Some Beach.... Somewhere

That's all that I kept repeating in my head today as I picked up my prescription at lunchtime.

Please read the whole story before you continue this post if you don't know what I am talking about!

So, when I went in, they knew exactly who I was, and I was able to talk to the woman who spoke with my physician's nurse this morning. She was not a pharmacist, but the pharmacist was right there.

She explained that the physician does want me on the Extended Release (ER) medication, so they are switching me to what I should have had to begin with. Okay.

till no apology. Nothing. No "I am sorry that this happened to you and I apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused you." Not "We hope that you will continue to do business with us." or "We hope to continue to be your pharmacy." Nothing. Not even one admission of "we made a mistake and we are sorry." Nada. And that would have made me happy. That's all it would have taken. And working in healthcare, I understand the importance of an apology when a mistake is made and the importance of a happy customer.

So I asked, and these were my Exact words, and I was exceptionally calm, "Would it be inappropriate for me to ask for a refund for the prescription that I was given incorrectly?"

And she just looked at me. And then she said, and there was a hint of sarcasm and disbelief in her voice "Well, You took them, didn't you?"

Some beach
Somewhere
There's a big umbrella casting shade over a empty chair
Palm trees are growing and a warm breezes a blowing
I picture myself right there
On Some beach, somewhere

Yeah I took them! The label was correct, and not being a pharmacist, how am I supposed to know that you gave me the wrong pills? Argh! But of course, I remained calm, cool, and collected... and answered "yes, I did. I took them for a whole month." Which in my mind is even more reason to make it right.

She said that it wasn't a big deal because the "doseage was the same" and that the "doctor's nurse didn't seem concerned about it." and I explained that I had been sick for several days and the nurse couldn't figure out why I had those symptoms. Wrong medicine. Hello. She said that I could have been sick with the new medicine even if it had been the right one. Okay.

So I paid. And for some reason, the same medicine that was $105 last night, was now back down to $60.70 today. Interesting.

So I went back to work. And that afternoon, the pharmacy called me at work and told me that they had been thinking about it, and realized that the pricing was incorrect and they would like to refund me $60 if I wouldn't mind stopping in. So essentially I will be getting 1 month free. Yippee! You see, when they gave me the wrong prescription the first time, they overcharged me because I PAID for ER meds, and only got regular. The ER's are about double the price of the regular. So I paid the ER price and only got regular, and they just figured out what I was trying to tell them.

So no real apology, but $60 back is a good thing. Because of this, I won't name the pharmacy and I won't be upset about it. But please remember to check the meds that you are taking and pay attention to what you get month to month. Because it can happen to anyone!