I'm SO mad at my Doctor - he prescribed the wrong medicine !

Toomuchstuff

Toomuchstuff

Member
Location
Wisconsin
I hope you don't mind if I vent ..... I'm hoppin' mad !!!!! :mad: I went to see my doc on Thursday ........he faxed my usual prescriptions to Walmart . When I went to pick them up today ,I was sorting through the bottles when I got home and found a bottle of medicine in there that I haven't taken for 10 years (I don't need it anymore ). I don't know why he prescribed it - I'm assuming it was a mistake .......but it's a $120 mistake ! I ended up paying for it and I can't return it ,either.

I knew the whole bag of medicine would be expensive , so I didn't catch it . I called the pharmacy to make sure my doc prescribed it ( he did ). She asked if I talked to the pharmacist before I left - I did. The conversation went ..."These are all refills , ( rattled off all the generic names that I can't pronounce,much less remember what they are) do you have any questions ?" I said no ,assuming they are all my regular meds. Now I'm stuck . I'm mad at my doc most of all ... but kicking myself for not checking and paying for it.

I'm calling my doc first thing Monday morning , to see what he says. The little frantic voice in my head wants me scream at him --"It's your fault - you should pay this for me !!!" .... but the little voice of reason is whispering "It's hopeless .... you're stuck".:(

Thanks for letting me vent . Any thoughts would be appreciated !!!
 

Yea, once a prescription leaves the pharmacy, they can't(won't) take it back. I found that out the hard way myself. I had just picked up a month's supply of drugs for a treatment I was going through. Got a call from the Ophthalmology Dept., said I'd have to discontinue my treatment, as it was damaging my optic nerve. Couldn't take the drugs back, under Federal law, I couldn't even give away the drugs[donate] to patients that were financially strapped.

I hope your Dr. will make some effort to absorb the cost of the error. Good luck.
 
Toomuchstuff said:
I hope you don't mind if I vent ..... I'm hoppin' mad !!!!! :mad: I went to see my doc on Thursday ........he faxed my usual prescriptions to Walmart . When I went to pick them up today ,I was sorting through the bottles when I got home and found a bottle of medicine in there that I haven't taken for 10 years (I don't need it anymore ). I don't know why he prescribed it - I'm assuming it was a mistake .......but it's a $120 mistake ! I ended up paying for it and I can't return it ,either.

I knew the whole bag of medicine would be expensive , so I didn't catch it . I called the pharmacy to make sure my doc prescribed it ( he did ). She asked if I talked to the pharmacist before I left - I did. The conversation went ..."These are all refills , ( rattled off all the generic names that I can't pronounce,much less remember what they are) do you have any questions ?" I said no ,assuming they are all my regular meds. Now I'm stuck . I'm mad at my doc most of all ... but kicking myself for not checking and paying for it.

I'm calling my doc first thing Monday morning , to see what he says. The little frantic voice in my head wants me scream at him --"It's your fault - you should pay this for me !!!" .... but the little voice of reason is whispering "It's hopeless .... you're stuck".:(

Thanks for letting me vent . Any thoughts would be appreciated !!!
Click to expand...

Ack, computer crashed just as I was going to post a reply...

I think you should visit your Dr. asap- or at least call- and ask him how HE intends to resolve the cost.
You made a mistake by not checking the items, but HE made a more serious mistake.
You shouldn't be stuck with the cost- but it could've been worse, what if you'd actually taken the wrong medication? Doctors may be busy, but it's not an excuse for this type of error-
and yours is the third example I've heard of this mistake
 

Terrible situation. One time my hubby got his meds filled and one of them was a higher dosage. It was a dosage that the doctor prescribed him a few years earlier but then had lowered . The tablets looked almost the same. If he hadn't read the label he would have taken the higher amount. Luckily the tablets were scored and he was able to half the tablets so no money was lost. We did tell the pharmacist though.
 
My doctor insists that you bring all your medications with you with each visit bottles and all.

He checks them against his list to see which ones need renewals or changes.

It's apparent that medication is still on his list and he renewed it.

How it got that way I have no idea.
 
I'm so sorry this happened to you. People are inept. I guess it's just a "lesson learned" situation. :mad:
 
chic said:
I'm so sorry this happened to you. People are inept. I guess it's just a "lesson learned" situation. :mad:
Click to expand...

Agree... doesn't matter if it is your fast food order or filled 'scripts, mistakes sometimes happen. I'm a little surprised that $120 didn't catch their attention when they were paying for them but that obviously happens too.
 
Ah yes, I can relate to this. I've got 3 months worth of Xarelto blood thinner setting in my cupboard at home. $380 worth I can no longer take because my meds were changed. And, I cannot, by law, give them to some poor soul that needs them but can't afford them. :mad:
 
A couple of months ago, my doctor prescribed the wrong
medicine for me, on the same week the pharmacy issued
me with the wrong type of medicine.
They both corrected their mistakes with apologies.

Mike.
 
I have a big complaint about Walmart's pharmacy. Are others the same?
Last week I went to the doctor and she refilled two old prescriptions (by my choice) and also a new one. I had no problem with that, but at the Walmart pharmacy they sent me to consultation for final instructions.
I have a big problem with the way they handle that process.
They make it as confusing as possible ....they speak at fast speed.. don't really show you the bottle they are talking about .. then take the bags and staple them (about 10 times!!) together .. then take all the paperwork and staple those several times to each other. Then they hand them to you.
When I walk away from the pharmacy, there is no way to double check what I was just given without unstapling everything and sorting it out. Not that it matters at that point since it's been paid for, but it's maddening.
 
Thank you all for your thoughts . I used to carry a list of my meds around with me ....... the key words ---> used to . I thought I still had it ,guess not. I'm hoping the doc will absorb the cost of his mistake , I'm not holding my breath though. Once again ..Thank you everyone ! :)
 
I think you know that once the prescription leaves the pharmacist's sight, he can't take it back. So, it's either Walmart or your Doc. I suspect it's your Doc's assistant. If it's your Doc, I see no reason why he shouldn't reimburse you for his mistake.
It wouldn't hurt to mention that everybody in a Senior's Forum agrees that he should reimburse you. But you haven't yet mentioned his name.
 
In a fair world, you should be reimbursed by whoever made the initial mistake but the world is not always fair, is it? It's been my experience that the doctor writes the original prescription but a clerk/nurse/office assistant handles refill requests. Several years ago when my pharmacy called for a refill order, someone in my doctor's office gave the order for the strength that I had been using 5 yrs. previous instead of what was current. The pills looked similar and I made the mistake of not carefully reading the label. My health did suffer. Lesson learned. Good luck. Hope you get your money back.
 
I wish there were some sort of clearinghouses where we could donate our unused medications to people who needed them. We throw away so many, and many of them are prohibitively expensive. It would be complicated with drug regulations being what they are, and expiration dates, too, but one would think there would be a way.
 
UPDATE ---------- > I went to see my doc this morning with a bunch of paperwork in hand , proving he prescribed a medicine by mistake and I ended up paying for it. It was bizarre ... it was like talking to a wall. He just would not admit he made a mistake ! I could tell he was trying to rush me out , but finally gave in and very abruptly took the medicine and said I'll send you a check in 2 weeks.
............I am now in the market for a different doctor.
 

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