Meet the Patients Out of Patience

Nobody really wants to think about how much time the chronically ill and disabled spend waiting — but it’s enough for “patients” to feel like an oxymoron. We interviewed four people on hold with the pharmacy in order to better understand this frustrating lifestyle.

Barbara Jones, 23
“I’ve been on hold twenty minutes already; might as well keep going,” she began with a sigh. It’s glaringly obvious that this is not her first time waiting indefinitely.

“If I hang up now, that twenty minutes was a waste.” She then proceeded to take her phone with her to the toilet, to her wheelchair, to bed and then back to the toilet. Still ringing.

Namjoon Kim, 30
“Yeah … this happens every week. They can’t seem to get the prescriptions correct — not like it’s their job or anything!” He produced a bottle of antihistamines that contained a 30-day supply instead of the 90-day supply he paid for, then sneezed into his face mask. He was itchy and angy, so the interview was short.

Stacy Bisetta, 50
Much like her mother, Bisetta has fibromyalgia and is already out of spoons. The additional hurdle of the pharmacy completely losing her Lyrica prescription was NOT what she needed today, and she is reverting to knives. We decided against a formal interview and stood at a safe distance as she yelled at her phone, then we gave her a Tylenol for her headache.

Karly Smith, 18
Birth control pills are often used to treat a variety of menstrual problems, but that doesn’t stop a pharmacy technician from assuming the patient is very, very sexually active! Smith called to refill her BC for her abnormally heavy periods and ovarian cysts while she was single and not wearing a wedding ring. The religious tech refused to sell it to a “****” so Smith got the manager involved. 

“All I’m saying is, they better let me pick it up this week or it’ll be a very bloody Sunday soon! Whose blood? No comment.”