Dispensing 'Error' by Pharmacy

baifree · 21-10-2015 12:07pm #1

Hi. I have just bought drug suspension 17 times more in volume then it was prescribed(i.e. 200ml instead of prescribed 12ml). Had to pay in full as pharmacist explained that they don't do that kind of drug in the house so they had to order it from other company and it is out of pharmacist hands to control the volume of supplied suspension!

What a B.S.?

By logic, if you want to buy a cup of coffee in a restaurant, should they sell to you a whole starter/main/dessert meal is well, just because it is on menu board?
So why cant pharmacist dispense exact amount of drug you have been prescribed for?

Did anybody bought prescribed medications in altered volume by 'default'?

artanevilla · 21-10-2015 12:09pm

Try another pharmacist.

bucketybuck · 21-10-2015 12:13pm

Whats the alternative OP?

Do you suggest the the pharmacy pays their supplier for 200ml, then you pay them for 12ml and they keep the rest for themselves?

As a business decision that would be crazy on their part, they would be losing nearly 20 times as much money as they made from the customer! Why should they have to pay/lose money on your behalf?

21-10-2015 12:27pm

Your comparison with a coffee shop isn't comparing like with like.

If you ordered a coffee that they don't stock, that they ordered in for you specially, and couldn't sell the rest - yes I would expect to pay the full cost.

baifree · 21-10-2015 1:23pm

Just went to other Pharmacy and got the same story.

Comparison to coffee was not actual detailed comparison....the bigger picture here is you, as a customer, somehow obliged to pay more for volume you dont need , and in the matter of fact, that amount of suspense wasn't prescribed to you by a GP... its not quiet fare.

Ok, lets try to parallel it with other situation...
You ve stopped at the petrol station and need some petrol. Petrol is not produced in Ireland, as it is imported by thousands of gallons and distributed by trucks to petrol stations. Yet petrol station managing to distribute exact amount you need. they are not selling you a whole truck of it....Why cant pharmacy apply same business practice for dispensing drugs?

davo10 · 21-10-2015 1:26pm

Oral suspensions once opened cannot be "re-capped", 12ml is an unusually small quantity so I could not envisage a pharmacist paying a distributor for a 200ml bottle but only dispensing and charging you for 12ml.

davo10 · 21-10-2015 1:29pm

baifree wrote: »

Just went to other Pharmacy and got the same story.

Comparison to coffee was not actual detailed comparison....the bigger picture here is you, as a customer, somehow obliged to pay more for volume you dont need , and in the matter of fact, that amount of suspense wasn't prescribed to you by a GP... its not quiet fare.

Ok, lets try to parallel it with other situation...
You ve stopped at the petrol station and need some petrol. Petrol is not produced in Ireland, as it is imported by thousands of gallons and distributed by trucks to petrol stations. Yet petrol station managing to distribute exact amount you need. they are not selling you a whole truck of it....Why cant pharmacy apply same business practice for dispensing drugs?

Petrol stations can sell the rest of the petrol in their storage tanks, a pharmacy cannot sell the rest of the bottle. Would you order a steak and then tell the restaurant that you only want to pay for half of it because you didn't need to eat the other half?

angeldelight · 21-10-2015 1:32pm

baifree wrote: »

Just went to other Pharmacy and got the same story.

Comparison to coffee was not actual detailed comparison....the bigger picture here is you, as a customer, somehow obliged to pay more for volume you dont need , and in the matter of fact, that amount of suspense wasn't prescribed to you by a GP... its not quiet fare.

Ok, lets try to parallel it with other situation...
You ve stopped at the petrol station and need some petrol. Petrol is not produced in Ireland, as it is imported by thousands of gallons and distributed by trucks to petrol stations. Yet petrol station managing to distribute exact amount you need. they are not selling you a whole truck of it....Why cant pharmacy apply same business practice for dispensing drugs?

Because when you drive off in your car full of petrol someone else pulls up at the pump and purchases more of the petrol. Repeat ad nauseum. Pharmacies do this regularly eg with popular antibiotics they generally come in tubs of 100 or 500. Pharmacists decant the number you need into a smaller tub and that's all you pay for.

In this particular case you needed something specialised. The fact they had to order something in particularly for you as a special order means it is highly unlikely (understatement) that someone else is going to come in and require the same suspension. So what would happen is the pharmacy would be left with the balance of the suspension. This doesn't make business sense.

mickdw · 21-10-2015 1:33pm

baifree wrote: »

Just went to other Pharmacy and got the same story.

Comparison to coffee was not actual detailed comparison....the bigger picture here is you, as a customer, somehow obliged to pay more for volume you dont need , and in the matter of fact, that amount of suspense wasn't prescribed to you by a GP... its not quiet fare.

Ok, lets try to parallel it with other situation...
You ve stopped at the petrol station and need some petrol. Petrol is not produced in Ireland, as it is imported by thousands of gallons and distributed by trucks to petrol stations. Yet petrol station managing to distribute exact amount you need. they are not selling you a whole truck of it....Why cant pharmacy apply same business practice for dispensing drugs?

