My Defy Medical experience so far

[TestOneTwo]

My initial experience was very good. It all went smoothly and pleasant.

However, things went downhill when it came to my first follow up & refill. The follow up consultation seemed rushed, yes I’m aware it’s supposed to be shorter etc but I didn’t really feel heard as much as I did during the initial consultation. Still, while noted in the back of my head, it really wasn’t a big deal.
The more concerning problem is the refill. Due to me having bought their recommended syringes and needles in my first order I have lost a lot of T with each shot, 0.05ml to be exact, which would have still left me with JUST about enough T until the refill date. Why? I had deliberately used a little bit less for each shot since I already saw a problem arising early on. Based to my injection protocol I was losing 1.4ml from my 10ml supply. That’s 14%! I doubted that they would overfill their vials by 14% in order to compensate for the waste so I kept that in mind.

02/20 I reorder (with now recommenced 27g 1/2” syringes) express shipment since this is the only chance of working out at all. (Questions comes up: Why even offering slow shipments?)

02/21 I get an email saying sorry, the refill date is 02/26. Do I want to proceed anyway meaning I will pay etc and they will hold it until 02/26. I replied YES YES please, of course. Whatever speeds the process up. I get an order confirmation the same day.

03/03 I’m getting nervous. According to 4-5 work days lead time I should be receiving the shipment by tomorrow 03/04 latest and I didn’t even get a tracking number yet. I send emails to two different admins, no reply. Yes it’s true, you never speak to the same admin twice. That seems to affect accountability.

03/04 Still no response from anybody and no shipment either. I call. Apparently there was an issue with my order. In a nutshell, when I was ordering early my account was put on hold...unfortunately nobody had seen it necessary to put it off hold so it ended up in limbo...Now my shipment is due Fr 03/06 EARLIEST and we all know this probably means it’s NOT going to happen that day and much more likely on 03/09 or 10 instead. Awesome, especially since I had just switched to EOD.

This is not good. We are not talking about an order for a bag of grass seed here. This is supposed to be a reliable supply system to help maintain a highly delicate hormonal balance and I don’t see it being treated as such at all. I also hate HATE having to chase my medication like a junky, hassling people, trying to cut days, getting stressed out etc. This is not cool.

I’m not a complainer but I suspect that Defy might be growing a little too fast for its own good. I hope things will get better there soon.

UPDATE 3/4
In the afternoon I’ve received a surprising UPS notification which stated the shipment was on its way for a next day 10.30am delivery.

This seems like nothing short of magic and it certainly brightened up my day.
Somehow they managed to push the order through to the pharmacy on the same day which in turn churned it out for a next day pre 10.30am delivery. Despite my rant I respect it a lot when a company is really trying to fix something rather than just giving me lip service while getting on with business as usual. This shipment could have easily not been shipped before Tuesday (today is Wed) so, thanks Defy for going the extra mile. Will update once it has actually arrived.

Update 3/5
This morning the shipment was still showing for delivery today. Well, UPS just just changed it to tomorrow a couple minutes ago...” A mechanical failure has caused a delay. We will update the delivery date as soon as possible. ”I guess at least it’s going to be here before the weekend...I hope. That’s why there’s absolutely no room to delay things at the front end. Anything can happen afterwards. Murphy’s law. Wouldn’t be surprised if the shipment gets lost altogether.

Update 3/6
The eagle has landed this morning and I’m relieved to say the least! In the end, with help of the Defy team the shipment was only 2 days late. Sure, not ideal but it could have easily been a week.
I also got a comprehensive response from Defy Management apologizing for the mishap, acknowledging certain weak areas but also indicating some exciting plans in the works for improving the supply system. I’m very much looking forward to that. It has to be said, despite what people believe customer service isn’t about freebies. It’s really much more about people going out of their way to help other people, in this case a customer. I appreciate that.

On a siede note, those 27G 1/2” Insulin syringes are awesome. Virtually no waste!

 

[52hoosier]

My initial experience was very good. It all went smoothly and pleasant.

