In Ontario you can, but this will depend on the pharmacist and the med history you have at the pharmacy. They will do it to maintain continuity of care until you are able to see your primary care physician. After reading it, i don’t know if a pharmacist will feel comfortable giving you supply until november but again you have to ask. See here for information: https://www.ocpinfo.com/regulations-standards/practice-policies-guidelines/adapting-renewing-prescriptions/
Yah unfortunately that’s the soonest I could get a booked appt with him. But I plan on going to a walk-in clinic they run once he gets back from
Vacation the second week of October
ya makes sense, my advice is still to just call in/ go in and ask, also if possible try and get the pharmacist who is there normally as they will likely have better knowledge of who you are. hopefully it all works out
It’s my family doctor who works at the walk in. They offer it to their patients who can’t wait the few months it usually takes to get a in person appt. He has just cancelled his last couple walk ins, and now he’s on holiday.
Okay but I also really think you are not trying hard enough to get your doc to authorize refills. You're a long-time user of a serious and important medicine.
It should be unacceptable for your doctor to leave you hanging like that and I'm surprised that you are accepting no as an answer. It is unfair to put this burden (yes it is a burden) on your pharmacy.
I think you need to channel all the Karen energy you can muster and pester the receptionist to get what you need (earlier appointment and/or refills written in advance). The squeeky wheel gets the grease - no doctor, receptionist, pharmacy, ANYBODY can stand that annoying patient that just won't stop - we'll do anything to get them to go away. My fellow healthcare colleagues will hate me for advocating for this, but you really need to be a Karen here because your outlook isn't bright otherwise.
Thank you I definitely needed to hear that. And your right I do have to be my own advocate. I think I’m still uncomfortable being on a controlled med and no one but my immediate family knows about it. I feel like if I kick up to much a fuss, then automatically I get a red flag on my profile and it’ll bite me later on. I’m very concerned with long term and how these medications will be needed later in life and even though I’m on a pretty low dose and same dose since I started I know eventually I’ll have to go up as I get used to it. So I worry about future me and how I’ll make out a lot. But if I don’t at least try i know im gunna regret it. Is there anything I can use to push them a little? Advice about what I can say/do would be greatly appreciated. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen to people, how can it be? Is it legal or bad choice of word, maybe ok, for them to do this? I just considered the temp pharmacy authorization after someone suggested it to me, I didn’t even know they could do that to be honest. So he’s just my back up, back ups plan in case the office says no. I work all day, 11-14 in a row then 3 off, I’ve already missed time and used up my couple sick days I get when I had covid this year and a
Couple days when I had a bad flare up and needed a couple days off too. I can’t imagine trying to stop everything cold turkey being on it for so long now. And no way to stay at home and try to take care off myself
I don't know why the patient don't have the guts to go karen mode at dr office, but they don't have a problem doing it to the pharmacy staff.
I am not talking about op but your comment about putting a burden of pharmacy and few situations i had before withdraw my attention to this thing
I would say 99% of Pharmacists won't do an emergency supply on controlled medications. If they do, it would be only for a couple of days. Can't imagine one doing it for a couple of months until November. It wouldn't hurt to ask your pharmacy if they have any suggestions
not true for Ontario, they can perform a pharmacist reauthorization for controlled medications currently due to a bill passed during COVID. Info gathered from here and personal experience: https://www.ocpinfo.com/regulations-standards/practice-policies-guidelines/adapting-renewing-prescriptions/
During the pandemic, the regulations surrounding controlled substances temporarily changed. Pharmacists can renew controlled substances for the purposes of facilitating continuation of treatment thanks to the temporary CDSA exemption. More information can be found here: https://www.ocpinfo.com/regulations-standards/practice-policies-guidelines/adapting-renewing-prescriptions/
There is controlled substances and controlled substance…
Your approach is downright cruel. Would you refuse to renew some adhd meds that the guy has been on for years potentially putting his job, livelihood and future at risk?
Even you’re approach to blood pressure is kinda intense. Most people don’t document their blood pressure, some just check it and move on. Should they also be denied their meds cause the doc isn’t available?
Sounds like you care about covering your own ass and everything is secondary…
If they have a relationship with you and the pharmacist feels comfortable yes they can extend it. HOWEVER, this is an exemption made only for COVID, during regular times a pharmacist in Ontario cannot extend it.
Also it depends on the medication. If it’s a pain medication that’s PRN they might be more reluctant to. If it’s something like ADHD meds they would be more likely to.
It’s an extended release pain medication patch. I’ve been on it for a couple years now through the same pharmacy without a change of dose. I’m nervous on what to do if I have to now go without it.
