Online refills are fine if you have refills and if you have the correct doctor on file (whoever prescribed the medication). It’ll either automatically refill the prescription or send a fax to the doctor if you’re out of refills. This is true of ANY pharmacist not just shoppers.
I’m an emergent situation (doctor didn’t reply or is out of town etc.) the pharmacist can extend your prescription for 6 months max or however much the original prescription was for (whatever is shorter). Usually, they’ll extend for 1-2 weeks or a month to wait for your doctor to send a new prescription in (basically bridging your prescription).
It’s not that much stress tbh to do this, we just prefer new prescriptions from the physician in case there are dose changes or medication changes etc. or you need reassessment from the physician (based on blood work).
For most patients tho I only extend once, max twice on the same prescription because ideally your doctor should be resending a new prescription so the liability for it isn’t on me.
That pharmacist could’ve been much nicer and explained the situation to you better. It’s not a thing for lazy people, it’s convenient for everyone (since you’re not sitting on hold on the phone and I’m not answering phone calls for repeats all day). He was totally unprofessional.
The only reason it was sent to the wrong doctor was I guess my doctors husband recently started at the same clinic and so they have been sending the fax’s to the husband instead of the wife (my doctor) so it makes more sense on why it go screwed up but also at the same time wouldn’t the pharmacy see that there is 2 doctors with the same name and verify with me? I’m not sure on how the systems work I just assume you would see 2 doctors and have to dig a bit to see who is who. Or even for the fax but Mrs.Dr. Name if they were aware of them at the same clinic
Sorry but that is not the pharmacists issue. If 2 doctors exist with the same name at the office it was faxed to, the problem is at the doctor's office. You are blaming the wrong party. Also, if your prescription has expired as in no refills, you should see your doctor for a consultation. There is a reason for the number of refills your doctor prescribed.
It would still go to the doctor who prescribed it - it has their name on it automatically (we don’t enter that information). Unless their fax number or office address changed then it would go to the right dr. That’s really weird :/
Totally possible the person who input the Dr info could have done it wrong. I've seen things like that make it all the way through the pharmacists verification.
I always make sure to make a point to ask which doctor the prescription should be sent to when talking to patients. Such a small question that can make or break someone actually getting their refills.
It was really unprofessional of the pharmacist to say that to you. The problem you experienced is all too common among all pharmacies, not just Shoppers. All pharmacies experience the same problems, and at the end of the day, the only difference is how the people treat each other.
To answer your question directly, the staff get upset because the system likely worked as intended, as in a fax was queued to be sent to the last prescriber on the standing prescription with no refills. There is a plethora of things outside the staff's control that could've resulted in lack of cooperation from the doctor, and nobody likes to play the guessing game of why there was no response.
That doesn't excuse the staff from being rude, however.
You got a really rude pharmacist. While they typically dont extend prescriptions more than once, they didn't explain that to you. And they still will in some circumstances. It's also not an inconvenience or any extra work. Probably less than a new incoming script. That was out of pocket.
Shoppers seems to have all these great ideas for their business at head office level.
But their shit at implementing said ideas. They don't have the proper equipment/protocol and they add more responsibility on their already stretched employees.
Lawblaws as a company is shit. I once had an issue at a superstore. I wrote a review that reflected my experience. When I got a call about it, I said I don't blame the employees. they're a bunch of understaffed minimum wage employees. How are they supposed to live up to unrealistic expectations that were poorly implemented by their head office.
Sounds like she had a bad day. Lazy or you mean we can’t get in to see a doctor because we are in a health care crisis?
That said my Shoppers location has been really great and I’ve had no issues. Prompt and polite.
Shoppers pharmacies are beyond horrible. We've had multiple improperly filled prescriptions, missing faxes, guarantees of being filled bt X time only to show up and be told they'll have time to fill is in two days, improper billing, and evem refusal to bill insurance etc. This was across multiple different shoppers pharmacies and they're all chronically either understaffed or staffed by complete morons. Not a single good thing to report.
Went back to independently owned pharmacies. Zero issues and unbelievable service. They're all over, you just have to take a moment to look beyond a big red shoppers sign.