To use your own example, if you called to petrol station with your super car that required a very specific mix of fuel that had to be ordered in, if the Station agreed to get it for you but it only came in tanker fulls, you can be sure they would need payment for entire tanker from you.
Anyway, depending on costs involved, could you go to the doctor and see if they might prescribe something else.
The other point here is are the pharmacy actually fixing you the 200 ml? Is it safe to give a person 17 times the item prescribed.

uck51js9zml2yt · 21-10-2015 1:36pm

I'm not sure why you think it was an error on the pharmacists part or why you think that having bough something In for you he should be left with something he can't sell and loose money on.
As a second pharmacy has done the same thing, this really is a non event...sorry!

baifree · 21-10-2015 1:38pm

it is appear that the loophole in that case is occurring on Distributor-Pharmacy link.
Distributor can produce only 200ml min.
Pharmacy as a vendor can sell 200ml only.
And if a customer get prescribed for something less in volume, it is nobody business, and customer 'must' pay for extras even if customer dont need it, and system allow it.
That calls rip-off in general....

foggy_lad · 21-10-2015 1:40pm

Normally with liquid suspensions the pharmacist makes it up as requirred from a tub of powder which is mixed with distilled water and placed into a bottle for the customer, some medications come prepackaged in units of 200ml/100ml/50ml/ etc and the pharmacist has no choice but to sell those as a single unit even if a person only requires a smaller amount.

baifree · 21-10-2015 1:46pm

Pay 127 Euro for a 200ml bottle, use 12 ml only and dump the rest(188ml or 119-ish Euro) into bin.

who like that deal?

mickdw · 21-10-2015 1:54pm

baifree wrote: »

Pay 127 Euro for a 200ml bottle, use 12 ml only and dump the rest(188ml or 119-ish Euro) into bin.

who like that deal?

Thats not on at that kind of money to be fair. If it was 30 to 40 euro, you would have to say go with it but I wouldn't buy that for 127.

davo10 · 21-10-2015 1:54pm

baifree wrote: »

Pay 127 Euro for a 200ml bottle, use 12 ml only and dump the rest(188ml or 119-ish Euro) into bin.

who like that deal?

No one, but the fact that you only need 12ml of a 200ml does not qualify it as a rip off, maybe you should try to get sicker do that you get better value out of it. Besides which, they are charging you €127 for the 12ml, the other 188ml is free, bargain.

davo10 · 21-10-2015 1:55pm

mickdw wrote: »

Thats not on at that kind of money to be fair. If it was 30 to 40 euro, you would have to say go with it but I wouldn't buy that for 127.

Hey, you don't have to buy it if you don't want to, no one is forcing you to get better.

Michael D Not Higgins · 21-10-2015 1:55pm

baifree wrote: »

Pay 127 Euro for a 200ml bottle, use 12 ml only and dump the rest(188ml or 119-ish Euro) into bin.

who like that deal?

Did you bring this up with your doctor?

I can't be sure but it seems like the pharmacist did bring up the issue before ordering the suspension, correct? You could have tried getting the doctor to come up with an answer.

baifree · 21-10-2015 2:03pm

davo10 wrote: »

No one, but the fact that you only need 12ml of a 200ml does not qualify it as a rip off, maybe you should try to get sicker do that you get better value out of it. Besides which, they are charging you €127 for the 12ml, the other 188ml is free, bargain.

i would gladly use it later, but they don't even get time to get sicker here, as medication have to be disposed after 20 days..time controlled rip-off...it would be nice to have medication with long shelf life , so it can bring some assurances in future that you have a back up plan..and there is no chance of it

baifree · 21-10-2015 2:07pm

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Did you bring this up with your doctor?

I can't be sure but it seems like the pharmacist did bring up the issue before ordering the suspension, correct? You could have tried getting the doctor to come up with an answer.

I did ask the doctor...and the doctor said:-"ask pharmacist"...there is no follow up until you get yourself involved and start digging the hive

Michael D Not Higgins · 21-10-2015 2:15pm

baifree wrote: »

I did ask the doctor...and the doctor said:-"ask pharmacist"...there is no follow up until you get yourself involved and start digging the hive

So you said to your doctor, "the medicine isn't produced and sold in small enough quantities, I'd like a different prescription" and they said "ask the pharmacist"?

baifree · 21-10-2015 2:29pm

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

So you said to your doctor, "the medicine isn't produced and sold in small enough quantities, I'd like a different prescription" and they said "ask the pharmacist"?

firstly i had a suspicion of wrong dose i ve been prescribed to, as after 3 days there is no progress in consumption of medicine. That made me wonder do i get the right dose every day...so i went to doctor to clarify the issue...we went through it and it is appeared that level of dose prescribed is correct...Then, i asked why have i been supplied with much more volume of medication?..
(in some instances it would be silly to ask such a question:), but it was not the case...) ...
Doctor replied- "ask the pharmacist..."

