screwed over.

That will be some interview you have with new pdocs, first question you ask, "Do you have samples?" :-)

That's really unfortunate that they changed their policies in that way on you Candybear.

Hi Candy,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. My pdoc has that same policy. I guess maybe they do that to prevent potential forging of prescriptions? I'm not entirely sure. That's great that your pharmacy is willing to work with you regarding payment. Gotta love small towns! I live in a big city and go to big corporate CVS, so I hardly think they would have that kind of leniency. If I ever had a financial hardship, I'd be screwed as far as meds go. Anyway, maybe you're right in that this will give you the impetus to find a new doc. Hope everything goes well!!

Sam

I have an appt. with a new pdoc in a different hospital system on Jan. 28 (was on the phone making it while I was ranting, LOL), and my first question is going to be, "Do you actually listen to your patients?" My current one gets 3 people in and out of her office in the 15 minutes that is supposed to be MINE, because she doesn't give a crap about anything besides the $168 she gets out of me for her 2 minutes of work. Honestly -- from butt in chair to at the front desk with appointment card (for 4 months later), I have never spent more than 3 minutes in her office. It irks me, to say the least.

Hope your new pdoc is better. Mine always spends a full 50 minutes with me. So there are good ones out there.

--splitimage

It sounds like a crummy situation. Perhaps the clinic has had problems with patients altering or forging written scripts and that is the reason they are directly faxing to the pharmacy. Sometimes when a few people don't behave we all get punished.