CVS

Good morning. My name is [replaced] and I work for the State of CT and have CVS Caremark services (ID [replaced]). I transferred my pharmacy services to Suburban Pharmacy in West Hartford because it felt much more personal than the mail order and was much more accessible, especially when I was given a prescription for a time-limited medication. CVS has just bought them out and I had to pick up my first prescription there. To begin with it was quite difficult just to find their telephone number. There were no refills left on my medication, Cimetidine, so I had to call my prescriber as well. When I arrived at the pharmacy to pick up the medication, the person said that it was "out of stock" and to check back. I explained that I was going on vacation and would come back in about 8 days and asked that they keep it for me and call me when it was ready. There was no call. I returned to the pharmacy and was told again it is "out of stock". When I asked what that meant, the person at the register asked the pharmacist what to say. The pharmacist yelled out that it is "over the counter" and you can simply buy it. I said that I would rather use my prescription to fill it and she said that I could go down the street to another CVS and fill it there. "They should do it; they are friendly". All of this direction was given me from behind the counter. I came back to work appalled and now without my medication for GERD for 11 days. This is nothing life-threatening but my symptoms of GERD are quite painful. I am so frustrated with the attitude. I called the CVS Caremark toll number for the pharmacy to see if they had the Cimetidine in stock and could send it. I was told it would take "too long" and this very helpful person called a pharmacy close to my work to see if they had it in stock. It seems that they did have it in stock, according to the person on the telephone, but they would need to call the initial pharmacy which received the prescription "to see if it would be all right to fill it". I was told that I would be called at home when the prescription debacle was straightened out and could be filled. I received no telephone call so I called the pharmacy near my work on Blue Hills Avenue in Hartford. They had no record of any of this and did not have the Cimetidine in stock. They agreed to order it and hopefully it will be ready today after three PM. So, today I plan to fast to avoid having stomach distress. This was all very annoying and humiliating for me. To make all of this worse, I receive a letter from CVS in the mail last night that starts with "Welcome to our CVS Pharmacy family!". I was flabbergasted by the irony of receiving this letter after having this horrific experience with the CVS family. I am a therapist and family issues can be horrendous and it appears that I am living the role of the "identified patient" within my "CVS family". I felt like I was doing exactly what was expected of me, calling ahead for a prescription refill, being patient repeatedly with CVS staff and the end result is that I have been about 12 days without my medication and the solution is "You can just buy it over the counter". This is incredibly frustrating for me. Obviously, I am pushing for you to do the right thing and I will never buy tis medication over the counter in hopes that you will eventually do the right thing. I sincerely hope that my CVS family will respond to my complaint in a timely manner. Thank you. Please respond to [removed]. Also, would you please inform me if I am able to use the Walgreen's Pharmacy right next door to the CVS Pharmacy with the same co-pay amounts and the same 90 day refill options for all of my medications? The Walgreens is at 324 N Main St, West Hartford, CT. Thanks.