Pharmacy automatic prescription refills can contribute to medication errors and waste
But there’s also a downside. The system may be fraught with errors and waste. At issue is that electronic prescribing systems currently used by doctors do not communicate discontinued medications to the pharmacy. It’s a known flaw that has gone uncorrected by the industry and government since e-prescribing began. Unfortunately, rarely do patients or their doctors remember to communicate to the pharmacy that changes in medication therapy have taken place. But if the pharmacist doesn’t know about changes the computer is not reset. The autorefill system just keeps rolling along, dispensing unneeded and possibly harmful medicines.
Filed under: General Problems
Where I work we avoid setting up patients on auto-refill. We avoid it like the plague! It is too problematic. Patients may have discontinued a med. Patient may never come pick it up. It is too big a waste of time.
When i was temping at an independent for a year and a half…we had auto refill….I hated it….agree….too much waste, no communication on dose changes and some people would never pick them up even after we called them causing us to reverse claims on all the fills, restock, only to repeat the process the following month.
http://www.oregon.gov/pharmacy/Pages/Laws_Rules.aspx
OREGON board just updated auto refill rules, which will probably end up stopping their use. See section that says “effective 1/1/16” halfway down page.