Mashpee, Falmouth CVS locations criticized for falling behind on prescriptions

Oct. 5--MASHPEE -- Residents have reported delays in prescription refills at CVS locations in Mashpee and Falmouth, as well as possible violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPPA] at the Mashpee store.

Staff at the CVS location in Mashpee Commons declined to speak on the matter and deffered comment to the company's corporate offices.

"We had experienced prior temporary delays at these locations but have added additional resources and are accepting new prescription(s) in both locations," Matt Blanchette, a spokesperson for CVS, said in an email. "We plan to avoid any future disruption, and we apologize for any delay."

Blanchette did not elaborate on what caused the delays, which he said were specific to the two locations in Mashpee and Falmouth. He reiterated the company's apologies for anyone who may have experienced delays.

Lorri Landers, a Mashpee resident and registered nurse, went to CVS a few weeks ago to pick up medication. She said there was a sign that said, "no new prescriptions." A pharmacist told her the pharmacy was 1,200 scripts behind and eight days behind in prescription refills.

She was told she had to come back later to refill her prescriptions. Landers told the pharmacist she was not feeling well, and the pharmacist decided to refill some of her prescriptions, Landers said.

Landers also said the pharmacist called out her medications aloud in front of eight people, which is a violation of HIPAA.

Blanchette said in an email that CVS has policies and practices to ensure the privacy of patients' personal health information, and said CVS will look into the HIPAA complaint.

Landers said the pharmacist suggested she go to Walgreens because the CVS locations in both Mashpee and East Falmouth were behind.

Landers called the CVS number to make a complaint and left a detailed message. She was told she would receive a call back in 24 hours, but two days went by without a response, she said. She called the Mashpee CVS and was on hold for 52 minutes before she called the main Rhode Island office. She said she did not get a hold of anybody, nor a return phone call. She called again a week later, but did not get a call back.

"How many other patients are they doing that to, maybe the older people that need their medication?" Landers said. "What about the elderly that are waiting in that line eight people deep that need their blood pressure medication and heart medication that they take everyday?"

"I am in the medical profession," Landers said. "I do take into consideration that they're busy. It was the end of the summer season and they still had a big influx of people. I get that. I don't think the Mashpee store prepares well for the summer influx."

Landers transferred her prescriptions to Walgreens, but she said it was not an easy process. When Walgreens got her prescriptions, they were ready in 15 minutes, she said.

"They were more than willing to help me get my prescriptions," she said. "They really impressed me."

Julie Jones, another Mashpee resident, also experienced delays in prescription refills. She had to get a prescription for her daughter, and when she called she waited 20 minutes. Nobody picked up so she hung up. The next day she called and waited again, this time for 15 minutes before someone picked up.

Jones was also told that there were a thousand prescriptions that needed to be filled.

"You need that prescription when your doctor is sending in a prescription," Jones said, "You're not expecting to wait 10 days to get it."

Her daughter's doctor ordered a prescription during an appointment on Wednesday, but she had yet to receive a call as of Friday that it had been filled.

"They really need to do something better over there," Jones said. "I was thinking about switching our prescriptions over to somewhere else because we can't go days without it."

Follow Jessica Hill on Twitter: @jess_hillyeah.

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