My Pharmacist Humiliated Me When He Refused to Fill My Hormone Prescription
On a recent day in April, I left my doctor’s office elated. I was carrying my first prescriptions for hormone therapy. I was finally going to start seeing my body reflect my gender identity and the woman I’ve always known myself to be.
I went straight from my doctor to the CVS in my town, Fountain Hills, Arizona, which is a suburb of Phoenix. I handed over the three prescriptions that my doctor, who specializes in hormone therapy, had just given me. For more treatment information on hormone therapy, Read More Here
That’s when my day took a turn. After years of working to affirm my identity in a world where transgender people are questioned constantly about how well they know themselves, the pharmacist refused to fill one of the prescriptions needed to affirm my identity.
He did not give me a clear reason for the refusal. He just kept asking, loudly and in front of other CVS staff and customers, why I was given the prescriptions.
Embarrassed and distressed, I nearly started crying in the middle of the store. I didn’t want to answer why I had been prescribed this hormone therapy combination by my doctor. I felt like the pharmacist was trying to out me as transgender in front of strangers. I just froze and worked on holding back the tears.
When I asked for my doctor’s prescription note, the pharmacist refused to give it back, so I was not even able to take it to another pharmacy to have my prescription filled. I left the store feeling mortified. One can follow this link and for the best testosterone therapy click here.
When I got home, I called my doctor’s office to explain what happened. The office staff tried to intervene by calling the pharmacist, but he still refused to fill my prescription without explicitly explaining why. My doctor ended up having to call the prescription into the local Walgreens, where the medication was filled without question. I transferred all of my prescriptions there so that I never again have to see the pharmacist who discriminated against me.I have contacted CVS’ corporate complaint line multiple times, but no one has addressed my concerns or offered me an apology.
My family supports me, fortunately, and helped me work through the anger and humiliation this experience caused. But many other transgender people are not as fortunate as I am. I don’t want to think about what might happen if this pharmacist mistreats a transgender person who does not have a good social support system.
Today, I filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy and am publicly asking CVS to take action and apologize for the way I was treated. CVS has received perfect marks for the past four years in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which is a valuable tool for assessing corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees. But something is still not right. Measures should be in place to ensure no other customer is humiliated like I was.
Through training and written policies, the company needs to make it clear to their employees — especially their pharmacists — that transgender customers deserve respect. No healthcare worker should rely on personal beliefs to reject decisions made by doctors and their transgender patients about medically necessary care.
It is interesting to see that the ACLU is interested in a pt being discriminated at the pharmacy dept.. unfortunately I can’t count the number of chronic pain pts that I have read about contacting ACLU and being told that they don’t have the resources or maybe “the interest” in pursuing any action against the various pharmacies against that type of discrimination.
I wonder if any charges will be placed against the pharmacist because he basically STOLE/CONFISCATED the prescription from the pt…. because it is the property of the pt.
One has to ask.. where was this Pharmacist’s “moral compass” when he was going thru pharmacy school ? or did his “moral compass”changed directions once he got out into the real world ?
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A pharmacist refusing to fill an opioid prescription. Is not the same situation as this. I know you believe it to be the same. But, legally it is not.
according to the article… the “hormone” involved was “female hormones” so there is no controlled substance involved… and since the Walgreen’s Pharmacist filled the same order would strongly suggest that the original prescription that the CVS Pharmacist confiscated was a legit prescription and the CVS ILLEGALLY confiscated a valid/legit prescription. The only valid reason for a pharmacist to confiscate a pt’s prescriptions is if the prescription is forged/altered. So refusing to return the Rx to the pt… sure sounds like thievery to me and even in Arizona it is probably ILLEGAL.
With 100+ million chronic pain pts and MAYBE 1% +/- are potential addicts… odds are that the overwhelming majority of Rxs presented to a pharmacist to be filled are valid/legit and should be filled. Just like the vast majority of all other prescriptions presented to be filled. A pharmacist presented two different prescriptions – and all things being equal – and he/she will fill the non-controlled and declines and/or confiscates the controlled med Rx.. then they are discriminating against one class/category of pts because of their personal opinion, phobia, or biases and some would consider that unprofessional conduct.