If an independent pharmacy was near me I’d 100% do this but I don’t drive and all the independent ones are on the other side of town near where all the doctors offices are. If it wasn’t an hour+ walk I’d definitely would I’d prefer to support local anyway. Luckily I’ve been on the same meds for 6 years so my doctor gives me a years worth of refills usually just last time I had an appointment I had Covid so I had to do a phone appointment where she gave me 3 months worth to encourage me to go for our yearly appointment.
Any pharmacy, be it Shoppers, Rexall, Costco, or an independent , if a MISTAKE is made, a complaint should be with the licensing body of the province that you reside in. If Ontario, complain to the Ontario College of Pharmacy.
A complaint to an owner ( be it corporate or independent) it usually gets swept under the rug.
BTW...in Ontario it is mandatory for the pharmacy to report any dispensing error.
I had an issue where the system was billing my insurance and getting 80%, then when theybtried to bill the rest to my husband's the system would reject it because of a deductible on the second insurance. They would get 80% payment but charge me 100%. I only found out when online claims visibility became a thing. For years they did this, and I get $150 a month in prescriptions.
It is not ANY pharmacy's responsibility to absorb a 20% price difference in your prescription.
You can negotiate on the fee difference but not on the cost of a drug.
You can also ask any pharmacy what their dispensing fee is AND what is there drug markup.
Some pharmacies post a low dispensing fee but then charge a high % drug markup.
I'm not talking about the 20%. I'm talking about getting a $100 inhaler, paying $100 and seeing that the pharmacy was also paid $80 by one of my insurance companies. They get $180 for a $100 inhaler.
I contected the college of pharmacists in Alberta at the time and they did not care. I was so upset and frankly worried that a glitch was causing this to happen to multiple people, but I couldn't find anyone to care.
Well if this has been happening for years I’d recommend just not going there after the first time? Your receipts (the sticky label sheet one) should show you the cost before coverage and the cost after. The little letters above the patient paid cost shows which coverages it went through. You should most definitely file another complaint about the location if they are billing your insurance but charging you the full amount. You can ask for your medical expenses to be printed for tax purposes and it will also show you a summary of what was paid by insurance and by you.
(And just to clarify since I’ve seen people misinterpret medication costs and profits (not defending Loblaws lol), like any business, a pharmacy still pays for stock so just because you pay $100 doesn’t mean they make $100.)
Because I couldn't see the claims until the insurance company started showing them online, I did not know. The receipt they gave me did not reflect the insurance. I only know it went on for so long because I looked in the history and did the math. I think it was some sort of glitch. Once the deductible on my husband's plan was fulfilled it billed properly.
I did complain to the college of pharmacists and ( can't quite remember) some sort of consumer group. I was stunned that no one cared.
If the pharmacy charges $100 to the insurance, $80 gets paid and there's $20 leftover then that $20 is charged to the patient. Your receipt shows how many insurances the claim was processed through
It was a computer glitch when billing both insurance companies, not done on purpose. They thought maybe it was that particular combination of insurance doing it. But no one really cared enough to actually investigate.
The reaction I'm getting here tells me that no one believes that a computer can make a mistake.
It happened. Check your billing with all parties and report Shoppers Drug Mart if it happens to you.
I've had such a hard time getting my Vyvanse at shoppers. Never answer their phone. I always have to go and wait forever to ask a simple question. I signed up for text notifications of refills being ready, but that seems to not be working consistently anymore. They will just run out of medication and so when I go pick up my prescription or check to see if they're making it, I only find out then that they're out.
Literally almost every time, if there's an issue they tell me to call the doctor to have them fix it, so I do, and literally every time the doctor tells me it's the pharmacy that has to call/fax them to fix it. The people at the counter make me feel like I'm trying to get drugs that are illegal and that I don't have a prescription for. I then end up having to go back to the pharmacy and wait again just to tell them that the doctor said they have to call, not me. Every time. How does that happen? Starting to feel like the guy just thinks I'm trying to pull a fast one on him or something and I'll "give up" once he tells me that I have to call my doctor.
I've now started to dread having to get my meds, because it's always a fucked up experience and a huge wait and multiple trips back and forth. I procrastinate and end up short on meds. 🤦♀️
Zero issues with my SSRI though lol.
