Posted on 03/08/2006 2:30:35 PM PST by indcons
For years, Janey Karp has battled depression and anxiety with the help of prescription drugs. Though millions of Americans do the same, Karp admits she is intensely private and can't help but feel stigmatized for needing medication to feel normal.
So when the 53-year-old Palm Beach resident read the Walgreens printout attached to her prescription last week for the sleep aid Ambien, she couldn't believe her eyes. Typed in a field reserved for patient information and dated March 17, 2005, was "CrAzY!!" In another field, dated Sept. 30, 2004, it read: "She's really a psycho!!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by names & try to talk to her when ... " The information continued onto another page but was not attached.
"I was devastated, humiliated and embarrassed," Karp said. "I honestly couldn't speak. I was trembling."
Karp filed suit Tuesday against Illinois-based Walgreen Co., accusing the nationwide retail chain of defamation, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Walgreens is investigating, according to company spokeswoman Carol Hively, who said that computers are accessible to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
But, if they give her meds to a third party, are they not also releasing records?
susie
While preparing for a trip to Los Angeles, Karp on Feb. 27 had a friend go to the Walgreens on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard and Australian Avenue to pick up the Ambien. Attached to the printout with the drug information was the Drug Utilization Review, containing the comments.
"I resent people making fun of the mentally ill."
I agree with you but one man's "Mentally ill" is another man's "can't deal with real life". "Mental illness" has become the blanket catch-all for every personality quirk out there. All that does is marginalize the truly mentally ill.
I don't know the woman in question but from reading the article she seems like so many women I know on Prozac, Paxil, Xanax, or some other drug to help them deal with the bad decisions they have made in life.
Pharmacies often make notes on patients to know how to deal with them....no big surprise. The Psych Pharmacy up UNR keeps copious notes on patients because they DO have serious disorders and they want to keep their staff safe.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the end on this one.
brytlea: See the post below yours (#82)...Walgreens is in a lot of trouble. No doubts here; certainly a HIPAA violation.
Don't know how her permission to her friend figures in this though. Any idea, Kent?
Most people treated for depression are not crazy. They are just self-absorbed.
Depends on the precise language, re: the relevant laws in her state (Florida), with which, regrettably, I am wholly unfamiliar.
Here in Washington, doctors, dentists and pharmacists often refuse to share medical information even with a patient's own spouse, without a signed release specifically granting them permission to do so.
If Florida's own laws are in any way similar... then: Walgreen's might as well start writing out the check now, IMH (and completely off-the-cuff) opinion. (Again, however: I'd want considerably more to work with, obviously, before opining more definitely.) :)
I didn't say that it was.
In the article, she asserted that the pharmacy staff would call out her name for her order and also what the order consisted of, in a public manner. I am familar with HIPAA- that might be an infraction. The 'crazy' note on the order, clearly and obviously, is not.
My point was that the lawsuit and the resultant new story compromise her medical privacy far more than anything that she is complaining about, and I made that comment in response to another poster who had mentioned HIPAA ramifications.
On the next page it said, "because this crazy woman is likely to go bonkers and sue us if she is offended."
This is a good reason for her to change pharmacies, or perhaps a good reason for her to modify her behavior, or both.
"The company Web site says there are 5,122 stores nationwide, with 673 in Florida. The site boasts that Walgreens new computer system for filling prescriptions links all stores into a single network."
Perhaps, since it is a network, they got her prescription mixed up with Howard D's.
Thanks....appreciate it.
Doesn't sound like protected patient info. More like notes from one tech to another, warning to watch out for this lady. She probably had lit into them a couple of times.
LOL!
Normally I would be on this woman's side. I also think that perhaps she has been a pain to the people in the pharmacy and that note was meant to be removed before she saw it. I have seen people behave very badly when told they would need to have a doctor call to refill their meds or flip when they hear its an hour or 2 wait. However I dont think there should be a big award in this lawsuit. I think people are too lawsuit crazy these days. She should just change phamacies, and there again I wonder how many dont want her business. To me she sounds a bit wacky and a problem to deal with. I could be wrong of course ...its just my thoughts.
Either that, or this is a hoax and a sick woman is trying to make some money.
The notorious "pain and suffering."
Well we both disagree and I will leave it at that.
These comments were obviously put down for other pharmacy employees for a very good reason. She probably made a HUGE psycho bitch ass of herself on a previous visit, and the frustrated pharmacy tech felt the need to warn others about it. The comments were not meant to ever be seen by anyone else, including Ms. CrAzY!!. This nutjob needs to get over it and get on with whatever empty life she is leading.
I've worked with pharmacy computer systems. There is an area in the patient record where the pharmacist can make internal notes. Those notes are not intended to be shared with the general public, and certainly are not supposed to be printed out anywhere.
The notes being printed was either an error on the part of the software, which is unlikely, or the result of a pharmacist simply typing their comments into the wrong data field.
The comments probably reflected the reality of the person they were dealing with. And the comments printing out was just a careless mistake.
So how many millions of dollars do you think the woman will get for having her feelings hurt by this simple accident?
From what I have heard is that these notes are only for the pharmacy employees and the printout was probably a glitch in the system. One former employee (left in good standing) said they write these notes to inform each other due to the wide wage of public that they have to deal with. And yes, you can imagine at the pharmacy that they do have to deal with a lot of crazy people. Although it is embarrassing to have the information go out to the actual person it is in no way worthy of a lawsuit. In fact, maybe this lady might wake up and realize what a pain in the butt she is if people have to write these kinds of notes about her.
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