However, things went downhill when it came to my first follow up & refill. The follow up consultation seemed rushed, yes I’m aware it’s supposed to be shorter etc but I didn’t really feel heard as much as I did during the initial consultation. Still, while noted in the back of my head, it really wasn’t a big deal.
The more concerning problem is the refill. Due to me having bought their recommended syringes and needles in my first order I have lost a lot of T with each shot, 0.05ml to be exact, which would have still left me with JUST about enough T until the refill date. Why? I had deliberately used a little bit less for each shot since I already saw a problem arising early on. Based to my injection protocol I was losing 1.4ml from my 10ml supply. That’s 14%! I doubted that they would overfill their vials by 14% in order to compensate for the waste so I kept that in mind.

02/20 I reorder (with now recommenced 27g 1/2” syringes) express shipment since this is the only chance of working out at all. (Questions comes up: Why even offering slow shipments?)

02/21 I get an email saying sorry, the refill date is 02/26. Do I want to proceed anyway meaning I will pay etc and they will hold it until 02/26. I replied YES YES please, of course. Whatever speeds the process up. I get an order confirmation the same day.

03/03 I’m getting nervous. According to 4-5 work days lead time I should be receiving the shipment by tomorrow 03/04 latest and I didn’t even get a tracking number yet. I send emails to two different admins, no reply. Yes it’s true, you never speak to the same admin twice. That seems to affect accountability.

03/04 Still no response from anybody and no shipment either. I call. Apparently there was an issue with my order. In a nutshell, when I was ordering early my account was put on hold...unfortunately nobody had seen it necessary to put it off hold so it ended up in limbo...Now my shipment is due Fr 03/06 EARLIEST and we all know this probably means it’s NOT going to happen that day and much more likely on 03/09 or 10 instead. Awesome, especially since I had just switched to EOD.

This is not good. We are not talking about an order for a bag of grass seed here. This is supposed to be a reliable supply system to help maintain a highly delicate hormonal balance and I don’t see it being treated as such at all. I also hate HATE having to chase my medication like a junky, hassling people, trying to cut days, getting stressed out etc. This is not cool.

I’m not a complainer but I suspect that Defy might be growing a little too fast for its own good. I hope things will get better there soon.

UPDATE
In the afternoon I’ve received a surprising UPS notification which stated the shipment was on its way for a next day 10.30am delivery.

This seems like nothing short of magic and it certainly brightened up my day.
Somehow they managed to push the order through to the pharmacy on the same day which in turn churned it out for a next day pre 10.30am delivery. Despite my rant I respect it a lot when a company is really trying to fix something rather than just giving me lip service while getting on with business as usual. This shipment could have easily not been shipped before Tuesday (today is Wed) so, thanks Defy for going the extra mile. Will update once it has actually arrived.

My experience has been that it's a waste to pay for expedited shipping. It's never made a difference for me. There is typically a lag between ordering and receiving. I think it happens at the approval system your order goes through before it's actually sent to the pharmacy. It usually takes 3-5 days before I get any acknowledgment from Empower.

I recently had an issue where Defy did not notify me until 11 days after the due date that it was time to have my labs done. Then I got a harassing email 2 days later because I hadn't gotten them done. I complained and to their credit they responded, agreed that the email was poorly written and apologized. The company is growing and their rep explained how they are working to correct it.

 

[Vince]

Easy Touch Store

 

[TestOneTwo]

My experience has been that it's a waste to pay for expedited shipping. It's never made a difference for me. There is typically a lag between ordering and receiving. I think it happens at the approval system your order goes through before it's actually sent to the pharmacy. It usually takes 3-5 days before I get any acknowledgment from Empower.

I recently had an issue where Defy did not notify me until 11 days after the due date that it was time to have my labs done. Then I got a harassing email 2 days later because I hadn't gotten them done. I complained and to their credit they responded, agreed that the email was poorly written and apologized. The company is growing and their rep explained how they are working to correct it.

