Pharmacy Jobsworth or Normal?

[bangheadhere40]

I would like opinions on this please as I've not had this in a pharmacy before.

I took time out of work today to go and pick up a prescription from the pharmacy for my husband. It was ordered online and had been signed by a doctor, all good.

When I went the lady in the pharmacy said she wasn't going to give it out as it is too early to order it again on repeat. I explained that the doctor had signed it off and she had the signed prescription ( she doesn't know my husbands medical needs). She said no she wasn't going to give me it for him and she is sending it back to the doctor and to try in a few days.

Is this normal? I always thought if the doctor had signed it then it's good to go!

I had this with tramadol, she says by law she couldn’t give it to me. She had to phone the doctor and rearrange another prescription.

I have this conversation with my local pharmacy. My tablets are 2 x 28 or 56 tablets. They are therefore not a 2 month supply. Consequently, I need to put in my repeat to cover the year. The pharmacist will occasionally say I put my request in early. He checks to make sure I have a 2 month repeat script and I always say no. I've got 56 days!

To me she was overstepping. I had this with boots pharmacy and I complained all the way to the top. The inconvenience alone is not ok. She should have rang them-
You could have had an early request in for holidays for all she knew.

To me she was overstepping. I had this with boots pharmacy and I complained all the way to the top

Can you indicate where and how she overstepped? Not sure what your complaint was exactly but I'm not surprised you had to take it to the 'top' - if it was anything like OP situation, it's not a valid complaint.

I collected my prescription and my daughters they handed over mine then carded me for my daughters because she had three temazapam tablets I laughed asked him why (I was showing him my id at the time so I wasn't being stroppy) he said it's because they were dangerous 🤷‍♀️

I still don't understand about a second pharmacist. If the OP had taken this prescription to a pharmacist where they didn't know her or her Dh from Adam, how could they possibly know when his next prescription was due ? Unless of course they rang the G.P , but why would they do that ? Do pharmacists now routinely ring G.P's to double - check prescriptions ?

When I worked in pharmacy a few years ago, that's exactly what we'd do. Only for controlled drugs though usually. If it was a patient who had never been to us before and we had no history of their medication then yes we'd ring the GP practice.

I think all pharmacies can access records can't they? I know my sister was visiting me (couple of hundred mile from home) it was a Sunday and she was in pain but spoke to pharmacy and was able to get pain killers but I remember them asking for her details and checking on patient database of some description..

I work in a surgery with a chemist joined in the same building. Have never come across this. And if they do have a query they will either call us or nip over and tell us there concerns. But they would no way withhold a prescription because they want to

For all they know your husband may be going on holiday and needed to order it early or he lost them. It's really not up to them to decide when you can have them once the doctor has signed it off

Well this pharmacy doesn't have the luxury of being in the same building as the surgery, that's probaby why you've never came across this scenario. As for "not up to them once the doctor has signed it off", that's absolutely not true. A pharmacist can hold onto a prescription if he has a query and not dispense it.

To me she was overstepping. I had this with boots pharmacy and I complained all the way to the top.

By overstepping do you mean doing her job properly and appropriately following guidelines, procedures, protocol and law?

bankittenheels, refusing a prescription that is one or two days early (days nit weeks) is just being a pain in the arse*

You can't just hand out controlled drugs early you know. Different if it's for a blood pressure medication or something but there is stringent rules and checks in place for CD medications. The pharmacist has to check this out with the doctor.

‘To me she was overstepping’

To me she was complying with the Misuse of Drugs act 1971 but do weigh in with your expertise if you disagree.

@JenniR29 😂

To me she was complying with the Misuse of Drugs act 1971 but do weigh in with your expertise if you disagree.

Snort.

I’m not a pharmacist nor am I related to one, so no skin in the game. I’ve noticed pharmacists being disparaged by some on MN and generally, the person has no idea what they’re talking about.

Your pharmacist knows drug interactions better than your doctor, your pharmacist probably knows common side effects better than your doctor, your pharmacist can give medical advice which saves you using an appointment for something minor, your pharmacist can give you the flu jab, your pharmacist can advise on things like minor skin infections and wounds and signpost you to the best place to receive care which saves you time. I have complex medical needs and my pharmacist has saved my skin a few times when overworked, stressed doctors have made errors. Pharmacists are not doctors but they play a very important role in front door healthcare. They are an underused resource.

Those darn experts, eh? Doing their job properly, following the law, tut tut.

There is a real lack of understanding of the role of the pharmacist, and of their expertise. Hopefully after reading this thread, people will understand it a little better.

@lisamac28 hence why I said if they have a query they will ask the gp. Same as the other chemists that we work with or aren't in the building. They will ring us. Like I said never come across it even the ones that aren't in the building.

How do they know that he's not going away on holiday and needs to take them with him? I've also noticed repeats on the back of the prescriptions from the chemist are different to when they are due on our system.

I totally get that pharmacists have a job to do, and I appreciate them keeping an eye on things, however you'd think a phone call to the GP would clarify things. Our pharmacy is difficult to get to, and we're not often across that way, so I'd be a bit annoyed if I had a totally wasted trip. The pharmacist there would phone the GP though. Our GPs are very hot on when to prescribe things and the online system doesn't allow us to order things until they're actually due. If we need something earlier, for going on holiday or whatever, a phonecall will usually suffice, however one Dr just suddenly decided not to sign my last repeat because I was due a review and didn't realise, and she's not budging. I usually get a letter before I'm due one but haven't had one this time, I only found out when I queried why my medication had been refused. In the past if I've ever been due a review and unable to get an appointment soon enough, they'd sign off that one to see me through to the appointment but she's downright refused this time.

The last time I phoned my GP I was on hold for 45 minutes before I got through, so I can understand why a pharmacy wouldn’t want to have to call my surgery. In any case, the pharmacist is an independent, qualified professional who is not employed by or accountable to the GP.

A pharmacist does know more about medication then doctors. It’s literally their job. Doctors can make mistakes which if not caught by pharmacy staff can kill somebody. If a patient is ordering repeat medication early it can indicate a lack of understanding about how much medication to take and when. Overdoses can cause long term and permanent health problems.

I had to chuckle at all of you saying the pharmacy should have rung the gp. If you can’t get through to them what makes you think we can??

If the pharmacist had concerns about the prescription why didn't they phone the GP to check rather a than refuse to dispense it and send the op back to the Dr?

I've no idea if it's generally the case, but when I worked (briefly) at a local pharmacy, we had a different telephone line to use for the GP surgery. It was only over the road anyway, and it was no big deal to pop across if we had queries.

How do they know that he's not going away on holiday and needs to take them with him? I've also noticed repeats on the back of the prescriptions from the chemist are different to when they are due on our system

That's the whole point of checking with the GP. He could have been going on holiday, they still have to check it's not an oversight. Any CD has to be stringently checked.

If you took it to Boots, say, instead how would they know when it was last prescribed?

Exactly. I can go to any pharmacy but I usually go to one. They have a list of all the prescriptions I've had on their system so they can see if I have requested something too early? I never knew that. Do I not have to agree somehow to them keeping all that information? Not saying I wouldn't, just wondering.

To the poster who mentioned using a ‘bit of common sense’ - unfortunately common sense is unlikely to make a very good defence at any fitness to practice hearing for a healthcare professional who has broken the rules. Annoying but that’s the way it is.

Maybe we should stop judging and second-guessing people whose jobs we have zero understanding of.

Op do you mind me asking if this was a script from his regular gp ordered online through the surgery itself, or an online doctor service and script posted out to you?