Do clincs give refunds for mistakes?

February 2, 2018 1:18 AM

My longtime doctor wrote the wrong dosage on a prescription sent directly to an online pharmacy. Details inside.

I've been on this same medication, same dosage for years, there was no fault on my side. It was requested from my online pharmacy so got autofilled and sent by them, but this that I got is completely useless to me (due to the type of medication I can't just split it to make the right dosage or something). Am I reasonable to expect to be reimbursed the money I paid for it by either the doctor or the clinic for their mistake? Also, since I do have prescription insurance, should I report this to my insurance company as well?

posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

Answers would depend on where in the world you are.

Personally, I would expect the pharmacy to make an exchange at no cost to you, not to reimburse you. But you may not live in the same country as I do and circumstances will differ.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:46 AM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Just to clarify, I'm in the US and it's employer health insurance fwiw. I can't exchange or send back any medication that's already been dispensed for safety reasons of course. I didn't physically go to the pharmacy and pick up the prescription, it was ordered directly by the doctor from the mail order prescription service and then mailed to me.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 2:52 AM on February 2, 2018

Why do you need a refund? Can't you just call them up and have them write a script for the correct dosage?

I think you are entitled to some kind of recompense, but that would naturally be just them dispensing the correct medication rather than a refund.
posted by ryanbryan at 3:06 AM on February 2, 2018 [6 favorites]

There should be someone in you company benefits dept to help you get this fixed. Some battles are really hard when fought from the individual level.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:21 AM on February 2, 2018

Have you checked with the pharmacy? Although they can't re-dispense the medication, they might take it back for a credit.
posted by amtho at 4:28 AM on February 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I would start by calling the doctor who made the error - surely this isn't the first time this has happened, i.e. there must already be a procedure for dealing with this, inc how to handle your insurance provider.
posted by she's not there at 6:46 AM on February 2, 2018 [4 favorites]

I suspect your insurance company will reimburse for the new prescription. new dosage = new prescription. Call them and ask.
posted by theora55 at 6:58 AM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]

This happened to me once. I called the pharmacy and the doctor. The doctor sent in a new script and the pharmacy filled it for free.

Also, what theora55 said about a new dosage has always been correct for me, too, with multiple insurance companies.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:13 AM on February 2, 2018

I had the opposite of The Underpants Monster's experience: Using caremark (because you gotta mail order all maintenance meds), the doc sent in the wrong rx (electronically, so I never saw it), and I get the shipment (and $600 bill .. ) of the wrong medicine.

Caremark absolves themselves of everything and refused to take it back ("we dispensed what the rx was" and medicine was a keep-refrigerated). Doctor's nurse (who took my info when I said I needed a refill) was sorry, but offered ~ a years worth of samples (of the correct rx).

I came out "ahead" (~1 years worth of samples was worth more than the $600 bill of wrong med/dose), but I still was pissed I had to pay the $600. (I still have a burning hate for cvs/caremark.. )

I wish I had pursued more with both CVS and doc, but left it at that. Found a local charity/free-clinic that would take my medicine.
posted by k5.user at 9:30 AM on February 2, 2018

Best answer: If you can't get it fixed via the pharmacy, doctor, or your insurance company - if you paid for it with a card, you can contest the charges. (This is a nasty thing to do to small businesses; it's endless snarls of paperwork. But it's part of the reason many companies have a "if you're not happy; send it back and we refund you" policy, because that's easier than the credit reimbursement process and doesn't leave black mark on their accounting history.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 11:21 AM on February 2, 2018 [1 favorite]