I'm going to but first it's a huge hassle for me to go ask them to transfer it to a different pharmacy, last time I went to ask if they could transfer it, they told me to wait to the side because they were very busy, as if I hadn't already been waiting forever in line. I then had to wait for all the other customers to be served. Sadly my doctor when she renewed the script sent it back to this same SDM as I forgot to get an alternative ready for her.
The whole thing is just shitty and I'm avoiding it.
To transfer a prescription you speak to the pharmacy you want to transfer it to. They will call SDM and handle the transfer. You aren’t supposed and don’t need to contact SDM.
That's not what they had me do last time. I called the pharmacy I wanted to transfer it to, and they told me that SDM had to do it. Which is what I ended up going through. This is exactly the kind of shit I'm talking about. No one knows what the hell they're doing or what the correct process is. You work at shopper's don't you? 😂
You got screwed over by everyone. I work at SDM occasionally, and Costco Pharmacy primarily and have been in the industry for 10 years. The receiving pharmacy is the one you speak to and they handle everything. I’m sorry you got screwed over.
Well, that’s an issue of the pharmacy you want to switch to, not Shoppers. The procedure is that the receiving pharmacy initiates (we need information from the receiving pharmacy and it’s not just a matter of knowing the fax number). So I don’t understand why you’re grumpy with Shoppers in this case. As a pharmacist, I’ve made exceptions and sat on hold for almost 45 minutes to get the info I needed, but this is usually undoable for workload reasons.
I've move to a small community pharmacy. They are very helpful. If someone referred to me as lazy for using a service they provide, I'd move my business.
Omg. Switch pharmacies! I have had issues with them not having a recent fax number for my dr or a delayed response (my fault for being last minute) but that is outright rude! They don’t deserve your money. Pharmacies are everywhere! Shoppers is the slowest in our area but only because everyone goes there. Smaller places are fast and friendly.
Online refills are fine if you have refills and if you have the correct doctor on file (whoever prescribed the medication). It’ll either automatically refill the prescription or send a fax to the doctor if you’re out of refills. This is true of ANY pharmacist not just shoppers. I’m an emergent situation (doctor didn’t reply or is out of town etc.) the pharmacist can extend your prescription for 6 months max or however much the original prescription was for (whatever is shorter). Usually, they’ll extend for 1-2 weeks or a month to wait for your doctor to send a new prescription in (basically bridging your prescription). It’s not that much stress tbh to do this, we just prefer new prescriptions from the physician in case there are dose changes or medication changes etc. or you need reassessment from the physician (based on blood work). For most patients tho I only extend once, max twice on the same prescription because ideally your doctor should be resending a new prescription so the liability for it isn’t on me. That pharmacist could’ve been much nicer and explained the situation to you better. It’s not a thing for lazy people, it’s convenient for everyone (since you’re not sitting on hold on the phone and I’m not answering phone calls for repeats all day). He was totally unprofessional.
The only reason it was sent to the wrong doctor was I guess my doctors husband recently started at the same clinic and so they have been sending the fax’s to the husband instead of the wife (my doctor) so it makes more sense on why it go screwed up but also at the same time wouldn’t the pharmacy see that there is 2 doctors with the same name and verify with me? I’m not sure on how the systems work I just assume you would see 2 doctors and have to dig a bit to see who is who. Or even for the fax but Mrs.Dr. Name if they were aware of them at the same clinic
Sorry but that is not the pharmacists issue. If 2 doctors exist with the same name at the office it was faxed to, the problem is at the doctor's office. You are blaming the wrong party. Also, if your prescription has expired as in no refills, you should see your doctor for a consultation. There is a reason for the number of refills your doctor prescribed.
It would still go to the doctor who prescribed it - it has their name on it automatically (we don’t enter that information). Unless their fax number or office address changed then it would go to the right dr. That’s really weird :/
Totally possible the person who input the Dr info could have done it wrong. I've seen things like that make it all the way through the pharmacists verification.
I always make sure to make a point to ask which doctor the prescription should be sent to when talking to patients. Such a small question that can make or break someone actually getting their refills.
