When the drug program began in 2006, Humana's premiums were among the cheapest. Humana, Mr. Noland said, has provided the most cumulative value for its drug-plan members, saving them an average of $4,900 on drug costs during that time and that the premiums are still in line with rivals.

The drug plans are heavily subsidized by the federal government and are offered through private insurance companies. Insurers will begin advertising their plans Oct. 1, and the six-week enrollment period starts in mid-November.

It's unclear how the price increases will affect the market. Medicare beneficiaries tend to select a plan and stay with it, and the market is highly concentrated.

"Medicare Drug Premium on Rise" [Wall Street Journal]
(Photo: Getty)

His response was "Whatever, somebody needs to come deal with this because I'm about to go off..."

"You're about to 'Go off?', I asked him."Do you really think that's the best thing to say to a paying customer?"

And at this point, with his back turned to me, the young man muttered "Fucking AIDS freak."

Read J's full story of how it got to this point, and CVS' meager response, below.

Here's J's full email, for those of you who want a more detailed story:

In what has been one of the most horrifying experiences of my entire life, I have had a dreadful recent encounter at my local CVS. Ironically one of the other worst customer-service related mishaps I've ever had was at a CVS as well, though not the same one...

I was in my local CVS in Philadelphia getting my partner's prescription filled. We are a gay male couple and my partner is HIV+. The medication, Atripla, is HIV related. We are both currently on a medicaid-related health insurance plan, a situation that is new to us and directly related to his current health issues.

I had in hand a coupon from the local paper that awarded me a $20 gift card if I transferred a prescription to CVS. I had actually used the coupon the day before for another prescription, as it says you can do use it multiple times (just not on the same day.)

On this particular day they were having a very hard time getting through to the other pharmacy to put the transfer through. The staff was also particularly snide and unpleasant; more so than usual, at any rate.

After the fiasco of getting the actual transfer put through, when the young man attempted to ring me up and process my coupon, something went wrong in the computer. Another employee came by to try and figure things out, and they determined that the coupon was not acceptable for those with Medicaid.

I got a little agitated because they weren't being particularly polite about it, and I tried to explain that I wasn't specifically on Medicaid proper, but on a related plan. I also pointed out that I had just used the same coupon the day before. They then called over another young man who was apparently a manager. His actual position in the store is still up for debate; he appeared to be a front-of-store manager who was doing some work in the pharmacy area.

He walked into the situation with an extremely aggressive attitude. He wouldn't allow me to actually SAY anything or discuss the situation with him, and it was clear he was taking an "I know what I'm talking about, I know what you're up to, and I'm going to nip this in the bud" kind of stance with the whole thing. I was getting impatient, embarassed and frustrated. The whole of the staff back there were just glaring at me, and I was extremely perturbed.

My inclination in these situations, which seem to happen more frequently these days, is to try and be rational and direct without being rude. I said to this young man "You know what? I don't think you're handling this very well or being very polite, and I'd like to speak to someone else about this."

His response was "Whatever, somebody needs to come deal with this because I'm about to go off..."

"You're about to 'Go off?', I asked him (probably exacerbating the situation, I admit.) "Do you really think that's the best thing to say to a paying customer?"

And at this point, with his back turned to me, the young man muttered "Fucking AIDS freak."

I have to be honest with you: I'm 30 years old, and in all of my adult life - with all of the bigotry and hatred I have encountered in various forms and situations - this was the absolute most shocking and flabbergasting thing that has ever happened to me.

It was one of those situations where I was so stunned and slack-jawed that I had no real faculties to handle the situation. It's the kind of anger that silences you while your body tenses up and you try to control the shaking that's coming from the inside out.

By this point a woman, the manager of the pharmacy, had approached me and asked - stone faced - if she could help. I told her that if her employees felt comfortable speaking to customers they way they just did, and in her presence, that I didn't think she COULD help because obviously they felt doing so was okay. I asked her to void my prescription transfer and I left.

When I got home I immediately called a different CVS location and asked for a number to call to file a complaint. I called a local "headquarters" number and left a complaint on a voicemail for a district manager. I also called the general 800 number for CVS and left a complain with the customer service person. I was told the general manager of the store, Anthony, was on vacation until Monday.