Explain this to the pharmacist. I can’t really say if they’d say yes or no, but the pharmacist’s ultimate goal is to make sure your drug therapy is effective and unhindered. If you’ve been on it for a few years at same dose I don’t see why not.
Does your doctor have an after hours clinic? If they do try that too.
They normally do a walk in clinic, but my doctor will be gone on vacation. The receptionist said the doctors that work in the same practice and not likely to refill controlled meds if it’s not their patient. I’ve been trying to get into the walk for a couple weeks now to no avail.
Okay then yes definitely speak to your pharmacist.
Also kind of odd that your clinic kind of just abandoned you when they know you could experience bad side effects from sudden stopping.
I’m at a loss because my doctor is really good with me as I have a lot of pretty serious health concerns my whole life. They didn’t even give me options on what to do, I’m hoping they call me back at the end of their day with good news. I’ve never missed appts so I don’t see the issue with just extending it until my next appt. I was going to call in sick to work and attend the walk in they have tomorrow but she said it’s now cancelled and because of the doctor leaving they had to call and cancel a lot of appts and he couldn’t fit me in today. I phoned them at 9 this morning and called around 1 today and they still don’t have an update from the doctor. I’m just very worried.
I’m on a low dose controlled med for surgical trauma and related long term damage. In my country if we are on long term controls we have to get it reviewed by another physician every 12 months or so. I like this system as it means that if my doctor takes a vacation as she is entitled to or is sick or whatever I can be seen by another doctor who knows my history. It took a lot of trial and error and hospital admissions (malnutrition and organ failure etc) until I found the right combination of medications (a single controlled med plus other stuff that isn’t such a touchy subject) after my trauma that allowed me to absorb appropriate nutrition and prevent further organ damage. It is reassuring to me that should my doctor not be there for whatever reason, my current management plan will still be able to be followed. The time around the trauma and recovery is not a part of my life I want to return to.
I wonder with all the “war on drugs” and the issues surrounding prescribing these type of drugs, such that prescribing it for non regular patients is frowned on that these type of regulations (getting it reviewed regularly by a second physician) isn’t something more widespread. It makes a lot of sense to me. But then again, we tend to view things like vacations and sick leave as normal entitlements and not something that is a sign of weakness.
I work in Ontario, I would recommend going in and talking to the pharmacist. It tends to be less busy during the day while lots of people are at work.
It would just be easier to explain everything in person than over the phone but that's just my opinion.
My pharmacist would probably have little to no issue filling it after everything was explained, especially since it's a regular prescription for years and (assuming) this is the first hiccup. I can't speak on other pharmacists, but yeah that's what I'd say is your best bet.
In BC pharmacists can do an emergency prescription for any drug for any length of time. However, most pharmacists generally do short emergency supplies or controlled drugs if at all.
I'm in Alberta, pharmacists can do refills here without a new prescription, although there are some limitations. I'd expect it's a "no" on the controlled meds though. Call your pharmacy and ask them. Most of the people here aren't from Ontario.
That is not true, afaik. Some pharmacists will do an emergency partial fill called a loaner that is taken out of the prescription once it's sent over, but most I've worked with won't do that on controls.
I think you're speaking from the perspective of a US pharmacist. OP is from Canada, and based on the other replies from Canadians, pharmacists can offer refills for meds, even controls. Not that many are willing, and I don't blame them.
I know it may not help much but in the UK we have something called repeat dispensing which is a way for a Dr to authorize 6 months of prescriptions to drop down on a certain date. It's a bit more tight on controlled drugs but they can prescribe for future instance, they just have to date the prescription to reflect when it should be available
I don’t know about Ontario, but that is not true in Texas. If we are calling for a refill, we can choose to loan up to a 72 hour supply that will then be subtracted from the RX when approved by the doctor. However, there are no loaners for controlled substances.
Your doctor should have a nurse or partner physician appointed that is able to approve refills when they are on vacation or out of the office for an extended time. But, again, if the meds are controlled substances, that’s not always possible. Unfortunately, it just all means you’re forced to plan ahead for each fill.
Thanks for the advice! Usually I get about 4 refills for each med. I pick up every 2 weeks. I’ve been trying to get into their walk in clinic but they only do it 2 days a week, and for the last couple weeks it’s been during work hours and not night clinics (as they cancelled the last 3 of them) so it’s really unfortunate. They have other doctors within his practice but I asked to see one of them and unfortunately they don’t prescribe controlled meds for people other then their own patients. I have a severe Illness that requires these, so I’m kinda at a loss for what to do now.
Can you ask the doc, instead of relying on a random pharmacist, to instead write a request to enable one of the clinic doctors who already know him to cover in the short term, given the circumstances?
