Lewis Drugs

Waited 1 hour for prescription promised in 20 minutes at CVS in Westwood. Finally told they didn’t carry it. After calling other local locations with no luck they tried Lewis Drugs. Not only did they carry it and accept my insurance it was ready when I arrived 10 minutes later. Elapsed time in store 3 minutes. Lesson learned. Support the little, local guy. Lewis Drugs to the rescue.

I’ve suffered from chronic pain for 7 years, and had 3 major surgeries to try and correct the underlying problems. As if living with chronic pain wasn’t bad enough, the pharmacist/​owner, Ken, treated me with contempt and suspicion from the first time I went there. Each month, he would search for any reason to send me away without my medication. On 5 different occasions, I was told my prescription could not be filled because the doctor didn’t «dot an i» or «cross a t» on the on the prescription form. I asked if he could call the doctor and make the correction. He said it was against the law for him to make any changes to a schedule II prescription, so I had to go back to the doctor and get another form. Turns out that’s BS. The only things that can’t be changed on a schedule II prescription are the doctor’s signature, the patient’s name and the drug. A pharmacist can change anything else with permission from the doctor. On another occasion he refused, telling me the prescription was «suspicious» because it looked like it had been filled out with two different pens. That’s because the doctor’s nurse wrote out the prescription and he signed it. It’s a common practice for many doctors. The list of other crap I was handed each month goes on and on. Need an early refill because of travel plans? Forget it. You’re expected to plan your life around when your medicine runs out. Want to come in on the 27^th or 28^th day for a 30 day Rx? Forget that too. Only on the 30^th day, I was told, because the law requires that too. More BS. Last fall, the state of NJ began requiring the use of new kind of prescription form. My September prescription was written on one of the old forms. I was turned away again. Later I checked and the old forms were good until November. I could go on, but I think you get the point. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. I understand the need to be cautious when dispensing schedule II medications, but if he had any doubts about my need for it, he had ample opportunities to check it out with my doctor. As for his claims about the law, either he’s misinformed or just a liar. I suspect the latter. Either way, he is a condescending jerk. So if you have a chronic condition that requires you to get your medication filled every month, do yourself a favor and do as I did. Go someplace else.

My family has been using Lewis Drugs since our local Emerson pharmacy closed awhile ago. They have been nothing but friendly, helpful and efficient since then. Lewis Drugs offers a personal touch that the major chains do not.

This is not your local pharmacy trying to help the local community. The owner and pharmacist withholds medication from sick patients which in my opinion gives him a false sense of empowerment. This is a shit pharmacy that has a funky smell when you walk in. Would not recommend even to my dog.