The federal agency says the symptoms may appear 2-to-14 days after exposure to the virus.
Author: Michael King (11ALIVE)
Published: 1:38 PM EDT April 25, 2020
Updated: 1:00 PM EDT April 27, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added six new symptoms of the novel coronavirus to its list presented on its official website. The original list of symptoms included fever, cough and shortness of breath.
As of April 24, 2020, the CDC has included these new symptoms in its official description:
•Chills
•Repeated shaking with chills
•Muscle pain
•Headache
•Sore throat
•New loss of taste or smell
While some of these symptoms -- most particularly a loss of taste or smell -- has been mentioned by individuals who have exhibited the primary symptoms or who have been diagnosed, this is the first time that the CDC has officially included the symptom among those which should be watched for.
The symptoms, according to the agency, may appear anywhere from 2-to-14 days after exposure to the virus. Officials emphasize that the list is not necessarily all-inclusive.
In addition, the CDC says that if any individual develops any of these emergency warning signs for COVID-19, they are directed to get medical attention immediately:
•Trouble breathing
•Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
•New confusion or inability to arouse
•Bluish lips or face
If you have a medical emergency, call 911. Notify the operator that you have or thing you may have COVID-19. If at all possible, put a cloth face covering or mask on before medical help arrives.
RELATED: Coronavirus in Georgia | There are 23,695 confirmed cases; more than 900 deaths
Older adults and people with underlying severe medical conditions, including heart or lung diseases or diabetes appear to be at a higher risk for developing more serious complications from the novel coronavirus, according to the CDC.
For additional information, please visit the CDC's special section on COVID-19.
11Alive is focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. We want to keep you informed about the latest developments while ensuring that we deliver confirmed, factual information.
We will track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Georgia on this page. Refresh often for new information
work at a pharmacy/ general store near my house. I usually work behind the register closest to the door, so i get asked about where certain products are. I am also the guy who has to deal with all the refunds. On this day, a old lady and a little girl walk in together. I greet them, and they go on their way. A few minutes later they are at my register.)
Me: “Hello, how are you?”
Old Woman: “I’m good, thank you. I’d like to buy these.”
She hands me a box of tampons.
Me: “One moment please.”
I scan her item, and hand it to her. She pays in full, and the old woman, takes the girl, who I’ve assumed to be her daughter with her.
Four days later, the women return, clearly angry. They approach me.
Old Woman: “I’d like a refund.”
She holds up the box, with has been opened. We have a strict policy for not refunding opened items.
Me: “I’m sorry, I can’t give you refunds on used items.”
Old Woman: “Your goddamn faulty products got my daughter pregnant!”
Me: “Excuse me?”
Old Woman: You heard me, you son of a b****! These tampons didn’t stop my daughter from getting pregnant.”
By now the whole store is hearing what the lady is saying, and a few of the women on line are laughing quietly.
Me: “I’m sorry ma’am, but tampons don’t stop pregnancy.”
Old Woman: What the hell are you talking about? Are you trying to bulls*** me?”
Me: “No, I’m serious. Tampons are for your periods. If you wanted a contraceptive, I would’ve gladly help you out.”
The woman is clearly embarrassed now, since the whole store is laughing at her.
Old Woman: *whisper* “Where are the contraceptives?”
Me: “Aisle three, by the tampons.”
The woman quickly hurries off, and grabs the birth control pills.
Old Woman: “I’m so sorry.”
Me: “It’s alright.”
The lady pays, takes her daughter and runs out the door. My coworkers and I start laughing, and one of the female employees said, “She was a woman right? How did she not know what tampons are?”
Me: “I don’t know, but at least her daughter knows what to look for.”
I’m ringing out a customer who wants to update the information on her card. This requires scanning it twice, once for the update, and once for the actual transaction)
Me: Alright, let me see your card so I can update your phone number. Thank you, and please leave it out so I can scan it again during the transaction.
Customer: *puts card away*
Me: Okay then, your current phone number is now attached to your card. Can I please see your [Store] card again? I need to scan it so that you can receive the sale prices on our items.
Customer: Oh…I didn’t know you actually meant what you said earlier
The pharmacy I work at offers a drive-thru service. A customer pulls up, looking irate and holding his medication bag up to his window. Keep in mind I’m very obviously a teenager, voice cracks and all.)
