Approximately one year ago, I was leaving the Doctor’s office when I noticed I was leaving without my prescription.
I turned around and said, “Hey, where’s my prescriptions?”
The doctor said, “We’re using e-scripts now.”
I’m not going to lie, I was a little upset because in a way I’m a little old fashioned. I still like going to the mailbox, I prefer going to the bank, I like reading the newspaper, and I like having my prescription in my hand because I want to have the freedom to take it anywhere at anytime, but I never imagined the issues that did occur months down the road.
Two things happened that confirmed my initial reaction:
- The cost of my prescription was almost 3 x’s more expensive at the pharmacy I requested the electronic prescription be sent to than the pharmacy I was going to. When I told the pharmacist I wanted to go to a different pharmacy because of the cost they said I couldn’t because the e-script wasn’t transferable.
- If the doctor forgets to email your prescription, you have to wait until they remember.
Both of those things happened to me, and initially, I had to argue some sense back into the pharmacist, but the first problem did get settled. They did allow another pharmacy to call and transfer the e-script, but you could imagine my initial reaction.
It felt like checkmate, I was under total control.
That’s how it appeared, and that’s how it felt at first. The second problem also happened, and it was just a real inconvenience. You keep saying to yourself if only I had the prescription in my hand this wouldn’t be an issue, but now I have to wait.
If you go to a doctor’s office, and you spend good money to see the doctor and he or she gives you a prescription, there should be a smooth process in place for you to leave and get your medicine that’s easy and free of stress.
EXAMPLE: You leave the doctor’s office and go to the pharmacy to pick up your medicine, but the drug store says we don’t have any prescriptions under your name, nothing came in. You call the office you left two hours ago to find out what’s going on, and you discover everyone’s out to lunch, and before they left, they forgot to email your e-script. Now, you have to wait until they’re good and ready.
I was at my pharmacy recently, and I asked my beautiful pharmacist, “Are we ever going to go back to paper prescriptions?” She said she didn’t know.
What was wrong with paper prescriptions?
Nooz Buffet 