Where Things Stand

Friday
January 15, 2021

Kaiser Permanente
Aurora Centrepoint Pharmacy
14701 E Exposition Ave
Aurora, CO 80012
Attn: Colin Murtaugh, PharmD, PHA 0020944
Pharmacy Manager
colin.j.murtaugh@KP.org

For your convenience,
this document is published on the Internet at
http://www.mkgappraisal.com/letter2020_24.htm

This letter is written to document where things stand.

I picked up a prescription at the Aurora Centrepoint Pharmacy on 8/20/20.
3 tablets of FUROSEMIDE, RX 303207869725.

During a "slow" period of my visit, when both myself and the person behind the counter were doing literally nothing, in an effort to make conversation, I asked the person behind the counter to tell me the name of the manager.

I was able to leave with a Colin Murtaugh business card. I am very proud of it. The blue writing at the bottom is mine.
I'm not making this up!!

On 8/25/20, there was a second transaction at the Aurora Centrepoint Pharmacy that resulted in me walking away with 1 tablet of FUROSEMIDE, in a container that had a label dated 8/20/20. And yes, I am concerned that the label has the wrong date on it.

Letter to KP Member Services

I sent a letter to KP Member Services dated 11/6/20.
For your convenience, a copy of this letter is published on the Internet at:
http://www.mkgappraisal.com/letter2020_23.htm

I asked KP Member Services to tell me the name and license number of the pharmacist who had dispensed the 3 tablets on 8/20/20. And I asked them to tell me the name and license number of the pharmacist that dispensed the one tablet to me on 8/25/20.

I never received a written response to my letter from KP Member Services. I did receive a phone message from Colin Murtaugh on Thursday, Dec 3. Note that it took almost a month. In his phone message, Colin never does tell me his (full) name. It’s like pulling teeth getting a last name out of anyone in the pharmacy. Really!

Colin does say he is
“fine with getting that information for you.”

I believe Colin had the information when he left the message on my phone, and could have left it for me at that time, and chose not to. I believe that any other pharmacy manager will be able to look at my letter dated 11/6/20, and listen to Colin’s phone message on 12/3/20, and know that Colin had the information when he called me. That is to say, it will be clear that Colin was not acting in good faith.

Like Pullin' Teeth

As I said, it’s like pullin’ teeth. Obfuscation. Colin went on to ask me to call him back at 303 614 7300. Stalling. Kicking and Screaming.

Later that day, 12/4/20, I called Colin back at 303 614 7300. It took me 2 phone calls, over 18 minutes in total. 18 minutes for me to be able to leave a message for Colin to call me back.

There is a clause in the Statement of Member Rights that says I am to be treated with “Respect and Dignity”. After 18 minutes of mostly being on hold, just to leave a message, I was (and still am) feeling very disrespected. This is unacceptable.

The entire experience is documented on the Internet at:
http://www.mkgappraisal.com/letter2020_22.htm

The Kaiser Phone System Sucks

So for the record:
This is unacceptable to me. Don’t ask me to return a call on the Kaiser phone system.

The following day, Friday, 12/4/20, I met face to face with Colin Murtaugh at the Aurora Centrepoint Pharmacy.

The summary of our conversation:
Colin stated that it may (or may not) be more than one licensed pharmacist involved with any given Kaiser prescription.

Phil stated:
OK fine. If your research turns up that there was more than one pharmacist involved, tell me the name and license number of all of them. Will you do that please?

Colin said that he would.

I did not see or hear anything to suggest a problem. That was December 4th, 2020. I left that meeting, expecting to hear back from Colin within a week or so.

That was 6 weeks ago. I have not heard anything since.

Summary: Dishonest and Disrespected

To be clear: Colin, it looks to me like you are being dishonest, disingenuous, bad faith – take your pick. If you think I have it wrong, please immediately write me at the address below and straighten me out. I sincerely hope that I have it all wrong.

What Are You Going To Do About It?

