Only On 2: Grammy-Nominated Star Outraged When 24-Hour CVS Refuses Her Rx ‘Because Of The Neighborhood’
CARSON (CBSLA.com) — An R&B celebrity says a 24-hour CVS pharmacist
refused to fill her prescription for painkillers in the middle of the night “because of the neighborhood.”
Kelly Price lives in Carson and is convinced the pharmacist meant the vicinity is unsafe because it’s in a low-income area. She saw what happened as an attack on the community.
“I was offended for the people of this neighborhood. I was offended for anybody who lives in a neighborhood that may not be considered the upper echelon where expensive homes are, or where six- and seven-figure earners live,” said the seven-time Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter.
It was 1 a.m. Tuesday and Price says she was trying to get painkillers for an upcoming dental procedure.
Price told CBS2’s Jennifer Kastner she located the store manager, and after 30 minutes of arguing, he convinced the pharmacist at the CVS on 150 Carson Street to fill her prescription.
CVS corporate apologized to Price on the phone late Wednesday and issued CBS2 a statement that read, in part: “It is not the store’s or the company’s policy to decline to fill certain prescriptions after midnight.”
Price says she shared her experience to make sure future customers aren’t treated the same way: “What if it were somebody that walked in and it was a life-or–death situation, and they were denied the ability to fill a prescription just because of the location of the store.”
CVS corporate says it’s trying to get a hold of the pharmacist who was on-duty to learn what may have transpired and to take any necessary correction action.
Filed under: General Problems
But when pharmacies get held up at 1am and the techs and managers are shot, no one talks about that.
I have to ask: Pharmacist Steve, whose side are you on? Protecting the pharmacies and staff or protecting the patient??
Your website is a mess of emotion driven crap which is only commented on by chronic pain patients wanting meds and lamenting about how he or she won’t be able to get meds.
Where are the pharmacists posts? Where are your colleagues agreeing with you? Where is your support?
You’ve driven them away. Sad. No self-respecting retail pharmacist even touches this site. Why?
Might as well change the website name to “Steve for opioids for everyone 24/7 no questions asked”.
I’ve read this blog for as many years as it’s been alive and I have to say, it’s sadly deteriorated into sensationalism and personal stories of hardship geared towards chronic pain patients getting meds.
What happened to you, Pharmacist Steve? Have you given up and now just need revenue from the ads?
I am sorry that you feel that way.. I often post about pharmacies getting robbed when staff get hurts… I recently posted that for the first quarter of 2015 Indiana is not only in first place for pharmacy robberies…BUT… based on population is 13 times more pharmacy robberies than second place California.. Indiana is again in FIRST PLACE 🙂
I am sorry that you feel that the safety of the Rx dept staff and pts receiving their needed medications are mutually exclusive… Those from the E-suite for corporate pharmacies have – IMO – made it quite plain that the health/safety of those in the Rx dept is of little concern to them.. At the rate that med errors are being reported and statements from Rx dept staff about staffing levels… they have a similar concern about the health/safety of their pts/customers..
As one person stated… Rx dept staff are like rubber bands… you just keep stretching them until they break.. and you just replace them…
IMO… the DEA’s interpretation of “corresponding responsible”… 40+ yrs after the law was passed… is forcing Pharmacists to exceed their scope of practice.. causing many pharmacists to provide a second diagnostic opinion of the pt’s medical condition and therapeutic needs… yet I don’t see any Pharmacists/ Pharmacy Associations/BOP taking a stand against this.
I don’t see the BOP’s taking a stand against pharmacy permit holders interfering with a Pharmacist’s professional discretion with corporation policies such as WAG’S GFP.. maybe that is because the BOP’s are stacked with non-practicing Pharmacists employed by the corporate permit holders.
Bloggers like JP http://www.jimplagakis.com/ and Drug Monkey http://www.drugmonkey.blogspot.com/
have railed against the corporate system for nearly a DECADE.. even when there was a shortage of Pharmacists and at a time when changes could have been made.. but what did Pharmacists do… picked up extra shifts.. pocketed the extra dollars… took the sign on bonuses and above average pay increases.. and dealt with the deteriorating working conditions.
You ask …what happened to me… I got tired of listening to all the whining .. bitching.. moaning… everyone wants change.. but.. no one wants their “finger prints” on change.. From my perspective… more would rather STAND BACK… than .. STAND UP ….
As far as my ad revenue.. in the three years that I have been blogging… my total revenue is just over $100.. I have been so overwhelmed with that windfall that I can’t decide just what to do with it.
I welcome any/all Pharmacists out there that wishes to put a guest post on my blog… to sent it to me.. I will even it post it anonymously .. since most all Pharmacists like to “hide in the shadow” when posting on the web…
When I started my blog three years ago.. I had enough Chutzpah to put my name out there with my opinion.. I can only think of less than a handful of active Pharmacists blogger who have done that… what good is a conviction… if you feel you have the need to post it anonymously?
Hmmm just my Two Cents y wait for midnight to fall
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i heard the same here in lakeland fl
It’s funny that a 24 hour CVS in Harrisburg PA blames company policy on not filling controls after 10pm.