Cancelling Prescriptions....

[notime362]

I visited my new MH Doctor today, as I have moved from Florida to Alabama. As we were reviewing my Meds, she told me before she can re-issue them, I must cancel my old meds, so they won't be duplicated. Any ideas on how this is done? Must I call the West Palm VA to do this?

[danang_1969]

Is your new MH provider with the VA? If so, she can and should cancel any prescriptions that need canceling. This is not a patient's responsibility!

Reviewing a new patient's medications is not only a valid procedure, it is absolutely essential. If the new provider feels that your medications need to be changed, then she has an obligation to discuss this with you and justify her decisions about those medications.

Many MH medications require a gradual reduction in dosage NOT a cancellation.

Why we have to put up with this crap is beyond me. That we do put up with this crap is also hard to believe. Notice I said we. I am just as guilty as anyone else.

I just went two months without medication because some clerk somewhere decided the dosage was too high and cancelled the prescription completely. No notice to me and no notice to my primary care provider. I have had the same prescription for more than TEN YEARS! It just sucks!!!

These mistakes are made for the simple reason of the VA not communicating with the veteran. A practitioner call me just this week from my primary care center about a breathing medication that was changed by the VA sometime back. This happened when the VA pharmacy sent me a letter and said they were replacing th scrip. I called he pharmacy and said, "done been there once and I went down hill, leave me on what I'm on". She said you need to call your primary care. I said, " I did not get the letter from my primary care. I ended up calling primary care and they said, " you won't get it through the VA anymore". I said I will get it somewhere else then because I'm not changing. I have been getting it elsewhere for about 6 months. $209 dollars a pop before insurance, 39.00 after. Last time they changed it they almost done me in. They tried it once after that and the lady in pulmonary said that she had a large percentage of her patients up walking around on this new med. I said, " you only count the ones that are alive right, the reason your percentage is so good, you have killed the rest of them. Needless to say she did not take that well. This practitioner from the local primary care called me last week and was submitting a request to renew the my old scrip. She ask me who prescribed the med, I told her my civilian specialist. She was calling the specialist trying to get information to get my old meds reinstated. I was impressed with her professionalism and her care. I haven't heard back from the practitioner yet, but she probably won't last long at the VA, because she does care and communicates.

[Pete53]

Whenever a new script is written the VA Pharmacy cancels any duplicates. Its automatic and I don't think that a patient can cancel their prescription but I guess that they can not reorder it?

The VA Pharmacy is the most jacked up organization on the planet

[notime362]

Sorry for the delay. as the computer has been in the shop for two days. Anyways, THANKS for your help. She is my VA MH Physician. As she looked over my meds on the initial visit, I swore she said I would have to let them know to release me from my Florida Scripts, because they won't issue duplicates - if she re-wrote the scripts. I see her in 3 weeks, so I'll know more.

[william n]

If this helps...I just called Bay Pines VHAMC to cancel (2) prescripts. they sent me i no longer take.. The pharmacy said they would put a hold on them, but i needed to have them removed by my Primary Care Provider, for any permanance..Peace

[jc30655]

I had a major problem when they continued to MAIL me meds that I 1. did not order; 2. did not need as I had 2 fresh refills at home; 3. was not discussed with me. I called when I got the meds and talked to the patient advocate....was told I needed to talk to the prescribing doctor. This doctor was a resident and never came back, so I got my copay invoice, refused to pay it by writing a letter to the address on the back. Another month went by, and now there was a service fee, admin fee etc. I called the "busy" patient advocate again and he was to call me back. I wrote his supervisor a letter...no reply. I wrote the individual in charge of the accounts receivable and got the run around. I ended up calling the DIRECTORS OFFICE. Got a nice lady that said "this happens a lot". I decided to recored the telephone conversation. In Georgia, as long as one party concents to the recording (me) you can record a conversation without the consent of the other party. So now, I have an individual in the directors office admitting it happens a lot. She transferred my call to another no-customer service person, and then to a third. All the time I was told, "oh we dont do that, pharmacy will not take them back". I even talked to the dermatology department head (what an idiot). Then I got the lady that was in charge of accounts receivable. She was very understanding. She did a conference call, confirmed that the doctor was a resident and no longer attached to the VAMC and said that I would receive a revised bill being sent out the next day showing all costs were reversed. WHY cant this be done at a lower level. Are the uppper level people afraid to empower the employees lower on the ladder? Either way, I had about 4 hours to fix a $16.00 problem. I feel better though simply because I stood up for myself. Everyone needs to stand up too. I was prepared to call my congressman if that is what it took.

[Pete53]

Meds by mail suck

[danang_1969]

I had a major problem when they continued to MAIL me meds that I 1. did not order; 2. did not need as I had 2 fresh refills at home; 3. was not discussed with me. I called when I got the meds and talked to the patient advocate....was told I needed to talk to the prescribing doctor. This doctor was a resident and never came back, so I got my copay invoice, refused to pay it by writing a letter to the address on the back. Another month went by, and now there was a service fee, admin fee etc. I called the "busy" patient advocate again and he was to call me back. I wrote his supervisor a letter...no reply. I wrote the individual in charge of the accounts receivable and got the run around. I ended up calling the DIRECTORS OFFICE. Got a nice lady that said "this happens a lot". I decided to recored the telephone conversation. In Georgia, as long as one party concents to the recording (me) you can record a conversation without the consent of the other party. So now, I have an individual in the directors office admitting it happens a lot. She transferred my call to another no-customer service person, and then to a third. All the time I was told, "oh we dont do that, pharmacy will not take them back". I even talked to the dermatology department head (what an idiot). Then I got the lady that was in charge of accounts receivable. She was very understanding. She did a conference call, confirmed that the doctor was a resident and no longer attached to the VAMC and said that I would receive a revised bill being sent out the next day showing all costs were reversed. WHY cant this be done at a lower level. Are the uppper level people afraid to empower the employees lower on the ladder? Either way, I had about 4 hours to fix a $16.00 problem. I feel better though simply because I stood up for myself. Everyone needs to stand up too. I was prepared to call my congressman if that is what it took.

Most of the time the VA will get away with this sort of thing. Most vets are either not physical or mentally able to do what is neccesary or will not go through all those phone arguments arguments and letter writing a 16 dollars credit. They just go ahead and pay it and avoid the hassle. The VA knows this fact and even though you won yours, over all they win probably 80 percent of these type mistakes by default. Way to go.