Shoppers Drug Mart tech issues lead to delays and frustration among patients

Computer system issues at certain Shoppers Drug Mart locations have led to delays in some patients getting their medications. In response to a query from Pharmacy Practice + Business about the issues, Shoppers Drug Mart's parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., sent the following statement by email: “Some of our stores have had intermittent system issues over the past few days, impacting their ability to fill prescriptions. Most stores are back online and working through the backlog. This is a technical issue and there is no systems or data breach.” It remains unclear how widespread the problem is—Loblaw did not address our questions about what regions were affected or how many stores had systems issues—but anecdotal reports from several provinces have popped up on social media. Customers took to Twitter to speak out about issues in local stores over the past few days. A woman in Barrie, Ontario, said that she called in a prescription for an inhaler first thing in the morning on Jan. 13 and still couldn’t get it as of Jan. 17, calling the situation “unacceptable.” Shoppers replied to the woman's tweet, apologizing for the inconvenience. Read: Ransomware attacks on U.S. healthcare systems grow in frequency and sophistication Other social media posts appeared from Ottawa to Halifax, with one London, Ont. man telling Global News he was unable to get his prescribed medicines on the day he was told they would be ready. After being initially turned away, Roy Steinbach, whose medicines are covered through Ontario Disability Support Program, heard from the pharmacy over the phone, this time telling him he would be billed for some of his medications. When he went back to the pharmacy, we was billed and then given an immediate refund, Global News reported. However, following that interaction, Shoppers later called him to request $280 in up-front payment, saying its system had no record of his being on ODSP or of the charge and refund a few days prior. “I don’t understand with such a large company why they haven’t fixed it yet,” he told Global News. Many other posters to social media tagged news organizations and said they were disappointed that the news of the issues wasn’t more widespread. Read: Listing, legislation and logistics: Why are we leaving Manitoba’s pharmacy techs behind? Pamella Hopkins told CTV News in Winnipeg that she had to go without pain medication for two days due to the systems crash. She is taking a controlled painkiller, and the pain is so intense that she’s bedbound without it. “It just makes me very angry,” she said, explaining that she was trying to get it filled elsewhere and was having trouble. Part of the issue is that pharmacists in the province can’t transfer controlled substances to different pharmacies, says Tim Smith, the pharmacy practice advisor with Pharmacists Manitoba. "Unfortunately, Manitoba remains the only province in the country where pharmacists can't send a transfer to another pharmacy, which would be something that would be very helpful in a situation like this,” Smith said. “This is a really challenging situation when the systems that we have built up to help us fail.” At the time of the news report, Hopkins was still without medication and looking for a solution. “I’m just a little confused as to why it’s already day two and still nothing,” she said. Read: Shoppers Drug Mart partners with Manulife for Specialty Drug Care program

Shoppers Drug Mart tech issues lead to delays and frustration among patients

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