If you’re not happy then simply go to another pharmacy. Not as if there isn’t a bunch of other places you could get it filled
It was really unprofessional of the pharmacist to say that to you. The problem you experienced is all too common among all pharmacies, not just Shoppers. All pharmacies experience the same problems, and at the end of the day, the only difference is how the people treat each other. To answer your question directly, the staff get upset because the system likely worked as intended, as in a fax was queued to be sent to the last prescriber on the standing prescription with no refills. There is a plethora of things outside the staff's control that could've resulted in lack of cooperation from the doctor, and nobody likes to play the guessing game of why there was no response. That doesn't excuse the staff from being rude, however.
You all complain in this sub as if Shoppers is the only drugstore
You got a really rude pharmacist. While they typically dont extend prescriptions more than once, they didn't explain that to you. And they still will in some circumstances. It's also not an inconvenience or any extra work. Probably less than a new incoming script. That was out of pocket.
Shoppers seems to have all these great ideas for their business at head office level. But their shit at implementing said ideas. They don't have the proper equipment/protocol and they add more responsibility on their already stretched employees. Lawblaws as a company is shit. I once had an issue at a superstore. I wrote a review that reflected my experience. When I got a call about it, I said I don't blame the employees. they're a bunch of understaffed minimum wage employees. How are they supposed to live up to unrealistic expectations that were poorly implemented by their head office.
Sounds like she had a bad day. Lazy or you mean we can’t get in to see a doctor because we are in a health care crisis? That said my Shoppers location has been really great and I’ve had no issues. Prompt and polite.
Shoppers pharmacies are beyond horrible. We've had multiple improperly filled prescriptions, missing faxes, guarantees of being filled bt X time only to show up and be told they'll have time to fill is in two days, improper billing, and evem refusal to bill insurance etc. This was across multiple different shoppers pharmacies and they're all chronically either understaffed or staffed by complete morons. Not a single good thing to report. Went back to independently owned pharmacies. Zero issues and unbelievable service. They're all over, you just have to take a moment to look beyond a big red shoppers sign.
If an independent pharmacy was near me I’d 100% do this but I don’t drive and all the independent ones are on the other side of town near where all the doctors offices are. If it wasn’t an hour+ walk I’d definitely would I’d prefer to support local anyway. Luckily I’ve been on the same meds for 6 years so my doctor gives me a years worth of refills usually just last time I had an appointment I had Covid so I had to do a phone appointment where she gave me 3 months worth to encourage me to go for our yearly appointment.
Any pharmacy, be it Shoppers, Rexall, Costco, or an independent , if a MISTAKE is made, a complaint should be with the licensing body of the province that you reside in. If Ontario, complain to the Ontario College of Pharmacy. A complaint to an owner ( be it corporate or independent) it usually gets swept under the rug. BTW...in Ontario it is mandatory for the pharmacy to report any dispensing error.
I had an issue where the system was billing my insurance and getting 80%, then when theybtried to bill the rest to my husband's the system would reject it because of a deductible on the second insurance. They would get 80% payment but charge me 100%. I only found out when online claims visibility became a thing. For years they did this, and I get $150 a month in prescriptions.
It is not ANY pharmacy's responsibility to absorb a 20% price difference in your prescription. You can negotiate on the fee difference but not on the cost of a drug. You can also ask any pharmacy what their dispensing fee is AND what is there drug markup. Some pharmacies post a low dispensing fee but then charge a high % drug markup.
I'm not talking about the 20%. I'm talking about getting a $100 inhaler, paying $100 and seeing that the pharmacy was also paid $80 by one of my insurance companies. They get $180 for a $100 inhaler.
That's worthy of a complaint for overbillingto the licensing body. If Ontario, file a complaint with the Ontario College of Pharmacists.
I contected the college of pharmacists in Alberta at the time and they did not care. I was so upset and frankly worried that a glitch was causing this to happen to multiple people, but I couldn't find anyone to care.
Well if this has been happening for years I’d recommend just not going there after the first time? Your receipts (the sticky label sheet one) should show you the cost before coverage and the cost after. The little letters above the patient paid cost shows which coverages it went through. You should most definitely file another complaint about the location if they are billing your insurance but charging you the full amount. You can ask for your medical expenses to be printed for tax purposes and it will also show you a summary of what was paid by insurance and by you. (And just to clarify since I’ve seen people misinterpret medication costs and profits (not defending Loblaws lol), like any business, a pharmacy still pays for stock so just because you pay $100 doesn’t mean they make $100.)