On Monday, Anthony did call me back. Our conversation was brief and typical of what I expected. I was told that he would investigate the situation, and that if what I described did, in fact, happen, it would be dealt with. But that basically he couldn't promise anything other than that if I ever came into the store again and something similar happened, I should ask to speak to him directly.

I can tell you now that nothing really came of the situation. The young man still works at that CVS, and I have done my best to simply not go there anymore. As it is located only 2 bocks from my apartment, and is the only 24-hour estalishment in the area, I do still go occasionally, hating myself every step of the way.

I don't know what I expected CVS to do. I suppose - and I say this laughingly - an apologetic gift card might have been nice. But the real point is, is there any real resolution to a situation like this? Other than having the guy on video or audio tape, he's obviously going to deny that it happened, and his co-worker chums - presuming they heard what he said (as that one part is probably the only "fireable" part of his lousy customer service) - didn't seem the types inclined to get involved.

There's no real great way to wrap up this report. I guess the great lesson is, people can still be complete douchebags, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.

J, you may want to try writing a complaint letter and mailing it to the executive headquarters in Rhode Island—here's a list of their executives. (We looked for executive phone numbers and email addresses in their SEC filings, but couldn't find any.) Some people will never stop being complete douchebags, but it's likely your complaint never made it past the district manager, and since it wasn't adequately resolved at that level, you should take it higher.

(Photo: Getty)

The report’s findings track with similar studies by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which has found that roughly seven million Americans are abusing prescription drugs. If accurate, that would be an increase of 80 percent in six years and more than the total abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, Ecstasy and inhalants.

The Florida report analyzed 168,900 deaths statewide. Cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines caused 989 deaths, it found, while legal opioids — strong painkillers in brand-name drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin — caused 2,328.

Drugs with benzodiazepine, mainly depressants like Valium and Xanax, led to 743 deaths. Alcohol was the most commonly occurring drug, appearing in the bodies of 4,179 of the dead and judged the cause of death of 466 — fewer than cocaine (843) but more than methamphetamine (25) and marijuana (0).

The study also found that while the number of people who died with heroin in their bodies increased 14 percent in 2007, to 110, deaths related to the opioid oxycodone increased 36 percent, to 1,253.

Florida doesn't track prescription drug purchases like other states, making life mindlessly easy for prescription drug addicts.

The lesson here is throw-out unused prescriptions, and be suspicious if your Xanax-munching friend keeps talking up impromptu trips to Disney World.

Legal Drugs Kill Far More Than Illegal, Florida Says [NYT]

Frank writes,

The other day I went to pick up my prescriptions at my local CVS #1323 in Cressona Pa. The weather outside was about 97 and very humid. I looked forward to going inside in hopes of cooling down a little bit.

I got inside the mall which was nice and cool. When I got into CVS I was hit with nothing but heat. As I made my way back to the pharmacy I could swear it was getting hotter and hotter.

I got to the pharmacy counter and noticed all the employees had thier usual labcoat attire off and they were sweaty. I took a glance at the digital thermometer they had there and couldn't believe my eyes. The thermometer said it was almost 93 in there!!! 93!!

That brought some questions to mind which I relayed to the pharmacy staff. How are all the medications stored back there still good after being kept in those kind of temps? How long exactly has the AC been broken and why hasn't it been fixed yet?

I didn't get many answers. The only thing I got was the following, "The AC has been broken for over a year and a half now. CVS is too cheap to buy an air conditioning system. It is like this every year and they don't care!!" That was told to me by a sweaty employee, which brings another question to mind. How safe is it exactly to have human sweat dripping on the overheated medication they are dispensing?

After seeing that and losing about 10 lbs in the process from sweating, I asked to have my prescription transferred to another pharmacy. I hope this little bit of info comes in handy. I am sure others around my area would like to know how their meds are stored and what the people have to work in that are handling their meds.

We doubt the sweat is that dangerous, but it's certainly gross to imagine a big fat salty drop of brow sweat falling into a pill bottle right as the cap's being screwed on.

