Walgreens Pharmacy/San Mateo/Burlingame, California

This is an ongoing complaint I have with Walgreens Pharmacy; not just one of them, but all of them. The following seems to be pretty much typical of every single Walgreens I have ever used (and I have to use them...I don't have many options): Here goes:

The pharmacists take it upon themselves to regulate refills, even if there is no need to (i.e. not "too soon"); additionally, they love to try to make customers feel like total druggies, if the RX is for pain meds or anti-anxiety meds. Their favorite blocking move to not fill an RX is that "it's too early"...well, if the doctor hasn't instructed that the medication must (for example) "last 30 days", and I want to get it, say, after 22 days or so....who the heck cares? IF there are refills, then that's it...end of story! MY DOCTOR EVEN TOLD ME THIS!! It is not some pill counter's job to decide when they will deign to dispense my medication. I don't even care if insurance won't pay for it...I'LL PAY FOR IT, OUT OF MY OWN POCKET! Simply because insurance won't pay, does NOT MEAN that it is not a legitimate request for a refill! What if I didn't even HAVE INSURANCE? At what point would these idiots deign to refill my medication? Is it at 12:01am on "x" date? Is it 9am, when the non-24 hour Walgreens opens? Is it 9:59pm, right before closing? Ridiculous. Either there is a refill, or there isn't. It is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS how much I am taking, or why...believe it or not, you idiots at Walgreens, sometimes people DO GO THROUGH THEIR MEDS SOONER THAN WHAT IS ON THE LABEL. I have had the same doctor for 6 years; she is fine with me filling the RX at any time; if not, she would put controls on it, such as "must last 40 days" or "NO REFILL; must have doctor approval". DUH. And again, if the doctor has not specified the med must last "x" amount of days, and there is a refill, and I will pay for it myself, THEN FILL THE DANG PRESCRIPTION. Now, here's another example of their incompetency/problem: Walgreens, on two separate occasions, has given my RX to someone else! And I don't mean an antibiotic, I mean (1) Soma and (2) Ativan - the so-called (not by me) "good stuff" that they are so dedicated to not dispensing to me...the person it was written for! (Ever notice they never balk when the RX is for an antibiotic or some other type of non-narcotic, non-tranquilizing drug? They pick and choose what they withhold!!) They LOVE that feeling of "power". That is SADISTIC. Once, my Soma RX was not ready, so I said "No problem, I'll go to the library and be back in 40 minutes...is that OK?" Yes, it was. So...after 45 minutes, I'm there (and why do they insist on being higher up than us? Jerry Seinfeld does a hilarious routine about that); and I am VERY SNOTTILY TOLD: "You already picked this up". WHAT??? I just started laughing! And there were 4 people behind me, so I made sure everyone KNEW HOW THEY FOULED UP. I said "Don't you remember me? I told you I was coming back after going to the library, like 40 minutes ago?" and the KID (most of them are NOT EVEN TECHS...they are kids, nothing wrong with that, but I betcha they are dipping into the meds; I stand there and count my pills, each and every time; I don't care if I look like a nut job) says "Oh, yeah...I do remember you!" Bravo...after all, it was 40 minutes ago! Long story longer; the EXTREMELY RUDE manager got involved, told me to be quiet (I talked over him when he basically called me a liar; I said "Just rewind your security tape, then you can see who you gave my SOMA to!" in a loud voice...). Well, of course they knew they were wrong and gave me a replacement RX at no charge; but to make up for it, they were EXTRA RUDE. And of course, no apology. Also I have had them mysteriously "lose" a refill; I had 3 refills on Wellbutrin, had it transferred from another pharmacy to Walgreens, and when I picked it up...."1 Refill Remaining"??? See, I guess they can't even count! They are even worse than Longs, and that's saying a lot. It's the attitude, the frustrated doctor attitude, that gets me. They seem themselves as oh so important, and do you know what? I can fill an RX! I can count and read! There! I'm a pharmacist! Also aren't we customers just giant pains in the neck? Always wanting our medication, at the right price, in the right dosage, willing to pay for it out of our own pockets, etc. I'm gonna copy this whole email and send it to Walgreens via their website. Fat lot of good it'll do. Unfortuntely, where I live, I'm limited to Walgreens or Longs (Safeway is just OK, but there aren't many of them, and certainly none near me); Longs is almost as bad. I just have come to the conclusion that Walgreens pharmacists are (1) frustrated doctors; i.e. were too STUPID to make it through medical school (and I mean, c'mon...how hard is it to be a pharmacist? Can you read? Can you count? Congrats! You are a pharmacist!) This BS about how they "carefully monitor your drugs so there are no adverse reactions" or whatever is a total lie; the COMPUTER WILL ALERT THEM; (2) they are sadists and bullies; they get a kick out of withholding medication; ESPECIALLY PAIN MEDICATION. There was a great story about a year ago; several Walgreens pharmacists accidently printed on several labels snotty comments like "Watch Out for this one..drug addict" and other worse things; they got BUSTED!! Very embarrasing; but certainly proves everything that I've written, wouldn't you say?? They look at ANYONE (even my mother) as piece of crud drug addicts, if you have an RX for - wooo weee, big deal - Vicodin. God forbid you have a more potent RX. I am perfectly presentable; I'm not a drooling junkie; I work for attorneys (well, don't hold that against me); I'm 47 years old; so I just cannot imagine how they treat the poor slob who looks like...well, a poor slob. WALGREENS PHARMACISTS are Frustrated Doctors, and practicing SADISTS (actually, they don't need to "practice" anymore...they have at least gotten one thing right).

