Pharmacists - can't live without 'em...

It has long been time for me to get myself a new EpiPen. Last time that happened, I called my allergist on Carling Avenue to make an appointment, only to be told that appointments aren't necessary for prescription refills. That was refreshing, considering that most general practitioners require in-person visits to get that little task accomplished. Something about being able to bill the province for an examination, a consult, or something like that. I was told back then that all I needed to do is provide the receptionist with my pharmacy's coordinates and they would call the prescription in for me. Great! It worked like a charm.

Not quite this time.

There must have been a change of policy or something along those lines at that allergist's office. When I called last Thursday or Friday I was met with dead air. When I explained what happened last time, the receptionist put me on hold and then came back to me a few minutes later asking me for the pharmacy information once again. They would call the prescription in for me and all would be well once again - for a year or so.

Or so I thought.

I got home from a golf game on Saturday afternoon to a message from the grocery store pharmacy near where I live. Naturally, I called back as soon as I could. The clerk (or pharmacist's assistant?) appeared to be wanting to be helpful, but having two-way communications with this person was tougher than sinking that 67 foot put on the 12th hole!!

The issue? The Twinject auto-injector (essentially an EpiPen made by another company, only with two doses) they had in stock expires in October. Did I want it or would I want them to order another from their supplier? EpiPens seem to have a one-year lifespan. Not knowing whether a Twinject injector would have a similar "usability" period, I asked the person on the line if she knew how long a typical Twinject is supposed to last. The brilliant clerk came back on the line after a few minutes and responded "until its expiry date". Cool - I never thought about that myself.

My second attempt to get a clear response was met with a "I don't know what the expiry date will be on a new one". Of course, swami, I didn't want a specific date - I wanted a general rule. If this device lasts only six months, then I guess I could take the one they had in stock. If they generally last a year, then I'd be an idiot to take the one that should last less than five months. Since it became clear to the clerk that she could not satisfy my curiosity, she got the pharmacist on the line.

This bird was no better. As a result of my not being able to get a clear answer, I told the pharmacist that I would opt to wait for a new one to come in - some time this week - and will figure out the expiry date thing all by myself.

One would think that information about this "life and death" sort of medecine would be common knowledge for those who dispense it. I guess not. It's a darn good thing that I haven't needed it - though I suppose the pharmacy would argue I could have bought the one that expired in October... maybe they would have offered me a 50% discount.

Riiiiiight. And I'm Napoleon.