It does not matter what some people consider it to be. No laws are broken when a pharmacist refuses to fill an opiate. No laws are broken when a doctor refuses to prescribe an opiate.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But, their opinion will change nothing..Nor will it influence anyone.
Really hope,,,since when is it not against the law for a pharmacist to practice medicine w/out proper schooling or degree?Opiates are life sustaining MEDICINES AND apparently every human right groups on this planet disagree’s w/your OPINION??AND THUS why the ACLU is sueing the federal government for taking away a disables person life sustaining medicines,ie,,opiate medicine,,,and why Human Rights Watch is investigating the Federal government for the willfull act of Torture onto the medically ill..As the U.N Doctrine states,,,’denial of access to effective medicines to lessen physical pain ,is committing thee act of torture.Furthermore violating the International Doctrine of Health Care ,,,by commiting thee act of torture,,soo pls tell me again your OPINION,,hope,,, on the medicine opiates,,and where u have the factual evidence to support your opinion,,I am more then willing,and have shown many of the documents I speak of,,,wheres yours??maryw
maryw, obviously the pharmacist is not practicing medicine without a degree. Pharmacist refuse to fill prescriptions countless times a day all across the U.S. None have been arrested for practicing medicine without a degree.
Where is ACLU suing a pharmacist for not filling an opiate prescription? The only reason the ACLU took this case. Is because transgender rights are new territory.
The WHO can say whatever it wants to. They have no authority to make the US government do anything. For that matter they have no authority to make any government do anything.
The pharmacy boards are stacked with non practicing corporate pharmacists Chains’ ties run deep on pharmacy boards https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=6552337&page=1 these pharmacists work for the same corporation who employed pharmacists are the biggest offenders.. They are outside of their scope of practice per the state’s pharmacy practice act… the pharmacy boards and the chain store industry is in an incestuous relationship… those BOP board members are generally political appointment by the Governor and it is not the individual board members who make those big political contributions to the Governor’s election campaign. Those board members haven’t practice pharmacy in years and they know that if they go against the corporation’s interest… they will find themselves back working in a Rx dept and they know that they can’t handle the volume that they expect pharmacists to handle with – on a good day – bare bones technician staffing. That Pharmacist that refused to fill – and confiscated the Rx – those female hormones for that transgender person has been fired by CVS. The issue was back in April and apparently nothing happened until that person got a whole bunch of bad press that CVS took their action. Here are some comments about this pharmacist that appeared on closed pharmacist FB page
“So I worked with the pharmacist in question in this article and I can say that he denied a lot of scripts for no logical reasoning…. he truly is a horrible human being.”
“this pharmacist is the most egotistical jackass I have ever worked with. He absolutely refused to do anything besides verification because everything else is considered “tech work” he also spoke to the staff in a condensening manner and said things such as “I am a pharmacist, you are a tech, you do not speak unless spoken to”
“1) this was from april…. 2) the pharmacist in question has been terminated (rightfully so)… 3) customer relations is as helpful as our cvs help desk (helpless desk) … 4) good for her speaking her mind and bringing this to light“
Ms.Hope,,when-ever a pharmacist alters the medical treatment of a humanbeing,they are practicing medicine,,but of course,unless u r rich,or complain to a ,”board,” it will not be address as a legal matter,yet,,and if u are standing by,”it saids no-where they must prescribe opiates,” is like stating,no-where is it stayed they must prescribe insulin.Opiates are a medicine,a life sustaining medicine,like it or not,,and several International and state laws are broken when a medically ill human being is denied access to effective medical care to lessen physical pain.In the U.S.,it is us code 18,113c,and 1091,,..Of course the U.N doctrine on human rights is violated.The Inter-American Counsel of human right doctrine is violated,Thee American Declaration of rights and Duties of mankind,geez,articles 1-24 are violated,,The Universal Doctrine of Human Rights in a Heatlh care