(Photo: Getty)

No word yet on whether Target and Kroger (who also offer a $4 drug program) will match Walmart's new offer. Midwest grocery store chain Meijer offers some commonly prescribed antibiotics for free with a prescription.

Wal-Mart offers more low-priced drugs [Reuters]
(Photo: Aaron K Smith )

We travel full time, so to get our prescription meds we have used Walgreens, because they transfer prescriptions to any of their stores. In Dec of last year I had a prescription filled (for high blood pressure) at a Walgreens store in Dallas...I noticed that the pills looked different, but thought they must have changed to a generic. When I finished that 90 day supply, I got a refill at a Walgreens in Florida. Now the pills were back to what I'd taken for years...an oval green pill. I had 2 left in the old bottle, white round pills...not what that bottle label said they were suppose to be. Acckk! So now I had taken 3 months of the wrong mystery medicine.

I checked the PDR, no matches...I went to the local Walgreens and they couldn't identify it. Nor could the Poison Control Center. The local Walgreens gave me a phone number for Walgreens Corporate office, which led to another phone number and another, climbing the corporate ladder, finally speaking to the CEOs office (but not the CEO). I couldn't get anybody to understand that this was serious...that the pills needed to be identified, that it was important to know what I had taken, who else might have gotten the wrong med, how had this happened and more importantly what was being done to assure this wasn't still happening.

I tried to explain that if this had been a case of product tampering it would have presented like this...a pill not matching the description on the label. That in a case of product tampering people could have died waiting for their corporation to respond.

It ended up taking Walgreens six weeks to get the pill identified. It was a generic allergy pill that was a Wall Mart brand. There was no explanation of how it got in a Walgreens bottle. No explanation about any of this. And no assurances that they have improved any part of their system.

I wanted Walgreens to tell me what had happened... and what they were doing in the future to deal with this sort of mistake. People faced with this situation should immediately be given access to a person or department who will take this seriously. They should not have to wait SIX WEEKS to have a medication identified. And it should not have taken so much persistent effort on my part. Walgreens should have recognized this as an immediate problem, and responded quickly... with concern for my safety and others. They did not and have not done that.

When patients hit the donut hole, all sorts of bad things can happen. First, switching to generics introduces the risk of new or worse side effects. But some patients—according to a recent AARP study, about 15%—stop taking their prescriptions altogether, or else they rack up huge credit card debts to continue paying for the drugs.

Sometimes a patient can score free samples of the drugs he's taking, but unfortunately the value of these "free" drugs won't count toward his annual overall expenditure, so the patient remains stuck in the donut hole, and has to start paying against it again once the Free Drug Train leaves the station.

The New York Times quotes one study that says 23% of patients could avoid the donut hole if they started with generics at the beginning of the year. But to do this, you have to talk to your doctor about your personal financial situation, which can be difficult. One study found that

four of five [patients] wanted doctors to discuss medication costs, but fewer than one in five doctors did. One in three patients in the study who cut back on their drugs because of cost said they had never asked their doctor for help in reducing expenses.

"Usually I'm a little blind to it if they're in the doughnut hole," Dr. Epperly said, "mainly because they're proud people, and they feel their obligation isn't to share that with the doctor."

the cheapest approach in the short run might be to forgo Part D insurance altogether. Instead, they could simply shop at discount retailers like Wal-Mart, Costco and Target whose pharmacies offer low-cost generics for as little as $4 for a monthly prescription.

"Strategies to Avoid Medicare's Big Hole" [New York Times]
"There Are Alternatives: Insuring to Bridge the Gap or Opting Out" [New York Times]

RLEATED ITEMS
"Find & Compare Plans that Cover Drugs" [Medicare]
"Seniors in Part D donut hole unlikely to have gap coverage" [Managed Healthcare Executive]
"5 Ways to Lower Your Costs During the Coverage Gap" [Medicare]
(Photo: Getty)

Incidentally, Zocor is the cholesterol-lowering drug that recently lost its patent protection, leading to a burst of business for the generic version of simvastatin and a steep drop-off in profits for competitor and market leader Lipitor. (For the record, Lipitor is a third kind of statin, called atorvastatin.) Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor, has been trying hard to persuade consumers to not switch to generic Zocor—maybe now they have a new bit of ammo to use in their argument, at least for those who aren't getting any rest.

