I was walking through the mall tonight, and there it was -- right in front of me. There was a very pretty college-aged girl standing there, wearing one of the t-shirts I created and sell. It was white, long-sleeved, and said on the front "Can't afford your copayment? ... Let me have 10 of your cigarettes." [It also showed 10 cartoon cigarettes scattered about] 

My face lit up like a kid a Christmas, although she wouldn't notice me in such a crowded place.

As she turned and walked away from me, I smiled when I saw:

Last year, for Christmas, a non-pharmacist friend bought me what he thought was the "perfect gift." He told me not to get him anything -- it was just a trinket that he found on the internet that I would enjoy. A few days after Christmas we met up for lunch and he handed me this mug. I smiled and thanked him cordially, but I didn't tell him the full truth. He bought me a mug I sold him...So, I got the mug AND a royalty fee...:-)

Of course, this now gives me the perfect opportunity to hock my stupid shirts, but I'm not going to waste it. I'm proud of some of them -- while some of them are complete crap. However, since it is very close to Christmas again, and I have noticed a recent upswing in sales. I'll share the main link to the page, the best of my gallery / highest sellers, and give you the opportunity to check them out...or not...whatever...

The Angriest Pharmacist Main StoreFront

Best Seller:   "Your doctor had one semester of pharmacology..."

Lady's Choice: "I married a pharmacist..."

TAestP's Personal Favorites: "Not good with Advice" - "Believe and Doubt" -
"Pharmacist: ALL things to ALL People ALL of the time!"

Recently sold 10 to University of the Pacific's Admissions Dept: "There are two people..."

Favorite of asshole men (like me): "I have a doctorate in pharmacy..."

Best selling inanimate object:  "Pharmacist Blend..."

Stupid Patient Excuses: "Believe me, I've heard it ALL..."

Toddler's Favorite: "Daddy sells drugs..." or "My dad sells Norco and Soma to losers..."

Fibromyalgian's Favorite: "Fibromyalgia..." and "Fatsomyalgia"

Most likely to be bought the The Angry Pharmacist: "Fuck off...I'm drinking" or "Alcohol"

Most likely to be bought by @PimpinPills: "It's the fanclub I can't stand..."
or "These don't fill the prescription..."

So, that was a little longer that I would've liked. I guess I'm just proud of my silly shit. Thanks for looking. Have a good one...

Below, I'm going to post several different things that came to me via email or the CONTACT link. I'll lead with the user's name, and if you wish to reply to one, just reference that name....or don't...I don't care...

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Liz writes:    In the past few weeks, our pharmacy has started checking ID for controlled drugs, scanning in new Rx and scanning in hard copies.  All of a sudden, our workload has tripled, but our company is cutting tech help.  Is anyone else finding this hard to manage?

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Rodney writes:   I work as a reimbursement specialist at an LTC Pharmacy, and I'm writing to share an interesting exchange I've had with representatives at Prescription Solutions over the past few days.

I've had a few basic rejections which, were the representatives at Prescription Solutions even modestly intelligent by today's decidedly low standards, should have been able to resolve with much rapidity. Instead, I got stuck with slack-jawed yokels and embittered, defensive inner-city youth. They turned requests for overrides to simple rejections into drawn out, unintelligible arguments, and once they'd been cornered or otherwise became bored with the exchange, they hung up on me mid-sentence.

I may not be the bubbliest person in the world. On the contrary, I'm frank and to the point, but never did I become enraged, and never did I insult or otherwise disrespect the reps in any way. Prescription Solutions - hell, the insurance industry as a whole - has no shortage of stupid, rude, and disinterested people, but I've never had any with the gall to abruptly hang up on a service call. Now, over the past two days, it has happened to me four times.

Though I feel somewhat vindicated by the fact that return calls yielded exchanges with intelligent reps who applied the necessarily overrides with absolutely no hassle, I am perturbed by this sudden shoddy treatment. I know PS has seen extraordinarily long hold times as of late, what are the odds the reps have been granted free reign to terminate calls from "problem callers" (that is, of course, callers who question the rep's ill-informed initial judgment)?

Any thoughts? Similar experiences?

