CVS Fired A Pharmacist Who Refused To Fill Out A Transgender Woman's Hormone Prescription

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Buzzfeed News


"He did not give me a clear reason for the refusal. He just kept asking, loudly and in front of other CVS staff and customers, why I was given the prescriptions."

Salvador Hernandez
BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on July 20, 2018, at 11:04 p.m. ET

CVS has fired an Arizona pharmacist after he refused to fill out a transgender woman's prescription for hormone medication, the company announced Friday.

The company also issued an apology to the woman, saying the pharmacist's action "does not reflect our values or our commitment to inclusion, nondiscrimination and the delivery of outstanding patient care."

Hilde Hall wrote about her experience at the Fountain Hills CVS in a blog post for the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday, stating the unidentified pharmacist in April had refused to fill out the first hormone prescription she had been issued by her doctor.

"I was finally going to start seeing my body reflect my gender identity and the woman I've always known myself to be," she wrote.

Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/cvs-fired-a-pharmacist-who-refused-to-fill-out-a

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good for CVS! What that pharmacist did was reprehensible in the extreme.

My heart goes out to her as she becomes the woman she really is.

[Initech]

2. Guess that pharmacist didn't get the memo about #Civility.

[Maraya1969]

3. So glad he was fired. So many trans people take abuse, especially in the beginning. It's

heart breaking.

[marble falls]

4. Whats wrong with people? He had a simple job: make sure the person prescibed to ...

is the person who receives the prescription.

He deserved a strong sanction. Firing works. Discussing her medical history and treatment publicly and loudly in front of others is just plain unforgivable.

[christx30]

5. Glad he pharmacist was fired.

And loudly asking the patient why she needed the prescription was a huge HIPPA violation. The pharmacist should lose his licence. It's a violation, not out of carelessness, but out of malice. It's no different than yelling out "Here for your Valtrex? Whatcha need that for, hmm?"
I hope this prick never gets another job in his chosen field again.

[Dave Starsky]

20. It's HIPAA, not HIPPA.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Tell all your friends.

[Collimator]

24. Speaking of HIPAA. . .

There is a great mug available from Cafe Press with this printed on it:


Knock, knock.

Who's there?

HIPAA.

HIPAA, who?

I can't tell you that.


If I still worked with the Maryland Health Connection, that mug would be sitting on my desk.

[Dave Starsky]

25. Ha ha! I love it.

I'm going to get me one of these.

[Collimator]

26. You should.

It really is the perfect gift for anyone who has had to sit through HIPAA training.

(Question: Why does it take soo many hours to teach people to NOT say something?)

[Dave Starsky]

28. People's eyes generally glaze over...

Until they get to the fines part. Up into the millions, depending on how badly you fuck up. That perks up people's interest right away.

The trainers should just start with that.

[Lugnut]

6. Good! n/t

[Retrograde]

7. Good. Now, is CVS going to have the same standards

for women who are prescribed contraception?

[Matthew28]

8. Great to hear!

Treat people with respect or get lost.

Tired of these right wing bastards trying to turn millions of people into second class citizens in their own country.

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. This pharmacist had no more business refusing to fill this prescription

than refusing to fill a woman's birth control.

I wonder if any pharmacist has refused to fill a Viagra prescription.

On edit: I also wonder if any of these conscience-clause types have stopped to consider how they damage the reputation of their profession.

[Collimator]

22. Regarding the Viagra . . .

To the best of my knowledge, such prescriptions are easily covered by many insurance plans, while birth control for women is an issue of contention with many providers.

And would a pharmacy employee refuse to sell a Viagra prescription along with a condom purchase?

Furthermore, why aren't ardent Christians protesting outside sperm banks? All that masturbation! Heavens!

Another point: The Bible instructs women to sequester themselves during their menses. Shouldn't they be refused feminine hygiene purchases during their unclean time? What are you doing out and about woman?

If only gun sellers were so scrupulous in deciding who would be "worthy" of purchasing their wares.

[AdamGG]

10. Choosing which prescriptions you don't approve of isn't part of the job description

If there are prescriptions that you're unwilling to dispense, then you're at fault for taking a job that you're incapable of performing.

This guy is like a fundamentalist Muslim taking a job at 7-11 and then refusing to sell people beer. Get a different job and STFU.

[safeinOhio]

15. +100%

If it is truly against his religion or moral code, he could have walked out and quit his job. He decided to become a pill counter.

[DeminPennswoods]

11. Some employees just don't understand retail jobs

Stores hire people to make sales, not lose them by insulting customers or refusing to help them. It hurts the financial bottom line for both the company and the employees.

[dembotoz]

12. good

[ck4829]

13. Great.

[YOHABLO]

14. It's none of their business as to why, if a doc prescribes it .. fill it and STFU !!

[metalbot]

23. Not really

In this case, the pharmacist was exercising pure bigotry, but pharmacists _absolutely_ have a right (and an obligation) to make sure that a doctor didn't write a crazy prescription. They've also got obligations to look out for drug interactions and to monitor for abuse.

Again, this is NOT what happened here, but there have been a couple posts here where people seem to think that the primary job of a pharmacist is to read a prescription, count pills, and hand those pills to a patient. There's an enormous education required for someone to be a pharmacist - that wouldn't be needed if your primary job was to count things and put them into jars.

[colsohlibgal]

16. Right Move CVS

Two simple rules to live by that wingnut types tend not to adhere to are 1) live and let live and 2) do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.

CVS did the right thing.

[3Hotdogs]

17. Walgreen's, not so much.

Article refers to the Walgreen's incident where a woman carrying a dead fetus was denied an abortion prescription.

Walgreen's supports the pharmacist's "ethical" decision.


I take my prescriptions to a local pharmacy -- maybe pay a few $ more. But guess what? Joe never supported ALEC like C.V.S. did.

[Paladin]

18. Good. (nt)

[paleotn]

19. HIPAA violation...

in addition to do the damn job you're being paid to do.

[Julian Englis]

21. As paleotn points out, big HIPAA violation, so CVS had no choice.

The pharmacist is part of entity. The prescription is protected health information that a covered entity is not supposed to release information by blabbing out loud. CVS had no choice but to act. The pharmacist was a walking time bomb for future lawsuits.

[AJT]

27. Soon to be on its way to the supreme court for violating

his 1st amendment right to religious freedom. Ugh.