Walmart pharmacy implements new opioid restrictions

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LucidSDreamr

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http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/07/news/companies/walmart-opioid-policy/index.html

Walmart is making its opioid policy more strict, limiting the duration of such prescriptions and requiring that they be filled electronically.

The company announced on Monday that within 60 days, it will only fill first-time acute opioid prescriptions for seven days or less nationwide, and it will limit the dosage to 50 morphine milligram equivalents, or MMEs, per day. The CDC publishes MME conversion guides to help pharmacists figure out the right dosage for each type of prescribed opioid


Does this mean no longtem monthly scripts whatsoever?

Very sad news for pain patients and great news for heroin dealers
 
They just want more money for co pays; they get 4 copays instead of 1. It's bs how do they get to dictate what a doctor prescribes? More money , more waiting in line , more shoppers at Walmart every week .
 
Larimar said:
They just want more money for co pays; they get 4 copays instead of 1. It's bs how do they get to dictate what a doctor prescribes? More money , more waiting in line , more shoppers at Walmart every week .
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yeah thats what I was thinking. 4x the dispensing fee.
 
Walmart had the highest price to insurance of any major pharmacy in last year's Consumer Reports. CostCo was lowest. Walgreens was 2nd or 3rd worst.
 
In some place it's a matter of law. Got this insert with my last set of refills. It just seems to me a huge giveaway to the pharmacies that does nothing for harm reduction.

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This is so stupid im having trouble grasping what they are even saying. So your supposed to get your opiates 4 times a month? ... I dont even use opiates but thats beyond dumb.
 
d1nach said:
This is so stupid im having trouble grasping what they are even saying. So your supposed to get your opiates 4 times a month? ... I dont even use opiates but thats beyond dumb.
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yes after you'[ve had spinal surgery and can't even walk...you are supposed to get in your wheelchair, drive to the doctor get a new script then go to 8 pharmacies until you find one that will fill it.
 
There are more loopholes in this new law than a block of baby Swiss cheese. First off, it's very specific about "acute pain," meaning all the doctor has to do is specify "non-acute" if they don't want to be dealing with you every week. Second, the provision about ID is pointless too, given that "if the pharmacist know you," you don't have to show ID. It might be a problem for those recuperating from surgery or an accident and can't get around, but that last line, "the pharmacy may verify the validity of the prescription and the identity of the patient with the prescriber or his/her authorized agent" makes me think there's a loophole for that, too.

In other words, like the TSA is "security theater," this is "HR theater" that accomplishes bupkis. Absolute bupkis. It's meaningless. It's all for show.
 
Sometimes the acts are on the more tragic side, but I prefer to think of all this as a circus.

Less unbearable that way.

I can think of far more meaningful strategies to improve public health in America.
 
aihfl said:
There are more loopholes in this new law than a block of baby Swiss cheese. First off, it's very specific about "acute pain," meaning all the doctor has to do is specify "non-acute" if they don't want to be dealing with you every week. Second, the provision about ID is pointless too, given that "if the pharmacist know you," you don't have to show ID. It might be a problem for those recuperating from surgery or an accident and can't get around, but that last line, "the pharmacy may verify the validity of the prescription and the identity of the patient with the prescriber or his/her authorized agent" makes me think there's a loophole for that, too.

In other words, like the TSA is "security theater," this is "HR theater" that accomplishes bupkis. Absolute bupkis. It's meaningless. It's all for show.
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lets say somebody breaks both of their legs in a motorcycle accident. they have emergency surgery the night of the accident. They are discharged two days later to home. I don't know if the law defines "chronic" pain, but i would imagine having had the pain for only 2 days, you can't call it chronic pain and most doctors wouldn't want to risk their licence doing so.

So the person with two shattered legs has to go to the 7 pharmacies and the doctor every three days. That should really help their recovery and pain levels.

I remember filling each months after my back surgery. it was a nightmare of pain and the process of driving to the doctor and the ten different pharmacies would take my pain level from a 7 to a 10 easily. Making me require hiigher doses and some heroin in addition to the script. See how well these policies work at lowering opioid use?
 
