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CVS Prescription Errors |
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7,000 deaths annually in the United States from incorrect prescriptions and pharmacy regulators say the problem is getting worse as the number of prescriptions increases and the number of pharmacists decreases. But surely a big company like CVS has a way to reduce the number of errors to nearly zero? We'd like to think so but the accounts we hear aren't very encouraging. In addition to the general mishaps below, we have a growing collection of consumer complaints about potentially serious errors including wrong counts, wrong dosage, the wrong drug and mistaken identity. The service pharmacy patients and their caregivers receive also leaves a lot to be desired. Brandon of lilesville, NC June 25, 2009 After a doctor visit with my 4 year old daughter, we dropped off a prescription for an oral antibiotic and ear drops. This was at 1pm. (This oral antibiotic is very important because my daughter is scheduled for outpatient surgery in a week following a round of antibiotics.) When we returned at 4pm to pick up the prescription, the pharmacy only gave me the ear drops and had no clue that I had 2 medications to pick up. After minutes of searching, they finally found my prescription only to tell me that they couldn't fill it due to the insurance. They preceeded to tell me that they had already contacted the doctor to see if he wanted to call in something else, but got no response from my doctor. Furious, I left CVS and rushed home to call the doctors office to learn that they had never been contacted by CVS, and has never had a problem with an insurance company refusing to cover this very common antibiotic. Thirty minutes after my conversation with the doctors office, CVS pharmacy called my home to inform me that my original prescription had been filled and they apoligized for having me make 2 trips to town. Now, if this isn't enough to make you want to cuss, just three days prior to this, I went in to pick up another brand of ear drops, and discovered the pharmacy had given me eye drops instead. I'm so glad I caught the mistake, and had them correct it. I do believe I am finished with this pharmacy. Sara of Colorado Springs, CO June 1, 2009 When I signed up for CVS pharmacy, I put in ALL CAPS at the bottom (under the additional comments section) that I COULD NOT HAVE GENERICS - - FILL BRAND NAME ONLY. I am on routine meds Glucophage and Synthroid and those 2 always need to be filled with the brand name since generics don't seem to work for me. I called my doc's office and told them that it would be a good idea to put DAW on the Rx they sent to CVS as an extra measure to be sure CVS filled it with the brand name. Nope. It still didn't work. I just ran out of Glucophage today and was hoping to get my CVS package tomorrow. Low and behold, when I checked on its status tonight, it's been filled with METFORMIN! (Generic Glucophage). So when it does come, it won't even be the right thing and then I get to play the return game with them. In the meantime, while I wait for them to actually fill it with the right thing, I get to pay FULL PRICE for enough Glucophage to hold me over when I go get it from Walgreen's because my insurance won't allow me to bill them again since CVS already billed them once for the meds. But, from what I've read so far about CVS, I should be glad that they at least filled it with a SIMILAR med to the one that I needed. Hooray that they didn't substitute my Glucohpage with Guaifenesin or something stupid like that. I fully expect to get a box of Sudafed instead of Synthroid when I order it! Having to pay full price for enough Glucophage XR 750mg to hold me over until they can get the order right (insurance/double-billing not allowed). Shawnna of Oak Ridge, TN June 4, 2009 My husband, who is epileptic, had been stable on his medications for nearly two years when CVS ignored his neurologists orders to dispense his medication as written and gave him a generic substitute. As a result, he had a seizure and damaged his nose so badly that it had to be corrected surgically and now experiences auras and absence seizures regularly. His license has been suspended because his seizures are no longer controlled, he is unable to work because he can't commute to his job, his doctor is worried about neurological damage, and he is severely depressed and had to be placed on medications that lower his seizure threshold even more in order to help his mental state. In addition to that, this pharmacy has labeled his prescriptions with other peoples names and filled scripts that were potentially harmful for him (ex., a cough syrup containing Vicodin for post-op pain in an amount that would have delivered nearly 8,000mgs of Tylenol per day). I have also had problems with this pharmacy filling the wrong amount of medication for my prescriptions and refusing to fill scripts because "(my) insurance won't cover it". I've called my insurance company and they have told me that the pharmacy is in error because the prescriptions have been submitted, the claim accepted, and then the claim "taken back" up to eight times a piece. I've had to pay full price and go without medications as a result of this. Today, however, was the final straw. I opened the bag with my daughters prescriptions in it and saw that each prescription had been filled two times. They willingly refunded the price of the extra prescriptions and told me that mistakes happen, and I informed them that a lot of mistakes had been made and I was sick of it. I have transferred all of our prescriptions elsewhere and will never deal with CVS again. MARVA of WINSTON SALEM, NC May 30, 2009 This makes the third time that this person has given me the wrong medicine and quantity prescribed. I callle in my prescriptions (4) and went to pick them up and received all but one. Instead they gave me a prescription that I had not ordered but theyhad filled without my consent. They also told me that it was the warfain that i asked for. I will be soon changing all my prescriptions to another store. This person is very arrogant and lies about the insurance companies and short me out of my medicine counts to keep me coming back. They gave me Crestor when I called in Warfarin. I resent this. when I got home and began to refill my pill containers realized they had forced me to pay for their mistake filled