"Sleepless? Maybe it's your statin" [Reuters]

RELATED
"Pfizer Launches Campaign To Warn Users Away From Generic Competitor"
(Photo: Getty)

One of strongest claims Pfizer is making is that patients who switch have a higher risk of death, but the in-house study they cite is being criticized by doctors:

But independent researchers say that limitations in the study, which was conducted by Pfizer's own researchers, gives it little predictive power about what will happen to patients who take simvastatin instead of Lipitor. And they say the study is far less important than large clinical trials that have shown simvastatin's effectiveness at reducing cholesterol.

Of course, your doctor will know better than a blog whether you should switch:

For patients with extremely high cholesterol, Lipitor may be a better choice. An 80-milligram daily dose of Lipitor, the top dose, can reduce cholesterol by up to 60 percent, compared with about 50 percent for an 80-milligram dose of simvastatin, also the top dose."

Several trade and professional groups support the idea, including the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. The FDA points out that pharmacists have the necessary training to educate consumers about how to use certain drugs, and that a BTC category would help people without health insurance gain access to certain medications.

The one huge down-side we can see to this: big pharma will start targeting pharmacists with freebies and samples to pass out to customers—we can imagine going to get a BTC drug in 2009 and being met by a pharmacist wearing more pieces of "Ask Me About [Drug Name]" flair than Jennifer Aniston's nemesis at Chotchkie's.

"FDA explores behind-the-counter drug sales" [Reuters]

RELATED
"US FDA Considering 'Behind-The-Counter' Drug Status" [CNN Money]
(Photo: Getty)

(b) LIMITATIONS- A prescriber may not—

(1) require purchase of contact lenses from the prescriber or from another person as a condition of providing a copy of a prescription under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) or verification of a prescription under subsection (a)(2);

(2) require payment in addition to, or as part of, the fee for an eye examination, fitting, and evaluation as a condition of providing a copy of a prescription under subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) or verification of a prescription under subsection (a)(2)

Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act (FCLCA - H.R. 3140) [Eyetopics] (Thanks to Hustler Moneyblog!)
(Photo: Ninjapoodles)

Here's a tip about pharmacies; we all have a minimum price that we charge for prescription drugs. It doesn't matter how cheap the drug is. The drug could cost less than a penny, and we would still charge that minimum fee. At my pharmacy, that fee is $10.99. At most pharmacies, the fee is comparable as well.

We do this for two reasons. One, it's illegal for an insurance company to charge you more than the store price for a prescription drug. Most insurance companies have a $10 copay for generics. So, when you get your 30 hydrocholorthiazide or atenolols, the insurance company can charge you $10.00, even though the actual price of the drug is closer to $2.00. This is because the pharmacy would charge you $10.99, so the insurance company gets away with charging you "less" that what we would charge you.

Secondly, it's done to recoup losses in other areas, like theft, loss, damages, and non-reimbursement. Our friendly way of passing the charges on to you.

So this has two implications. One, most of those $4.00 generics are drugs that actually cost less than $4.00 for a thirty day supply. Two, there's a crafty way to get around the price increase.

First things first: make sure your drug is actually cheap. If you're getting ANYTHING that's a brand name, it's not cheap. Most anti-depressants aren't cheap. A few that are: Generic Xanax, Ativan, and Valium (alprazolam, lorazepam, diazepam). Generic Vicodin. Lower strength lisinopril (and anything that ends with -pril, for the most part.) Hydrochlorothiazide. Levothyroxine. Atenolol.

Then, tell your doctor to write your prescription for 90 or 100 pills at a time, rather than 30. Then, tell your pharmacy that you don't want to file the drug on your insurance. We'll give you the cash price of the drug, and because you're getting so many, you probably won't end up paying the minimum charge. 120 hydrochlorothiazide costs 12.04. 30 costs 10.99, which translates out to a 10.00 copay on mosts insurances.

The best part is, there's nothing illegal about this. You're not committing fraud or being even the slightest bit immoral. You're just beating the system.

We're not sure about the details of these details—do the $5/month premiums pay for largely pointless "limited benefit" plans? What deductibles are being eliminated, exactly?— but it's a step in the right direction.