Customer: You f***ing idiots overcharged my medications!
Me: I’m sorry about that, give me a moment and I’ll take care of this.
Customer: You better! If you bunch of jacka**es can’t handle something as simple as charging the right amount, I’ll take my business elsewhere!
(This customer has a complicated billing arrangment between us and his insurance company. The pharmacist who knows the situation is at home, so I call this pharmacist from the drive-thru window. Every few seconds, the customer starts shouting about how stupid I am, how long I’m taking, and that he’s going somewhere else. I assure him I’m working on it, but his shouting gets so loud it overpowers the pharmacist on the phone, making this take even longer. Finally, I have enough.)
Customer: I CAN’T BELIEVE –
Me: *hand over the receiver, almost growling* Shut. Up. Now.
(The customer sputters to a stop, clearly surprised that a teenager still voice cracking would stand up to him like that. But he stayed quiet for the rest of the transaction. I understand being frustrated when a business screws up. But once the employees start fixing it, just be quiet and let them do their job!)
(I am the customer and I am picking up cough meds and an inhaler because I have bronchitis/walking pneumonia. Also, I haven’t slept much in the last week because I’m up all night coughing.)
(I work in a pharmacy and this scenario happens almost weekly)
Tech: I’m sorry, we can’t fill your prescription, we don’t have the medication in stock
Patient: Why can’t you?! I have a prescription!
Tech: I know you do, but we don’t have the medication. We can order it for you for tomorrow or you can take it to another pharmacy
Patient: I always get my medication here, why can’t you fill it?
Tech: Well we can order it for tomorrow, but I don’t have the medication in stock
Patient: But I need it today, just fill it!!
Tech: We don’t have the medication, I can’t give you something we don’t have.
Patient: I don’t get why this happened! You should always have it, I need it now.
Tech: We can order it for tomorrow or you can go to a different pharmacy. There’s nothing else I can do for you. We don’t have the medication *walks away*
Tech: *to me* I don’t get why people come last minute and demand their medication, that prescription was a week old and she knew she was going to run out anyways.
Me: And I don’t get why they always think we should have every medication in stock, like we are a magic vault that can hold every single medication
Bigotry, France, Health & Body, Jerk, Pharmacy | Healthy | February 5, 2020
(My aunt wakes up one day with very bad stomach pain and gas. My uncle goes to the pharmacy for her and has this conversation with the pharmacist at the counter.)
Uncle: “My wife has stomach pain; what kind of medicine should she take?”
Pharmacist: *in a nonchalant tone* “It must be period cramps. Don’t worry.”
Uncle: “My wife who’s menopaused for two years? I don’t think so.”
Pharmacist: “Then it’s her menopause. Again, no worries.”
Uncle: “I didn’t know menopause could cause stomach pain.”
Pharmacist: *now with a more pedantic tone* “Well, you see, it’s not her stomach. Don’t worry about it.”
(By now my uncle is getting a little pissed off by the pharmacist’s insistence, so he puts his hands on the counter and speaks slowly.)
Uncle: “Listen here. My wife wakes up with stomach pain. The upper part of her belly is swollen; that’s where the stomach is. And she has gas coming from her digestive system, where the stomach is connected. Can I have a medicine for that or not?”
(The pharmacist went to his manager, who found the correct medicine in one minute. We don’t know why he was so insistent with his false diagnosis.)
Extra Stupid, Finland, Ignoring & Inattentive, Insurance, Pharmacy | Healthy | January 26, 2020
(I work in a pharmacy. The national Finnish health insurance covers certain medicines — insulin, medicine for glaucoma, etc. — almost 100%; you only pay 4,50 euros for three months’ use. But there is a price range the insurance covers and if there are less expensive generic alternatives, the insurance covers only the cheapest for 4,50€. You can still have the more expensive brand, but you have to pay the price difference yourself. Some medicines don’t have generic alternatives for years, but when they eventually come available, this is often the discussion
Me: “This eyedrop used to be 4,50€ but now there’s another brand that is 19€ cheaper so the health insurance covers only the cheaper one for that price. If you don’t want to change brands, you have to pay 4,50€ plus 19€; that is 23,50€.”
Patient: “Okay, I don’t want to change brands; I want to talk with my doctor first. I’ll take the original.”
Me: “Yes, that’s fine. You can have either one, but for the original, you now have to pay 23,50€.”
