Can a pharmacist ask for a diagnosis and refuse to fill prescription?

Here's the deal, I dont know the actual facts here because the laws around health care are being updated all the time (because the government loves to make new laws all the time) but personally I dont think they should have that right under HIPPA laws for one but also the fact is, if its an opioid, they have to call the doctor anyway, so if they are asking you because they want to verify who you are then they can ask for your license. If they still need verification that the drug is correctly issued, they can call the doctor before they give it to you. They dont need to ask you why you are being given the drug, its really none of their business, i.m.o. to ask what medical procedures you have had. They can simply ask the doctor. The reason they are doing this is because a certain percentage of people are hooked on opiods, the rest of people who use it responsibly have to be punished as well. This is how statists operate. Punish the whole because of a few that abuse it.

They sure can. A pharmacist at Walgreens refused to fill my prescription a few months ago because she said that it was too soon after my last (it was two months) - and even after my doctor called and explained that I had two torn rotator cuffs she still refused because she felt it I didn't need them. I took it to CVS and had it filled no problem. Here's the thing - I get that there is an opioid crisis going on but I don't think a pharmacist should be able to override my doctor. That's ridiculous!

The bottom line is the pharmacist is a dr of pharmacy - that means they are experts on medications. That means their job is to make sure the medications the DOCTORS prescribe are properly dispensed and will not interact with other medications the patient is taking. They have absolutely no training on deciding how a diagnosis should be treated, so have no need to know it. If they want to confirm thg he prescription call the doctor. I am a doctor and think this violates patient privacy. Do you want the pharmacist, the technician and the cashier all knowing your medical problems. I know i dont. So lets stick to what their area of expertise is.

I called cvs corporate regarding the pharmacist told me that they were no longer filling opioid medication on weekends or after doctor offices are closed. Reason they have to call the doctor each time they fill the script. In talking to their complaint dept. James told me that their policy is it is up to the discretion of the pharmacist weather they will or will not fill controlled meds ie pain meds. Well i told him that is discrimination. Because to me what that says if polly the pharmacist is having a bad day and i come in to get my meds filled she can say no for whatever reason. the last 6 months when i have brought in my scripts its been delayed. They don't have any or new rule ect ect ect. Also is this violating any hippa laws?

My doctor has to write it on my Adderall since it is a controlled substance and a pharmacist can certainly refuse to fill any prescription. Especially a controlled substance. They can easily get around the customer service aspect by simply saying they don't have it.

I have never had my Dr. Put my diagnosis on a script for my pain management meds. I don't not believe a pharmacist can ask you that info, their a pharmacist not an doc

I had a pharmacist do that to me some time back and it wasn't for pain meds. I got home and called my doctor. She said he had over stepped his authority and told me to go right back and my prescriptions were filled.

I just realized this was originally posted in 2013! I’m in SC & it’s 2018 and my pain Management dr has never written a diagnosis on any of my prescriptions, nor has any other doctor here! I call BS on needing Diagnosis for insurance when I’m paying cash for the script! Now 1 Walmart wants to make sure my doctor knows my PCP is treating me for anxiety and the Walmart I normally use doesn’t question because he/she knows me & knows I’ve never crossed a line with any of my medications!! I wouldn’t ask my pain doctor to write for an infection or discuss my anxiety with him! He treats & manages my pain

WalMart asked me this for the first time. The pharmacist was very polite, discreet, added " if you don’t mind”. I said of course not, "chronic condition, bulging disks in neck". Doctors and pharmacists are petrified nowadays, (did you know that the weaning off opioid thing for doctors now is NOT a MANDATE? They are just looking at prescriptions for more than equivalent 100mg morphine day) and he/she probably would have filled it if you had said you'd rather keep it private. Pain clinics and doctors are taking it too far on the side of caution.

New law in Florida says the diagnosis must be on the prescription. All states are beginning to pass these new laws. In October in Oregon insurance companies say that no more than 3 days of opoids will be covered unless it's for cancer or palliative care. So laws and insurance companies are trying hard to stop all prescriptions for them.
Pharmacists are getting especially nasty about filling these prescriptions all over the country. The government is leaning on them hard.

I would think there should be a privacy law but there is not. I was refused my prescriptions and asked why he said he wanted a diagnos and plan to tappering. Off plan. The two scripts he said were not approved to use together by the CD C even though I had been taking them safely for sometime and my condition warrants it. The pharmacist gets to decide. He is the doctor now. I did some research and this is becoming more common due to regulations. Government officials now control our health care not the doctor anymore.

I am in Texas and found out today the new Walgreen staff Pharmicis, where I have been getting medicine for years now, was calling any doctor that wrote me a prescription for Ultram/Tramadol and told them I was getting prescriptions from multiple doctors, so the doctor would then delete the prescription thinking I was getting prescriptions filled from different doctors! I was just trying to get one doctor to stick with me & refill it for me, like I have had in the past years, since I was crushed in an auto accident. I will always have broken bone pain from multiple fractures. She was misleading the doctor's staff, telling them I had multiple doctors filling Ultram, when in fact I have NEVER had any overlapping prescriptions. Ever. So, in fear, the doctor was declining the refill. I think she was overstepping her boundaries on this, presenting an untrue scenerio and keeping me from getting the refill I need. I cant believe she was doing this. And who would I turn her in to? Her name is Beta, wherever that is from.

Absolutely. The law states: The responsibility for the proper prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances is upon the prescribing practitioner, but a corresponding responsibility rests with the pharmacist who fills the prescription. If the DEA were to walk into the pharmacy, pull out your prescription, and tell the pharmacist to justify why they dispensed it, they better hope they had a RX on it, minimum. The opioid epidemic is out of control and we have to do these things now, it is part of the process.

Walmart just did the SAME to me. It's Saturday. My doctor is not available. I've used the same pharmacy, same physician, same meds, since 2010. I had to go to a different chain to get my prescription. I believe this also red flags my account as suspicious. This is ridiculous. When a pharmacist gets a license to write a prescription, then he can have the right to violate my right to privacy. Also seems to be a discrimination against a person with a disability. I filed a complaint with HHS for violation of my disability rights. May not help, but we can't stand idly by and allow others to control our health.

Pharmacist won't fill script because it was to early he said. No, the last one was only for two weeks and this one is different I said. No he said it is the same jjmedsjmeds and same dose. I told him no the one two weeks ago had tylenol which made me sick to my stomach so my PM Doc switched it to straight oxys 10mg without tylenol. No he said I won't fill it. Really my insurance does not have a problem with filling it they said because it is a different med.