General Frustration With Medical System

[Sighs]

Grrrrr! Just wanted to vent!

My combat vet partner is 100% TPI due to his severe PTSD. This means he has a VA Gold Card. We have recently moved and he has not yet found a local doctor. I have been trying for 2 days to get his VA script filled in the small town I work in. For a whole heap of reasons I won't bore you with - no good. I know its not the fault of the mindless minions behind the pharmacy counter but I really want to reach over and shake them. He needs this medication because of what he sacrifices each and every day and even more so each and every night to keep YOU safe and free, you ignorant unhelpful rude waste of space!

He sometimes says to me when confronted with some useless member of the general public - "My mates died for these pieces of sh*t???" and shakes his head.

Most Australians are SO ignorant about our recent wars that they assume that I am his daughter when I'm trying to get the paperwork sorted because they think all the VA scripts are for WWII vets. Would it be so much to ask for these people to have a little gratitude?

 

[anthony]

Small country towns are pretty ignorant when it comes to mental health anything... they are typically a "walk it off" community.

It does suck... sure to be sure.

 

[Lucycat]

Clearly you are in a different country with a different system. I live in a remote area of Scotland. If I presented a prescription to the pharmacy I would not expect them to have all the medications in stock. However, even in the middle of nowhere, they would get it in for me within 2 days. The only exception if there is a manufacturing problem but that would apply anywhere.

I know Australia is vast, but it is also a well developed country. I am astounded that your pharmacies are so inefficient and unhelpful.

 

[Sighs]

Pleased to report that I tried the pharmacy in the small town close to where we live and they were great. Had the stuff in stock, put it aside for me because I couldn't get there til after work, happy to order in more, recommended a good local doctor AND willing to stay open for me if I call them to let them know I'm coming through on my way home from work. :)

PS - @Lucycat - vast and very thinly populated - it was mostly the VA paperwork they couldn't get their heads around - they'd obviously never seen it before. Our vets are well looked after IF you can navigate ten tonnes of red tape.

 

[anthony]

Interesting... I don't have any paperwork for pharmacy, just my gold card. I give them that, I get discount prescriptions.

 

[Sighs]

I didn't have his gold card on me (but the number is on the script so don't really need it), the first script was out of date, the doctor that wrote it was on leave, the second script was incorrect - doctor's error - that surgery was closed due to an interstate holiday, over the counter product but on VA script which blew their little minds, product in stock not in same size container as script so couldn't give me 2 x the smaller container because that wasn't what the script said... SIgh!

Yes - normally I hand over the script and the gold card and walk out with the meds...

 

[anthony]

Sounds a bit like the pharmacy was a bit anal... any chemist I go into meets the scripts needs however they have to. If they literally don't have a product in stock, then they get it usually for the next day pickup.