Patient: “Yes, but I don’t want another brand. I’ll just take the original today and talk with my doctor about the generic alternative. I’ve always used [Brand]. I’ll take that one.”
Me: “All right. I understand the situation. There used to be only [Brand] but last month [Cheaper Brand] became available and they set their price much lower. That is why the health insurance doesn’t cover the original [Brand] anymore, even though it used to cost only 4,50€. But you can still always choose the original one if you want. It’s just a bit more expensive now.” *enters the original brand on the computer and sends the customer to pay*
(An hour goes by and the telephone rings
Patient: “Yeah, I was there earlier and bought my glaucoma drops. They should be 4,50€ but it says on the receipt that I paid 23,50€ ! Why was it so much?”
Me: “…” *loses a little bit more faith in humanity every time*
The Life of a Pharmacy Tech.
(Customer 1)”Hello, how can I help you? Are you going to wait or come back? Great we’ll see you tomorrow.”
*phone rings*
“the price of #120 Endocet? $89…Yes, we have the yellow ones”
*Hangs up*
(Customer 2) “Are you going to wait or come back? Ok it’ll be 5-10 minutes”
*starts filling customer 2’s script*
*phone rings* (once…twice…three times.. Damn.)
*cancels out of script*
*answers phone*
“Yes, we have #90 Morphine ER 15… how much are they? let me go check… $150.. no I’m sorry we don’t fill for that doctor.I’m not sure who will fill for that doctor, sorry. I know. I know. . I know. . I’m sorry. Yes sir. .(5 minutes later) Uhhhuhh. Uhuh. Have a good day”
*hangs up*
*starts customer #2’s script again*
“I have a waiter! “[Where are my counters!?]
*counter counts & pharmacist checks*
(Customer 3)”are you going to wait or come back? Ok it’ll be 10-15 Minutes.”
*phone rings*
“Yes can you hold on just a second? ”
*puts line 4 on hold*
“Customer 3? It’s too soon to fill your Xanax. Oh You’re going out of town?[yeah right] can I call your doctor to fill it earlier? Yeah hold on just a sec”
*calls dr. Has to leave message*
“I’m sorry customer 3 I had to leave a message, I’m not sure how much longer it’ll be”
*phone rings* [crap I forgot line 4]
“Heyyyyyyy line 4! What can I do for you? Fill all 15 scripts for you? You’ll be here in 20 minutes? We’ll see you then” [double crap!]
*customer 1 comes back*
“Hey customer 1 I thought you were coming back tomorrow? Ok you decided to get it today? Ok I’m doing it right now! ”
[Why is customer 2 is still here?]
“Why is customer 2 still here! ?”
[Where are my cashiers!?]
*grabs customer 2’s script and rings him up, along with the 2 people inline behind him*
[Customer 1 is still waiting. Damn]
*starts to runs customer 1’s script*
*phone rings. ..once twice three times*
*answers caller 3*
“You have a new insurance card? Ok does it have a BIN #? A GRP #? A PCN #? ID #? It doesn’t have a ID number? Are you sure? It could say ‘subscriber ID’.. no? Ok I’ll need you to bring in the card”
I have a call on like 2?
“Hello? Hi! Yes! It’s not ok to fill customer 3’s Xanax early? Ok I’ll let him know”
“CUSTOMER 3? yes I just spoke to the nurse and she said we couldn’t fill your Xanax early. I’m sorry! I know. I know. That’s what she said. Yes, you can have your script back. [Let me dig through this giant stack right quick]
*writes on back that it was filled 01/01/2016* [good luck getting that filled somewhere else buddy]
(15 script customer) hi, are my meds ready? [You called it in 5 minutes ago! ] “we’re working on them right now for you! ”
(Cashier 1) this customer doesn’t want these 3 can you return them?
*returns 3 scripts *
(Customer 5) never mind I’ll go ahead and take those 3!
*rebills the 3 again*
(Cashier 2) I can’t find the medication for customer 6
“Have you checked the computer? Computer says it’s scanned into bin GH”
(Whole pharmacy stops to look for customer 6’s medication) [where does it go! ?!]
“Found it in the “Z” bin! !!”
