This formal complaint to document a series of severe failures by your office that resulted in the…read moreinterruption of life-sustaining medication, unnecessary patient distress, and improper handling of pharmacy coordination and insurance requirements. This complaint concerns both process failures and staff conduct.
On Monday morning, I contacted your office to address the urgent need for a prior authorization and refill of my prescribed medications. These medications are medically necessary for my survival--specifically insulin--and are not discretionary or available over the counter. During this call, I spoke with Josephina, who assured me that she would immediately contact the mail-order pharmacy, ensure the authorization was processed, and follow up with me. She explicitly stated that the matter would be handled and that I would receive a return call.
None of these assurances were fulfilled.
After two days passed with no medication, no confirmation, and no follow-up, I contacted the office again to request a status update. During this call, Josephina admitted that she had contacted the pharmacy a limited number of times and stated that she was "too busy" to do so on the day of my follow up call. This admission was delivered without apology or acknowledgment of the seriousness of the situation. At this point, I had already spent 48 hours in limbo regarding medication required for my survival.
It is critical to note that I had clearly explained to Josephina that the mail-order pharmacy cutoff time was 12:00 PM, that insulin shipments could only occur Monday through Wednesday due to overnight shipping requirements, and that failure to meet this window would result in further delay and risk. Despite this information being clearly communicated, no action was taken.
By the time I contacted your office again, I had been without insulin for approximately 26 hours.
During my subsequent call, Josephina again stated that the issue would be resolved and that a coworker would send the medication to the mail-order pharmacy. I waited an additional two hours. When no confirmation was received, I contacted the pharmacy directly. At that time, Wanda, a representative at the mail-order pharmacy, informed me that only one medication was on file--and it was not insulin.
At this point, Wanda remained on the line with me while I contacted your office again to resolve the discrepancy. During this call, I interacted with both Josephina and Araceli (Office Manager). The conduct I encountered was hostile, dismissive, and unprofessional. Despite being informed--by both myself and the mail-order pharmacy--that the insulin prescription had not been received, I was told the issue had already been "taken care of. " This assertion was demonstrably false.
I had in my possession:
Digital receipts from the mail-order pharmacy reflecting my visit and medications
The mail-order pharmacist actively on the call
Time-stamped confirmation from the pharmacy showing that insulin had never been received. My partner and the mail-order pharmacist were present for and witnessed the entirety of this conversation.
Eventually, your office staff acknowledged that the initial prescription had been sent to the incorrect pharmacy. Rather than correcting this error, the situation was further compounded. Instead of properly resubmitting the prescription to the mail-order pharmacy, your office contacted a local retail pharmacy. My insurance does not cover retail fills for this medication, a fact that was clearly explained. I should not that the local pharmacy called to tell me directly.
As a direct result of this action:
The medication could not be dispensed. The retail pharmacy placed a hold on the prescription. My account was flagged for suspected fraudulent activity due to attempts to refill a mail-order-only medication at retail.
When I relayed this information to your staff--while the mail-order pharmacist remained on the call and provided verifiable timestamps--I was met with further defensiveness, deflection, and what can only be described as active attempts to shift blame rather than correct the error.
At no point did your office take ownership of the mistake. At no point was there a meaningful attempt to immediately rectify the situation. Instead, one error was compounded by another, resulting in nearly 72 hours of medication interruption, unnecessary escalation with pharmacies and insurance, and significant emotional and physical distress. I approached this situation calm, collected, and focused on resolution. I did not create this problem. I simply asked for a remedy. Your office chose deflection over accountability and escalation over correction.
This complaint is being formally documented. If this matter is not addressed appropriately, my next steps include filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, consulting legal counsel, and submitting reports to relevant regulatory and labor oversight bodies in California.
