Three times? Huh uh, not this shopper.

Before I went to Costa Rica I had some eye prescriptions filled at my local Target pharmacy.  Since my bionic eye surgery I have experienced dry eye and use Restasis, along with another medication, when traveling by air which tends to dry out my eyes.  My doctor's office called the medications into Target, and when I picked them up I knew there would be two prescriptions.  The girl at the counter pulled two bags out of the "B" pile and rang them up.  I knew the bag with the Restasis would be bulky as it comes in two large plastic tin-like containers and so I recognized that bag as she set it down.  I assumed the other bag was the second medication, the name of which the girl and I discussed as she rang up my purchases.  I knew what the purchases would be having gotten the two of them together before, and I was perplexed when the total was $10 over what it should be, but there was a line behind me and so I paid and left with the prescriptions.  My bad.

I was heading to pick up the girls from school and got stopped at a light.  Still perplexed over the extra $10 I looked at my receipt and noticed three charges.  My first thought was that the counter girl had hit an extra key, but immediately following that was the thought that she had rung me up with the hand held bar code gun and that this meant there were three purchases.  I pulled out the prescription paper insert and discovered that the medication was nothing that I took.  Upon further investigation I discovered that the name on the paper  wasn't mine.  The first name started with a "C" and the last name started with a "B", but the name was not mine.  I had been given someone else's medication.

First I was pissed.  I was on a time crunch here and needed to finish errands and homework and packing for my trip.  I did not have time to be running back and forth to Target.  I looked in the Restasis bag and found it and my second medication so technically I was good, but I had been charged for $10 worth of medication that was useless to me.  It wasn't even a narcotic that might have been useful on my trip.  No, it was some type of monthly maintenance drug that didn't do me any good.  So after I picked up the girls I headed back to Target.

Now I have a personal pharmacist besides the one at Target, and I have heard her tell stories about her time as a pharmacist in a shopping area.  I knew that this medication that had been dispensed to me incorrectly would, legally, have to be thrown out.  I knew that HIPPA laws had been broken as the paper insert gave me the patient's name, address, phone number, date of birth, doctor's name, and type of medication that she was taking.  As far as I was concerned, Target owed me big time for returning this medication and alerting them to the error.  I expected profound apologizing and maybe an incident report filled out.  I must admit I also envisioned a gift card as a thank-you, but deep down I knew that wasn't probably in the cards, but it should have been!

Instead the man behind the counter handed the bag to the pharmacist, who nonchalantly refunded the $10 back to my credit card without any type of apology.  When I whined about how I had to turn around and travel back to Target after being at home, she smiled and said, "Sorry about that.  Here's your receipt."  Are you kidding me?  Sorry about that?  I actually stood there with my mouth open after she returned to her perch behind the tall-can't-see-what-goes-on-behind-here counter.  Sorry about that?  You just handed me the wrong medication.  What if I had popped that into my mouth?  Sorry about that?  Oh, hell, no you Target pharmacist did not just say that to me.

But she had.  And I left because I couldn't think what in the world to do about it all.  I bitched all the way home about the incident, but within two days I was in Costa Rica and the whole thing flew right out of my head.  Then I returned home.  And on my machine was an automated message from the Target Pharmacy alerting me that my auto prescription was ready to be picked up at the pharmacy.  This auto prescription is one of my BP medications, a combination of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene.  The pill is a capsule that is white with black stripes.  I made a note to pick it up as I had about a week left of the medication currently.

Kelly then called me a few nights later and told me she was at Target and did I need anything.  I said no, but then, remembering the prescription I asked her to pick it up for me.  I told her the cost would be $10 and no more than $25.  She picked it up, brought it to my house, and informed me the cost was all of $3,  something  she thought wouldn't send her to the poor house.  Alarm bells immediately went off in my head, and I pulled out the prescription.  It was for HCTZ alright, but it was missing the TRIAM portion.  The pills were about the size of a fairy turd, were light pink, and there were only 30 pills instead of the 90 I usually received.  What the hell?

I called the pharmacy the next day and spoke to a counter girl, or maybe it was a pharmacist, she didn't say, and it wasn't a name I recognized.  I explained that I had received a medication that was not what I had been taking for the past five years, and that it did not have the same Rx number as the medication I received every three months from them.  She cheerfully explained that no they certainly were not the pills I normally took, that those pills were on back order and hadn't come in, and so the pharmacist had called and spoken with my doctor and these were the new pills that she recommended.  I was flabbergasted.  Did anyone think that maybe I might have wanted to be included in this decision about my health?  Wasn't it my right to have been informed of the situation?  Shouldn't I have made the decision to call my doctor to discuss the problem instead of the pharmacist?  All of these thoughts ran through my head, and once again, there was no apology from Target's end.

I hung up the phone and called my doctor's office.  I spoke with her medical assistant, who was horrified to learn that I had not been consulted by the pharmacy before the call to the doctor had been placed.  Yes, Target had called the doctor regarding the "nationwide back order" on this medication, and yes, my doctor had reviewed my chart and written out a new prescription.  But the office was under the impression that I had been informed and had asked the pharmacy to look into things on my behalf.  What a responsible patient I was in double checking instead of just popping the medication.

But what if I hadn't been?  What if the medication really belonged to someone else?  While I understand that mistakes happen I like to think that companies and employees are aghast at these mistakes and will attempt to right the wrongs.  My personal pharmacist friend, upon hearing the story, agreed the supervisor should be made aware of the two situations so that she can educate her staff and put into a place a more efficient way of handling things to avoid these mistakes.  In the meantime, I wonder...do I continue to allow this pharmacy to fill my prescriptions?  I think not.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me a third time and possible kill me?  Not going to happen Target Pharmacy.