(Customer 7)” you just called and someone quoted you $150 for #90 Morphine ER 15? Yes that was me.we can’t fill for this doctor. You want to speak to the pharmacist? Ok.” [Let me stop them from checking my waiter just to tell you no…]
(Pharmacist) I’m sorry we cannot fill foot this dr.
(Caller 3 walks in) “You bought in your insurance card? Let me take a look. .. ma’am this is an Aflac business card for their business”
*knock knock knock *
(Delivery man) The medication order is here & someone needs to go sign the delivery forms
*knock knock knock*
*heads for the deliver*
*phone rings*
*smashes head on keyboard*
Mental Health Professional Can Do Nothing For Retail Workers
Doctor/Physician, Pharmacy, Retail, USA | Right | January 16, 2020
(I am ringing out a patient of my pharmacy who also happens to be a mental health professional. He gives me a new discount card to see if it will give him a smaller copay than his insurance does. I am skeptical, as the prescription is an expensive one, but I’ve been wrong before, so I process the card anyway, just to be sure.)
Me: *when the copay comes up significantly smaller* “Oh, hey, I was wrong! Here’s your new total; that’s a nice deal!”
Customer: *with practiced couch-side manner* “You didn’t have to say you were wrong so enthusiastically. Is there someone at home who demands that sort of subservience from you?”
Me: *blinking* “No one at home, sir. But, y’know, I work in retail.”
Customer: “Oh, right. You poor thing.”
(He left me his card, but I haven’t taken him up on the matter yet. If you’re reading this, sir, I’m completely okay! I’m humble enough to admit when I’m wrong, but retail has also endowed me with the backbone to stand up for myself when I know I’m right, too!)
Criminal & Illegal, Extra Stupid, Mexico, Pharmacy | Legal | January 6, 2020
One day, while I am standing on the sidewalk, waiting for my ride, I see some junkie pull a knife on the cashier of a nearby pharmacy. Now, this wouldn’t be that surprising, except for the fact that there’s a police station right across the street from said pharmacy, just behind me.
I don’t even get out my cellphone; I just tap on the window and point when a couple of the officers inside look up from their paperwork.
They realize what’s happening, bolt out of the door, run seven yards, and tackle the would-be robber. Idiot.
Bizarre, Georgia, Health & Body, Pharmacy, USA | Right | January 3, 2020
(I am a pharmacy tech. A man comes up to the counter cradling his right hand.)
Customer: “Can you tell me which of these braces would be best for this?”
(He gestures to his hand, which is bruised, swollen, and has a large cut between two of his knuckles.)
Me: “I’ll be honest; it looks pretty broken.”
Customer: “Yeah, I think it is. It feels like there are rice krispies in there. The wrist ones don’t really help much, so I need one that goes all the way up. So, which one do you think would be best?”
Me: “I recommend going to a doctor and having it professionally set. None of the braces are going to do anything except help it heal wrong.”
Customer: “So, none of them?”
Me: “No, you need to be seen by a doctor.”
Customer: “Okay.”
(He then wandered back over and looked at the wrist braces some more, all the time holding his broken hand limp by his side.)
Bad Behavior, Bizarre, Pharmacy, USA | Right | January 2, 2020
(My store is situated in an upscale part of town, within a five-minute drive of two hospitals, so we receive business from people of all walks of life. A woman of older-middle-age comes in, attired in a hot pink cocktail dress, a white fur stole, and matching pink stiletto heels and purse. On a — yes, hot pink — leash, she leads an immaculately groomed Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, who valiantly attempts to keep up with her pace as she marches up to the pharmacy drop-off window as intently as one would approach an enemy soldier. The look on her face as she glares steadily into my soul from across the store plainly tells me that she is itching for a fight. She ignores my typical customer-service greeting, strikes a regal pose, and slaps a prescription for an infamously addictive sort of painkiller onto the counter in front of me.)
Cruella: “Your drive-thru is not open, and I need this immediately.”
(Our drive-thru is broken and has been for months. It is an inconvenience, yes, but most people get over it and come in.)
Me: *cheerfully* “I can certainly get that for you. I am going to need to take a picture of your ID with this medication.”
Cruella: “Well, I never! Do I look like a criminal to you, little girl?”
Me: “It’s not a reflection on you, ma’am. Our policy is to get a copy of the ID with certain medications, and this happens to be one of those.”
Cruella: *scoffs* “How ridiculous.”
