Not Ready for Prime Time
Not Ready for Prime Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes on the phone for a prescription —unacceptable The concept of Centerwell Pharmacy is great in theory, but the execution is consistently frustrating. Today, I was forced to call because their online portal could not handle my prescription request. This began a nearly two-hour ordeal. I called the number provided by Centerwell’s automated message, only for the representative to immediately try to transfer me to another department. I explained that I was calling the number they provided, so we began a grueling, redundant process. The representative was polite, but the system she is forced to work with is primitive and inefficient. I was asked to recite my doctor’s name, address, and phone number—information that should have been instantly available since the doctor sent the prescription. Furthermore, at the initial part of the call I was asked to verify my insurance details, yet the representative was clearly able to access my account regardless. The initial verification process was pointless. After over an hour and seventeen minutes, the representative finally realized the prescription was being shipped to my home address, despite the fact that I cannot self-administer the required injection. I had provided the correct physician’s office address nearly 20 minutes prior, but that information apparently gets shifted to another UI page that is inconvient for the representative. What followed was a cascade of transfers: I was told I had to be transferred to a clinician (at the 1-hour 17-minute mark). 11 minutes of waiting for a clinician. 19 minutes of waiting to be transferred to the medication provider. By the time I reached the medication provider, they had no idea why I was even speaking to them. In total, this single interaction took 1 hour and 59 minutes. No other pharmacy requires this level of struggle or robs customers of so much time. Centerwell needs to overhaul its internal computer systems and streamline its communication processes. Having to repeat basic data to multiple departments and enduring nearly two hours on the phone for a simple address correction is an unacceptable standard of service.
By Julia T.