It is PUT UP or SHUT UP time for the FL BOP… document.. document… document

stevemailboxThanks for the new law in Florida I called the Fl complaint dept from that site and they suggest I should send in the complaint form with all the documentation and letter because of the new law that was passed they should follow these guild line and not just refuse cause they don’t feel comfortable if this happens to a legit patient they should lodge a complaint but most people don’t do it they just move on to the next pharmacy even tho they where denied illegally according to the guide lines now on when filling a script if i am found to be in the right a few things could happen to pharmacist whom denied me . But even if i send back to prime I still can be denied script filling so I can see why people don’t bother but I feel if i don’t do it it will never get resolved or never will these pharmacist follow the guide lines 100%. I will keep you posted on my journey Thanks so much.

This is a follow up email from a FLORIDA pt who has Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medicare Advantage program and was using Prime Therapeutics mail order pharmacy for her C-II’s.  BTW… Prime Therapeutics appears to be owned by a dozen or so Blue Cross program across the country.  The practitioner that this pt normally sees in a rather large pain clinic was out of the office and one of the partners wrote her three Rxs for her… two C-II’s and a NSAID.  And she mailed them off to Prime as she had done in the past for some time.. She received her Rxs back.. because Prime determined that this one practitioner in this large practice DOES NOT ACCEPT ANY INSURANCE.. only CASH… so they decided that the practitioner was not a “legit practice” and informed this pt that Prime has placed the ENTIRE PRACTICE on their “bad doctor list”.  Well … since this pt lives in FL and the Prime functions out of (maybe) Texas… apparently the RPH on their staff that qualifies them to mail Rxs into FL has not kept up on the new FL practice act law.. about looking for a reason to fill a control Rx and not start looking for a reason not to fill a Rx.

Apparently the FL BOP is taking their new law seriously and perhaps even consider enforcing it..  So all you folks in FLORIDA… get out your smart phones and record all your interactions with the Rx dept and if they turn you away with your legit/on time/medically necessary Rx..  Here is the FL BOP compliant form http://www.floridahealth.gov/licensing-and-regulation/enforcement/index.html.

The more document complaints that the FL BOP gets… the less likely they are to dismiss complaints…  If you file a complaint and they “blow smoke up your lower posterior orifice “… I am sure that investigative reporter Matt Grant at www.wesh.com would be interested in hearing about it.. AS WOULD I.

2 Responses

  1. This was a reply to a customer complaint on walgreens page…she just had knee replacement and was disharged with post op scripts for an antibiotic and pain meds. the pharmacist refused to fill or even verify if they were legit before saying no…she was upset because they treated her like a drug addict…and would not help her beyond saying, I am not going to fill it

    Hello, Lisa. I am sorry about your frustrations with this. Each pharmacist has a corresponding responsibility for decisions that impact patients’ health. As a result, each pharmacist has the obligation and discretion to exercise his or her professional judgment in dispensing medication. Walgreens stands behind the judgment of its healthcare practitioners anytime they feel it is inappropriate to fill a prescription. Walgreens will not and cannot require a pharmacist to compromise his or her discretion. Our pharmacists go by the Good Faith Dispensing Policy which states: If, based on a clinical review and the professional judgment of the pharmacist, the prescription does not meet the requirements put in place for dispensing the medication; the pharmacist has the right to not complete the fill. The pharmacist may also delay a fill to provide time for verification and research of the prescription.

    • Jen… the DEA only has the authority to be concerned about the wrong dose getting into the wrong hand.. CORRESPONDING RESPONSIBILITY is a two way street… Pharmacist also has the obligation to make sure that the right dose gets into the right hand… the FL BOP.. has set a new standard/regulation that pharmacist are not to start looking for reason to NOT FILL A RX.. but look for a reason to fill a RX. They are now requiring that Pharmacist licensed in FL obtain 2 hr CE every 2 yrs in trying to educate them that not every PERCEIVED RED FLAG is in fact a red flag. Human psychology strongly suggest that when a person starts looking for something – like a reason not to fill a Rx – they will find a reason not to fill it. IMO.. Walgreen’s policy seems to dictate the what the Pharmacist’s professional discretion is to be.. it would seem like the permit holder is attempting to practice pharmacy without a license. I suspect that when a Pharmacist denies a opiate dependent chronic pain pt their necessary medication and they are intentionally thrown into cold turkey withdrawal and suffers a hypertensive crisis, stoke and dies.. that Walgreen’s and other corporate pharmacy employers will continue stand behind the Pharmacist – WAY BEHIND THE PHARMACIST that it was the Pharmacist’s decision to deny care and that their corporate policies (good faith policy) are just GUIDELINES… Here is recent DRUG TOPICS article written by Pharmacist/Attorney http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drug-topics/news/can-pharmacists-be-sued-doing-their-jobs Can pharmacists be sued for doing their jobs? and his closing advice is that all Pharmacists should have their own individual professional liability insurance. I suspect that if there was stats done.. that nearly 100% of the Rxs that are given back to pts and refused to be filled by a Pharmacist because “they are not comfortable ” involve controlled meds. Since most of the pts taking controlled meds are dealing with subjective diseases ( pain, anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, mental health) are covered by the Americans with Disability Act and Pharmacist may want to review this http://www.hivplusmag.com/stigma/2014/02/06/feds-order-rite-aid-pay-fines-after-refusing-give-flu-shot-hiv-positive-customer where Rite Aid was fined 15 K for a Pharmacist refusing to give a HIV + pt a flu shot which is discrimination/civil rights violation under the ADA.. and if a Pharmacist based their decision on opinions, biases, phobia, feelings, corporate policies, factoids… the ADA investigator will be looking for FACTS as to if the denial of care is actual a civil rights/discrimination under the ADA laws and invoke fines if found to be necessary.

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