Talk about an invasion of privacy. Many pharmacies have taken a giant step into thew world of practicing medicine. They didn't do this all on their own. The DEA has pressured them into it. This is a scary step. The DEA and pharmacies, neither of which have gone to medical school, completed a residency program at a hospital or see patients and diagnose them have decided that the pharmacies should be double checking the doctors prescribing opioid pain medications. So what does this mean in plain English ? This means when you walk into your local drug store and hand over your script. The pharmacist may decide you really don't need this drug or he may refuse to fill your script because your doctor refuses to discuss your medical records with the pharmacist or it may take a couple of days to get it filled, not because they don't have it but because the pharmacist can't get a hold of your doctor. Talk about breaking HIPPA regulations.
This is scary stuff. Pharmacists demanding your diagnosis, prior treatments and medical necessity of the script. Hey I don't mind pharmacists speaking up when I get a script that will interact with another one I am taking, that is part of their job. That is what they have trained for. I sure don't want to end up in the ER because my scripts have a bad interaction. I balk at the pharmacist getting access to my medical records and deciding on his or her own that hey I don't need this drug. Maybe they have a bias against opioid pain medications, maybe it is a Religious objection to them. Whatever it is, it is not the pharmacists place to decide if you need it. That is why I just paid the doctor $300.00 for a 15 minute office visit. That is why my doctor put in all those long hard hours in med school.
This situation has arisen directly from the War on Drugs and the growing abuse of pain medications. The DEA is cracking down on doctors and pharmacists. There are many articles in the papers about this doctor or that doctor going to jail for over prescribing pain meds. Some doctors are growing afraid of writing scripts for pain meds. Take a look at this article in Health.com http://www.health.com/...
So now it is even harder to get scripts filled. Many people have complained about pharmacies telling them they are out of the drug and sending them down the road to another pharmacy. That may happen 2 or 3 times before you can get the script filled. Now it will be even worse. The DEA has set Pharmacies as the last gate keepers of prescription drug abuse. They have shut down pharmacies that filled to many scripts without verifying them as legitimate. I can understand that. Makes sense actually. If they think it is faked call the doctor's office and ask. Good for them, they stopped a couple of false scripts. This next step is not okay. I do not want my pharmacist going through my medical history and deciding I don't need this pain medication.
Jump down below the orange snow doodle for more on this.
I am not alone in saying enough is enough. The AMA is against it. This article in Fiercepracticemanagement has a pretty good look at the issue;
http://www.fiercepracticemanagement.com/...
As well as this one at FDA/Lawblog.com http://www.fdalawblog.net/...
This is really an invasion of our privacy. Do you really want to let your local drug store have your medical records ? I sure as heck don't. I don't want some pharmacist deciding I really don't need this script. How long did you go to med school ? Where did you do your residency ? Oh right you didn't go to med school. You went to pharmacists school. You learned about drugs and drug interactions. You don't know about the thousands of causes of chronic pain. You don't know jack about what I have had done and I really don't want to tell you. How in the hell can we trust our local drug store to follow HIPPA guidelines with our medical records when some of them have been nailed for dumping customer records from their pharmacy in the dumpster with complete prescription history, names and insurance information on it for anyone to see.
People with chronic pain have enough issues with trying to get treatment for their pain. The stigma of society that labels those of us on opiod pain medication as addicts. The doctors who are afraid of prescribing the needed medications and now having to have a pharmacist give their okay. What the hell is next ? Will we have to get permission from our neighbors ? How about permission from our employers if we are lucky enough to still be able to work ? What is the next hoop we will be required to go through ? We already have to piss in a cup every 30 to 60 days to satisfy either the local laws or our contracts with our pain clinic. We already have to suffer pill counts. We already have to suffer the shame society heaps upon us.
I am fed up. I understand that prescription drug abuse is bad. I also understand that it is a small segment of chronic pain patients who become addicted. I understand politicians and society want something to be done to fix this but STOP! Soon those of us in chronic pain will be unable to find any treatment. Soon all doctors will not write scripts and no pharmacies will fill them. These laws are not helping
Tue Mar 17, 2015 at 1:35 AM PT: For those of you who were wanting more info and a better link here is one about Walgreens and their "new" drug policy. Really informative.
http://www.wthr.com/...