^ Dude, you're missing the forest for the trees. I haven't read the statute yet, but the way this leaflet puts it, all a doctor has to do to get around these limitations is to specify in the script that it isn't for acute pain. If meaning of acute is interpreted as the medically accepted definition of it, chronic would not be acute. And whether it's truly acute or not, all the doctor has to say is that it isn't acute and hello loophole.
 
^There are doctors who do, but I've seen several get punished by the machine and it's not pretty!

Doctors are under so much scrutiny and pressure right now not to prescribe opioids. It's a lot of paperwork and grief for each separate patient.

I don't know how much this particular policy will affect things, but I agree that getting pain meds once every three days (I've seen this in articles) is unfathomable, and once a week is v unreasonable for people who need pain medication.

The existence of such policies indicates that things are not moving in the right direction.
 
cduggles said:
^There are doctors who do, but I've seen several get punished by the machine and it's not pretty!

Doctors are under so much scrutiny and pressure right now not to prescribe opioids. It's a lot of paperwork and grief for each separate patient.

I don't know how much this particular policy will affect things, but I agree that getting pain meds once every three days (I've seen this in articles) is unfathomable, and once a week is v unreasonable for people who need pain medication.

The existence of such policies indicates that things are not moving in the right direction.
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what do you expect with conservatives in power?

I remember when obama said limiting opioid supply will not have any effect on the heroin crisis. And now we have sessions and trump. god help us all
 
I've been using A Sam's Club pharmacy for 12 years and was told that I will need to find a new pharmacy as 7 days is the maximum amount they can prescribe. 30 day scripts must be for druggies.

I've using them for 12 years because jumping around with pharmacies is considered shady but I have no choice now. My local Costco has Nazis for pharms & techs and won't fill my script because my doctor is more than 5 miles away. I've also seen them turn away people because they thought the doctor was too liberal in the quantity prescribed.

Of course pharmacists are far more educated than Doctors and should have the final say. 8)

But yeah I was told anything that's affiliated with Sam Walton will only be dispensing 7 days worth regardless whether it's acute or chronic or palliative. The other local pharms want 2x their cost now also. What a great time to be a pain patient.
 
Jekyl Anhydride said:
I've been using A Sam's Club pharmacy for 12 years and was told that I will need to find a new pharmacy as 7 days is the maximum amount they can prescribe. 30 day scripts must be for druggies.

I've using them for 12 years because jumping around with pharmacies is considered shady but I have no choice now. My local Costco has Nazis for pharms & techs and won't fill my script because my doctor is more than 5 miles away. I've also seen them turn away people because they thought the doctor was too liberal in the quantity prescribed.

Of course pharmacists are far more educated than Doctors and should have the final say. 8)

But yeah I was told anything that's affiliated with Sam Walton will only be dispensing 7 days worth regardless whether it's acute or chronic or palliative. The other local pharms want 2x their cost now also. What a great time to be a pain patient.
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most pharmacists get immediately confused if you pull out terms like agonist and antagonist in my experience. They should have no say in anything whatsoever.

They would only fill scripts from doctors within five miles of their store? thats insane I've never heard that one before.



I will say, that ever since I have moved to California from florida, I have never had a single problem getting my script filled immediately nor getting the script from the doctor. I'm so glad I'm out of conservative states as they seem to be the ones having the worst rules implemented...plus weed is legal here too.

The south is the 3rd world - the real shithole "country"
 
If you look at teh map showing the mean number of MME's-morphine mg equivalents prescribed throughout the US, Northern Cali/ Southern Oregon has about 4x the amount that So Ca has. I'd stay North of Fresno till this knee jerk BS calms down if you're happy with the med care you're getting. The 5 mile restriction is a creative rule they came up with for CII scripts they feel you don't need. 6 months earlier they were filling 200 Percs from the same doctor without anything more than rolling their eyes..
 
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