There are still some valid criticisms. Wal-Mart Watch points out that low wages and long waiting periods (before qualifying for insurance) mean that for a large group of employees, these plans are still unaccessible, and that the new plan is better seen as more of an upgrade for current insurance holders. Too, the cheapest plans have ridiculously high deductibles, which render them fairly useless for low-income families. But others note that it could drive other companies to improve their plans. One benefits consultant says the $4 generics are "game-changing for the industry."

"Health Plan Overhauled at Wal-Mart" [New York Times]

According to the FDA, most brand-name drugs receive patent protection for 20 years, though there is a large lead time between the submission of a patent and the sale of a drug. Most drug companies enjoy their patent protection for only seven years, at which point generic drug makers, who do not need to recoup the cost of development or marketing, step in and offer the same drug for a third of the price.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will mark up the proposal on Wednesday. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

Lawmakers Offer U.S. Plan for Generic Biotech Drugs [Bloomberg]
Write Your Senator
(Photo: e-magic)

Best Buy Drugs

One way to protect yourself is to see if the site caries a seal from Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites (pictured at right), a certification program overseen by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

Drugstore.com, for instance, is a VIPPS member and can offer savings up to 30%. A complete list of VIPPS site is supposed to be found here, but the page is giving a 507 error at the moment. — BEN POPKEN

Save Money on Prescription Drugs by Buying Online [Money via Free Money Finance]

Simply type your first and last name into the online form, and it creates a printable card usable at many major chains and independent pharmacies. There's a field for email address but you can type NONE if you don't want email updates.

Go here to see which drugs, and how much, you can save on.

At the bottom of the printable page are computer codes and instructions for using the card with various pharmacies.

We thought this was too good to be true but we checked around and it seems legit, despite how janky the page looks. The card is sponsored by the non-profit United Networks of America and has been covered in USAToday, Self, and other reputable publications. Can't see a catch yet, but let us know if you see one. — BEN POPKEN

Free Drug Card [Official Site] (Thanks to Jason!)

That's basically what United Health Care had CVS tell Kelly when she went to get a scrip filled. Kelly has taken the meds for three years. Her past two insurance companies covered the prescription without fail.

Now United Health Care has decided the drugs are too pricey, and, "...since a generic is not available, they've decided the best way to prevent paying too much for their clients' medication is to put limits on how many pills they'll pay for per client, per month," she writes.

Kelly needs to take 1.5 pills per day, 45 pills per month. United will only cover 30.

That's not the worst of it.

The pharmacist told her that if the pills are a medical necessity, as they are, she should have her doctor call the insurance company and explain the need for the medicine.

Kelly said to the CVS pill pusher, "An authentic written prescription from a medical doctor is not proof enough of medical necessity but a phone call with no real explanation will make giving me 15 more pills OK?"

The white coat affirmed this was correct. In addition, if United ultimately determines not to cover the 15 pills, the cost would be $50.

This practice seems pretty ridiculous and arbitrary on United Health Care's part but we have to ask, if you're going to switch providers, shouldn't you find out whether they cover the medicine you'll be needing?

Kelly's letter is inside.

Kelly writes:

According to Consumer Reports Drug Companies have several tactics for delaying the release of generic drugs into the marketplace.

Here are a few of them:

• Legal Hassles: The FDA allows any person or company to file a citizen petition challenging generic-drug approval. Drug companies exploit the system by filing frivolous complaints. These complaints delay the approval of the generic and the drug company remains the only game in town. Neener, Neener.

• Bribes: Brand-name drug companies bribe generic-drug companies to stay out of the market. Who wouldn't want to get paid to do nothing?

• The Walmart Technique: Drug companies repackaging their own products and going head-to-head with existing generic manufacturers, muscling them out of the market by reducing profit margins until there is really no point.

This is the sentence where we'd give you advice about what to do, but there really isn't anything. Ha-ha. Drug companies win again.

"Wal-Mart is not discounting generic drugs in general—it offered the $4 price on 291 of the several thousand generic drugs commonly available.

Further, even a casual look at Wal-Mart's initial list revealed just 124 different drugs (later increased to 143).

