It was a decent day at work... Busy in the sense of numerous written prescription errors that we needed to call the doctor on, or just plain 'ole insurance overrides. By the time I left for the day we had filled a little over half of what we usually do during the day but I was pretty zapped anyway.
One patient came to the drop off window, so I cheerfully asked if I could help.
I thought I was going to have my eyeballs scratched out of my skull.
The patient loudly exclaims that the customer service desk won't return their blood glucose monitor that they just bought! They took it home, opened it, and tried to put in a test strip (with NO blood, mind you and thank-you-very-much) but the test strip and meter were 2 different brands.
I thought my heart was going to be ripped from my chest.
I knew that by law we were not allowed to return ANYTHING dealing with blood products, whether they have been used with blood or not. It doesn't matter. However, I blanked on this explanation and had the patient tell me how they decided to pick out this particular meter.
They had picked it out themselves for the person that they are taking care of.
How can you do this?! I have to keep something I bought even though I am never going to use it?! What terrible customer service...
The patient snatched the box from my hands and stormed off in a huff.
Once the patient had left, the other technicians and interns told me that there is a 1-800 number on the box for manufacturer returns. They can return the devices, but BY LAW the pharmacy cannot return them.
I wish I could have thought of that a little sooner.
If only I wasn't fearing for me life, perhaps I could have thought of that little gem.
Not to mention, on the shelf right above this particular meter is a printed document stating that all meters and strips are NON-RETURNABLE. If you would like to return any meters or strips, you MUST call that 1-800 number.
The irony is baffling.
