Update: The Pharmacy America MIStrusts

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that one of the three Florida women suing Walgreens has added to her lawsuit.

She and the others are suing over derogatory comments made by Walgreens employees, connected to their prescriptions and plugged into their nationwide computer system.

A Marion County woman suing Walgreens for labeling her with a derogatory name in its internal computer system has added a "failure to warn" count to her lawsuit, saying her pharmacy never informed her that medication to treat her bipolar disorder decreased the effectiveness of her birth control pills.

Now pregnant, Erin Cutler, a 30-year-old mother of three, must quit taking her mood-stabilizer, risking episodes of severe mania, depression as well as birth defects, according to attorney Cathy Lively of Lake Worth.

...A Walgreens spokeswoman said the company had not seen the latest complaint. The company has condemned the alleged actions of pharmacy employees.

The Walgreens that Erin Cutler patronized is really a mess.

Although the failure to include proper warnings on a medication is a completely different issue than her previous complaint, it certainly adds significant fuel to the fire.

This latest development should give anyone who uses a Walgreens pharmacy pause, not only those taking medications for anxiety or depression.

Another thing regarding the Florida Walgreens lawsuits--

I came across this blog post on the matter a while ago. It refers to Janey Karp, the first of the three women to file suit against Walgreens.

Ross of Three Sheets to the Wind writes:

Janey Karp is one crazy lady. No really, Janey Karp of Palm Beach, Florida is crazy? I'm not just saying that, she actually is so crazy that she has used prescription drugs to battle her depression and anxiety. Now she can't sleep so a doctor has put crazy, nut-medicated, Janey Karp on Ambien, a sleep aid.

Never heard of crazy Janey Karp? That's because she is described by some, like her when talking to the press, as intensely private.

...According to crazy, depressed, anxious and not at all sleepy Janey Karp of Palm Beach Florida:

"I was devastated, humiliated and embarrassed," Karp said. "I honestly couldn't speak. I was trembling."

Remember, she is intensely private so she did what every intensively private person who doesn't want to be stigmatized for taking anti-nuts meds does...she sued Walgreen's and went one better by talking to the press. Yup, intensely private nut-job Janey Karp of Palm Beach, Florida even made the local Chicago Paper letting everyone know the very thing she wanted to keep private...that is: Janey Karp of Palm Beach, Florida suffers from depression and anxiety so much she uses prescription meds and now can't sleep too.

See, if it was me...I'd bitch to the manager and take my prescriptions to CVS or some other pharmacy. That way, no one would know. But not intensely-private-stay-awake-all-night-with-depression-and-anxiety Janey Karp of Palm Beach, Florida. Nope, she files a lawsuit (uh, can you say public document) and then talks to the press about it. Way to keep it on the down low, Janey (yup, the anxious, not-tired, depressed Janey Karp who lives in Palm Beach, Florida...that one)

An interesting twist to what is a very insensitive post is found among the comments.

To someone who relayed that his wife had a similar experience with Walgreens, Ross divulges:

Since you obviously don't read this regularly let me clue you in to the fact that I DO in fact take psychotropic medication every day.

"The point is, who the freak cares that Walgreens put something offensive on the label. Go somewhere else to buy it. The point is, since you don't seem to be getting it, is that only an asshat says "I don't want anyone to know I'm bipolar so I'm going to make national news out it."

So, because Ross claims to take psychotropic meds as well, he apparently feels justified in speaking so callously about Karp and her struggles.

I find Ross' style to be juvenile, but that's not the point I want to address. He brings up an interesting point about privacy.

Why would Karp choose to blare her personal embarrassment nationally?

First, Karp's lawsuit is about more than just her privacy. It's about the slander, too; but let's put that aside and talk privacy.

The fact that Karp, and the others, went public by filing lawsuits seems to run counter to their concerns about wanting information about the meds they take to be handled discreetly.

When they chose to file suit against Walgreens, they gave up their privacy. It meant the action would be on the public record.

Once a suit is filed, the individual, by definition, brings the matter into the public realm.

In Karp's case, she may have determined that the violation by Walgreens was so egregious that it deserved attention.

She certainly knew that filing suit meant that her condition would become public knowledge, and she would be judged by people like Ross and criticized for her behavior.

Karp had already been humiliated by Walgreens employees. Then, she opened herself up to further humiliation from hardhearted types across the country.

Rather than condemning Karp's action, I commend it. Hopefully, the sacrifice of her privacy will spare others similar anguish.

Karp and the other women may have been driven purely by self-interest, but their actions have done a service by bringing the matter to the public's attention.

As a result of their lawsuits, Walgreens is being forced to clean up its act. Putting comments like "CrAzY!!" and "psycho" into the Drug Utilization Review, and then plugging those remarks into a national database shows that some Walgreens employees have no concern for the consumer.

Had Karp merely complained to the manager, the problem would have been dealt with internally, and possibly (probably?) simply dismissed altogether. Because she went public, that was no longer an option for Walgreens.

Walgreens is being held publicly accountable for how it treats its patrons. With the help of the legal process, accountability is taking place in the public square.

It should be noted that initially Walgreens wasn't responsive. Karp's lawyer Cathy Lively contacted Walgreens by phone more than twelve times and only was told, "We'll investigate."

Without public pressure, it's very easy for large companies, and even easier for huge conglomerates, to ignore legitimate complaints and violations.

No doubt, Karp and her lawyer determined that speaking to the media would be an effective way to get Walgreens to quit giving them the runaround and address their concerns, as well as warning the public about doing business with the pharmacy chain.

They were right.

In sum, I don't know Karp or the other women, and I can't claim to know their motivations.

I do know that the result of their actions will be to force Walgreens to implement procedures that will better protect their customers from abuse.

Walgreens must deal with the misdeeds of its employees in a public forum. The lawsuits serve to hold Walgreens publicly accountable and its employees responsible. In this case, the legal process is working to defend the common good.

In effect, by filing the suits, ALL Walgreens customers were notified to beware of its inappropriate practices.

Generally speaking, sacrificing one's privacy and opening up one's self to ridicule in order to correct an injustice is a courageous, selfless thing to do.

I admire that, and I feel guilty for not having the character to do the same.