Walgreens employees cannot do transfers worth a damn

OMG, I do about 6 transfers a day from WG.

I have the bottle in front of me, I have everything, the first thing I get is “what is the DOB?”

Seriously, what the fuck! All I need to do is give you the number and then verify everything!

Another thing that ticked me off the other day is a patient of mine wanted to start using my pharmacy instead of the POS WG here in town. So I call for a tx.

Well first it is on the shelf, but alas 2 days ago their system crashed and they cannot reverse it!…WTF, some BS about it is no longer in their queue or something. What the hell happens if you have to back bill something, or you screwed something up and you have to fix it. Do you have to send that some tech in Bangladesh?

So I had to tell her she had to go pick it up there and I could not submit it to her insurance here. She asked how much it was w/o insurance, I told her about $75. She said well I had WG and I want it here, they can let it rot on their shelf, I will pay the extra money and then when the insurance lets me fill it next month it will be my copay right? Yep, it sure will!

Fine, give me the meds….I love people that hate WG

Our software is set-up in pretty much the exact order you would expect it to be, as are our transfer pads. I think you really should bitchslap the morons at your nearby Walgreen’s, because all of our pharmacists would be just as irritated if someone couldn’t figure out the basics.

I just don’t understand why it’s so damn difficult…

Well, here’s the truth. I work as Tech at Walgreens, and I’ll be honest: it’s not our software. It’s the people. Most of our techs are just too stupid to transfer stuff; usually the pharmacists handle it. I guess I was curious enough to ask everyone where the roles on tech end, and pharmacist begin, so I end up transferring everything from my store…but alas, such is rarely the case at the “W”. Only senior techs are supposed to do anythting of that sort (techs dont get promoted to “senior tech” until after at _least_ a year, and they have to prove to the district management that they’re not complete retards), but obviously no one explains that in the interviews or job description. I had a new tech taking new RX’s from a doctor before I backhanded him and explaied that he doesn’t have an RPh liscense. >_

(wow, my comment didn’t fit…I guess I’m just long-winded today)
As for the “no longer in the queue” comment….I laugh at that, because I know it’s really no fault of the technician…but they could probably use clearer terms, I know. Any Rx in the “Work Queue” can be modified, rebilled, reversed, etc by a technician. If it disappears for some reason (which seems to happen all too frequently), we do indeed have to call up our corporate 3rd-party billing office, which is in Illinois, not Bangladesh (though sometimes I wish it were…I’ve dealt with Pakistanis working with Dell that spoke better english than these guys).

Ah well, such is corporate life. I really think, though, that technicians should be more thoroughly trained on how to do their job…I mean, come on! They’re ruining my title! I didn’t put “CPhT” after my name on my bank checks for nothing!

Well, in the state that I am in, techs are not allowed to do transfers, it must be between 2 pharmacists! Anyway, the pharmacists that are in my town are a bunch of asses anyway, so I usually get new rxs from the local docs that I know well :)

Why is it that most of the WG pharmacists that I talk to hate their jobs?

Haha…Well, in my state anyone can do an x-fer…except on controls, that has to be between pharmacists.

I work for Wag and will admit that our techs could use a LOT more training. I wouldn’t call some of the morons, but I would call them ignorant.

I’ve had newbies take call-ins from doctors and transfers both of which are a no-no in Virginia.

We have a very high churn rate. It is rare to keep a tech (good or bad) more than a year. I tell newbies it really takes about a year (roughly) to be comfortable and capable in the job. Then the good ones leave; never to work in a pharmacy again (too stressful). The bad ones tend to stay longer.

It is a simple matter to call the insurance or corporate for a reversal. That was just plain laziness on their part.

ha. my store (cvs) was out of a drug today and the only other 24 hr store in town is a WG down the street. so i call and ask them if they have this cough med and she checks and says yes. i get the fax number and fax the rx to her. 20 mins later we get a phone call from WG saying they didnt get the fax…the tech gave me the wrong fax num. 15 mins later they call and say “we have a patient down here that says you guys faxed a rx to us and we dont have that drug”
i say “i called and made sure you did before i faxed it”
“it’s only me and my one tech here. neither of us talked to you”
(at this point im FURIOUS. i know for a fact that i called that store because one of my best friends is a tech there and i could hear her laughing in the background when i called the first time. the patient was hovering @ my counter the whole 10 mins i was on hold while the idiot girl was checking for the drug)
so i lose it on the pharmacist and slam the phone down…
not quite victorious but it felt good all the same

LOL!!!!!
I’m an intern at “W” and here only interns and pharmacists are supposed to do transfers and take doctors calls.
But honestly… that doesn’t make it that much smoother of a process.
But the cvs around the corner from us is on good terms with us b/c we have retards who think if they just keep transferring it back and forth they will get infinite refills so they won’t have to go to the doctor. so usually we give a friendly heads up on the persons usual habits.

Wowza! I am stunned that some states in the US allow techs to do transfers and take verbal Rx from doctors.

The most recent aggravating experience I had with a transfer occurred when a pharmacist wanted it faxed because her store had not bothered to get any info from the patient and she was betting on the fact that my transfer form would have the patient’s address and third party info.

I also dislike this time of year because the new grads are learning how to be all pharmacist like now that they are on their own without a preceptor to hold their hand. Doing a transfer is not rocket science. Please learn this little skill quickly because you are wasting my time.

When someone calls walgreens for a transfer, the rx number alone won’t let them pull up a transfer screen. They have to go through two other screens then to see the original number of refills, and yet another screen to get the doctor’s office information (so I’ve been told by a colleague). I’ve had plenty of transfer problems with other pharmacies too, so it’s not just walgreens. My state doesn’t allow techs to make transfers, but some pharmacists sound so unsure of themselves that I actually check if I’m speaking with a pharmacist.

I’ve been an intern at wag for 5 years. Underpaid techs are the problem. They will never keep the decent ones paying what they do. As to the order of the transfer — Maybe since we have the most pharmacies, we should get to pick the order of the info?? (just a thought, lol)

Hi

Very interesting information! Thanks!

G’night

I am a CPhT at the “W” and I love working there. That alone makes all the difference, I think. Out our stores in Missouri the Pharmacists allow interns and Senior technicians (as part of their added responsibilities) to take new scripts from Doctors/Nurses and do transfers, unless they are controlled medications. Honestly, it gives the pharmacist more time to take that restroom break, go on the floor to grab a bottle of water and some chips, or even call Doctors to verify faxed prescriptions. I’m not saying it’s a perfect system, but training is the root of the problem in my book.

I did my first outgoing transfers today, and I remained calm and told the Intern on the other line that I was sorry and to be patient because it was my first time. We have transfer pads that I was able to go off of and I navigated the system for the items I thought he would need. I asked him if he needed anything else after each script, and sure, there were times I forgot things. It’s what happens when you’re learning.

For those people that have been doing it for years and still can’t do it….there’s no hope for them.

Asking for the DOB is a software thing. If we type in the # it tries to fill the prescription, not give us info needed to transfer. So we have to find the pt and then select the rx. First fill and original refills are on different screens. Still no reason not to give them but it does mean we would do them last. Dr’s phone # you are way out in left field. In 2.5 years I’ve only been asked that a handful of times. Usually in inter-state transfers. Don’t you have that info in your computer?

I don’t have a big fancy linked system like you guys. It wasn’t out of state, but out of region. I didn’t have the MDs info, unfortunately. If I do, I always stop WAG before they give it to me to save both our time.