“Dear PoPville,
I have urged the regional manager of certain Walgreens’ DC stores to automatically send notifications to pharmacy customers and Rx prescribers in response to all medication orders, indicating that they may be delayed. This will help ensure that patients and prescribers have the information they need from Walgreens to make decisions in the best interest of the patient’s healthcare.
Since I first became a customer in 1999,
staff consistently provided excellent customer service at their Dupont/U St NW stores and other locations. But this year, I’ve experienced multiple problems, delays, and snafus. Today, the 13th & U NW pharmacy told me they’ve had an increase in orders since January 13th when the DC Dept of Health shut down the 1815 Connecticut Ave NW store because of a rodent infestation. It’s troubling that they supposedly don’t have enough resources to deal with an increased workload that started almost 5 months ago.
There has been a significant increase in the number and frequency of problems getting medication orders filled, including delays. But patients don’t learn that in a timely enough way. That’s why I’ve urged Walgreens to automatically send notifications to prescribers and patients in response to every order they receive. This way, prescribers and patients are better informed and able to decide where they wish to get their prescriptions filled. Walgreens admits they are filling orders on a delayed basis. It’s wrong that they not let prescribers and patients know that it’s an ongoing problem.
PoPville twice reported on the Dupont location being shut down.
“Dupont Walgreens closed by Health Dept”
In Other Pharmacy/Sundry News: Down Goes the Walgreens at Connecticut and Florida Ave, NW
It’s so obnoxious of them. Multiple prescriptions have been delayed. Sometimes staff or the app indicates that they’re out-of-stock. Sometimes the Rx is marked pending. Sometimes there may be a technological glitch. But those indications are not reliably accurate. I’ve found that staff and the app often don’t have accurate information. I’ve had a number of prescriptions marked as “In progress.” It’s like a catch-all. For the most recent “In progress” — marked that way for about 4 days — I asked staff in person late Wednesday afternoon about it. I was later told that they had been “out of stock,” and they then ordered it — for arrival Friday. To be fair, while I was writing this very sentence, the app updated me that the Rx is ready for pickup as of Thursday morning. But the key is that staff at the U Street NW location are in disarray, they’re delayed, they’re not keeping up with orders. Various status indications — such as “pending,” or “in progress” — are used loosely when the bottom line is the order isn’t getting filled in a normal way.
I’ll also note that the vast majority of the time, the majority of staff at RITE AID and Walgreens stores have been absolutely terrific. Walgreens acquired multiple RITE AID stores 5 years ago. And some definitely still are. One has known me for years. Another, newer staff person, knows me by name and is always so helpful. But a number of the U St staff are new — and confusion is what reigns.
I’m highlighting this for the community because I’ve observed a high number of screw-ups for 5 months since the DC Dept of Health shut down their 1815 Connecticut Ave NW location on January 13th because of rodent infestation — and staff are still indicating today, “We’re in transition.” That’s baloney.
Yesterday, I began to transfer prescriptions from Walgreens to a local, independently-owned, neighborhood pharmacy.”