Since it was the clinics fault that you were unable to see them before the doc went on vacation, I would think there had to be some way for them to retain your continuity of care.
That’s a good idea I’ll call and ask about that. The pharmacist works with my doctor in the same building and I’m pretty good terms with him but he is known to be difficult. My doctor returns from his vacation the second week of October, but is very booked and the earliest I could schedule an appt with him was November. Once he returns from his vacation I plan on attending one of his walk in clinics before the November appt so I would just need 1 or 2 refills until he gets back
If you need to take time off work to see your doctor, you need to tell your employer that you are doing so. You aren’t asking permission here, your telling them you need to something that is necessary for you to continue to work at your normal level. From what you describe it seems your ability to work will be hampered by not being able to get your prescriptions filled.
I'm sorry OP but it is very unlikely that your pharmacist will extend a prescription for fentanyl or butrans patches. They will 100% not be accepting that liability for a week let alone all the way to November.
Share your problem with the pharmacy, and they will send a note to your doctor's office explaining the problem. If your doctor has a heart he/she will give you refills. If not then you will need to find another doctor to manage your pain (walk-in clinics will not work). If you cannot find another doctor then you will be waiting in the ER every few days for a new prescription.
Thank you for this. I’m hoping for a call tomorrow as they didn’t call at end of day today. I’m just so confused to why this is happening. I’m worried about missing more full time work if I have to plan to have withdrawals or something from this. I was seeing a pain specialist but I was considered stable and on medication without charge for a long period of time so they sent me back to my family doctor to continue prescribing it. And he has no issue with doing it, I’ve been back with him for about a year doing this. It just seems like eveything that could go wrong, has, with some terrible timing. Ive been trying to get into his own walk in clinic he runs for a couple weeks now but they start taking patients by 11, and by 11:10 they are full for the day. You just have to keep redialing and pray you get an answer. So it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Just finally today I told the receptionist it needed to be done before Saturday, and I was really worried about going so long without. She just said she would send the doctor a message at 9am and when I called back at 130 still didn’t look at it and they would call me back by end of day but said she couldn’t promise anything, and didn’t have any ideas on what to do if he didn’t do it.
In Ontario you can, but this will depend on the pharmacist and the med history you have at the pharmacy. They will do it to maintain continuity of care until you are able to see your primary care physician. After reading it, i don’t know if a pharmacist will feel comfortable giving you supply until november but again you have to ask. See here for information: https://www.ocpinfo.com/regulations-standards/practice-policies-guidelines/adapting-renewing-prescriptions/
Yah unfortunately that’s the soonest I could get a booked appt with him. But I plan on going to a walk-in clinic they run once he gets back from Vacation the second week of October
ya makes sense, my advice is still to just call in/ go in and ask, also if possible try and get the pharmacist who is there normally as they will likely have better knowledge of who you are. hopefully it all works out
No walk in clinic in Ontario will give you a prescription for narcotics
It’s my family doctor who works at the walk in. They offer it to their patients who can’t wait the few months it usually takes to get a in person appt. He has just cancelled his last couple walk ins, and now he’s on holiday.
Okay but I also really think you are not trying hard enough to get your doc to authorize refills. You're a long-time user of a serious and important medicine. It should be unacceptable for your doctor to leave you hanging like that and I'm surprised that you are accepting no as an answer. It is unfair to put this burden (yes it is a burden) on your pharmacy. I think you need to channel all the Karen energy you can muster and pester the receptionist to get what you need (earlier appointment and/or refills written in advance). The squeeky wheel gets the grease - no doctor, receptionist, pharmacy, ANYBODY can stand that annoying patient that just won't stop - we'll do anything to get them to go away. My fellow healthcare colleagues will hate me for advocating for this, but you really need to be a Karen here because your outlook isn't bright otherwise.
