I experienced this issue at the local pharmacy. I have arthritis which was causing me considerable pain in my right hip. My doctor prescribed a regular course of Naproxen which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which reduces swelling (inflammation) and pain in joints and muscles. This helped my discomfort enough for me to want to keep taking the medication. It helped me continue to walk but any sustained exercise was distinctly painful.
My prescription was for 250mg tablets.
I walked, or rather I limped, to the pharmacy because I still liked to exercise. I intended this to be my daily workout. I handed in the prescription. After a short while the pharmacist came over to speak with me. She explained she could not dispense the prescription because they only had 500mg tablets.
'Can you give me the 500mg tablets at half the prescribed quantity of the 250mg tablets - so it works out the same?' I asked.
“No, we can’t do that,” she replied.
“But why not?” I protested. “It’s the same amount and I could split them, or you could do it for me. They really help me and there are no other pharmacies nearby.”
“No, we can’t unfortunately. We have to dispense what the prescription says.”
“Could you perhaps ring the surgery?”
“I’m afraid not at the moment, we are too busy and would be put on hold. It’s best if you do it.”
“What can I do then?” I asked, a little surprised and frustrated.
“You can go back to the doctor and see if he will give you a prescription for 500mg.”
“But I’m walking today, and it hurts.”
“I’m sorry but we can’t give anything besides what it reads on the prescription – that’s the rule”.
I sighed and resigned myself. I would do it if that meant I could get the Naproxen today. About to leave I stopped and said “Oh, OK if I have to. Could you please keep the tablets to one side and I will get them once I am back from the surgery.”
Bluntly, the pharmacist refused, saying “We won’t be able to do that because someone else might come in and might need them urgently.”
I didn’t want a confrontation so went to the surgery and back as quickly as I could, with a new prescription for 500mg.