Maybe that's why CVS takes SO long to fill your Rx. They have heaps of ReadyFill "customers" to deal with first.

Why would a Dr. fill out a prescription if he didn't expect it to be refilled? IIRC, prescriptions expire after 90 days and some, like my Adderrall expire after 30 days, due the C2CS classification. So a Dr. wouldn't fill a refill prescription if he expected you to use it in 6 months.

See? The pRon industry is a leader in many fronts. They perfected the auto-rebilling!

I just hope CVS doesn't start forcing you to uncheck an small-font option for an additional 'trial' prescription for a different drug when checking out, which also is a ReadyFill.

ahem. Not that I would know anything about that.

@OGH!_GitEmSteveDave: A course of antibiotics shouldn't be refilled. A 7 day steroid scrip for dealing with severe poison ivy shouldn't be refilled. I'm sure there are other examples.

Please continue to "auto-refill" my vicodin and xanax. That is all.

Yes, I discovered the CVS near me does that toO! Annoying

Safeway's pharmacy did something similar to this that actually got me into a big of a mess:

The story: I was in a motorcycle accident and tore two tendons in my shoulder, which I receieved a vicodin prescription for. The vicodin scrip was no refills- I needed a new scrip for each bottle, given the nature of the drug.

I also have a scrip for restoril for sleep. Restoril is a "benzo" in the same class and similar to valium.

So, I go to the pharmacy to pick up my vicodin prescription, and while there I realize my restoril scrip had run out, so I ask them to request a new scrip for restoril from the doctors office (restoril is also a no-refill scrip).

The "helpful" pharmacy decides to also request a new vicodin scrip at the same time.

So, my doctor, who had written a scrip for a full months worth of vicodin 2 days prior, now has on his desk a request for ANOTHER months vicodin scrip AND restoril. Obviously, he interprets this as drug-seeking, and refuses to fill the scrips until he sees me in person. I have to waste my day (and have somebody drive me to the doctors office) to convince him that I am not an addict, and to give me the restoril scrip that I needed.

When I talked to Safeway about this, they explained that they purposely did this to "save me some time" in case I needed another bottle of vicodin. They played dumb and refused to see any reason why there would be a problem with asking my doctor to approve 2 months worth of vicodin and a potent (and habit forming/commonly abused) months worth of sleeping pills.

Thanks for totally ruining my doctor/patient relationship Safeway!

I don't know about CVS, but the the auto-refill thing at Target is also overzealous and and a bit stupid. For the couple of medications I am on long term and want refilled regularly, it's fine. But say I get a prescription for anti-inflammatories, with one optional refill. When I call in the refill their phone system tells me it can be put on auto-refill! and makes it hard to opt OUT of doing so. I don't know why their system can't see that something with zero refills left is NOT eligible for auto-refill.

Walgreen's does this with prescriptions, too. If you don't need the refill, just ignore it. But it's a pain if you decide to go to another pharmacy for your next refill and you can't get it because Walgreen's has already filled it.

@OGH!_GitEmSteveDave: Drugs like Adderall (Schedule II controlled) can't be refilled. A new prescription is required each time.

If CVS is auto-refilling without explicit permission from the customer then I hope they get nailed for it. A customer isn't obligated to bring any prescription to a pharmacy to begin with, so CVS has no right to prepare and charge the customer for a refill without the customer's OK.

@OGH!_GitEmSteveDave: Allergy meds, for example (as Bill suggests above). My doctor prescribes them with lots of refills, but that's just to tide me over for the season. I've never actually used up all the refills.

My doc gave me a prescription for blood pressure meds, and I had it filled at the CVS near work because it was convenient. Almost a month later, I call in and use the voice-response system to request a refill, then go and pick up the refill.

Two days later, I get a robot call from CVS telling me that I have a prescription ready for refill.

Thanks, CVS, without your help, I would never have figured out that the prescription I'd already refilled was up for a refill!

@OGH!_GitEmSteveDave: Some prescriptions are "lifetime" medicines. My doc will write a prescription for 90 days with three 90 day refills for insurance purposes since my drug program won't fill more than 90 days.

Rite Aid does this too. The robot phone reminders are so annoying.

@dulcinea47: Makes it hard to opt out? I just refilled two prescriptions at Target using their automated system. Opting out consisted of hitting "3" instead of "1" to a single question. While it would be nice if they didn't ask the question, and required you to speak to the staff to opt-in, how much easier can they make an automated system?

The two CVS locations I frequent offer this service but they always ask me if I want to put a specific prescription on the ReadyFill program when I drop it off. I have never had anything put on without my knowledge.