If you are willing, please immediately send a written response with the name and license number of at least one of the pharmacists who dispensed the prescription that I picked up on 8/20/20. Do that as an act of good faith. There is no reason you can’t do that within one day of your receipt of this letter. Within one day.

It will go a long way toward changing (improving) my opinion of your behavior in this situation. What I’m looking for here is an “official” statement from “Management”. And right now, my opinion of “Management” is not so good.

Colin Murtaugh: If I get no response at all, I will take that to mean you accept my version of the events as accurate.

Please send a signed, written response via US Mail so that I receive it by Friday, January, 29th, 2021. Please respond in good faith.

You can do this.

Philip G Rice
11268 E Linvale Dr
Aurora, CO 80014
720-282-3376
phil.rice@mkgappraisal.com

Health Record Number 427582802, DOB 4/25/53
C:\temp\kaiser\colo\murtaugh_01.docx

cc:

Kaiser Permanente
2500 South Havana Street
Aurora, Colorado 80014
Attn: Member Services Department

Kaiser Permanente
East Denver Pharmacy
10400 E Alameda Ave
Denver, CO 80247
Attn: Nicole E. Kapuranis, PHA 0019112, Pharmacy Manager
voice mail dated 1/14/21 at 2:00PM, never does say what her last name is. It takes me about 30 minutes to hunt up the name Kapuranis.

State Board of Pharmacy
1560 Broadway, #1350
Denver, CO 80202
Attn: Dmitry Kunin, PHA 0019125
Program Director

State Board of Pharmacy
1560 Broadway, #1350
Denver, CO 80202
Attn: Patricia A Evacko, PharmD, PHA 0013637
President of the Board

-- End of Letter --

-----------------------------------------------

Letter from the Board

01/27/2021 to my chagrin, the State Board of Pharmacy turned my letter into a complaint, which is not really what I intended.

Voice Mail

subsequesnt voice mail follow up:
Linda Doe (303) 894-7791

Transcript:
Hi. This is Linda calling from the State Pharmacy Board.
And I was calling for Philip Rice.
And I lost my train of thought.
I was calling about a complaint we received against Kaiser Pharmacy.
I spoke with the Director and they are asking that you fill out a complaint form that is available at our Website and if you are able to do that
and if so once we receive it we will initiate a formal complaint against Kaiser
and/or the pharmacist that you were dealing with
but if you want to give me a call back
my number is
(303) 874-7791
Thanks Bye Bye

----------------------------------------------------
Letter from the Board received 3/22/21, advising that Case 2021-555 has been dismissed.

-------------- / update / --------------------------------
1/31/21

On Friday Jan 29th , 2021, I took advantage of a warm day and got some fresh air and practiced my short game at the Common Ground Golf Course. On the way home, I stopped at the Kaiser East Denver Pharmacy, in order to confirm something I already knew.

The night before, I had spent about 2 hours reading/researching the Pharmacy rules and regulations. When I came across this one:

12-280-118. Prescription drug outlet under charge of pharmacist - rules. (1) (a)
(4) Every outlet and every pharmacist and pharmacy intern regularly practicing shall conspicuously display the registration and license, respectively, within the premises of the place of practice or outlet.

Pardon me while I puke.

I had been (kinda) told about this by someone at King Soopers a few weeks ago. It had been percolating in my brain. I wasn’t really sure exactly what he meant. But there it is. Big as a house. And all I could think was – those ass holes at Kaiser ! Just giving me a blank look and acting dumb.

East Denver Pharmacy

I was able to wait sitting down for the first 3 minutes. Then standing for 3. I tell the person behind the counter that I would like to see the licenses of the all the pharmacists. Predictably, she says: What?

After about 2 minutes, she sends me down to a window at the end, and tells me to wait. After a ‘standing up’ 5 minute wait, Nicole (the Manager) shows up.

