Everyone has an opinion as to whether to not the current proposals in Congress for how to fix health care in this country are good or bad. Few people are indifferent as most have a very strong opinion one way or another.
If you're hoping I'll tell you whether or not I like the plans, you're out of luck because there are parts of what is suggested I really like and parts that I believe are absolutely ridiculous.
What I am willing to share is at least one of my issues with our current system.
Like many folks, I take a daily allergy prescription. Come to think of it, so does my wife and daughter. For the last five years we had used the pharmacy at one of the OKC stores belonging to the world's largest retailer. When we started using this pharmacy, I really appreciated the fact that I could get prescriptions filled in a relatively short time frame and they always had what I needed.
For the past year, whatever prescription I have dropped off has been a huge inconvenience. Inevitably, whatever the drug and the number of pills being prescribed, the pharmacy would NOT have enough on the shelf to fill the script. The first time they told me they couldn't fill a script but here are a few pills to get you through until we can get some additional stock, I thought that was a good thing. When I made the decision in the last 30 days to move to another pharmacy, the decision was based on the fact that almost every script I took to the world's largest retailer received a partial fill and would ultimately require multiple trips to the pharmacy.
Here was the deal breaker for me - I had a sinus infection and was prescribed a very common antibiotic. I took the script to the pharmacy and when I went back to pick it up later in the day was told that they couldn't fill all 10 days worth, but they gave me three days worth of the drug. While that was frustrating, I could almost accept it. However, when I returned three days later, the pharmacy still couldn't fill the rest of my script and I had to come back a third - and wait, you guessed it - a fourth time to get a 10 supply of a common antibiotic.
If only it ended there. Even refilling my allergy prescriptions was often a challenge. I'm no brain surgeon, but even I'm smart enough to have my computer tell me when a current customer - especially one who had been a customer for five years - had a refill coming up on a script and to be sure I had enough product in stock to REfill that script. I can't even count the scripts that my wife, daughter or I had filled on a partial basis.
So, we decided we had had enough and we'd move to a new pharmacy. When we asked our new pharmacy, another major pharmacy chain, they told us to just bring in our current bottles and they would arrange to transfer our existing scripts from our previous pharmacy. Since the new pharmacy is just down the street we thought this would be a good fit. What we have learned so far is that is a new pharmacy same service challenges.
I took my allergy med bottle into the new pharmacy and gave them my insurance card. They looked over the bottle and told me if I'd like to wait they could fill the script in 40 minutes. I had several days worth of meds left so I told them I'd be back the next day. They asked when and said they needed to keep my insurance card. I didn't think that would be a problem. I took the bottle in to transfer the script on Thursday. I was due to go back on Friday and I forgot. Forgot again Saturday and Sunday. On Monday after work I happened to drive by the new pharmacy and it jogged my memory that I needed to stop and pick up my script. I parked the car and walked inside and patiently waited in line. While waiting, my wife called and asked where I was. When I told her, she said the pharmacy had just called five minutes earlier to tell us they couldn't fill my script at this store, but they had filled at another location that is only 10 miles away. While I appreciated the effort, it sure struck me as the same kind of thing that had prompted me to leave my previous pharmacy.
After I got over some of my initial frustration, I loaded up the wife and headed to the other pharmacy for my script. Upon my arrival, the staff spent several minutes looking for my script and then told me they hadn't processed my insurance or any of my other information and they needed me to give them all my particulars. Now, I had already given all this info to the pharmacy near my home and this was another in the same chain, I assumed they would already have me in the computer and this would be easy. It was anything but easy. In fact, the pharmacy near my home hadn't entered anything AND they still had my insurance card. So, after being given four days to fill a very common allergy medicine script and to enter me into the computer, nothing had been done. Fortunately my wife was with me and had her card, but it was still a hassle.
I wish that I could tell you that was the end of my trials, but it really wasn't. My daughter has come down with an ear infection and a growing cough so I took her to the doctor just prior to the winter storm. The doc prescribed an antibiotic and said she'd send it directly to the pharmacy. It was about 2:30 p.m. My wife stopped to pick up the script at 5:30 - three hours later - and they said there was no record of the script. They couldn't find it anywhere. We were resigned to calling the doctor this morning and trying to get the script sent again. After Elizabeth was up coughing most of the night I was more than a little unhappy and I was out driving in the storm early this morning, headed to the doctor's office to get a hard-copy of the script. My wife just happened to call the pharmacy again this morning and wouldn't you know they had miraculously found the lost script and had it filled. All I had to do was go get it.
Needless to say, I finally got Elizabeth's antibiotic. The bad part is after only two tries on my part at a new pharmacy, it isn't any better than what I was using. The issues have been different, but they are still issues.
Now that I've finished my rant, here's my suggestion for how to fix our health care system. Our providers need to remember that I am the customer. That should make giving me what I want and when I want it the number one goal of the health care provider. I changed pharmacies because the one I had been using seemed to think it wasn't important to give me a full fill on any of my scripts. My new pharmacy hasn't been any better. Anybody think a third pharmacy would be the charm?
