My latest adventure in patient advocacy was showing up at the local pharmacy to pick up my oral meds today, which I had to do because the specialty pharmacy doesn't supply those. When I got there, one med was really expensive (not covered by insurance), and had been mentioned by the specialty pharmacy, so I asked the local pharmacy to hold the med. I then called the specialty pharmacy who told me my insurance does cover it through them, but it had been sent to the local pharmacy so they couldn't fill it.
Problem: specialty pharmacy was the one who sent it to the local pharmacy.
Solution: call the local pharmacy and have them retract the prescription. Then call the specialty pharmacy and tell them that has been done, and ask them to fill it now.
Then, not 30 minutes later, my shipment from the specialty pharmacy arrives. All is in good shape and still cold, which is good. The one problem is that there are only 3 boxes of Follistim, while the prescription label and packing sheet say there are 4. S checked too, and agreed, so once again, I left another message with the specialty pharmacy asking them to correct this error.
I haven't heard back yet, but expect a call tomorrow.
On a funny note, when the specialty pharmacy's package arrived, it was a big box marked "perishable." Both S and I laughed, wishing it was full of things that were a lot more fun like steaks and gourmet cheeses. Though not nearly as fun, I guess this box was technically worth more. Especially with success!
Moral of this story: be your own advocate! Nobody else will do it for you! It pays to be an educated patient!
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