setting are violated..All of these Doctrines can and will be prosecuted against the State Of America by the Universal Jurisdiction of International Courts,Criminal laws .Specifically the Inter American Council of Human Rights has already successfully prosecuted our dea,and got them thrown out of many South American countries for human rights violation under the laws set forth by the Universal Recognized Human Rights Council.Soo u can deny all u want,that the medicine opiates is a life sustaining medicine,and denial of access to it,,,is not a legal issue,,but the fact is,,it is,,,denial of access to effective medicine to lessen physical pain is a violation of torture,in EVERY Nation, On this earth..No Nations has a sovereign immunity or a lawful sanction to get way w/willfully torureits own citizens,some to death..No Nations n has the right to torture and genocide its own citizens for $$$$,,,its against International laws and U.S. laws,,ie,Constitutional amendment #8,,and few other,,but I have written enough,,Also this is why the ACLU,[suing],,AND Human Rights Watch,[investigating] are actively suing the U.S. of America and currently investigating the complaints sent to the U.N,,HRW,,for exactly this torture and genocide of the medically ill in physical pain from their medical illness. A bigger ?? to u would be,,why does any government body think they have the right to decide who forcible endures physical pain from medical illness,,ie,,tortures,,by making up new definition,laws,regulation ,abuse of power,, to deny access to effective dosages of medicine to torture,torture to death thus genocide of its own medically ill citizens???’,,What gives our government that right,to torture and kill its own citizens’??maryw
maryw, you said “”ACLU is sueing the federal government for taking away a disables person life sustaining medicines,ie,,opiate medicine, You and others may view opiates as critical as insulin. But with the exception of a small number of medical professionals. The vast majority of medical professionals do not share that view. Nor do governmental agencies.
State Laws define practicing medicine without a license is each state. Practicing medicine without a license is a crime. District attorneys and law enforcement do not have to wait on a regulatory board to be notified.
How the general public, those affected
or human rights organizations view this subject does not matter. Their opinions carry no weight. What matters is how government agencies, law enforcement and district attorneys view this subject. Clearly, they do not agree with you and those that share your views.
Hope once again,,u fail to address or answer the simple question?Why do and others think they have the right to literally torture or torture to death a medically ill individual in physical pain from their illness..The only doctors that do not agree are the ones w/”god complex’s,f surgeouns,,who think their work is sooo grand,,it couldn’t be their fault.With over 350,000.00 medical errors a year,,my medical issue being 1 of them,
,Clearly you have no understanding of the reality’s facing the medically ill in pain..Its about humanity Hope,and truth.Most doctor do agree w/us,,however the fear your government has created,if they practice medicine effectivey,,is what is scareing them under the threat of imprisonment for practicing medicine.Clearly Hope if u believe abuse of power and using lieful propaganda by a federal,state agency,perpatrated /enforced by a law enforcement agency is the way America is,,you are part of the problem,.,,Using force,or threats of extinguishing a doctors life work as Hitler did is exactly why we created legal Documents,such as the Declaration of Independence,Constitution,Bill of rights,,to prevent the abuse of power u speak of.Your right Hope so-far,,your getting away w/this perverted abuse of power,and clearly your proud of willfully harming,tortureing the medicaly ill in physical pain from their illness,,.For me,,I am not proud of the torture,genocide,,abuse,lieful propaganda,and threats ,”our” government has done onto the medically.Which is why we disagree Hope,,U speak of governments rightful use of abuse of power,under the color of law,use of lieful propaganda,data and ware it like a honorable badge.,I speak of what is humane,lawful ,ethical,honest,an non-corrupt.abuse of power.and u know what,,I am ok,,w/being on the side of humanity and humane treatment,for that is what is for the greater good of humanity.Every ,”civilized,”country except America,does not arrrest their doctors for practicing medicine effectively.Every human rights Agency has called your thoughts/action torture,and if your proud of those actions Hope,,god help u,,cause your gonna need it,,when your time comes,,maryw