So where did the 291 come from? One needn't have looked past the letter "A" to see: 12 different variations of the common antibiotic amoxicillin. Many other common drugs appear in multiple dosages, including some already available at other stores for less than $4."

12 flavors of amoxicillin? Doesn't amoxicillin usually cost like 7.99, anyway?

Also, let us remind you of the fact that Kmart already has a $5 a month generic drug plan. Wow, a whole dollar cheaper? Walmart, what will you think of next?

"Kmart stood by its existing plan, which offers a 90-day supply of selected generic drugs for $15. Kmart said its plan covers more than 185 medications and is expanding.

The company said that, while Kmart shoppers will pay $1 more per month for generic prescriptions, they only have to go to the pharmacy once every three months and can save money in gasoline costs for each trip to the store."

Wal-Mart counters, "Whatever, bitch. $4." Target responds, "Yeah, what Wal-Mart said." Then Wal-mart and Target stole Kmart's Hostess Cake and ripped off the head of Kmart's favorite Han Solo action figure. They were not sorry.

The dancing smiley orb of cost savings and senior citizen labor exploitation shook up the pharmaceutical industry today with its announcement that that it would sell some generic drugs for as little as $4 for a month's supply. The test market is in the Tampa area, but will soon spread to the rest of Florida, and will cover the country like measles next year.

Sounds like a hardball first move in the prescription market. Hopefully other companies will follow suit, and we'll see some price breaks. Especially from those companies that will actually dispense the drugs your doctor prescribes.

Wal-Mart to cut prices for generic drugs [Yahoo! / AP]

Wherein We learn It Is Not CVS Constantly Rapping Upon Rob's Cellphone, Who Still Remains Not Stacy, But Rather A Scurrilous Online Apothecary Rooking The Hapless And Helpless, And So An Inquest On Rob's Part Ensues, Revealing Their Fell Identity And The Mewling Cries Of Victims In Their Wake...

"Hi guys

I thought I would give you an update on my calls from what I thought was CVS requesting Stacy.

They hadn't called me for over a week when I just received another call on my cell, again from the same people, (The number on my cell showed 703)asking for Stacy.

I responded "no im not Stacy, but can I ask who's calling please?" and this is where it gets interesting:
The caller was judging by the accent Indian, she told me that she was calling from RX Pharmacy and that I "use prescription drugs and they could sell them to me for cheap and make me very happy", she then wanted to know the name of the drugs that I use and she could quote me a price and have them shipped to me.

So obviously not CVS.

I requested some more information about the company but all she was willing to tell me is that the company is called RX Pharmacy, that they are based in Salt Lake City and are the largest pharmacy in the united states. After a bit more pushing she said that she would get me a supervisor who would get more information for me, but first I had to tell her what drugs I was needing and needed filled by them. So I pulled some random sounding drug name from the air, and she corrected me with Xanax, and asked how many I wanted, 50, 90 etc. I went with 90.

After a brief wait her supervisor came on the line, and a bit more prodding from me yielded their customer support number: 866-272-6256, but he would not give me an address nor their internet address, apparently I would get that after I made my order and received a "Shiny, Glossy magazine" with my order. It was at this point I told him this was a cell phone and not to bother calling me again.

So I then did a bit of research, and yielded the following:
http://www.rxlist.com/rxboard/vicodin.pl?noframes;read=83858 - complaining about the scam

http://whocalled.us/lookup/8662726256 - A lot of comments talking about the abusive number of calls these guys get, not only from this number but multiple others.

So it appears to be a scam, it also appears that I will get another call whether I like it or not, and im guessing these guys aren't based in the US so ive got no real recourse to stop the calls other than attempt to block each new number they call with.
Well thats my update!"

Previously: CVS Won't Accept You're Not Stacy

Manically, they think his name is Stacy. A slobbering mental patient at the other end will not accept his name is not Stacy. They keep on calling him, over and over and over again. Not only that, but they delight in calling his mobile, racking up his precious free minutes.

The CVS employee will not identify himself, or the specific store he works for. In infinite, creepy recursion, Robert awaits the next call, unsure of how he can possibly convince CVS that his gruff, masculine voice is that of a man, not a valley girl trick.