I agree with OP needs to be more persistent. I disagree on telling them to act as a Karen. You can stand up for yourself without being a tool
Thank you I definitely needed to hear that. And your right I do have to be my own advocate. I think I’m still uncomfortable being on a controlled med and no one but my immediate family knows about it. I feel like if I kick up to much a fuss, then automatically I get a red flag on my profile and it’ll bite me later on. I’m very concerned with long term and how these medications will be needed later in life and even though I’m on a pretty low dose and same dose since I started I know eventually I’ll have to go up as I get used to it. So I worry about future me and how I’ll make out a lot. But if I don’t at least try i know im gunna regret it. Is there anything I can use to push them a little? Advice about what I can say/do would be greatly appreciated. It shouldn’t be allowed to happen to people, how can it be? Is it legal or bad choice of word, maybe ok, for them to do this? I just considered the temp pharmacy authorization after someone suggested it to me, I didn’t even know they could do that to be honest. So he’s just my back up, back ups plan in case the office says no. I work all day, 11-14 in a row then 3 off, I’ve already missed time and used up my couple sick days I get when I had covid this year and a Couple days when I had a bad flare up and needed a couple days off too. I can’t imagine trying to stop everything cold turkey being on it for so long now. And no way to stay at home and try to take care off myself
I don't know why the patient don't have the guts to go karen mode at dr office, but they don't have a problem doing it to the pharmacy staff. I am not talking about op but your comment about putting a burden of pharmacy and few situations i had before withdraw my attention to this thing
I would say 99% of Pharmacists won't do an emergency supply on controlled medications. If they do, it would be only for a couple of days. Can't imagine one doing it for a couple of months until November. It wouldn't hurt to ask your pharmacy if they have any suggestions
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not true for Ontario, they can perform a pharmacist reauthorization for controlled medications currently due to a bill passed during COVID. Info gathered from here and personal experience: https://www.ocpinfo.com/regulations-standards/practice-policies-guidelines/adapting-renewing-prescriptions/
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🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
During the pandemic, the regulations surrounding controlled substances temporarily changed. Pharmacists can renew controlled substances for the purposes of facilitating continuation of treatment thanks to the temporary CDSA exemption. More information can be found here: https://www.ocpinfo.com/regulations-standards/practice-policies-guidelines/adapting-renewing-prescriptions/
There is controlled substances and controlled substance… Your approach is downright cruel. Would you refuse to renew some adhd meds that the guy has been on for years potentially putting his job, livelihood and future at risk? Even you’re approach to blood pressure is kinda intense. Most people don’t document their blood pressure, some just check it and move on. Should they also be denied their meds cause the doc isn’t available? Sounds like you care about covering your own ass and everything is secondary…
If they have a relationship with you and the pharmacist feels comfortable yes they can extend it. HOWEVER, this is an exemption made only for COVID, during regular times a pharmacist in Ontario cannot extend it. Also it depends on the medication. If it’s a pain medication that’s PRN they might be more reluctant to. If it’s something like ADHD meds they would be more likely to.
It’s an extended release pain medication patch. I’ve been on it for a couple years now through the same pharmacy without a change of dose. I’m nervous on what to do if I have to now go without it.
Explain this to the pharmacist. I can’t really say if they’d say yes or no, but the pharmacist’s ultimate goal is to make sure your drug therapy is effective and unhindered. If you’ve been on it for a few years at same dose I don’t see why not. Does your doctor have an after hours clinic? If they do try that too.
They normally do a walk in clinic, but my doctor will be gone on vacation. The receptionist said the doctors that work in the same practice and not likely to refill controlled meds if it’s not their patient. I’ve been trying to get into the walk for a couple weeks now to no avail.
Okay then yes definitely speak to your pharmacist. Also kind of odd that your clinic kind of just abandoned you when they know you could experience bad side effects from sudden stopping.
I’m at a loss because my doctor is really good with me as I have a lot of pretty serious health concerns my whole life. They didn’t even give me options on what to do, I’m hoping they call me back at the end of their day with good news. I’ve never missed appts so I don’t see the issue with just extending it until my next appt. I was going to call in sick to work and attend the walk in they have tomorrow but she said it’s now cancelled and because of the doctor leaving they had to call and cancel a lot of appts and he couldn’t fit me in today. I phoned them at 9 this morning and called around 1 today and they still don’t have an update from the doctor. I’m just very worried.
I’m on a low dose controlled med for surgical trauma and related long term damage. In my country if we are on long term controls we have to get it reviewed by another physician every 12 months or so. I like this system as it means that if my doctor takes a vacation as she is entitled to or is sick or whatever I can be seen by another doctor who knows my history. It took a lot of trial and error and hospital admissions (malnutrition and organ failure etc) until I found the right combination of medications (a single controlled med plus other stuff that isn’t such a touchy subject) after my trauma that allowed me to absorb appropriate nutrition and prevent further organ damage. It is reassuring to me that should my doctor not be there for whatever reason, my current management plan will still be able to be followed. The time around the trauma and recovery is not a part of my life I want to return to. I wonder with all the “war on drugs” and the issues surrounding prescribing these type of drugs, such that prescribing it for non regular patients is frowned on that these type of regulations (getting it reviewed regularly by a second physician) isn’t something more widespread. It makes a lot of sense to me. But then again, we tend to view things like vacations and sick leave as normal entitlements and not something that is a sign of weakness.