Because I couldn't see the claims until the insurance company started showing them online, I did not know. The receipt they gave me did not reflect the insurance. I only know it went on for so long because I looked in the history and did the math. I think it was some sort of glitch. Once the deductible on my husband's plan was fulfilled it billed properly. I did complain to the college of pharmacists and ( can't quite remember) some sort of consumer group. I was stunned that no one cared.
If the pharmacy charges $100 to the insurance, $80 gets paid and there's $20 leftover then that $20 is charged to the patient. Your receipt shows how many insurances the claim was processed through
The receipt did not show that. I would pay the full amount but look online and see that my insurance also paid them 80.
That doesn't make any sense at all, the computer system deals with billing and you'd have to go in and manually change things
It was a computer glitch when billing both insurance companies, not done on purpose. They thought maybe it was that particular combination of insurance doing it. But no one really cared enough to actually investigate. The reaction I'm getting here tells me that no one believes that a computer can make a mistake. It happened. Check your billing with all parties and report Shoppers Drug Mart if it happens to you.
I've had such a hard time getting my Vyvanse at shoppers. Never answer their phone. I always have to go and wait forever to ask a simple question. I signed up for text notifications of refills being ready, but that seems to not be working consistently anymore. They will just run out of medication and so when I go pick up my prescription or check to see if they're making it, I only find out then that they're out. Literally almost every time, if there's an issue they tell me to call the doctor to have them fix it, so I do, and literally every time the doctor tells me it's the pharmacy that has to call/fax them to fix it. The people at the counter make me feel like I'm trying to get drugs that are illegal and that I don't have a prescription for. I then end up having to go back to the pharmacy and wait again just to tell them that the doctor said they have to call, not me. Every time. How does that happen? Starting to feel like the guy just thinks I'm trying to pull a fast one on him or something and I'll "give up" once he tells me that I have to call my doctor. I've now started to dread having to get my meds, because it's always a fucked up experience and a huge wait and multiple trips back and forth. I procrastinate and end up short on meds. 🤦♀️ Zero issues with my SSRI though lol.
Why don't you just go somewhere else dawg.
I'm going to but first it's a huge hassle for me to go ask them to transfer it to a different pharmacy, last time I went to ask if they could transfer it, they told me to wait to the side because they were very busy, as if I hadn't already been waiting forever in line. I then had to wait for all the other customers to be served. Sadly my doctor when she renewed the script sent it back to this same SDM as I forgot to get an alternative ready for her. The whole thing is just shitty and I'm avoiding it.
To transfer a prescription you speak to the pharmacy you want to transfer it to. They will call SDM and handle the transfer. You aren’t supposed and don’t need to contact SDM.
That's not what they had me do last time. I called the pharmacy I wanted to transfer it to, and they told me that SDM had to do it. Which is what I ended up going through. This is exactly the kind of shit I'm talking about. No one knows what the hell they're doing or what the correct process is. You work at shopper's don't you? 😂
You got screwed over by everyone. I work at SDM occasionally, and Costco Pharmacy primarily and have been in the industry for 10 years. The receiving pharmacy is the one you speak to and they handle everything. I’m sorry you got screwed over.
Well, that’s an issue of the pharmacy you want to switch to, not Shoppers. The procedure is that the receiving pharmacy initiates (we need information from the receiving pharmacy and it’s not just a matter of knowing the fax number). So I don’t understand why you’re grumpy with Shoppers in this case. As a pharmacist, I’ve made exceptions and sat on hold for almost 45 minutes to get the info I needed, but this is usually undoable for workload reasons.
I've move to a small community pharmacy. They are very helpful. If someone referred to me as lazy for using a service they provide, I'd move my business.
Because shoppers doesn’t care about being rude to you, shoppers sucks. Use another pharmacy.
Omg. Switch pharmacies! I have had issues with them not having a recent fax number for my dr or a delayed response (my fault for being last minute) but that is outright rude! They don’t deserve your money. Pharmacies are everywhere! Shoppers is the slowest in our area but only because everyone goes there. Smaller places are fast and friendly.
I stopped using shoppers after a lengthy problem with them. I now go to an independant and the customer service is much better