Robert's email, after the jump.

I have recently started receiving phone calls from CVS pharmacy, asking for someone called Stacy. Annoyingly these calls are coming to my cell phone. Each time the person calling is a bumbling idiot, barely able to put together a coherent sentence and completely able to grasp that:

1) Im not Stacy
2) Im male and therefore not Stacy
3) That they have the wrong number and therefore not Stacy
4) That they are calling a cell phone and racking up my cell phone minutes rather than Stacys
5) That despite me not being Stacy, calling back each and every day for the last week or so in the vane hope that Stacy will answer my cell phone is not going to happen

Ive tried asking them where they are calling from, telling them that they have the wrong number etc, but as soon as they figure out they hang up, only to call back the NEXT DAMN DAY.

I am currently awaiting the next call ala Groundhog Day.

I havent called corporate yet, but surely the staff should be intsructed on how to deal with wrong numbers, or does it fall to me to spend my time on fixing their mistakes?

She writes, "What I don't want is the blank stares, the curt answers, the reluctance to answer simple pharmaceutical questions about side effects and such, and I certainly don't want to be kept waiting as my prescription languishes on a shelf because two pharmacy staff members can't decide which brand of mayonnaise is better in a bowl of potato salad."

She just wants to walk in, get her scrip, pay for it and walk out. Is that so hard? Apparently, yes. Since sending the letter in January and receiving no reply, she now drives "many miles" out of her way to CVS.

Her letter, inside.

January 20, 2006

Walgreens
David Bernauer
200 Wilmot Road
Deerfield, IL 60015

Dear Mr. Bemauer:

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the customer service I have received at multiple Walgreens locations in both northern Minnesota and around the Twin Cities area. I have been getting my prescriptions filled exclusively at Walgreens for over ten years. At this point I'm not sure if the convenience of a nationwide pharmacy network is worth the problems that I've had, which I will now enlighten you with.

Without fail, Walgreens has some of the worst customer service on a regular basis that I've ever experienced. It doesn't seem to make any difference which store I visit, I'm always greeted with the same rudeness, ignorance, and unapologetic apathy from both pharmacy staff and the regular retail employees and managers. The retail employees' attitude I can understand. I've been there. I worked in retail for many years. I remember being an underpaid teenage retail worker and I have reached a point where I fully expect to be treated poorly from these people. The pharmacy staff, on the other hand, surprises me. For a bunch of diplomaed professionals, they sure are a cranky lot.

I don't know if they're underpaid, overworked, or if this attitude has trickled down from the corporate level. Frankly, I don't care. All I want to do is walk in, get my prescription refill (which I have already submitted via wallgreens.com), pay for it, and walk out. What I don't want is the blank stares, the curt answers, the reluctance to answer simple pharmaceutical questions about side effects and such, and I certainly don't want to be kept waiting as my prescription languishes on a shelf because two pharmacy staff members can't decide which brand of mayonnaise is better in a bowl of potato salad.

I can honestly say that to this day I have not once had a good customer experience at a Walgreens store. Why do I keep going? Laziness, I suppose. Perhaps it's a sort of self-flagellation. Maybe somehow I've been conditioned to accept this behavior over time.

Sincerely,
[PikaPikaChick]

C.C.: Jeff Rein, President and COO

—-

Note that this letter was sent in January. Haven't heard a peep out of anyone at Walgreens since then. I, like JPac, have been happily driving many miles out of my way to get to a CVS and their almost ludicrously good customer service."

Oh, but he has a voice, and he sent us a great little rant about Walgreen's pharmacies. The opening line is just killer:

So I and my parents go into Walgreen's for some prescriptions and overhear the pharmacists talking about how their customers are all B*tches, and how they wish the people would just die...

That's certainly the sort of attitude you want to see people parcelling out medication, isn't it? By comparison, JPac thinks the CVS employees are effusively delightful, the model of excellent service.

