To ask my pharmacist to use my actual title on my medicine

[Everythingisnumbersnow]

decided to edit this a bit for clarity - I'm a Ms, my pharmacist keeps writing Miss on the labels (as part of a wider pattern of annoying behaviour). Will I look mad if I say please call me Ms on my labels?

(The prescriptions all say Ms)

Wouldn't necessarily be opioids - there are strong non opioid painkillers used for pain relief for cancer patients and elsewhere.

Similarly, Methotrexate is used for cancer patients and also for painful conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (helps with inflammatory diseases)

France has removed the option to tick "Mademoiselle" from french official administrative forms, leaving only "Madame

Such a fuss about nothing.

Ive read back on the OPs comments and she has said the pharmacist does not agree with the prescription so I think it is an opioid or something that can be abused. Methotrexate requires routine bloods so I can't see you getting that from an online Dr

As long as I get the right medicine I don't care way I'm called

Probably my flu brain not explaining it correctly. My bad. Didn't mean it will be logged on your records.

The systems that pharmacies use to dispense prescriptions can essentially "pull" the patient personal details from the NHS spine.
It means that the records on the pharmacy computer system is accurate, not a duplication to another record on the system and also saves time instead of manually having to type the whole thing out.
It isn't disclosed/recorded/sent back to NHS GP.

Fair point - methotrexate just sprang to mind as it's so well known for that overlap. (I had a quick look online - and WTF, you can buy it online - ridiculous).

I was once given a very strong painkiller for dental pain - I forget its name - but when I looked it up, Insaw it was a painkiller typically used in a hospital setting for palliative care, particularly for cancer patients, and that it was helpful because, as a non opioid, it could reduce the amount of opioid painkillers taken by the patient. So it could be something like that with OP.

Anyhow, this is idle speculation on my part

If its something that 'doesn't matter' then why does it need to be used?

If they insist on using it on your medication, you should be able to insist on it being correct. Especially when in an environment where records need to be accurate.

If you had a cock and balls and wanted to be called Ms you could probably sue them for misgendering/ hate crime.

Well, pharmacists are not just there to pick medication off a shelf and hand it b out. They also have a professional and medico-legal responsibility to ensure that a drug is safe and at the correct dose. I am a dr- we aren’t infallible and the pharmacists are there as a “second line of defence’ if you like- to make sure dose correct/no concerning interactions with other medicines etc. Some medications can be given at different doses for different conditions, or need to have doses altered in certain situations, so knowing why you are taking it may be relevant to that process.

If a pharmacist dispenses a medication when they should have picked up an error, or should have picked up that it was unsafe, then they will also be held responsible- not just the prescribing Dr (though the majority of the “blame” would be carried by the prescriber). So, yes, they do have a right to ask you about medication agreed between you and your Dr and are within their rights (and duty) to refuse to dispense medication they deem unsafe- or medication where they do not have the information available to them to ensure that it is the case. They would be duty bound to then try and find that information out- e.g. contact the prescriber- but that would obviously delay the dispensing of the medication.

Medication prices are also very variable. It can depend on wholesale price and manufacturer- for instance, when a medication is in low supply wholesalers will often hike the prices up, or sometimes generic cannot be sourced which can lead to price being higher. It really is not straightforward and the pharmacist is probably not being underhand if they are charging different prices at different times.

In any case, yes ask them to change your name. I doubt they are doing it deliberately to annoy you, but if it is important to you, ask them to sort it. Do you care if they internally think you are being a bit dramatic or wasting their time as long as they make the change you ask and do it politely? Overall, it would seem that you might be better to find an alternative pharmacy to take your business to as you are unhappy with the service you have received.

You appear to be a bit confused. I'm not the OP, but to answer the part of your post which applies to me, the pharmacists I was referring to were just rude.

So far as your last point. I'm not the OP.

Get a grip! First world problems at their finest!

🙄

It's not the pharmacist's job to agree or disagree though. It's their job to dispense the medicine in accordance with the prescription. Any comments should be limited to checking the details are correct and making sure the patient knows how to take the medicine.

Married Ms here, I think most of us find the idea of being a Mrs pretty cringe on this day and age. Your comment sounds like you're in Jane Austen times.

Quite! Imagine all the extra admin load on the NHS everytime a woman wants to change her title to Mrs and change her surname to her married name, I just couldn't imagine getting so bothered by it! 🙄
Given that most people who go by Ms have done so since they first registered anywhere as an adult, I don't think we are the ones putting a load of extra admin work on the NHS by pointing out when it's been 'accidentally' put in as Miss or Mrs

And again - nobody cares what your opinion is. It is respect to not deliberately ignore someones preferred title. You can find it pretentious, idiotic or whatever you like - it's not your place to decide for anyone else.

I agree, however I wonder if she's really upset about her incorrect title which could be fixed with a click of a button or by the fact she feels judged

I would be upset/annoyed by both.

But as I said upthread, I wonder why she doesn't take her business elsewhere.

Either way, if she is going to carry on using this pharmacy she could just ask them to correct her title on the paperwork every time until they realise it's easier just to get it right. Yes, they'll judge her for it, but so what? Who cares about their opinions?

Can't say would bother me but you can ask..I'm meant to be Dr, most stuff defaults to miss

Just to clear up the comments about how a pharmacist doesn’t need to comment on what’s prescribed and their job is to “just” dispense it;
a pharmacist is well within their rights to refuse to release a prescription if they don’t deem it to be clinically appropriate. If the dose is different to the “standard” doses, it is completely fair to question this. Just like doctors, they are highly trained healthcare professionals who are experts in medicine.

Frustrating if you have to traipse around trying to find a pharmacy willing to dispense your prescription, but understandable (to me and thousands of others anyway).

I am very grateful that my pharmacist asked if I’d had a recent blood pressure check for my contraceptive pill, I hadn’t had one since it’d been prescribed (10 years ago!). She checked my blood pressure and it was so high that she refused to release the medication to me, I was at a very high risk of having a stroke.

In terms of private prescription costs, they are completely variable. If one supplier that charges £4.50 doesn’t have the medication in stock, they have to procure from a supplier that charges £50. It even varies from the same suppliers. Again, frustrating but unavoidable.

Anyway OP, you either politely ask them to change your title if it’s bothering you this much, or move pharmacies.

Yes, I do hope @Grammarnut has never pissed away NHS resources changing her own name and title at any point, and is critical of those who expect theirs to be amended on marriage also.

It's common sense to tell your Dr if you change your surname. OP is miffed because somewhere along the line Miss has been put instead of Ms. It doesn't matter. I don't get het up if someone mis-titles me. Anyway, as a second wave feminist I have always thought Ms (presumably said 'miz') was silly. Always went for Miss, myself.

Choosing to change one's surname in the first place imposes an administrative burden on any institutions you expect to alter your information. And presumably you realise that women changing their names with the NHS on marriage are likely to be changing their title as well.

So either make a value judgement about every choice relating to how people are addressed that requires the NHS to do 'unnecessary work', or none of them. No double standards.

I don't think it's that important. It's just a mistake by an overly busy pharmacist.