February 2019 by Jessica K.
With the exception of this location (North Huntingdon/Irwin, PA), anytime I used a Walmart pharmacy I was neither overly impressed, nor displeased for any reason. Typically the only issue I ever experienced was ridiculously long wait times for prescriptions to be filled. At this location, however, I had mostly negative experiences versus positive while using them for over 1 year as my regular/primary pharmacy. The staff, with the exception of the pharmacist, are not very knowledgeable or helpful when you call in with a question/concern, and only are helpful in person if they have a pharmacist they can refer to concerning information that pharmacy staff should know, I am nor sure if all of the staff are technicians or just cashiers, so I can't judge too much based on lack of knowledge. I filled the same prescriptions, written by the same doctor, every month for well over a year there. I typically did not refill my medication early, and I have never had a pharmacist treat me the way I was the last time I went to drop off my monthly scripts. An older, female pharmacist was working that I was not familiar with, however there were 2 staff members present that did know me. I gave the cashier/tech my scripts, and due to one if them requiring regular Prior Authorization, I told the pharmacist that I had seen my Dr that day and he had already submitted the PA but due to past issues with my insurance taking longer than usual to approve a PA, when the pharmacist said I could pick the meds up in 45 minutes, I told her I would be shopping and if there was any issue with insurance coverage to please page me to the pharmacy. She said that was fine and if the insurance covered it, i wouldn't be contacted, just come back in 45min.Summary- over 1 hour later I was finished shopping and went to pick up my scripts, that pharmacist approached the counter in an almost defensive manner and stated that she could not fill 1 of the scripts because she needed to talk to my Dr and verify a few things. At this point it was 8:30 PM on a Thursday night, my Dr is typically gone by 7PM on Thursdays, and is out of the office in Fridays, since I do not refill my scripts early I did not have that medication for the dose I was to take Friday morning, so I was very concerned that she would not be able to get in touch with him that late, and he wouldn't be back in his office until Monday, so I asked her what her concern was as I had filled that exact script-same medication, same dose, same Dr every month for over a year, so those prior scripts were in the system for her to access to verify validity, plus I explained that my insurance wouldn't have covered the cost without the PA that my Dr did earlier that day, I asked her how I could have processed my own PA, provided I had forged the script, I showed her my appt card for that day,and the appt card for my next appt, I asked her to check the PMP to verify that I do not fill any other narcotics. The only reply she provided to every option/question I purposed was "Corporate tells us that all we can say is that at this present time, that I being the on duty pharmacist do not feel comfortable filling this prescription at this time". I explained that I have knowledge of pharmacology related issues, that I worked as a tech so I am aware if what procedures should be followed in the event the validity if a script is in question, and I told her that I would just that script and fill it elsewhere, but I told her I would still like to know what her concern is exactly, and what initiated it She refused to answer any question I asked, so I took that script to Walgreens, and transferred all of my other scripts over as well. I also called the pharmacy manager and explained the situation, she did not seem like she was too concerned... The only explanation she gave was that the pharmacist that refused to fill the script was not from that location, and was unfamiliar with me, and my med history, and she was concerned that my dose was too high....I am not on the maximum or even close to the max dail