Michael D Not Higgins · 21-10-2015 2:33pm

baifree wrote: »

firstly i had a suspicion of wrong dose i ve been prescribed to, as after 3 days there is no progress in consumption of medicine. That made me wonder do i get the right dose every day...so i went to doctor to clarify the issue...we went through it and it is appeared that level of dose prescribed is correct...Then, i asked why have i been supplied with much more volume of medication?..
(in some instances it would be silly to ask such a question:), but it was not the case...) ...
Doctor replied- "ask the pharmacist..."

OK, so you had already spent the money before you even brought it up with the doctor? They can't do anything for you then, you should have brought it up before.

At what point did the pharmacist tell you the cost was €127 for 200ml, before or after ordering? If before, then you should have questioned it and gone back to the doctor. If after, then the pharmacist was in the wrong.

mickdw · 21-10-2015 2:33pm

baifree wrote: »

firstly i had a suspicion of wrong dose i ve been prescribed to, as after 3 days there is no progress in consumption of medicine. That made me wonder do i get the right dose every day...so i went to doctor to clarify the issue...we went through it and it is appeared that level of dose prescribed is correct...Then, i asked why have i been supplied with much more volume of medication?..
(in some instances it would be silly to ask such a question:), but it was not the case...) ...
Doctor replied- "ask the pharmacist..."

Well it was too late then. I would have refused the 200ml bottle, then queried it with the doctor. He / She may have come up with a more cost effective cure.

baifree · 21-10-2015 2:50pm

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

OK, so you had already spent the money before you even brought it up with the doctor? They can't do anything for you then, you should have brought it up before.

At what point did the pharmacist tell you the cost was €127 for 200ml, before or after ordering? If before, then you should have questioned it and gone back to the doctor. If after, then the pharmacist was in the wrong.

Pharmacist told me-"this medication is expensive"...well, i was not going to spare on my good health, so i said:-"ok", assuming i get what i pay for( note here i have not been informed about volume they are selling me... )
As normal, you are not questioning or advising pharmacist how much they should do. You got prescription.You got to Pharmacist. You get medication and move on.

I suppose next time i will have to clarify dose/volume/price ratio before i live doctors cabinet, but is it not in their professional area to make everything clear to the pation who needs a treatment.. it is just poor care from medical staff .

bucketybuck · 21-10-2015 3:01pm

baifree wrote: »

Pay 127 Euro for a 200ml bottle, use 12 ml only and dump the rest(188ml or 119-ish Euro) into bin.

who like that deal?

I see you didn't bothering answering my question, I'll try again.

If the pharmacist has to pay over 100 euro to buy the 200 ml bottle, but you only want to pay 10 euro (prices estimated) how does that make any business sense for them whatsoever?

amdublin · 21-10-2015 3:05pm

What the heck was this medicine??? That comes in 200mls as standard (which costs over 100 euro) yet which you need only 12ml of???

Something smells fishy. Surely there was an alternative medicine to take?

mickdw · 21-10-2015 3:12pm

amdublin wrote: »

What the heck was this medicine??? That comes in 220mls as standard (which costs over 100 euro) yet which you need only 12ml of???

Something smells fishy. Surely there was an alternative medicine to take?

Yep you would imagine if small dosage is the common one, that suppliers would offer it in a reasonable quantity.
It would be pretty odd if for example they sold eye drops in 2L bottles and charged by volume.

baifree · 21-10-2015 3:18pm

bucketybuck wrote: »

I see you didn't bothering answering my question, I'll try again.

If the pharmacist has to pay over 100 euro to buy the 200 ml bottle, but you only want to pay 10 euro (prices estimated) how does that make any business sense for them whatsoever?

It doesn't.
As a merchandiser, pharmacy supplied me with good quality product,in good time.
The fact here is they could say-"hey, you are going to use small portion of medicine(12ml), but we can sell only that amount(200ml) , which you wont need. if you want we can contact doctor and find alternative medicine we can supply to you without you paying extras"..
Does it sound like simple courtesy to customer ...i think it does..

According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s website , if a consumer has a contract with a service supplier the consumer can expect that:

• The service is provided with proper care and attention

baifree · 21-10-2015 3:23pm

amdublin wrote: »

What the heck was this medicine??? That comes in 200mls as standard (which costs over 100 euro) yet which you need only 12ml of???

Something smells fishy. Surely there was an alternative medicine to take?

Medicine calls NITROFURANTOIN. Is there alternative?-most likely, but i am not a doctor or pharmacist to identify one.

bucketybuck · 21-10-2015 3:27pm

baifree wrote: »

It doesn't.
As a merchandiser, pharmacy supplied me with good quality product,in good time.

At least you have finally copped onto the business side of the transaction.

Now it seems your complaint is that they didn't second guess the doctor and advise that your prescription be changed. Will a pharmacist ever do that? Will the doctor even react kindly to that? Does that particular pharmacist and the doctor even know each other? Why don't you speak to the doctor yourself? What if the pharmacist already knows that there is no alternative to the prescription?

sonny.knowles · 21-10-2015 3:30pm

Failing to see the 'error' or the 'rip off'?

Dispensing 'Error' by Pharmacy

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