What I found bizarre was that even the early “processing” of my order, as in ordering and paying before my refill date and then having it held until it’s due, didn’t do anything to speed things up. In fact, in this case it had delayed it and according to the admin I spoke with yesterday it’s best not to order before the due date. I believe the process should be automated by a subscription system. I want my medication to be reliably delivered no matter what, much like a magazine or milk, water or whatever. Obviously, if there are changes to be made or something else is required in order for the delivery to go ahead, a timely notification prior would help. Other than that the default should be just send it with plenty of notifications ahead of time about what and when it’s going to be sent.
I also very much prefer to talk to the same person again. Right now it seems to be run like a call center with random call allocations. Why not organizing the country into smaller regions each one of which is covered by its own inside rep(s)? Any occasional overflow due to spikes can then still be covered by the rest of the team but that should be the exception.

 

[52hoosier]

What I found bizarre was that even the early “processing” of my order, as in ordering and paying before my refill date and then having it held until it’s due, didn’t do anything to speed things up. In fact, in this case it had delayed it and according to the admin I spoke with yesterday it’s best not to order before the due date. I believe the process should be automated by a subscription system. I want my medication to be reliably delivered no matter what, much like a magazine or milk, water or whatever. Obviously, if there are changes to be made or something else is required in order for the delivery to go ahead, a timely notification prior would help. Other than that the default should be just send it with plenty of notifications ahead of time about what and when it’s going to be sent.
I also very much prefer to talk to the same person again. Right now it seems to be run like a call center with random call allocations. Why not organizing the country into smaller regions each one of which is covered by its own inside rep(s)? Any occasional overflow due to spikes can then still be covered by the rest of the team but that should be the exception.

Maybe letting you order directly through the Pharmacy would be the way to go? I don't call my CNP's office when I need a refill. Would save a lot of time, money and brain damage for Defy and the patient. They may not do that due to a legality regarding telemedicine and controlled substances?

 

[slicktop]

Defy definitely needs to improve the process in which they communicate regarding orders. I realize they're not Amazon, but seriously... who doesn't have Amazon? We're used to placing an order, getting an update that it was received, another that it was shipped, another that it's in transit, and another that it's delivered. With Defy you HAVE to order way early to make sure everything gets to you one time, and the communication is poor once you've paid. It's my only complaint with them.

 

[Deanna@Defy]

Hello all.
As @52hoosier mentioned, this is DEFINITELY at the top of system improvements we are working on to make your experience(s) with us more personalized and efficient. We pride ourselves on great service, but our technology has not always kept up with expectations.

Handling orders for controlled substances is complex behind the scenes, and we are working with our pharmacy partners find additional ways to streamline the process wherever possible for your benefit.

In addition, we are investing in a new EHR (Electronic Health Record) platform that will be completed and rolled out this summer. It should greatly improve the notification process and communication to keep things running smoothly, as well as minimize (if not eliminate) most of the pain points expressed here.

@TestOneTwo, we are focused on improving the quality of our individual and electronic communications – and I apologize that we don’t always get it right.

But please know we sincerely appreciate your continued feedback and make adjustments based on input like this on what’s working well, and where we can do better.

Deanna

 

[TestOneTwo]

My initial experience was very good. It all went smoothly and pleasant.

However, things went downhill when it came to my first follow up & refill. The follow up consultation seemed rushed, yes I’m aware it’s supposed to be shorter etc but I didn’t really feel heard as much as I did during the initial consultation. Still, while noted in the back of my head, it really wasn’t a big deal.
The more concerning problem is the refill. Due to me having bought their recommended syringes and needles in my first order I have lost a lot of T with each shot, 0.05ml to be exact, which would have still left me with JUST about enough T until the refill date. Why? I had deliberately used a little bit less for each shot since I already saw a problem arising early on. Based to my injection protocol I was losing 1.4ml from my 10ml supply. That’s 14%! I doubted that they would overfill their vials by 14% in order to compensate for the waste so I kept that in mind.

02/20 I reorder (with now recommenced 27g 1/2” syringes) express shipment since this is the only chance of working out at all. (Questions comes up: Why even offering slow shipments?)

02/21 I get an email saying sorry, the refill date is 02/26. Do I want to proceed anyway meaning I will pay etc and they will hold it until 02/26. I replied YES YES please, of course. Whatever speeds the process up. I get an order confirmation the same day.