(She rummages in her purse theatrically, produces the ID with a flourish, and holds it up so I can see it. Instinctively, I reach to grab it and she reels back.)
Cruella: “How dare you?! I did not give you permission to touch my personal effects!”
Me: “Ma’am, it is policy that I need to attach a copy of your ID to the prescription. It is to prevent anyone from pretending to be you or a family member and stealing it to sell on the streets.”
Cruella: “What’s stopping you from stealing my ID?”
Me: “My boss and all of my coworkers watching to see if I screw up, ma’am.”
(And there are a lot of coworkers there. It is flu season, after all.)
Cruella: “FINE!”
(She throws the ID at me, which I catch and scan in the copier. She mutters for the entire three seconds that takes.)
Me: *handing her ID back to her nicely* “So, did you want to wait for this today? We have a wait time of about fifteen to twenty minutes.”
(It’s actually much longer than that on a busy day like today for patient customers, but she obviously isn’t feeling that virtue and I already want to see the back of her.)
Cruella: *suddenly screeching* “FIFTEEN TO TWENTY MINUTES?! I’VE NEVER HAD TO WAIT THAT LONG FOR ANYTHING IN MY LIFE!”
Me: *biting back a sassy remark along the lines of, “Yeah, I can tell.”* “I apologize, ma’am, but that is the standard wait time.”
Cruella: “THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I NEED THIS IMMEDIATELY! I WOULDN’T HAVE TO WAIT THAT LONG IF YOU LAZY LITTLE PRINCESSES WOULD JUST FIX THE DRIVE-THRU! I’M NOT EVEN WELL ENOUGH TO BE ON MY FEET THIS LONG! GET ME YOUR MANAGER! THIS IS THE MOST BADLY-RUN PHARMACY I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!”
(My manager, who has been listening from his station on the other side of the drop-off window and gauging how well the newbie can handle this lady, heaves a sigh, rolls his eyes, and answers the siren call of retail. She continues to scream at him for a good five minutes, reiterating everything she has just said as if he hadn’t just heard the whole d*** thing, and receiving the same answer I gave. Meanwhile, I type up the prescription, label it as high priority, and look back at the tech who is on pill counting duty to warn her to get this lady’s painkiller first.)
Cruella: *to my manager* “YOU’RE JUST AS USELESS AS SHE IS! WHERE’S YOUR BOSS? I’M MAKING A COMPLAINT!”
(My manager casually picks up the intercom and calls the store manager.)
Manager: “Please wait right there for them to arrive, as they are busy up front and need to break away.”
(The lady waits roughly fifteen seconds and then sets off to hunt down the store manager herself, yanking on her little dog’s leash so hard that he lets out a pained yap. Over the next ten minutes, I watch as this woman stalks up and down the pharmaceutical section aisles, muttering darkly to herself
Cruella: “My doctor said I’m not even supposed to get out of the car!”
(When we can’t see her, we can still mark her progress, as periodically she jerks her poor puppy’s leash and we hear it yelp in pain again. Over that amount of time, not one, but two upper-level managers appear in the pharmacy, both of them wearing equally confused expressions as this woman leads them in a merry chase throughout the store. Meanwhile, we finish the prescription with time to spare and wait for her to come back. Finally, the general manager wrangles Cruella and brings her back up to our waiting room. Cruella has apparently decided to treat this manager as a confidante, and she is “weeping” — suspiciously without tears — on this woman’s shoulder as they approach. The prescription is ready, and she takes ten minutes to check out, sniffling pathetically without once smudging her perfect mascara. The tech checking her out says nothing but
Tech: “Have a nice day.”
(And then, as swiftly as she appeared, Cruella DePink flounces away, never to be seen again.)
General Manager: *to my manager* “Phew. Thanks for dealing with her! I don’t know how you guys handle people like her!”
Manager: “Alcohol. And sarcasm. Sorry to put you through that.”
(Even when our drive-thru was finally fixed, that woman never returned. Here’s hoping that she hasn’t turned her dog into a coat yet.)
At The Checkout, Bigotry, Coupon, Pharmacy, Retail, USA | Right | December 30, 2019
(I’m a male working as a cashier in an area where that’s normally a job for women. Of course, our store is unusual in that all but one of our management staff members are women. Today, I am working and this very rude, elderly customer with all the sense of entitlement and arrogance that come with being a retired professor from a Christian college insists on me accepting his coupon that he knows expired two weeks ago. I agree to call my manager to the front.)
