Is it common for a pharmacist to refuse a Proscar prescription? A friend of mine (he’s 24) told me that he had trouble getting one filled because he was too young for prostate issues. Seems weird to me. Can a pharmacist overrule a doctor like that? Thanks

Actually, I’ve heard of this happening only once, and it was rather recently.

At a Costco pharmacy in the Los Angeles area, a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription I had written for 5mg Proscar tablets to be split by the patient into 1/4 tablets in order to save money. The pharmacist said it was his right to refuse to fill a prescription that was not what the FDA has allowed. This was the first time in my medical career that I have seen this response to the prescription. Of course, the patient went elsewhere and easily filled the prescription.

It’s not like filling birth control pills when you are religiously against birth control, is it?

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):