Last Friday, we got a call from the Big Box pharmacy stating that mom had a prescription ready for pick up. It was not our regular pharmacy, but they called us, and it is not the first time one locale was out and they sent us to another one nearby where the med was available. The missus was going to be in the area on Sunday (yesterday), so she could pick it up and bring it home with her.
Now, since mom is getting into years and her speed is not the usual, I am the one overseeing her medical stuff, taking her to doctors and making sure she is taking her meds. All that means I know all her doctors and her medications and when I checked this latest batch of pills, I did not recognize either the medication (BP pills) nor the doctor. Something was not kosher here.
I located this doctor’s address and phone number and indeed, we have never been to it. I called the office just a few minutes ago and had a chat with the assistant indicating that my mother got a prescription from the doctor and she is not a patient. It went something like this.
Asst: “She is our patient.”
Me: “No she is not. Maybe you have somebody else with that name, but not my mom.”
Asst: “Of course she is. She was here last week.”
Me: “No she wasn’t. Is your patient 86 years old?
Asst: “Huh? 86?”
Me: “Yes. Is your patient born on (DOB given)?”
Asst: <keyboard sounds> “And her address?”
Me: <Give our address>
Asst: “And the phone number?”
Me: <recite phone number>
Asst: “No, it is not the same patient.”
Me: “I know. That is why I am calling and figure out what went wrong.”
Asst: <coping attitude> Well, it is not our fault. It is the pharmacy’s.
Me: “I don’t care. I will be going to the pharmacy to return the meds anyway. But you are forgetting something.”
Asst: <Attitude level increases> What?
Me: “You have a patient who did not get her prescription. You should be worried about her.”
Asst: “Oh!” <All 4 lumens of the lightbulb finally light up>
John Hopkins Medicine is suggesting after studies were made, that we are suffering a quarter of million deaths every year due to medical errors, just under Heart Diseases and Cancer and above respiratory illnesses. According to the FBI, in 2016 the murder/manslaughter total was 11,004. Basically Medical Personnel are killing Americans 22.7 times higher than criminals, but the Left and the Democrats demand that Gun Owners should be arrested, its property confiscated, sent to re-education camps or killed outright. And mind you, we had nothing to do with those killed by firearms, we were just minding our own regular business. Doctors, nurses and the rest are directly causing damage to their patients.
Maybe it is a political variation of a quote attributed to Stalin: A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.
Basically Medical Personnel are killing Americans 22.7 times higher than criminals, but the Left and the Democrats demand that Gun Owners should be arrested, its property confiscated, sent to re-education camps or killed outright.
The Left and Democrats are ALSO demanding that those same doctors and medical staff be granted the authority to invoke “red flag” laws, to ask questions and make recommendations about firearm safety and/or storage (regardless of actual expertise in firearm safety, usually none), and to store information about firearm ownership in the shared (via HIPPAA) electronic health records — to which the federal HHS department has access.
How many different ways can they f#%$ with you?
1) Please, don’t conflate doctors (with 6-12 years of post-graduate medical education) and nurses (with 2-8 years of college and grad school) with the front office help with a G.E.D.
2) Kudos for managing your mom’s meds and health care wisely and circumspectly.
3) The rule of thumb is, the more you argue with the patient/family, the more likely you’re wrong. It costs me nothing to listen to them, and double check things.
I took care of someone who managed not to die from a similar error gone far worse. It was a retail pharmacy error. They had quadrupled the dose and doubled the frequency of her heart medication, so she was basically getting a weeks’ worth of medication every day, and it had slowed her heart to around 30 beats/min. (Normal is 60-100). When her husband noted that out of the pillowcase of 47 pill bottles, only one med was new, our ED doc sent the bottle to our pharmacy, and they noted that the pills in the bottle were 4X stronger than what the label said they were supposed to be. And they’d changed from 1x/day to 2x a day. Oops.
Pay attention to your meds, and double-check everyone. Everyone.
Even professionals see multiple patients. You have just one: yourself.
Also, FWIW, WalMart, Target, and Costco pharmacies all have a list of frequently-prescribed common meds that are on their generic low-cost list.
Each company’s list is a little different, so check them all.
If any of your mom’s meds are covered by any of their programs, you could save huge.
A generic 30-day Rx can be had for $4, and a 90-day refill for $10.
It can be cheaper to buy the meds for cash than what your own co-pay is.
If anyone or their family member is on multiple meds, check all three places to see if any of them sell them under their low-cost program.
True for single-time pain or antibiotic Rxs, and also for regular full-time meds.
Anybody qualifies. All you need is the Rx they cover, and the cash.
Best Wishes.
And nice catch.
Aesop: Truth! (again). I second Aesop’s comment. Every time that a patient corrects me, or asks a question (except about Zithromax, or antibiotics for colds: THOSE corrections and questions are typically rife with non-understanding), and I stop to actually consider the correction or question, THE PATIENT has caught my sub-par performance. I speak as a prescriber x 12 years, and an ER RN for 30 before that.
And, another trick to consider: “Goodrx.com”. I saved myself 40 dollars on one of my meds using their coupon. Search for the meds your mom takes, on their search bar, and you have a selection of local pharmacies and what they charge with the Goodrx coupon. Very helpful!
Remember kids!- its about CONTROL
Yyyyyeah about all those years spent getting college degrees:
“Medical schools admissions committees are now told to overlook the test scores of black and Hispanic applicants….”