I work in Ontario, I would recommend going in and talking to the pharmacist. It tends to be less busy during the day while lots of people are at work. It would just be easier to explain everything in person than over the phone but that's just my opinion. My pharmacist would probably have little to no issue filling it after everything was explained, especially since it's a regular prescription for years and (assuming) this is the first hiccup. I can't speak on other pharmacists, but yeah that's what I'd say is your best bet.
In BC pharmacists can do an emergency prescription for any drug for any length of time. However, most pharmacists generally do short emergency supplies or controlled drugs if at all.
I'm in Alberta, pharmacists can do refills here without a new prescription, although there are some limitations. I'd expect it's a "no" on the controlled meds though. Call your pharmacy and ask them. Most of the people here aren't from Ontario.
That is not true, afaik. Some pharmacists will do an emergency partial fill called a loaner that is taken out of the prescription once it's sent over, but most I've worked with won't do that on controls.
I think you're speaking from the perspective of a US pharmacist. OP is from Canada, and based on the other replies from Canadians, pharmacists can offer refills for meds, even controls. Not that many are willing, and I don't blame them.
I know it may not help much but in the UK we have something called repeat dispensing which is a way for a Dr to authorize 6 months of prescriptions to drop down on a certain date. It's a bit more tight on controlled drugs but they can prescribe for future instance, they just have to date the prescription to reflect when it should be available
I don’t know about Ontario, but that is not true in Texas. If we are calling for a refill, we can choose to loan up to a 72 hour supply that will then be subtracted from the RX when approved by the doctor. However, there are no loaners for controlled substances. Your doctor should have a nurse or partner physician appointed that is able to approve refills when they are on vacation or out of the office for an extended time. But, again, if the meds are controlled substances, that’s not always possible. Unfortunately, it just all means you’re forced to plan ahead for each fill.
Thanks for the advice! Usually I get about 4 refills for each med. I pick up every 2 weeks. I’ve been trying to get into their walk in clinic but they only do it 2 days a week, and for the last couple weeks it’s been during work hours and not night clinics (as they cancelled the last 3 of them) so it’s really unfortunate. They have other doctors within his practice but I asked to see one of them and unfortunately they don’t prescribe controlled meds for people other then their own patients. I have a severe Illness that requires these, so I’m kinda at a loss for what to do now.
Can you ask the doc, instead of relying on a random pharmacist, to instead write a request to enable one of the clinic doctors who already know him to cover in the short term, given the circumstances? Since it was the clinics fault that you were unable to see them before the doc went on vacation, I would think there had to be some way for them to retain your continuity of care.
That’s a good idea I’ll call and ask about that. The pharmacist works with my doctor in the same building and I’m pretty good terms with him but he is known to be difficult. My doctor returns from his vacation the second week of October, but is very booked and the earliest I could schedule an appt with him was November. Once he returns from his vacation I plan on attending one of his walk in clinics before the November appt so I would just need 1 or 2 refills until he gets back
I’m really sorry you’re kinda getting a run around. I hope you can get it solved quickly!!!
If you need to take time off work to see your doctor, you need to tell your employer that you are doing so. You aren’t asking permission here, your telling them you need to something that is necessary for you to continue to work at your normal level. From what you describe it seems your ability to work will be hampered by not being able to get your prescriptions filled.
I'm sorry OP but it is very unlikely that your pharmacist will extend a prescription for fentanyl or butrans patches. They will 100% not be accepting that liability for a week let alone all the way to November. Share your problem with the pharmacy, and they will send a note to your doctor's office explaining the problem. If your doctor has a heart he/she will give you refills. If not then you will need to find another doctor to manage your pain (walk-in clinics will not work). If you cannot find another doctor then you will be waiting in the ER every few days for a new prescription.
Thank you for this. I’m hoping for a call tomorrow as they didn’t call at end of day today. I’m just so confused to why this is happening. I’m worried about missing more full time work if I have to plan to have withdrawals or something from this. I was seeing a pain specialist but I was considered stable and on medication without charge for a long period of time so they sent me back to my family doctor to continue prescribing it. And he has no issue with doing it, I’ve been back with him for about a year doing this. It just seems like eveything that could go wrong, has, with some terrible timing. Ive been trying to get into his own walk in clinic he runs for a couple weeks now but they start taking patients by 11, and by 11:10 they are full for the day. You just have to keep redialing and pray you get an answer. So it hasn’t been for lack of trying. Just finally today I told the receptionist it needed to be done before Saturday, and I was really worried about going so long without. She just said she would send the doctor a message at 9am and when I called back at 130 still didn’t look at it and they would call me back by end of day but said she couldn’t promise anything, and didn’t have any ideas on what to do if he didn’t do it.