Is It 'Illegal' for Pharmacist to do Partial Fill on C-II Meds?
I wondered if anyone knows whether or not it is actually "illegal" for a pharmacist to do a partial fill on a Shedule II medication in California. I'm currently dealing with this issue, and I figured others here might be dealing with it as well.
I used to live approximately 35 miles away from my current home. In my former area, there were lots of pharmacies to choose from. I used to go to a good independent pharmacy (something that my current area lacks).
At the indy pharmacy, the pharmacist had no problem whatsoever doing partial fills on C-II meds, so it can't be "illegal". I do know that there is some sort of restriction regarding partial fills. Maybe it is up to the individual pharmacist's discretion?
In my current area, I am forced to deal with a large chain pharmacy. I dropped off my script for Dilaudid 3 days early, on a Tuesday. (In retrospect, I should have had them check their stock, but I can't always drop off my scripts early).
My fill date is always on a Friday, so maybe the pharmacist didn't even check the stock until Friday. Anyway, I am a LONG-TIME customer and they keep promising me that they will have ALL of my meds in stock on my fill date. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. When they don't have my meds, I routinely have to wait at least 10 DAYS before they can get in the order! I have no idea WHY it takes so long, but it's enough to drive a person in pain crazy.
So when I came in on Friday to pick up my Dilaudid and other meds, I was told by the pharm tech that they didn't have the "full quantity" of Dilaudid and that it would be "illegal" for the pharmacist to do a partial fill. They were ONLY 12 Dilaudid suppositories short---they had almost my entire quantity of Dilaudid. I told the tech that the pharmacist had done a partial-fill in the past when they were short. I pretty much begged them to PLEASE fill my meds so that I wouldn't be in excruciating pain for the next 11 DAYS or however long it takes to get the remainder of Dilaudid.
Maybe I'm lucky that the Pharmacist in Charge was on duty, because she went ahead and did the partial-fill. So it all worked out THIS MONTH, but if she hadn't done the partial fill I would be out of my mind with pain right now for God only knows how long.
I do recall a few times in the past when they didn't have the FULL quantity of Dilaudid and another pharmacist was on duty (NOT the PIC). The other pharmacist refused to do a partial fill and told me it was illegal to do so. I ended up SUFFERING for the 11 DAYS it took to order the meds.
Can anyone advise me what to do? I don't know the law pertaining to partial-fills on C-II meds, so I don't know what my rights are.
If the pharmacy could get my meds in a day or two, this wouldn't be a big issue. But the fact that I am sometimes kept WITHOUT my meds for nearly 2 WEEKS in NOT acceptable. (They do always have the Avinza, so I don't go into withdrawal. But the Dilaudid is my daily break-through med, and it is a CRUCIAL med for me).
I'm starting to think that I should call the pharmacy every single month and ask them to check their stock of Dilaudid (and perhaps my other meds, as well). I'm not even sure how far in advance to call, since the wait times for deliveries are ridiculous.
I will presumably be picking up the remainder of 12 Dilaudid sometime next week. By then, it will have been nearly 2 weeks since my meds were filled. If I only call ONE WEEK ahead of time to check their stock, it sounds like that is insufficient time for them to get the order in. But if I call a full 2 WEEKS ahead of time they might forget or give the meds to another customer.
I just feel really annoyed that the tech wanted to deny me my much-needed pain relief when they already had ALMOST the full quantity of Dilaudid in stock. There is NO sensitivity to the amount of pain that I'm in. I do keep a limited number of Dilaudid for "emergencies" but certainly not a full 10 DAYS to 2 WEEKS worth.
I'm grateful that the PIC went ahead and did the partial-fill, but I'm well aware that if another pharmacist had been on duty that day I would have been denied my meds and condemned to SUFFER for at least 10 days. (It has happened more than once before). Don't these pharmacists understand ANYTHING about chronic pain? Do they really think that CP'er can just go 10 DAYS without their meds? It sure would be nice to get a tiny bit of empathy. Or do the chain stores actually punish pharmacists for doing partial-fills on C-II meds?
I'm really confused here, and hoping that someone has info that can help. It looks like I'm stuck with this chain pharmacy, so I will do ANYTHING to insure that my meds are in stock on my fill date. I get about 6 different meds, so I don't know if it's fair to ask them to check if ALL of my meds are in stock ahead of time? Only 2 of these meds are C-II's, and the Dilaudid is the most important.
When I finally pick up the remainder, what should I say when I come in? I will ask to speak to the pharmacist, but they are always so busy. They just promise that it won't happen again, but it DOES keep happening intermittently. Should I just call every month before I fill my meds? If so, how far in advance should I call? Actually, ALL of my meds are pretty important, and I do NEED to be able to pick them up on my fill date.
I'm worried that if I call every month and ask the pharmacist to check their stock they'll think I'm harassing them needlessly or something. But I DO have the RIGHT to have ALL of my meds in stock on my fill date, correct?
I'm so confused about what I should do, and the cognitive confusion of constant excruciating migraine isn't making this any easier.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! I feel so sick; I really don't need to be going through this on top of everything else. I will do ANYTHING I need to do to ensure that my meds will be in stock on my fill date; I just need to know what to do. I will ask the pharmacist, but I've asked before and I am just told that "it won't happen again", even though it has happened several times before and keeps happening.