I think this is too funny since I've been dealing with the other side of CVSs' crappy autofill system. My wife has a couple of scripts we've been trying to get setup for about 6 months now and CVS can't seem to get that right. Every month we talk to the Pharmacy Manager, every month they tell us it will be taken care of before the next refill, and so far, EVERY MONTH when we go to get the script it isn't available.

This makes me wonder if all of our attempts have been getting misdirected and getting other peoples scripts set to autofill. :)

@OGH!_GitEmSteveDave: When a script expires is partially controlled by state law, also; it's not all federal.

Also, not all drugs are to be taken all the time; some are prescribed to be taken as needed. A perfect example might be a standing prescription for a steroid cream to treat eczema. Such a medication would be used when it acts up, something that is not under the rigid control of the passage of time.

Taking that same example farther, if you have a small patch break out, you might use a tiny bit of cream the size of a pea to quash it. If your whole back breaks out, on the other hand, you are going to need more.

I think that certain inhalers for certain pulmonary conditions (asthma, allergies, etc) may be likewise.

Certainly, post-surgical pain killers fit the bill. You refill it if you need it, and take it if you need it. If you don't need it, you (hopefully) don't take it (lest you risk addiction, or already are addicted).

So you see, there are many cases where a medication should not be automatically refilled.

Mind you, I'm not a doctor, nor a pharmacist, nor any other kind of medical professional; neither have I spent much time on any medications myself, so perhaps my application of logic here is mistaken. Maybe there is some reason here that makes the really-fucking-obvious answer not so much so.

@Jeff Newman: Ummm, it sounds like your doctor ruined your relationship, not Safeway. He immediately thought you were drug seeking instead of thinking maybe there was an error. Have you not been seeing this doctor for awhile?

I had a pharmacy loose my Ativan perscription (which is one of the more serious benzos). I called my doctor who verified that it had been called in. She had me call the pharmacy again with some more questions. No, they didn't have it. The doctor called it into a new pharmacy. No visit, no being accused of "drug seeking".

You might want to look into a different doctor. Your problem could have been cleared up over the phone.

Pharmacies are paid by the insurance companies when they refill your prescription, not when you pick them up and pay for them. Hence the aggressive auto-filling programs and the relentless promotions behind them. As always, follow the money.

@Chris Walters: I understand that, but my point is that by the time the next season rolled around, the prescription itself might be invalid, even if the pills weren't. I myself have a nice little stash/buffer of pills in the bullpen of my "box 0' happines" ;)

They have been calling us too!!!!!! I'm so happy to see this!

We asked them to stop filling them automatically and they did. Sometimes we get the robo calls and even CVS doesn't know what is there or waiting. It's insane.

I called and complained about it and was told this was my options.

1. do nothing.
2. They'll stop calling us with ALL automated calls - not just autofilled or waiting ones. BUT that will take six months if it will work.

SIX MONTHS?

i actually wish my mail order pharmacy could do this for my birth control pills. i have to get them to request a new prescription every 90 days [it's a 90 day pack] because they REFUSE to refill it, even when the doctor shows me the hand written prescription that she faxed to them - indicating three refills.
then again, i requested insulin pump supplies on the 15th of may - apparently they shipped on the 28th, via FedEX but i still don't have them in hand [and they don't give me a tracking number]
i just have to wait, and if they don't show up within 21 days of the shipping date i can call to request a replacement.

good thing i hoard insulin pump supplies by having my doctor overprescribe. otherwise i'd have been out, and in big trouble for a few weeks.

@jenl1625: if you don't show up the time you pick, they'll call. And possibly never stop in our case even after you get it. They called on one of ours for two weeks after it was picked up.

My CVS just started doing that but what I find interesting is that they do the prefill for 3 months at a time for the scripts that have the larger copays (i.e. my copay for non-generic is $35.00). This way they collect their $105.00 at one time instead of $35.00 over three months. When I go to pick it up, I just tell them I don't want 3 months worth, just give me the one month. They get a little irritated but its MY money.

"Also if there is a dosage change, or a prescription is no longer being taken, or a patient has changed pharmacies, someone has to notify us to take it off or that rx will still be on readyfill and we'll get the angry/confused calls."

I've had a similar problem at other pharmacies ... local pharmacies keep all your Rxes on file and "active" for a year, which apparently has something to do with state law (? the clerk was unclear). When I switched birth control pills, they kept trying to refill them both, because I had like 9 months of refills left on the one I wasn't using anymore.

That seems like a serious problem with the computer system. On file is one thing, but the computer should DEFINITELY be able to know when that Rx is no longer wanted.

