Boycott CVS Pharmacies!

CVS Pharmacies of Florida announced this week that they are refusing to fill prescriptions of random physician’s controlled substances.  These are not physicians with histories of writing illegal prescriptions, greater than average prescriptions or any other reason.  When CVS’ biggest competitor in Florida (Walgreens) was asked if they would be initiating a similar policy by a local news organization; they said no.

This policy that CVS has initiated is not only unfair to physicians but it is unfair to those of us with chronic pain conditions like RSD.  There are many other chronic pain conditions such as cancer, MS, arthritis, etc. There are acute pain conditions such as fractures and surgeries that all require narcotics.  Doctors whose specialties are to treat these things are going to write a lot of prescriptions for narcotics.  That is only common sense.

So what is CVS’ reasoning given behind this policy?  It is to decrease drug abuse in Florida.  Yes, Florida prescribes more narcotics such as Oxycontin than the other 49 states combined. But there has to be some way to deal with this issue without punishing doctors who are legitimately treating their patients and without punishing patients with legitimate PAIN!

For the most part, doctors have been criticized for under medicating people in pain; not over medicating.  There has to be a way to combat this drug problem without punishing those who need these medications.

When people started using antihistamines to make crystal meth; they put it behind the counter, made you show your driver’s license and limited the number of pills that you could buy in order to decrease the problem.  Has it worked?  I don’t think so.  It has inconvenienced us.  But making me go to the drug store more often to get cold medication isn’t the same as not allowing me to have pain medication for one of the most painful conditions known to man.

It is for this reason that I am asking everyone, whether or not you live in Florida, to write to CVS and tell them how stupid this policy is.  Tell them that because of this policy, you are moving your prescriptions to their competitor.  It doesn’t do any good just to move your prescriptions to their competitor if they don’t know why.  Walgreens just happens to be right across the street from the CVS that I have used for five and one half years.  People with RSD usually take a lot of medications.  When I am in the pharmacy, I usually buy other things.  Everyone in my CVS knows me by name so they are going to lose my business.  I intend to tell all of my neighbors, and by way of my blog, tell others.  I hope that this will get them to change this stupid policy.  As many of you know, I’ve been angry at my particular CVS over some other issues so this is the straw that broke the camel’s back any how; but regardless of their other mistakes, this and this alone would have caused me to leave CVS in general.

I hope that you will write to CVS; whether or not you use them and tell them that as a chronic pain patient you think that this new policy discriminates against you and your physician!  Thank you!