His email, after the jump:

So I and my parents go into Walgreen's for some prescriptions and overhear the pharmacists talking about how their customers are all B*tches, and how they wish the people would just die... Now you can still get your medication but they would rather see you die than provide you with something I like to call customer service. When I walk up to the counter to give them my prescription slip they are more than happy to take my slip, pretend they can read the writing on the slip and say okay, it will be ready in 30 minutes or whatever. so it makes it all that much more fun when you go back 30 minutes later and find out they still haven't found the time to fill my prescription let alone anyone else's who is standing in line... sure it could be that they just totally suck at estimating time, or from what I have been overhearing the pharmacists in the background cursing all of humanity, they just want a break, or have way too many prescriptions to fill, or way to few pharmacists. And the story is no better with their automated phone system, even if you give them a day, they would rather ignore the phone refill system entirely than give you your prescription than actually fill them for when you need them.

Now it could just be the only problem Walgreen's has is rude pharmacists, but its not. now if you try to find some employee in the store to help you find some items in the store.. you might as well buy a lottery ticket, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding an employee anywhere to help you, and you better avoid the pharmacists even if they aren't busy they will basically just tell you to go to Hades. Usually at the Walgreen's in my area there are only 3 employees you can see, the 2 pharmacists and the poor person massively overwhelmed at the cash register, all who would rather you go away than ask them for any sort of customer service.

However there is a completely different story when I head over to my local CVS pharmacy, I quite literally have never seen better customer service, its like an ACE hardware store, there are always employees wandering the Isles checking to see if you could use some help or even advice, something I never find in any Walgreen's that I have ever been. The pharmacists are incredibly nice too, they will make sure you have everything you could possibly need, and won't hesitate to help you with anything you need, even if its not prescription related. The people at the cash registers are friendly too and when they ask you if you were able to find everything you were looking for they mean it. If you tell them there was something you could not find, they will go out of their way to help you and see if that item/items are in the store or recommend places where you could find what you are looking for. I have switched all my prescriptions over to my local CVS Pharmacy, what they say about customer care in the commercials they have on TV is 100% true, they really do have superior customer service.

In conclusion I say
Walgreen's you suck!!!
CVS Pharmacy You Rule!

Thank you.
John aka JPAC

(Thanks for listening to my little rant consumerist, I just had to get this off my chest)

• On average, a patient is subject to one medication gaffe every day.
• 1.5 million Americans get sick, hurt or are killed by prescription errors.
• 25% of these are preventable.

The study advised hospitals to switching to electronically written prescriptions, use bar codes and develop integrated, compatible prescription systems between hospitals, doctors and pharmacies.

Furthermore, patients need to be proactive in learning about the drugs they're prescribed, why, and the recommended dosage.

You don't want your obituary to read, "Killed By Bad Handwriting."

"Medication Errors Injure More Than 1.5 million Yearly, Study Finds" [CNN]

Elizabeth Noah, a Palms Beach grammie, began to cry after reading the Drug Utilization Review (DUR) stapled to her bag of anxiety meds.

It said, "WATCH CONTROLS SHE SEEMS SHADY."

Erin Cutler, 30, mother of three, sued after seeing her Walgreens DUR labeled her a "bitch."

"The purpose of the notes field...is to help our patients by entering information related to customer service preferences or insurance," said Caroline Hively, a Walgreens spokesperson. "Personal or uncomplimentary comments about a patient is a totally inappropriate."

To date, Walgreens has not apologized to any of the patients, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

"This is the pharmacy that America trusts, that's their slogan. The trust is gone. It shrunk me down and took away some of the work I've put into [managing] my illness," said Cutler.

Previously: Walgreens Pharmacists Mock You Behind Your Back

"CrAzY!! She's really a psycho!!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by names..."

Janey Karp sued Walgreens over the above comments appearing on a patient information sheet attached to her latest bottle of Ambien.

"A person has the right to have whatever medications they're taking to be private," she said. "I'm so private that I never talk about my medications and now they're telling me that I'm psycho, crazy."

Walgreens apologized profusely and is actively investigating. The notes were first entered in September, 2004. Walgreens' new prescrption computer system links all 5,122 stores into a one network. Who knows how many have seen and read the deragatory comments...

Or how many other shoppers have slanderous remarks listed on their patient profile.

Woman Sues Walgreens over Insulting Prescription [Sun-Sentinel]