Pharmacies Suck.

Here's how the medical process goes in Hong Kong:
You go to the doctor; he prescribes medicine; his nurse gives you the medicine; you leave with everything you need to get better.  Easy peasy.

Here's how the process goes here:
I feel like crap.  I call the doctor to set up an appointment and the doctor's receptionist informs me I'll need to bring my insurance card.  I don't have an insurance card, so I have to call insurance company Cigna (many conversations with automated computer that doesn't understand what I'm saying) and get ID number.

Go to doctor.  Get examined by doctor.  Ushered out the door by doctor with two prescriptions in hand.

Go to pharmacy #1 (Duane Reade) - located nowhere near doctor office. Hand pharmacist my prescriptions and tell her my insurance ID#.  Told the next day (!!) that Cigna is NOT my prescription insurance provider, only my medical/doctor provider.  Express Scripts is my prescription provider and they don't have a contract with Duane Reade.  A.k.a. - I'm not getting my meds here.

Go to pharmacy #2 (Rite Aid).  Hand pharmacist my prescriptions and Cigna ID#, explaining that I'm covered under Express Scripts.  She tells me they only have 1 of the 2 medicines in stock and that I need to provide more info from Express Scripts before she can fill the script.

Go home and call Cigna (automated computer hell) only to have them explain that they are a completely different company than Express Script.  They do have Express Script's number though (small miracle).  Call Express Script (more automated computer hell) and am given all info needed to get Rx filled.

Go back to Rite Aid and give the info for my 1 Rx.  Have given up hope on getting 2nd medicine.

Currently waiting for it to be filled and assume there will be 8 million more hoops to jump through, hiccups and meltdowns -- the latter from me, before I physically have meds in hand.

Now I ask you - sane, level-headed human being, which process would you prefer?????