For years, Janey Karp has battled depression and anxiety with the help of prescription drugs. Though millions of Americans do the same, Karp admits she is intensely private and can't help but feel stigmatized for needing medication to feel normal.
So when the 53-year-old Palm Beach resident read the Walgreens printout attached to her prescription last week for the sleep aid Ambien, she couldn't believe her eyes. Typed in a field reserved for patient information and dated March 17, 2005, was "CrAzY!!" In another field, dated Sept. 30, 2004, it read: "She's really a psycho!!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by names & try to talk to her when ... " The information continued onto another page but was not attached. . . .
The notes field is intended for internal use as a private reminder for the pharmacist, Hively said.
Link.
Hurtful stuff, no doubt about it, but would such a thing happen in a locally-owned pharmacy? Those reminders on the bottle aren't for one pharmacist with a couple of thousand subscriptions in his data base. They're meant for the mega-pharmacies with their team of pharamacists that scarcely recognize you when you walk in the door.
Lady, if you want respect and genuine friendliness, try to find a local pharmacy, then patronize it. Spit at the Walgreens, Wal-Marts, Rite-Aids and other factory systems. And when you don't, take your impersonal and hurtful medicine like an adult.