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To all pharmacy techs and pharmacists, your better off working at safeway because no one will ever be able to stop abuse of pain meds, they are legal with an rx for a reason. You guys ruin alot of peoples lives trying to act like the pill police. Get over it and get a life and mind your own business, then you will do more good instead of depriving people for what they need to get through the day.

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I take great offense at your comment about Longs Drug Store...my Father worked there for over 35 years not as a pharmacist, but as a delivery man..and he was constantly smarted off at by rude customers like yourself because he/she did not get certain refills..for the simple reason it's not the drug store/pharmacist that denies the refill it's insurance for several reasons one is to keep the customer from abusing the rx and the other is to keep it off the streets..yes, you may find it hard to believe, but some patients will sell their rx on the streets..my so called Brother is one of them he once made over $1400 on oxy contin..btw my 19 year old Cousin od on that drug after getting it from a patient who sold his rx..so while you see not getting your refills when you want them as inconvenient we see it as a life possibly more being saved..Wanna blame someone try blaming the drug dealers ie: the patient out to make a quick illegal buck! Not the ones (ie: Pharmacists and insurance companies) trying to put a stop to it!!

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I do believe that if the guy a couple of posts up from this one was truly a doctor, he would know how to properly spell "doctorate".

Pharmacists aren't wanna be doctors, but you sure are dude.

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as a pharmacy technician I can assure you that it is not us who are keeping you from your "good stuff" your doctor does oput specific directions on the script like 1 every 8 hours. if you take one every 4 you will run out. Your fault. Call you doctor and have them write you a new script, or speak with your insurance company because of a dosage increase. It is not the pharmacy, who will not fill it, is your insurance company who won't pay for it. You do have the option of paying cash unless your doctor specifies otherwise. And yes it is our business if you take more than recomended. That is the pharmacists license and possibly your life on the line. And there are alot of people do have real addictions and we as pharmacy employees need to watch ourselves. When someone comes in with a script for 2 antibiotics and one narcotic and they only want to pick up the narcotic it is obvious this person went to the doctor for a buzz. Because to most of us getting rid of the infection that caused the pain is more important than getting high.And have YOU ever noticed that people never go throught there antibiotics or blood pressure meds too soon. HMMM it makes you wonder. And pharmacists do have to complete a lot of school, more than it takes to work for an attorney. So next time you feel like venting about your experience with refilling you contolled substances (as in contolled by the DEA) look it up in some of your law books since you are so smart. And you will see that

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I'm actually a doctor and understand what retail pharmacists go through. First of all, I hear your frustration, but it's quite a desperate display of your poor attitude and ignorance. Pharmacists are in the position they are in because 1) citizens, congress, and the FDA long ago realized that pharmacy needs to be regulated. Both clinically and legally (that includes preventing diversion of drugs, and although you may not be involved in that, many people are! HELLO!) 2) They chose the profession b/c at some point in their young, niave college careers they genuinely cared and wanted to be involved in health care and the community...unfortunately, the retail pharmacy can be a repetative, mundane job, but it has its role and it has to be done. To say that pharmacists are "wanna-be doctors" would imply that every NON-doctor is such...nurses, radiation therapists, dentists, optometrists, etc...and again, this is a pathetic, ignorant comment. 3)We all know how it is, usually the small percentage of evil-doers ruin it for the majority. i.e.try to meet your family at an airport terminal without a ticket and a full cavity search like before 9/11. Thus, the few druggies who come to the pharmacy high, drunk, and with a prescription from every doctor in a 200 mile radius tends to put pharmacists on alert. They have the right to judge the legitimacy of a prescription just like a hospital nurse, pharmacist, or doctor can refuse to give someone a toxic dose of morphine just b/c they wine about it like you are.

