Carolina Behavioral Care, PA

Front office and pharmacy staff, and on-call nurse failed to sufficiently communicate/follow-through with client request for refill and appointment.I placed an initial call to the CBC pharmacy on Monday, April 24th to request a refill for my [redacted]. The pharmacy staffer said there were no refills left, but they would call Dr. [redacted] my physician, for a request and they then asked if I wanted it sent in the mail. I said I was running low, and asked how soon it would arrive, the female staffer said probably by Wednesday and call ended. Friday, April 25th I had not yet received the medication and was feeling pretty awful, nor had I received a phone call explaining that it was not refillable. I called the pharmacy and was then informed that they had not filled it and they could not until I saw the Dr. I then asked why no one had reached out to let me know, as I was under the impression the medication was coming by Wednesday, and was abruptly told that it was not their responsibility to inform me of that or keep up with my appointments. I then asked to speak with a manager and was put through to a voicemail box. I called back and spoke to another pharmacy staff member, whom also said I needed to make an appointment or I could speak to the nurse on call and request a refill until the appointment was made and was then put through to her voicemail box. I called back a third time to let them know that I had left a message and asked again what we could do and was told they could put me through to make an appointment, so I was put through to yet another voicemail box for appointments. At that point I was undoubtedly frustrated that I was unable to speak to an actual human being that could schedule and appointment and let me know how to handle the prescription issue in the interim. I called the appointment line and was able to get through to the New Patient coordinator, who immediately told me that I was not classified as a new patient so she would have to transfer me to the existing patient coordinator to schedule an appointment. I spoke with a live person, who set me up to see a physician that following Tuesday at 10:15 am. I then called back to the pharmacy and arranged to have a loaner prescription dispensed until my appointment with the Dr on Tuesday. I drove to the Pharmacy, inside of CBC, that day and picked up my medication at 4:30 pm. I arrive Tuesday, April 29th to find out that I no longer had an appointment. Apparently, it was cancelled because I was considered a new patient because of the time lapse in appointments. It was documented that I was contacted at 2:30 pm on the 25th, but I had in fact received no communication from the office regarding my appointment and it was established that the incorrect number was called and a message was left on a voicemail box not belonging to me. At that point, again, I was understandably frustrated and unhappy with the inability to access my physician via phone or email to address the situation and was told I could send a letter or make an appointment if I wanted to discuss this with him. I then expressed my frustration, with the front office's level of follow through with their clients and that this level of service was unacceptable and was speaking with the office manager, trying to work it out, when another staff member chimed in and asked how was it that I was receiving my medication if I had not been to see the Dr. in a year, and I replied, "Through your pharmacy, on site here. Check your records." I then ignored her and continued to try to discuss this with the office manager, in the front of the business, with other patients sitting in the waiting room and one standing in line behind me.The appropriate way to handle that situation would have been to take the discussion to another room, where a rational discussion could take place, without interference and audience of the entire waiting room and front office staff. I was then asked to complete new patient paperwork, although I have been a patient there for 3 years and an appointment was made for May 7th, with no prescription in the interim again. Desired SettlementAn acknowledgement of and apology for inappropriate behavior and treatment, and insufficient communication and follow-through by front office and pharmacy staff. I have honestly never felt more violated by a health professional's establishment that I have with CBC. The medication that I have been taking for three years, prescribed by the same physician, is not a narcotic, but they made me feel as though it were. If you stop taking an [redacted] abruptly you do feel terrible and the side effects greatly impair your ability to function and work effectively. The pharmacy clearly knows this and instead of mitigating the situation where able to, the staff at this location aggravated it, when the solution could have been easily arrived at with kind words and thorough communication. I have decided to take my business elsewhere and have a few suggestions to fix your business where it is broken: 1. Staff for your volume. If your on call nurse gets too many calls to return in one day, as stated on the voice recording, then you need to get some additional help there.2. Accessibility to management or healthcare providers has to become a priority. How can you ever know what is going on in your business if people do not have the access to let you know when it is broken. Get your provider's an email address or a comment box on your web page to help facilitate this communication. 3. Provide continuing education for your staff in communication and crisis management. You are in the mental health business and deal with people from all walks of life with all types of struggles and your staff should be prepared to appropriately handle escalated situations without being rude and defensive and learn to take ownership when mistakes are made. We all make mistakes and owning them when it happens diffuses an escalated situation in many cases.I have grown to really like and respect Dr. [redacted] and it is a shame that I will no longer be his patient because of the front office operations.Business Response I have spoken by phone with the complaintant.