Jan 8, 2008 9:08 pm US/Central
Woman Claims CVS Sold Her Expired Medicine
RED OAK (CBS 11 News) ―
Cynthia Jarmons thought she had the medicine she needed to cure her 5-year-old son Remus' pneumonia. Then she looked at the prescription a little closer.
Beneath the label bearing her son's name was another label with another name. According to that label, the medicine had expired.
"I wouldn't give my son expired milk, let alone expired medicine," she said.
She returned to the CVS pharmacy in Red Oak and asked the pharmacist for a refill. That's when she says an apparent mistake turned into a battle.
"He got very upset with me and yelled at me in front of all the other customers, in front of all the other staff," she said. "He put his hand in my face and told me to take it to the choir because he's not going to do anything about it."
She left, obtained another prescription and paid for it out-of-pocket at another pharmacy.
"It was frustrating and embarrassing," Jarmons said. She added that it's not the money that disturbs her as much as the principle.
CVS spokesperson Mike Deangelis said the medication was originally prescribed to someone who never picked it up, but he said it was not expired.
He wrote in a statement, "It appears that the pharmacy did not follow our return-to-stock procedures, as the original customer's label should not have been on there... We are following up with the pharmacy staff to ensure our return-to-stock procedures are followed correctly."
He also stated the pharmacist should have refilled the prescription at no charge as a matter of customer service. The company has opened an investigation into the pharmacist's actions.
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