@thelushie: How is Safeway not in the wrong here? They requested narcotics (a controlled substance) from Jeff's doctor two days after they had dispensed the same drug to him, and without his permission. I think the doctor had to assume that Safeway was calling at Jeff's request, since this is what pharmacists normally do, so it looked like potential drug-seeking behavior. While I agree that the doctor may have been able to straighten things out with a phone call vs. a visit, the behavior did look suspicious and the doctor needed to be careful.

I think Safeway should be busted for attempted drug dealing.

@blindtheskies: In my dealings with CVS or any pharmacy for that matter, I have never had anything on autorefill without my knowledge. My mom gets her stuff filled at Target where she did have it on autofill for awhile but then requested it be taken off. They did it with no fuss, no muss. I have my stuff filled at Walgreens. I haven't had anything set up on autofill.

Just about every pharmacy does it (except the mom and pop ones but I will NEVER go down that road again...it was a living nightmare), just ask that it not be set up if it bothers you that much.

@blindtheskies: Same here. My CVS explained this service to me last time I went in & asked if I wanted to enroll for any of my prescriptions I get regularly. I saw no value in it b/c how can a person not know when they need a refill? I don't need a robocall to tell me my prescription bottle is empty. So, of course, I declined this "service."

I would be pretty pissed if they auto-enrolled me though. Perhaps CVS corporate did not sufficiently explain the way this program was supposed to work to all their employees.

Last month the pharmacy tech at my CVS asked if I wanted my prescriptions put on readyfill. (Up until that point, I got a robocall every month reminding me my prescriptions were due for a refill.) I agreed and went on with my day.

This month, I didn't get anything at all from CVS. No robocall for a reminder, no robocall to tell me my script was filled, nothing. I don't know what happened, but it seems like she took me out of the system completely. Not that it matters..I had everything transferred to Sam's Club over the weekend because I can't afford what CVS charges me, anyways, but now I wonder what she did??

@dulcinea47: Likewise, Target's phone system also keeps offering me auto-refill for my migraine meds which are not eligible for auto-refill. It's not a smart system, so I have the feeling that we're lucky that it works well enough to allow us to order over the phone in the first place.

We have to remember that companies this large are not all about helping you, they are about profit-making. This auto-refill is nothing more than a way to push sales.

@Shoelace: Attempted drug dealing? Are you serious? The doctor overreacted as you are by saying they should be busted for drug dealing. Doctors know that these things are done automatically many many times. That is why a mistake or cross in the communication lines should be considered before you start accusing your patients of drug seeking.

And I would not worry too much about the abuse potential of your sleeping pill. This is quoted off the drug's website:
"Clinical studies have shown essentially no anticholinergic (eg, dry mouth) or hangover side effects, no measurable effects on daytime alertness or performance, low potential for memory loss, rebound insomnia,² daytime anxiety, or abuse.³ And, there was no evidence of tolerance development (after at least 2 weeks of therapy)."

Target has a similar program. You just need to either a) go to their website and make sure you're opted out or b) give them a call to opt out or c) go to the pharmacy and opt out. I was opted in automatically on one script and it confused me. I just didn't pick it up until I was good and ready and figured out how to turn off the auto-fill pretty quickly. The one time I had a temporary (not something I take regularly) script called into the pharmacy, they outright asked me if I wanted the auto-fill. I might have accidentally opted myself into it when I transferred my script from CVS in the first place to save the money on generics ($4/mo, $10/3 mos vs. $10/mo)

I'm not clear what everyone is complaining about. Is it simply the phone call? We use an autofill program at Target's pharmacy. We get one phone call. It says the auto refill is ready and we need to pick it up by a certain date. Otherwise, it's no longer available. There have been times when 1) I didn't use the next refill, or 2) I missed the pickup window and they re-filled the prescription while I waited. Either way, it's not like you're required to pay for something you didn't want filled. I can see that being an issue, but not simply receiving an unwanted phone call.

If you call CVS customer relations at 800-SHOP-CVS (option 3) they can remove you from automated calls. Takes about a minute. If the store have improperly put you in readyfill, they can contact they store and ask that it be taken off.

Seems to me that CVS will put the revenue from "autofill" prescriptions on the books to recognize the revenue before the customer actually pays for it. Could be a boost of millions of dollars on their balance sheet. Underhanded accounting.

This happened to me as well! I filled a prescription at one DC CVS one month, then the next month I went to a different CVS (in PA) to refill it, where the pharmacist informed me that I couldn't do this because the prescription had already been filled in DC, and I knew I hadn't had it refilled there. They asked me if I had chosen the "ready fill" option, and I had never even heard of it before! Turns out that the pharmacy in DC signed me up for it without asking or telling me, but it was pretty easy to solve. The pharmacist at the second CVS called the DC CVS and told them to back it out of their system and they were able to refill it for me in the new location.