Old Man: “Yeah, get the manager. Bring him out.”
Me: *pages* “Manager to the front.”
Manager: “How can I help?”
Old Man: “I didn’t ask for another cashier. I wanted to speak to the manager.”
Manager: “I am the assistant store manager and lead for this shift, which my vest and badge both show. How can I help?”
Old Man: “That’s sweet, hon. I said I wanted to talk to the manager of this store about getting this young kid—” *I’m thirty* “—to do his job and accept my coupon. Where is he?”
Manager: “I am the only manager at this store right now. If you want to speak to someone and get your matter resolved, it will be me.”
Old Man: “I’ll come back when there’s a man to talk to, not some little girl.”
Manager: “I’ve had enough and tried to be nice. I was watching and listening from the cameras in the back office, so I can take care of this now.”
Old Man: “Good, I want the coupon for half off plus some for my troubles today.”
Manager: “One, you’re not getting a discount because this coupon expired already and there’s no way to honor it, so stop trying to bully my cashier into giving you a discount you don’t deserve. Two, your behavior is clearly unprofessional to a level that I’m banning you from entering this store for 24 hours. If you come back and bully my cashiers or act in the derogatory manner you’ve displayed today, it will become a permanent ban.”
Bad Behavior, Health & Body, Instant Karma, Pharmacy, Strangers, USA, Utah | Friendly | December 19, 2019
(For context, I’m a 26-year-old woman, and I guess I look somewhat young for my age. I’ve had people confuse me for a teenager in the past. This is something that I generally joke about being a good thing that I’ll love once I’m older. My boyfriend and I have just had a condom break on us, and even though I’m on birth control, we decide that the smart move is to drive over to the pharmacy to pick up a morning-after pill. Neither one of us is remotely ready to have children and we figure it is better to be safe than sorry, so we want to exercise all available precautions. Once at the pharmacy, my boyfriend leaves me to wait in line behind a middle-aged woman while he goes in search of a new box of condoms. He has become so paranoid about this situation that he has thrown out the box that the broken condom came in and wants to replace it with a new one. The lady in front of me finishes dropping of her prescription and sits down in some chairs nearby to wait for it to be filled.)
Me: *to the pharmacy worker* “Can I get the morning after pill, please?”
Employee: “We have two options: [Name Brand] or [Generic Brand]. They are equally effective; the [Generic Brand] is just $20.00 cheaper.”
(The middle-aged woman humphs heavily behind me as I indicate that I’ll go with [Generic Brand]. I ignore the lady and proceed to pay for my medication.)
Middle-Aged Woman: “That’s the problem with today’s youth. None of you are responsible because your parents didn’t raise you with any values. Now you’re racing to give yourself a miscarriage because you don’t want to face the consequences of your actions. You shouldn’t be allowed to buy that without your parents’ consent.”
Me: “That’s not how this medication works. Do your research before you open your mouth so you don’t sound so stupid and ignorant. I’m a 26-year-old adult and don’t need my parents’ consent, let alone yours, to take care of my body the way I see best. It’s your generation and not mine that’s fluffed up. It is because of people like you that women are afraid to speak up about their bodies, learn about their bodies, and seek help when they think something is wrong. There is no shame in my choice to look out for my body in this way and no stranger in a random pharmacy is going to change my mind.”
Middle-Aged Woman: “Well, I never! You are so disrespectful talking to me like that.”
Me: “You chose to enter into a conversation with a stranger in a rude and condescending manner. You should not be surprised when the same type of response is thrown back in your face.”
(I thanked the pharmacy worker and walked off to find my boyfriend so we could buy the rest of the things we needed.)
Arizona, Employees, Extra Stupid, Pharmacy, USA | Working | December 18, 2019
(We have been getting wrong number phone calls for several days straight informing us that a prescription is ready at the pharmacy. I call the pharmacy hoping they might be able to fix the error.)
Tech: “This is [Pharmacy]; how can I help you?”
Me: “Hi. There seems to be a mixup; you keep calling our house and it’s the wrong number. We don’t have a prescription with your pharmacy.”
Tech: “Okay, what name is the prescription under?”
Me: “I don’t know. It’s not our prescription; you’re calling our number by mistake.”
