So when Trileptal went generic about 3 weeks ago it caught nearly everyone by surprise. On a Saturday I was trying to bill a Rx for a patient who was out of the med. It came up rejected. I look at the reject screen and it tells me there is a generic available.
Strange I thought, we usually get this stuff the day it comes out. Look it up on our wholesaler, nada. Make a quick phone call, it won't be sent out until Monday, meaning we won't get it until Tuesday. Then I decided I'd call BCBS (the patients insurer.)
I explain to them, calmly and politely, that the drug is not being released by the manufacturer until Tuesday. She tells me that there is a generic for this drug and we must dispense it. I state again, NO ONE will have the drug for another 4 days, thus we cannot dispense it. She says the same thing. I ask to talk to the manager.
The manager gets on the phone and I state my problem. He goes, well there is a generic available for this drug, you must dispense it. I tell him, again, that it is unavailable and that the patient is out. He then goes, well the patient will just have to go without it for a couple days until you get the generic. Some dipshit, who probably can't even spell the drug, is deciding this patients therapy. I politely called him an uneducated asshole (not in those exact words) and hung up.
Needless to say we fronted the patient some of the brand name until that Tuesday. Why did I just think of this? Because a pharmacist in another store went through the exact same thing earlier today. Nice to see they have learned.
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