Can a doctor in WA state, legally require me to use only a certain pharmacy?
Can my doctor really make me only use one pharmacy of her choice? Today I went to Dr Joy Ruiz-Molleston in Lakewood, WA and got a one month prescription of my medication. I went to Walgreens, which Ive done the last FOUR months, and upon pickup time, I was told the doctor's nurse cancelled my presciption when the pharmacy tried to verify it because they want me to use only Lincoln Pharmacy. How can this be legal?! If it is my RX, I should be able to fill it anywhere I find convenient and cheap. The pharmacy they require me to use charges $60 copay, yet, every other pharmacy Ive been to only charges $30! Is she taking money off the side? Someone with law experience please tell me if this is really legal. In the end, I had to go back to the doctors office and get only a week RX which will cover me until my doctor is back in town from France. It also annoys me that she scheduled me for today saying she would be there, but when I arrived I was told she took a trip to France to visit friends. What the hell kind of service is this?! Thank you all who answer this.
Seattle - 3 Answers
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1 :
They can't make you use a certain pharmacy, but obviously, they can cancel your RX too. I would go to another doctor.
2 :
This is almost certainly a violation of the standards of practice required by the Washington State Department of Health. *Please* file a complaint against this doctor, to save others from what you went through. The form is very simple. Just explain what you said here about the doctor canceling a prescription because you took it to your own pharmacy. You can download the form here: http://www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/MQAC/Files/ComplaintForm.pdf This sort of behavior has to be taken seriously, and unless you stand up for yourself and other patients, they will continue to be abused. It doesn't matter if the doctor is receiving a kickback, although that is certainly possible. Pharmacists are an independent profession.
3 :
Well, that depends on some circumstances. If the prescription is for a class-II narcotic, many physicians require patients to sign an agreement that they will only use ONE physician and ONE pharmacy. Normally, they can't stipulate which pharmacy it is, just that you have to use the same pharmacy. As far as copays go, you would need to call your insurance company and ask them. It could be an out-of-network pharmacy depending on your plan, in which case you might want to discuss this with the physician. Read carefully when you sign things, and to everyone crying foul, you might not know the whole story.
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