Tech: “Okay, can I have the last name?”
Me: “It’s not our prescription; we use [Other Pharmacy] across town. We aren’t even close to you. You are calling our number by mistake. I can give you the number.”
Tech: “I can’t look up anything by number; I need a name.”
Me: “Okay, it’s [My Name].”
Tech: “Huh, I don’t see you in our system at all.”
California, Jerk, Pharmacy, USA | Right | December 16, 2019
(I am a customer filling a prescription for my daughter. A middle-aged woman comes up to the drop-off desk and waits for someone to come over to her.)
Customer: “I want to speak to the manager.”
Pharmacist: “I’m the pharmacist; we don’t have a manager back here.”
Customer: “Well, I want you to change your phone system. Every time [Pharmacy] calls me, I have to call back and dial one and it won’t let me, so I don’t know what you’re calling for.”
Pharmacist: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do; that’s an IT issue.”
Customer: “Well, this is the second time I’ve had to talk to someone. How am I supposed to know what you’re calling about and what I need to do?”
Pharmacist: “Well, ma’am, you can call [1-800 number] and speak to someone in IT, but this is how our system works. I’m sorry you miss the phone calls and that your phone doesn’t work, but there’s nothing I can do.”
Customer: “You need to fix it or I’m going to take my business somewhere else. I need these prescriptions and if I can’t get through, then I have to go somewhere else.”
(At that point, I had to chase after my child, but when I went back to pick up my daughter’s prescription twenty minutes later, she was still standing there arguing with the pharmacist. And the pharmacist kept his cool and composure the entire time. I would have lost my s*** after ten minutes.)
Lazy/Unhelpful, Non-Dialogue, Pharmacy, Texas, USA |
Healthy | December 16, 2019
I have chronic nausea. I take a prescription nausea medication to keep it under control so I can eat and function. The nausea is related to stress, as well as my diagnosed depression and anxiety.
Six days ago at the time of writing, two days before Thanksgiving, my grandmother, who has to handle most phone calls for me due to my hearing issues, called the pharmacy to request a refill of my meds because I was almost out. Later, we got a call telling us that the refill request had been denied because my doctor’s office said I had to see the doctor before I could get a refill. I called the doctor the next day and was told that they had sent in an approval, but they would send another one to be sure.
Pharmacy still said they had no approvals, only a denial.
Thanksgiving came and the office was closed. I checked the pharmacy again, and they still said they only had a denial and couldn’t fill it.
Black Friday, same deal, but we got a call from someone at my doctor’s office informing us that they’d be closed until Monday. I only had enough of my meds to get me through Black Friday. I ended up skipping my second dose so I would have one for Saturday morning, and was unable to eat dinner on Friday.
Same deal with the pharmacy on both Saturday and Sunday. No approvals received, only one denial, and they still couldn’t fill it even though I was unable to eat or drink without it at this time. I even got on the phone myself and cry and beg the pharmacist to give me an emergency three-day supply that the law allows, and was told no because of the “denial.”
This morning, Cyber Monday, after going the entire weekend feeling like I was in Hell since eating was pretty much impossible, my grandmother called my doctor’s office to set up an appointment for the first time slot they could fit me into today.
She was informed that they absolutely did not send in a denial, I did not need to see my doctor before getting a refill, and that their system says I don’t have to see my doctor for a refill on my medication until sometime next year. My doctor knows that I need the medication every single day to be able to eat, and I’m about twenty pounds underweight right now due to stress-induced illness that lasted for three months solid, so I need to be able to get a refill at any time until I gain some weight back.
It turns out that someone at the pharmacy put it on my file that they were sent a denial and got no approvals whatsoever. A few hours ago, I got a text saying that I had a prescription ready for pickup, which would be done first thing in the morning because we couldn’t get to the store.
I have filed a complaint with corporate for the store the pharmacy is in, and my complaint has been forwarded to the store manager with the assurance that the incident will be investigated and that this absolutely should not have happened. The person I conversed with — via chat — was horrified about it.
I hope that pharmacist gets fired and feels proud of themselves for giving a disabled woman no less than five panic attacks over the course of three days and causing her a lot of unnecessary stress that has likely set back her recovery from illness. I won’t be able to fully enjoy Christmas with my family now because I’ll still be recovering and having trouble eating much food.
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