Again, I greatly appreciate ANY advice that anyone can give me to try to resolve this problem. Thanks.
Best Wishes,
Eva
I used to live approximately 35 miles away from my current home. In my former area, there were lots of pharmacies to choose from. I used to go to a good independent pharmacy (something that my current area lacks).
At the indy pharmacy, the pharmacist had no problem whatsoever doing partial fills on C-II meds, so it can't be "illegal". I do know that there is some sort of restriction regarding partial fills. Maybe it is up to the individual pharmacist's discretion?
In my current area, I am forced to deal with a large chain pharmacy. I dropped off my script for Dilaudid 3 days early, on a Tuesday. (In retrospect, I should have had them check their stock, but I can't always drop off my scripts early).
My fill date is always on a Friday, so maybe the pharmacist didn't even check the stock until Friday. Anyway, I am a LONG-TIME customer and they keep promising me that they will have ALL of my meds in stock on my fill date. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. When they don't have my meds, I routinely have to wait at least 10 DAYS before they can get in the order! I have no idea WHY it takes so long, but it's enough to drive a person in pain crazy.
So when I came in on Friday to pick up my Dilaudid and other meds, I was told by the pharm tech that they didn't have the "full quantity" of Dilaudid and that it would be "illegal" for the pharmacist to do a partial fill. They were ONLY 12 Dilaudid suppositories short---they had almost my entire quantity of Dilaudid. I told the tech that the pharmacist had done a partial-fill in the past when they were short. I pretty much begged them to PLEASE fill my meds so that I wouldn't be in excruciating pain for the next 11 DAYS or however long it takes to get the remainder of Dilaudid.
Maybe I'm lucky that the Pharmacist in Charge was on duty, because she went ahead and did the partial-fill. So it all worked out THIS MONTH, but if she hadn't done the partial fill I would be out of my mind with pain right now for God only knows how long.
I do recall a few times in the past when they didn't have the FULL quantity of Dilaudid and another pharmacist was on duty (NOT the PIC). The other pharmacist refused to do a partial fill and told me it was illegal to do so. I ended up SUFFERING for the 11 DAYS it took to order the meds.
Can anyone advise me what to do? I don't know the law pertaining to partial-fills on C-II meds, so I don't know what my rights are.
If the pharmacy could get my meds in a day or two, this wouldn't be a big issue. But the fact that I am sometimes kept WITHOUT my meds for nearly 2 WEEKS in NOT acceptable. (They do always have the Avinza, so I don't go into withdrawal. But the Dilaudid is my daily break-through med, and it is a CRUCIAL med for me).
I'm starting to think that I should call the pharmacy every single month and ask them to check their stock of Dilaudid (and perhaps my other meds, as well). I'm not even sure how far in advance to call, since the wait times for deliveries are ridiculous.
I will presumably be picking up the remainder of 12 Dilaudid sometime next week. By then, it will have been nearly 2 weeks since my meds were filled. If I only call ONE WEEK ahead of time to check their stock, it sounds like that is insufficient time for them to get the order in. But if I call a full 2 WEEKS ahead of time they might forget or give the meds to another customer.
I just feel really annoyed that the tech wanted to deny me my much-needed pain relief when they already had ALMOST the full quantity of Dilaudid in stock. There is NO sensitivity to the amount of pain that I'm in. I do keep a limited number of Dilaudid for "emergencies" but certainly not a full 10 DAYS to 2 WEEKS worth.
I'm grateful that the PIC went ahead and did the partial-fill, but I'm well aware that if another pharmacist had been on duty that day I would have been denied my meds and condemned to SUFFER for at least 10 days. (It has happened more than once before). Don't these pharmacists understand ANYTHING about chronic pain? Do they really think that CP'er can just go 10 DAYS without their meds? It sure would be nice to get a tiny bit of empathy. Or do the chain stores actually punish pharmacists for doing partial-fills on C-II meds?
I'm really confused here, and hoping that someone has info that can help. It looks like I'm stuck with this chain pharmacy, so I will do ANYTHING to insure that my meds are in stock on my fill date. I get about 6 different meds, so I don't know if it's fair to ask them to check if ALL of my meds are in stock ahead of time? Only 2 of these meds are C-II's, and the Dilaudid is the most important.
When I finally pick up the remainder, what should I say when I come in? I will ask to speak to the pharmacist, but they are always so busy. They just promise that it won't happen again, but it DOES keep happening intermittently. Should I just call every month before I fill my meds? If so, how far in advance should I call? Actually, ALL of my meds are pretty important, and I do NEED to be able to pick them up on my fill date.
I'm worried that if I call every month and ask the pharmacist to check their stock they'll think I'm harassing them needlessly or something. But I DO have the RIGHT to have ALL of my meds in stock on my fill date, correct?
I'm so confused about what I should do, and the cognitive confusion of constant excruciating migraine isn't making this any easier.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! I feel so sick; I really don't need to be going through this on top of everything else. I will do ANYTHING I need to do to ensure that my meds will be in stock on my fill date; I just need to know what to do. I will ask the pharmacist, but I've asked before and I am just told that "it won't happen again", even though it has happened several times before and keeps happening.
Again, I greatly appreciate ANY advice that anyone can give me to try to resolve this problem. Thanks.
Best Wishes,
Eva
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