Pharmacy overfilled my prescription way too much! What should I do?

[grizzie21]

So a few days ago I dropped off a prescription to CVS for 4 tablets of Suboxone Tablets for a 4 day supply. Me and my mom went to go pick it up yesterday right before the pharmacy closed. My mom was waiting in the car while i went inside and purchased the prescription. My doctor had specifically told my mom to hold and control the medication so I wouldn't abuse (which I was completely fine with). So I handed her the prescription (bottle in the bag unopened, so I didnt see). My mom has no idea how much suboxone tablets I was to receive. So she didn't think anything of it when there was actually 6x more than supposed to.

I myself realized just a few moments ago that there was 25 tablets instead of 4! Not only that but the on the label of the bottle is says "Deleted RX#", "RETURN TO STOCK VIAL", and of course the Prescription name and mg. I would of course prefer to keep these, so i can save some money from going to the doctor. But what should I do? Do I have to bring them back? Will I get in trouble if I dont say anything? Will the pharmacist get fired because of this?

*EDIT/UPDATE: I was able to read the label underneath using a flashlight to see through the top label. Apparently the prescription was meant for someone else. This prescription was originally filled 2 months ago and was deleted or "Returned to Stock Vial (RTS) the day after it was filled." So what does this change for my situation?

 

[kgeisel98]

I've gotten extra pills a few times. I wouldn't get rid of them though. Personally, I'd play dumb as your mother holds onto them how were you to know. Thats even if they catch their mistake. And I don't think they can do anything about it anyways. Merry Christmas!

 

[Kittycat5]

Absolutely keep them if you really wont abuse them. I am a pharmacist btw. We make mistakes unintentionally from time to time. Seeing as there was no malice, be happy it was in your favor. Please keep to your regular schedule for MD and Rx visits though or you could be asking for trouble.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Typically, we try to steer away from topics tbat aren't directly tied to the concepts and philosophy of harm reduction, but I don't think this one can hurt. The ball is really in your court on this one. It is first and foremost, the fault of the pharmacist. You did nothing but pick up your prescription as you were supposed to, but perhaps a little parable can help you make the right decision.

On more than one occasion througout my employment history, I've been overpaid (and underpaid, of course) by my employer. The first time it happened, I was just really getting into Opioids and had essentially lost control of my spending habits. I opened my biweekly check to find that it had been exactly doubled i.e. instead of being paid for 40 hours, I was paid for 80. The problem is, yes, it is my employer's fault initially, but there truly is no way that a sane individual wouldn't notice that they had made twice as much money as they thought they were going to make, hence, there's really no plausible deniability.

If this is a one-off kind of thing, then I would say more power to you, you've scored well. If you desire to keep an open and honest relationship with your prescriber, than you need to return the extras and explain what happened. Everything is computerized these days. A pizzeria can tell you how many ounces of pepperoni they sold between 5 and 8 o clock, so to make the assumption that the pharmacy will just never notice, well, I just don't think that that's plausible.

 

[grizzie21]

Absolutely keep them if you really wont abuse them. I am a pharmacist btw. We make mistakes unintentionally from time to time. Seeing as there was no malice, be happy it was in your favor. Please keep to your regular schedule for MD and Rx visits though or you could be asking for trouble.

Will there really be no consequences though? I'm sure they would monitor medication like this very closely. It is a Schedule III Drug.

 

[grizzie21]

Update: I was able to read the label underneath using a flashlight to see through the top label. Apparently the prescription was meant for someone else. This prescription was originally filled 2 months ago and was deleted or "Returned to Stock Vial (RTS) the day after it was filled." So what does this change for my situation?

 

[Keif' Richards]

Oh yes. KC5 is definitely the authority on this one. I cannot deny that, but my bet as a layperson, is that they will, at some point, most definitely notice the discrepancy.

 

[grizzie21]

If the pharmacists that work at this CVS dont want to get in trouble themselves, do you think they will just ignore this?

 

[Kittycat5]

Depending on how busy and/or organized the pharmacy is, they may not even notice. Fortunately the DEA and most corporations realize mistakes happen, pills or whatever dosage form gets dropped or damaged or other unforseen happenstances occur, so while stringent, there is some leniency. If they do notice, the worst that may happen is they call you or on your next fill tell you in person what happened but once a drug leaves, they cant take it back and really should not bill your insurance or charge you for their error.