Healthcare Problems: Getting Pills
Just went to CVS to get a new month of birth control pills. Because of text reminders I received, I thought my prescription was ready for pick-up -
It wasn’t.
I was informed when I got there that the name brand I’m on – Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo - "is back ordered for a long time because it’s in high demand”. My health insurance – Medicaid - only approves the brand name. I guess the two of them have some sort of deal. But that deal clearly can strike up an inconvenience for people who rely on these pills for pregnancy prevention, PCOS symptoms, etc.
I’m supposed to start a new pill pack in five days.
This must happen from time to time, so fortunately the pharmacist was able to give me the generic right away so that my hormone levels don’t get messed up (though she admitted that when this happens, only 14 pills are supposed to be filled/given instead of the usual 28. I’m glad she seemed to think that would be a bit ridiculous and so she gave me a full prescription!), but I had to call my doctor’s office so that they can approve getting generic for the next month/months.
Drug shortages can and do happen. I don’t know the exact backstory of this backorder, and feeling surprised and curious from what the pharmacist told me I decided to do some research. I found on the FDA website that Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo and some others have been discontinued due to commercial reasons. Interesting.
*You can find that here: www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/dsp_ActiveIngredientDetails.cfm?AI=Norgestimate+and+Ethinyl+Estradiol+Tablets&st=d&tab=tabs-2
Regardless, my insurance company and CVS should have told me that there was an issue going on. People need to know if their health and well-being may be interrupted! Health Care Problems… There is So Much to improve related to health care. No system is perfect. At least I have health insurance.
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