03/03 I’m getting nervous. According to 4-5 work days lead time I should be receiving the shipment by tomorrow 03/04 latest and I didn’t even get a tracking number yet. I send emails to two different admins, no reply. Yes it’s true, you never speak to the same admin twice. That seems to affect accountability.

03/04 Still no response from anybody and no shipment either. I call. Apparently there was an issue with my order. In a nutshell, when I was ordering early my account was put on hold...unfortunately nobody had seen it necessary to put it off hold so it ended up in limbo...Now my shipment is due Fr 03/06 EARLIEST and we all know this probably means it’s NOT going to happen that day and much more likely on 03/09 or 10 instead. Awesome, especially since I had just switched to EOD.

This is not good. We are not talking about an order for a bag of grass seed here. This is supposed to be a reliable supply system to help maintain a highly delicate hormonal balance and I don’t see it being treated as such at all. I also hate HATE having to chase my medication like a junky, hassling people, trying to cut days, getting stressed out etc. This is not cool.

I’m not a complainer but I suspect that Defy might be growing a little too fast for its own good. I hope things will get better there soon.

UPDATE 3/4
In the afternoon I’ve received a surprising UPS notification which stated the shipment was on its way for a next day 10.30am delivery.

This seems like nothing short of magic and it certainly brightened up my day.
Somehow they managed to push the order through to the pharmacy on the same day which in turn churned it out for a next day pre 10.30am delivery. Despite my rant I respect it a lot when a company is really trying to fix something rather than just giving me lip service while getting on with business as usual. This shipment could have easily not been shipped before Tuesday (today is Wed) so, thanks Defy for going the extra mile. Will update once it has actually arrived.

Update 3/5
This morning the shipment was still showing for delivery today. Well, UPS just just changed it to tomorrow a couple minutes ago...” A mechanical failure has caused a delay. We will update the delivery date as soon as possible. ”I guess at least it’s going to be here before the weekend...I hope. That’s why there’s absolutely no room to delay things at the front end. Anything can happen afterwards. Murphy’s law. Wouldn’t be surprised if the shipment gets lost altogether.

Update 3/6
The eagle has landed this morning and I’m relieved to say the least! In the end, with help of the Defy team the shipment was only 2 days late. Sure, not ideal but it could have easily been a week.
I also got a comprehensive response from Defy Management apologizing for the mishap, acknowledging certain weak areas but also indicating some exciting plans in the works for improving the supply system. I’m very much looking forward to that. It has to be said, despite what people believe customer service isn’t about freebies. It’s really much more about people going out of their way to help other people, in this case a customer. I appreciate that.

On a side note, those 27G 1/2” Insulin syringes are awesome. Virtually no waste!

Bumping to bring attention to update.

 

[DixieWrecked]

The solution to alot of your stress is in the link that Vince posted. With no waste, you will have plenty to get your from refill to refill. I was stressed approaching my first refill too but I have gown familiar with their system and now I feel good to go.

 

[mooseman109]

Thanks Deanna, Sounds like you guys are moving forward to simplify the process.

 

[TestOneTwo]

The solution to alot of your stress is in the link that Vince posted. With no waste, you will have plenty to get your from refill to refill. I was stressed approaching my first refill too but I have gown familiar with their system and now I feel good to go.

I have the 27g 1/2” syringes now and can already see the massive difference in waste. I wished I had been given those to begin with.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

I have the 27g 1/2” syringes now and can already see the massive difference in waste. I wished I had been given those to begin with.

Always follow what daddy says

 

[Deleted member 16042]

I have had all of your complaints occur as well. I have a couple recommendations.

Do not depend on email or message callbacks. Call and if the person you speak with can't solve everything on that call and then send you email confirmation, call back the next day. Rinse, repeat until the issue is taken care of. I realize this isn't the way it "should" be, but it works. I have found generally most of the staff to try to do their best to fully resolve things when speaking one on one.

Express kindness and gratefulness while on the phone, but be persistent about what you want.