prescription that I did not want. Jenna of KILGORE, TX May 27, 2009 I have been using CVS Pharmacy for several years now. On too many occassions I have had problems - wrong dosage, wrong pills, wrong quantity, etc. The most recent was yesterday. I got home with my generic Mobic 7.5mg and opened the bottle. Inside were both round and elliptical shaped yellow pills. The round pills had 7.5 printed on them and the elliptical pills had a 15 on them. I have gotten in the habit of using the pill identifier websites to find out what pills I have been given by CVS (sad it comes to that). So in my new Rx, I have both 7.5 mg and 15 mg! On other occassions I have received totally different medications that they swear is the same - but according to the internet they are not. CVS is always getting medications from different manufacturers so it always looks different. I have learned to be on my toes. I have gotten in the habit of opening the packages to check the quantity before leaving the store. They (too often) give me 30 days worth but the sticker and Rx call for 90 days supply. Why pay for 90 days worth but only get 30?! I have hung in CVS as long as I can. It just isn't worth the pain & energy anymore. CATHERINE of RICHMOND, VA May 29, 2009 My 1st rx-(Ritalin)they failed to put my ste# on pkg, so USPS returned it to Caremark.They fedexed rx and it was damaged upon receipt.On 5/11, Bob said they will have a mailer sent to me to return damaged meds-then upon receipt they can send a replacement.I am out of my meds at this point.I didn't get their mailer until a week later and I send the meds back that same day.Today is 5/29/09 and I have not heard from them. Did their employees steal the meds when they were returned? Jo of Brewster, MA May 28, 2009 On 5/19/2009 I had a prescription filled for Vagifem 25 mcg vaginal tablets (Rx 512503). This was a new prescription, however, I have taken this product for several years under various prescriptions & refills. I happened to notice that the label read "take 1 tablet by mouth per vagina twice a week". These tablets are in an applicator that is inserted into the vagina. Previous instructions read "insert 1 vaginally twice a week". I immediately called the pharmacy and asked to speak to the manager. I explained the "error" and this is very serious with the number of older people that may use the same drug, or people refilling for the first time and also mentioned the number of foreign people in the area that may not understand and may possibly remove the tablet from the applicator and take by mouth as the incorrect label prescribes. The manager was very apologetic about the error. When I was filing the prescription paperwork in my medical folder I happened to think back to last December 30 when I had a prescription filled for Fluconazole l50 mg tablet (Rx 490041). The label read "take 1 tablet every day". I had taken this previously and was aware that it is a "one-time dose" and you do not take everyday. The written patient prescription information sheet indicated to "take this medication by mouth usually as a one-time only dose". Someone who had not previously used this drug would take the tablet for 10 days. At that time, I did not call the pharmacy to report the error, but will alert the manager on my next visit to the store. Something needs to be done to clean up these errors occuring at the CVS Pharmacies. Jacqueline of Dallas, TX May 24, 2009 On Sunday May 24th, I went to the CVS on 9390 Forest Lane, Dallas Tx 75243. I am a regular there, as my son is disabled and I have filled my prescription there for several years. Well, things have changed since the old pharmacist left earlier this year. This paticular pharmacist, by the name of Que --give or take the spelling, does not follow through on her work, and misfilled my son's prescription. She lies, to cover up her mistakes. Finally today, I had it with her. My son has a mood disorder, and cannot have generics. The doctors (he has two), faxed in at CVS request that he not be given generics, as it makes him mean--behaviorally. The doctors confirmed that the requests were faxed on my home phone. I went in to get the new medicines, and they attempted to give me the generics again. When I told her she needed to check the records, she briefly went to the computer, and said there were no records of the doctors sending in the fax--AND SHE ADDED THAT MY SON NEVER HAD THAT PRESCRIPTION FILLED THERE SINCE 2000. Well, I knew that was wrong, I didn't live in the area in 2000, and every Manager in that CVS knows my son and I by face! The old pharmacists and techs know us by face as well, we come every month because my son is disabled. So I told her she was lying. She insisted she was not lying, so I went home and got several bottles that were filled by that paticular CVS. She did not want to admit her mistake, and refused to listen. As we argued, she called 911, and lied again and told them that I threatened her. I called the store Manager, and demanded to know "how did I threaten her?' She would not answer (because she could not) and said I was being rude. I was in tears and I went to another CVS pharmacy--and lo and behold--I saw my old pharmacist. I told her the whole story! She knows me and my son, and she too, said that she knows I have never threatened anyone. Plus she said she was going to try to get to the bottom of this. Lisa of Pine Island, NY May 20, 2009 My 6 yr. old daughter was prescribed Singulair for asthma/allergies. She took the medication for 26 days. At the end of the months supply I called CVS to renew the prescription. An hour later my pediatrician called to tell me that the prescription had been filled incorrectly. The pharmacist had given my 6 yr. old 10mg as opposed to the childrens dose of 5mg. Another pharmacist picked up the mistake when he went to fill the order and called my pediatrician. My daughter had to go for a Liver Function Test which thankfully came back negative. CVS was very apologetic about the mistake but I have changed pharmacies and have no plans of ever using CVS again. Barbara of Washington , DC May 14, 2009 On 4/24/09 I submitted a prescription for amoxicillin 500 mg po qid and the label on the bottle read take one pill 2 times a day for 14 days. On 5/13/09 I submitted a prescription for amoxicillin 500 mg po q8h and the label reads Take one capsule every six hours until finished. Advertisement
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