@Boogaloo2: I, too, was notified of this, and I thought it was incredibly useful for me, as I have several daily prescriptions that need to be refilled like clockwork, and I am more than happy to have them automatically do it. But it was an "opt-in" issue, definitely, from what I recall. So this must be a training issue.

Auto-refill can cause problems if you use different pharmacies for different prescriptions, as some members of my family do. For example, my grandmother had a prescription for a heart medicine which she had filled at a pharmacy which does auto-refill. That prescription did not expire, but the doctor changed her dosage and gave her a new prescription which she took to a different pharmacy. The original pharmacy auto-refilled her old prescription without her knowledge and as a result the new pharmacy would not fill her new prescription because it said she had already received a 30-day supply of that medication for that month. Eventually she got her prescription, but only after returning to the original pharmacy and making them remove her auto-refilled prescription from their system.

@catastrophegirl - manic first time home buyer: My dad hoards his insulin supplies for that very reason. One time he ran out of needles and since Rite Aid wouldn't give him any, and his Dr's office was closed, he got really really sick.

Mail order worries me because of what you said -- I hope you get them soon.

I also don't understand the problem. If they fill it and you don't want it, don't go pick it up. They can't charge you for something you didn't get. They are trying to help you out so you don't run out of medication. If it is a medication that shouldn't have refills your doctor will say on the prescription form, "no refills" then they can't fill it. If you run out of refills, they tell you and you either instruct them to ask your doctor for more, or leave it be. What's the big deal? This costs you nothing. If you don't pick it up, it doesn't appear on your insurance. They refilled the wrong prescription for me, I said, "No not that one the other one." I waited a few minutes and got the one I wanted without paying for the other one.

@jackal676:

I think that's partially why they do this. I can only get 3 inhalers per script, per doc's orders. When the idiots at the pharmacy fill two of those and I'm out of town, I have a hard time getting the script filled at another pharmacy.

@catastrophegirl - manic first time home buyer:

I went to the pharmacy on Friday, the 29th, to have my Ocella birth control refilled. They told me I can't refill it until the 30th. What a pain in the ass.

@piratealice:

The problem is if you need to fill it at a later date somewhere else, you may not be able to do so because it's already been filled.

I had such a problem with this a few months ago. I had used my local CVS for years and had the automatic refills set up for my birth control just recently. My prescription ran out and I had obtained a new, hand-written one from my doctor. Since I had just moved, I wanted to take the new prescription to a closer pharmacy. When I tried to do this, I was told my prescription had already been filled by CVS, so I wasn't eligible to be covered by insurance. I tried all day with the two pharmacies to get CVS to reverse the charge to my insurance, so that I could get it filled at my new pharmacy. I had dropped off my prescription at 11:00 and, as 5:00 rolled around, my new pharmacy was closing and I still had no medication. I had to take my prescription back from them and drive to the CVS to claim my meds.

My greatest concern in all of this was why CVS was refilling a prescription that was out of refills! When I picked up my medication, I noticed that I suddenly had 10 refills from CVS without having given them my new prescription. Something is very messed up there.

My CVS calls me to ask if I would like my prescriptions refilled. I tell them every time that if I want a prescription filled, I'll call them.

The same goes for the Petsmart groomers that automatically set up my dog's next appointment for my "convenience". When they called me a few weeks ago to "remind" me of her appointment, I told them I hadn't made an appointment. If I decided to bring her back to them, I'll call them. I'm seriously considering taking her somewhere else because this practice really annoys me. I'm happy with their grooming service but I won't have it forced upon me.

@thelushie:
Restoril/temazapam is a benzodiazapine. A Schedule 4 controlled sub (therapeutic value, lower potential for abuse) That being said, it's still regularly abused. In europe, they used to have Restoril in liquigels.
There was a HUGE problem with people injecting the gels. (which, of course led to big problems with the circ. system.) They are most certainly abuseable and are abused. in the same fashion as valium. Just not as much as things like xanax. Cold turkey cessation can lead to life threatening seizures. Of course the drug's website downplays the risks. Who knows what sort of trials they did. Real trials use people with known histories of drug abuse as well as your "average joe"

@kc2idf:

Exactly. I use the eczema ointment and I asked the doctor to make a standing scrip. There's no way I'd use a whole tube in a month even when I do break out.

Even if they did this for my thyroid medicine (which is lifelong) it would irritate the hell out of me to keep getting robocalls all the time.