I last spoke with Nicole about a month ago. I remember that she came across as having a relentlessly positive attitude. She sincerely wanted to help me. Today, Jan 29, it came across to me as pretty much the polar opposite. Nicole hates me, and it would suit her just fine if she never sees me or never hears from me again. And to be clear, Nicole is polite, and proper. It is not what she says, but the way she says it. The look on her face says I am the enemy. It is about as subtle as a train wreck. I am able to confirm:
There is no public (conspicuous) posting of the licenses in the pharmacy. They are kept “in the back”. They are available for people like me to see, upon request.

I asked Nicole if she knows something I don’t. In response, she said the East Denver Pharmacy has been inspected by the State and by Kaiser (Crackerjack?) Corporate and if they let it go......Well, then it must be OK.

I kept my mouth shut. Hung Le, PharmD, and the California St. law defense came to mind. Which is to say my bullshit meter started to twitch.

I then drove to Centrepoint.

All of the licenses are kept in the back. Available only on carefully supervised request. The key point is, they only way you will ever use this feature is if you ask for it. And the only people who will ever ask for it are those who read the Pharmacy Practice Act. Because if you don’t ask, nobody is going to tell you.

At Centrepoint, I waited about 5 minutes. When I made it to the counter, I asked to see the licenses. In response, the person behind the counter asked me questions. He asked if I was from the State Board? I just looked at him. He didn’t move.

Isn’t this fun?

Eventually, he told me to move to a different window and wait there.

I waited another 5 minutes. Then another person arrived. I was expecting Colin. It was not Colin. This person acted dumb and hard of hearing. What did you say?

Isn’t this fun?

After awhile, Colin arrived. It has been about 12 – 14 minutes now. I have been standing up the whole time. I have been treated better than when I was on the phone.

Colin did show me all of the licenses. All 6 of them. He had them in a 3 ring binder. There was a pane of glass between us. The type was small. It was difficult.

Colin and I did talk a little bit. Which I found very interesting/surprising. Colin said that he had responded to my letter, which came as a surprise to me. I had not yet received his response.

Colin said he had mailed a written response. He thought his letter to me was mailed on Wednesday the 27th.

The key points:

Most (all?) of my misgivings were due to a misunderstanding. It was all a mis-understanding.

I told Colin I was very happy to hear that.

Colin told me that Brock Gavin Bulas PHA oo18724 was the pharmacist who had dispensed my prescription.
-----------------------------------------------
Update 02/07/21 (Superbowl Sunday)
I received a letter from Colin on 2/3/21.

A few notes:

I sent an email to:
colin.j.murtaugh@KP.org
on the evening of 2/3/21 to confirm my receipt.

My message:
with 2 attachments:
Huong Le screen shot
Demand Letter pdf

I don't have time for a detailed response now, but I want to confirm that I received your letter in today's (2/3/21) US Mail.

I see a lot of good things/positive in your letter. This is a very big step in the right direction. Mind you, I think we still have a ways to go.

If you read the pdf file first, it is a letter I wrote to the mail order pharmacy back in August. It will be a good start. The jpg is a screen shot of Huong Le - I told you she had made a promise for you - well there it is.
There is a lot going on in this one screen shot actually.

Phil Rice

--------------- / end / -------
Additional comments:
2/7/21

3 things jumped out at me:
1) Spelled my name wrong.
2) Missed the deadline by 5 days.
3) Did not sign the letter.

My conclusion:

Colin does not take me serious. I have thought that he has underestimated me all along. This looks to me like more disrespect. He did a nice job with the wording of the letter. I (cynically) presume he had the State Board in mind. He wants to be able to cushion the blow by positioning himself as very reasonable. I've picked up a lot of prescriptions at Kaiser in the past 6 years. They managed to get my name spelled right on every one of them. So when the pharmacy manager gets it wrong, it looks like a half assed effort.

I would have been surprised if the letter was signed. A missed opportunity to show some good faith. Perhaps the failure to do so is a sign of the true colors. The unmistakeable message is: I need to be careful about what I believe.

In my mind, there is no excuse for being one day late, much less five. Colin, a stamp cost 50 cents.

And sadly, taking it all into account, it is a big improvement over where we were. I had a really bad opinion before I got the letter.

----------------------/ /-----------------

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