Sounds like you had some other glitches, but stay ahead of the game regarding your med refills. Put it on your calendar and take care of it before you are running out. If you get the right person on the phone and explain that you need your meds before refill date for a specific compelling reason, you will get action. But still don't expect your meds for a good 8-10 days from ordering

Double check all orders before hitting submit. when I have received assistance and someone has put items in my cart, there have been egregious errors compared to what I wanted... wrong dose, wrong pharmacy, wrong quantity, added "Extras" that I do not purchase from defy like syringes etc. (And no! syringes are not free from Empower when ordered through Defy!)

Agree, don't bother paying more for faster shipping. From empower to my location, 2 day is the same delivery time as standard. Zero difference from paying more.

 

[Deleted member 16042]

Hello all.
As @52hoosier mentioned, this is DEFINITELY at the top of system improvements we are working on to make your experience(s) with us more personalized and efficient. We pride ourselves on great service, but our technology has not always kept up with expectations.

Handling orders for controlled substances is complex behind the scenes, and we are working with our pharmacy partners find additional ways to streamline the process wherever possible for your benefit.

In addition, we are investing in a new EHR (Electronic Health Record) platform that will be completed and rolled out this summer. It should greatly improve the notification process and communication to keep things running smoothly, as well as minimize (if not eliminate) most of the pain points expressed here.

@TestOneTwo, we are focused on improving the quality of our individual and electronic communications – and I apologize that we don’t always get it right.

But please know we sincerely appreciate your continued feedback and make adjustments based on input like this on what’s working well, and where we can do better.

Deanna

@Deanna@Defy I would sure appreciate an encypted secure method of messaging that is not unsecured email. I hope this is part of the upgrade. And please allow attachments. This is how I submit my labs.

I know y'all mean to treat us as patients well and that the system is largely the biggest glitch. Thanks that you care!

 

[52hoosier]

Hello all.
As @52hoosier mentioned, this is DEFINITELY at the top of system improvements we are working on to make your experience(s) with us more personalized and efficient. We pride ourselves on great service, but our technology has not always kept up with expectations.

Handling orders for controlled substances is complex behind the scenes, and we are working with our pharmacy partners find additional ways to streamline the process wherever possible for your benefit.

In addition, we are investing in a new EHR (Electronic Health Record) platform that will be completed and rolled out this summer. It should greatly improve the notification process and communication to keep things running smoothly, as well as minimize (if not eliminate) most of the pain points expressed here.

@TestOneTwo, we are focused on improving the quality of our individual and electronic communications – and I apologize that we don’t always get it right.

But please know we sincerely appreciate your continued feedback and make adjustments based on input like this on what’s working well, and where we can do better.

Deanna

Thank you for your informative reply. Would it be possible to order directly through Empower or Hallandale? That would save a lot of hassle and time for Defy and the patients. Also, I have asked several times, lastly with Jason Sypolt, to be included on the Defy Newsletter and still do not receive it.

 

[Deanna@Defy]

Thank you for your informative reply. Would it be possible to order directly through Empower or Hallandale? That would save a lot of hassle and time for Defy and the patients. Also, I have asked several times, lastly with Jason Sypolt, to be included on the Defy Newsletter and still do not receive it.

Jason noted that you hadn't been receiving the newsletter so I added your email to the list at that time - but we haven't sent a newsletter since then so that's why you haven't seen one (expect one this week).

Working with controlled substances has many nuances which require physician sign off and authorization. We are working on simplifying that process (and speedier turnaround).

 

[Deanna@Defy]

@Deanna@Defy I would sure appreciate an encypted secure method of messaging that is not unsecured email. I hope this is part of the upgrade. And please allow attachments. This is how I submit my labs.

I know y'all mean to treat us as patients well and that the system is largely the biggest glitch. Thanks that you care!

Thank you - we always strive to serve our patients well.

Also, our online chat is encrypted and our email is also TLS encrypted (incoming and outgoing.) We use a service which automatically converts emails into links to a secure portal if for some reason a sender or recipient’s email system does not support encryption. Hope that's helpful - we take your privacy seriously.