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Monday, May 10, 2010

I Don't Pay For That!

To keep life schlepping pills for the man interesting I will on occasion fill in at other locations during the day. It is like going to the zoo except we are the animals in the cage and the patrons are usually hostiles.

One day I worked at a busy store in a relatively sketchy north Miami neighborhood that I had covered a few overnights previously. I am not sure why people don't like working there. I rather enjoyed it. The rapid pace made the time fly and I actually had 2 techs to talk to so that I didn't have to talk to myself and look schizophrenic. I was also amused one night when I covered because a police car was in front of the store and had a flat but the officers didn't know how to change a tire so they had to call for someone to fix it. I took an extra few minutes to drink my Red Bull and giggle at the evening's entertainment. Poor little piggies...

I have never had a problem or been yelled at by a patient there until this glorious day when a lady pulled in the drive thru. You could see from the window that all 3 of us were busy helping patients inside and one tech told her on the drive thru phone that we would be with her in a moment. The lady starts honking her horn repeatedly then knocks on the window like a jackass. Before anyone has a chance to assist her she pulls away.

The smack-smack-smack of flip-flop shod feet trumpeted her majesty's arrival followed by a purse being slammed down on the counter and a jingle of keys. She then proceeded to chew us out for making her wait all of 2 minutes in the drive thru before she decided to come in the store. In the time it took her to park and walk in we could have assisted her at the drive thru.

I pull her prescriptions from the bin and let her majesty know that one of them was not covered for 360 pills of SOMA. She loudly rebuked and said "I don't pay for that!" She said she would come back at the beginning of the month when her Medicaid would pay for it. She then proceeded to pull the upper part of her dress down to show me her shoulder and how badly warped it was so that she really needed those pills. I had to bite my tongue not to laugh at her.

Her majesty was the poster child for someone who becomes an addict and it was even funnier that her addiction induced emaciated ass had been out on a date and her consort was another poster child for addiction. He even inquired into the next refill day for his 240 pills of Xanax even though he knew it was 2 weeks to soon. Such a charming pair. Ain't love grand?

8 comments:

McFury CPhT said...

Did Florida Medicaid cave and put Soma back on the list? Say it isn't so!

DenaliDriveThruPharmD said...

They entertained the possibility of removing carisopridol from the Alaska Medicaid formulary, but backed off because it's so damn cheap and not even a sch.V.

Big 'N Tasty RPH said...

It was generic but this incident was last summer before more recent formulary changes.

McFury CPhT said...

Yeah, I thought they changed it almost 2 years ago, leaving them with Robaxin as their only option. Because you know Florida Medicaid doesn't approve PAs ever.

Chris said...

How does one even get a valid prescription for 360 Soma and 240 Xanax? That's insane....

Pharmd Biker said...

many states have it as a C-V. i wish mine did. Funny how no matter where you are, the stories are all the same.

Texas Pharmacy Chica said...

Yep, here in TX, Soma is a C-IV. And C-V's are by Rx only.....

Love those pts who have Medicaid pay for atenolol, Zyprexa, glipizide and whatnot, but have money for phentermine and Tommy Hilfiger Shirts.....

Anonymous said...

I find these comments condescending and insensitive. I used to work in a pharmacy, so I know how annoying people can be about their scrips, but I am a 57 year old woman who takes Soma every day, and it's not because "someone made me an addict". I have degenerative disc and facet disease and my neck and back go into knots if I don't take the carisopradyl. That drug is a lifesaver for me. Everybody has an opinion about such things, but until you deal with crippling pain you shouldn't judge. I believe your job is to fill prescriptions that have been sent by a doctor.