The Mystery of the Missing Meds

The chemo pill that I am supposed to take for 21 days, then rest seven is quite expensive.  It is about $286.00 per pill, obtainable only in packs of 28 pills.  Over $8,000 per pack ($8,128.46, to be exact).  Our co-pay has been $120 per pack.  I finished the last of the last pack a week ago but was not sure if Dr. Grossmann would prescribe more of the same, so I waited to order more pills until I knew what he wanted me to do.  Wednesday when we saw him (see previous blog entry), he liked the results this combination of drugs was producing, so he said lets do it some more.  Right.  I called the mail order pharmacy and asked them to send more pills.  They said they could get the pills to me next day.  Didn't happen.  On Friday when I got home from the temple I was really tired, so I took me a little nap.  At 4:00 pm when I woke, I began to wonder about the pills.  They were not in the mailbox or on the door step, so I called the pharmacy.  After a few phone calls i learned that UPS claims the pills were delivered at 9:06 am on Friday to a "man customer" at our address.  

 First mystery:  who could that man be?  No authorized person was here at that time.  The front door was locked.  Later we learned that the patio door was standing wide open.  Second mystery:  how long was that door open, and who left it in that state?  And is there any connection to the missing meds?  I seriously doubt it.  The last time either of us remember that door being open was on Tuesday morning when Deb and Gary were here.

By this time I was getting distressed.  I had already had my infusion of carboplatin for the week, and the doctor wanted these two meds to be taken together.  I need to take my medicine!  Where are those pills?!

I called UPS customer Service to track down the stuff.  Sorry, only the sender can initiate an investigation.  So the mail order pharmacy said they would get things started, but would not be able to report anything until Monday morning. But I need to take my pills!  No local pharmacy carries this kind of drug, so I called Huntsman.  They had it, but would need a perscription.  By this time it was after 5:00 pm and all the staff were gone.  I got a resident who said he could fix me up, so we took off for the hospital.  On the way there we had a couple of calls; one saying that the pharmacy was now closed and that I could get the pills in the morning at 9:00.  The other saying that the insurance was not about to pay for a second set of pills, but they would try to work it out so I could still get the medicine in the morning.

Well, Saturday morning I learned that I could get the pills if I paid cash for all 28 of them ($8,128.46 ?? Not likely).  By this time I had come to the conclusion that a few more days of abstinence from the drug will not kill me, so I thanked her and told her I would wait until we got the order from the mail-order place straightened out.

So where did things stand at 9:00 pm Saturday evening?  Same place.  Lots of questions, no answers.  

Where were the pills actually delivered?  Certainly not to 3090 Oakwood Drive.  

Who has the pills?  Certainly not I.

When will I see the pills?  Not until next week at the earliest.  The UPS folks said it could take as long as 8 business days to perform an investigation and resolve this type of issue.   At least this kind of investigation has a deadline for resolution.  Other investigations I have heard about don't seem to.

Flash - Update - Tuesday 21 May, 2013

Monday produced nothing.  Just phone calls making sure that both the pharmacy and UPS knew that the medicine never got delivered, and some answers were expected soon.

This morning the UPS folks called to tell me that the driver was out retracing his steps in hopes that he would remember exactly what happened on Friday, and they would let me know later of the progress.  Throughout the day I made and received a few phone calls both from and to the mail-order pharmacy and UPS, during one of which I sweetly asked to know the name of the driver.  I wasn't sure what to do next, so I sat on that one a while.  About 3:30 or so a notice mysteriously appeared on our door.  It was a form from the UPS driver requesting my help in answering a follow-up inquiry regarding a shipment from last week.  I couldn't believe that the driver didn't have the guts to talk to us . . . just left a note on the door!  I called again and (somewhat less than sweetly) asked that I speak to the driver that supposedly left the package with me.  They said they would try to get him; they do not have company cell phones, but she would page him.

At 4:21 there was a knock on the door.  We have a door bell, and it works.  It is even lit up so you can't miss it.  That notwithstanding, the caller knocked.  I rushed downstairs before he could get away.  Yes, it was the UPS driver And yes, he had a package under his arm. And yes, it was the right package.  The one that had been missing for about four days.  The one that contained $8,128.46 worth of chemotherapy drugs. It turns out that he delivered it last Friday to 3090 South, 950 East. (One half block east of Oakwood Drive.  Close enough to confuse some GPS systems, I suppose . . . or maybe some drivers.) This was not the first time someone has made that mistake.  It is too bad that I found no one home when I went up there last Friday.  Anyway, the driver says,  on Friday, the guy there was out doing yard work, and he accepted the package without even looking at it. There was no requirement for a signature, so the driver thought he did his job.

Mystery solved.  I called the mail-order pharmacy to let them know, and suggested that in the future they may wish to require a signature of the recipient for something as critical and expensive as this stuff is.  As to the mystery of the open patio door, I can only surmise that we left it open last Tuesday - shame on us.