I understand that pain is subjective, under-treated, and a difficult balancing act, but this is the way it is and it can be frustrating at times, for both the health care providers and patients. Furthermore, I know first hand that there are an endless supply of good doctors and bad doctors who will give anyone Rx's and refills on just about anything they want, just so that they can have that huge 6-figure salary. So, again, pharmacists see it all the time and, again, they have the right and DUTY, by law, to regulate the dispensing of prescriptions. Not b/c they're sadistic. Do you actually think a pharmacist who answers hundreds of calls a day, has hundreds of walk in customers, etc...really WANTS to add to the stress by winding you up?!?! Get real.

I'm not going to reply to all your rants,but about the quality of the staff, I agree. Yes, many techs and cashiers, unfortunately, are that b/c that's all the motivation they've had in life. They will make mistakes, just like my medical techs make, and you will get less-than-eloquent communication. This comes with the territory. And until you can motivate someone with a 4-year degree to take the same job at $10 an hour, learn to deal with it and be the better man, buddy. Same reason only the pricks in society yell at waiters, cashiers, salespeople; you name it. And apparently you are a small, angry person to be a part of that section of society we can all do without.

Lastly, pharmacists get a Pharm.D...a doctorette, for a reason. Not 100% of them work retail. Usually about 60%. Guess who develops and researches new medications and treatments? It's not attorney's assistants. Guess who collaborates in medical reviews of drug therapies, utilization, safety, efficacy, cost, etc...? It's not pill counters. When my child was born, who do you suppose prepared the concentrated IV's that were administered in his fragile body, and guess who originally studies what the safe, effective dose was? It wasn't your secretary in her low cut blouse. It was doctors and pharmacists with extensive knowledge of human physiology, medicine, chemistry, and pharmacology.

Here's an idea, once you get tired of yelling at pharmacists for deciding not to let the ignorant public liquify their livers b/c they want to take 7grams of acetaminophen a day along with those 8 Vicodin ES tablets...go harrass the gas station clerk--maybe he's the reason oil is $130 a barrel. Maybe he's being sadistic. Go spit on airline pilots for not getting to your destination 30 minutes sooner b/c you DEMAND he go 500mph instead of 450mph, b/c YOU think he should. Go boycott the police officers for arresting people driving drunk, b/c YOU think you can handle your alcohol and it's none of his business what you do.

WRONG, you moron. There are people placed in positions to protect the common good and comply with state and federal laws. Don't like it? Vote for Obama, maybe a more socialist, free-healthcare type state would apeal to you.

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I am a Walgreen's employee, an assistant manager, and I have to say, this is not always the case. It is regretable that you have had such poor service, but there are a few things you have to understand.

When filling a prescription, if the insurance company sends back a message of "TOO EARLY" some 90% of people don't want to pay the cash price and would rather wait until the insurance will cover it. Obviously this is not the case, and when they enter your refill into the system (as long as you step up to the window to request it), they should be alerting you that the insurance will not cover the cost right then and there. You should be allowed to make that decision.

About selling your prescription to someone else: granted this mistake does happen all too often, but it shouldn't have on this occasion, considering you were there to request your refill and to pick it up within an hour. There are checks, for example, if someone you may or may not know, knows your full name, your address, and the medication in question, it is possible to give it to the wrong person.

You also need to understand that the lost refill could have been on the part of the pharmacy you were using before. If Walgreens employees can make a mistake, so can others. We're all human.

No one, that I am aware of, is a practicing sadist at Walgreens. And you have no idea what is required of a pharmacist. If you can read and count, you are not *POOF* a pharmacist; you are *POOF* a tech. Pharmacists typically know far more abnout the drugs that pass through there than any doctor could. They spend as much time in medical school learning less about medical practice and more about the actual pharmaceuticals. Ask them anything about any current drug and you might be surprised at the knowledge they have. And the computer system only alerts them that you are taking a drug that may have a possible interaction with another prescribed drug. It certainly does not tell them what the interaction is and only needs to alert them because they cannot monitor the prescriptions of all their patients. It is a safety feature for the pharmacist to be sure you are not being subjected to something dangerous.

Unfortunately, a large portion of the techs in service (and not just by Walgreens) and kids, so they have bad attitudes and foul things up worse than others fropm time to time. Comments on the labels like you've mentioned are RARELY on the part of the pharmacist, and instead are usually the work of one of those kid techs. FYI, only the pharmacist can make comments on any prescription file now for that reason.

This is typical of many pharmacies you will find. Some may be better practiced at treating the customer with more patience and understanding, more reqpect, and more kindess, but all too often tensions run high because a customer is not willing to work with the pharmacy staff, anywhere. For example, if someone wants to pick up their script, but the insurance won't pay for it, they don't want to pay the cash price, where is the blame assigned: the pharmacy for lousing it up, when in fact, all they are doing at this point is informing about the INSURANCE's refusal to pay and the cash price.