Walgreens Pharmacy 2 months in a row they are shorting my Norco by 3-5 pills Dallas Texas

I have been a Walgreens customer off and on for a number of years, and until April 3, 2009 I have been relatively satisfied with the service I have received. (Every company has employees that can be described as rude at some point in time). I started having my pain managment prescriptions filled at the location closest to my home in January 2009, when at that time I was just starting pain management and required to go the to physician every month to obtain my medications. I am given a thirty day supply of Norco 10/325, with the instruction to take two pills, three times a day (making it a 180 quantity monthly). I also was put on Cymbalta 60mg at the same time to assist with the depression that chronic pain can apparently cause. Until last month I had never used a schedule or medication diary/planner, but I was given that suggestion by my primary care physician to help monitor my progress with the different treatments I have been having regarding my pain mangement. I am a patient at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, TX, and I want to say that they are amazing, and very thorough, therefore as a patient you are required to bring your medications in at every visit and they are verified and counted to assure that no abuse is being done. I am in no way offended by this, since it's the rules of their practice and I have nothing to hide. After my last visit I was given a 3 month supply of medication and told to return for a follow up in July. I took the prescription to Walgreens and had the first of 3 refills filled. Once I got home I started to count the medication and place the pills in my monthly pill organizer that I also had just purchased AT Walgreens... and I realized that I was short 5 pills. Having never counted my medication before I realized that I had probably not encountered this problem before or else the physician surely would have noticed it, but keep in mind, up until this moment I was not given refills so I would have had to see they physician every month in order to get the medication filled. I immediately called and spoke to the pharmacist that I had just picked the medications up from and he did not object one bit to my claims and said that he would put the five pills off to the side and I told him I would pick them up in the morning. I did just that, and at that time I requested that all of my medications be triple counted (it is my understanding that everything is double counted, or at least controlled substances) and that I was requesting this triple count to be done in my presence. No objection to this request was made, and I left the store feeling like this was surely a one time fluke (obviously, I had not found this website yet, or I would have known better....) Well, this month has rolled around and last evening at 10pm I called and used the automated system to have the same two prescriptions refilled and be made available to be picked up at 10am. I went inside the store and was greeted by a less than friendly pharmacy tech (if I was making scantly more than minimum wage...I'd be angry too...) who took my name and located my medication and began to ring up my order. I asked her if I could have the medication triple counted, per my records, because I had an issue the previous month and I would prefer to avoid further complications. She rudely explained to me that the pharmacy manager herself had triple counted the medications and her initials on the bottle proved that fact. She them rang me up and walked away while I sat there deciding what to do (there was another customer behind me so I was trying to maintain a slight level of restraint). I went ahead and took the technicians for her word, and paid my co-pay and then told her, "I am going out to my car to count these, I'm going to assume that I won't have to come back in here, correct?" She rolled her eyes and looked over me and began to assist the woman who had been standing behind me. I did exactly as I said I would, and walked outside to my car and counted every single pill. It was short 3...shockingly....... I walked right back in and bypassed the rude tech and asked to speak to "Cindy" the pharmacist working at the time. I told her that I had specifically asked to have them triple counted in front of me, and been denied that, and assured that the medication was in fact all there. At that time the technician in a very accusatory tone tells Cindy, "She just went out to her car and counted them... they could be there." At that time I looked at her and said, "Ma'am, last time I counted them IN MY HOME and it was found that I was in fact being honest." I was told by Cindy that I would have to wait for the pharmacy manager to get there, and that I needed to leave the medication (which, I've already paid for, keep in mind) with her. I told her that was fine, but that if I was disputed or treated rudely in any other way by what was obviously becoming a situation involving an unethical staff I wanted my money back and for the prescription to be placed back on the shelves and I was going to take my business elsewhere. Well, I just called the store and asked what time the "pharmacy manager" worked yesterday, since she was the one who triple counted and verified my prescription, and it appears she left at 9pm... an hour before I had even called in the refill. I am going back up to the store at 2pm to confront the employees with their obvious lie (unless my medications were so important to the woman that she felt the need to come back in and fill...which I seriously doubt..) and I'm curious as to what the outcome will be. Never realizing that this could be an intentional or apparently COMMON thing I am now wondering if I need to contact someone to investigate this store? I mean, yes, I know we are talking about THREE pills...but it's the principle of the matter.. and why would the feel the need to lie to me about who filled the script? I just hope that when I get there in an hour I don't have even more negative things to say about their establishment. To be continued....

Kristin
Dallas, Texas
U.S.A.

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