[TAestP's thoughts: I believe the reasoning behind this is, as always, money. When the question is, "Why?" most of the time, the answer is money. In this case, I'd bet if you timed your calls, you got hung up on at specific intervals....something like 3 minutes, 59 seconds. If the agents keep their calls (or a certain percentage) less than 4 minutes, they probably get higher ratings or a bonus at the end of the day. They may also have rewards/cut offs at 10 minutes or 15 minutes. Of course, the person could have just been an asshole, accidentally hung up, or hung up on you because they are lazy and/or didn't know the answer.]

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Lillian writes:     I found your blog a few days ago and I love it so far. From your posts, you seem to know a lot about retail pharmacy so I was wondering if you could answer a question for me: Is it true that the field is getting very saturated, very quickly?

A few of my professors warn us that it will be much harder to find a job in retail by the time we graduate (2016). And I've been hearing a lot of people saying that retail is going downhill.

I know there will be more competition for the jobs in several years because of there are more students going into pharmacy now. And I get the feeling that maybe one of my professors is exaggerating the situation to encourage us to go into other pharmacy fields. But do you think this saturation is something to be seriously be worried about?

For the record, I would try to go into retail no matter what the situation is...I just don't want to be completely caught off guard after graduation.

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Kristin Writes:
Dear TAestP,
I know someone who filled a Rx at a CVS.  The pharmacist later called and texted her saying "Remember me from CVS?  Would love to get coffee with you some time?--Weirdasspharmacist [sic] "  She responded that she wasn't interested. She didn't get any more fills there, but she was afraid of contacting his manager or pharmacy baord because CVS had her information on file and the pharmacist could look it up and perhaps do something scary like stalking.

TAestP, what would you recommend doing?

[TAestP's thoughts: If this is true, it is creepy as hell. You are right that CVS would have the info, and he would have access to it. But, he's already pretty much risked his license by doing this -- taking it from creepy to full on stalking would definitely result in a meeting with his state's Board of Pharmacy. If he is not the pharmacy manager at that location, I would call and speak with the pharmacy manager about the incident. Tell her it made you (or her) uncomfortable and that you would like the manager to give your information to their district manager so he/she can call you at their earliest convenience. Then discuss the matter with the DM. I'd be almost anything this would squash absolutely any issue -- cause that DM does NOT want you making a formal complaint with the board. If he is the manager at that store, call a nearby store's pharmacy manager and do the exact same thing. If this does not get you to an ends that you are happy with -- or you get blown off at any level -- google the state's board of pharmacy. One call to them with an accusation like this would definitely result in an investigation and something would be done. Tell your friend I'm sorry my text creeped her out -- she's not gonna like the photos I'm sending tonight....just kidding of course.....:-D]

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Mike writes:   so...i witnessed a patient ingest 90mg of methadone...the patient's prescribed dose was 40mg...i gave him the wrong bottle

i'm getting kicked out of pharmacy school 4 months before graduation...what do i do now?  should i submit my resume to the nearest McDonald's?

[TAestP's Thoughts: Either this is untrue and you're trying to waste my time, you're just a general dumb ass,  or you have done a ton of other stupid bullshit.  Regardless of what anyone may think, there is only one person responsible for what pill goes out the door and into the hands of a patient -- the pharmacist on duty. I don't care if the technician accidentally typed in Oxycodone instead of Omnicef for an infant, I still believe the ultimate responsibility should lay on the pharmacist that verified the prescription. (intentional bullshit and other types of lying and deceit aside -- I'm talking about true accidents by ancillary staff not caught by the pharmacist)   However, it does sound like you are in some other kind of facility or setting. Since you witnessed the patient do it -- not sure what that means as a patient should never be handed a pill by pharmacy staff to take -- that changes the role from dispensing to administering which we cannot do (in terms of pills).

If the school threw you out, and this is a true story, you're probably fucked. Sorry dude. I guess you could appeal and plead to the school, but that's the thing with private universities, they can do whatever the hell they want whenever the hell they want. Other than that, see if another school will take you or get a lawyer....or get a job and good luck paying back all those loans....]

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That'll do for now....check back for the next post coming soon....

I get talked to like I'm a piece of shit all day. I'll be damned if I'm gonna come home and take e-shit from some nameless fuck over the internet (I do realize the hypocrisy of using the term 'nameless fuck' as I am one). But, what I mean is, people stumble upon this site and give me shit -- non-pharmacists, non-healthcare workers, nobodys.  I'm not that bad. I'm not a horrible person. Some of this is a joke. It's an act. It's a persona in some ways.

I do (or envision and reimagine) the things that you want to do but can't. A favorite comment from these nameless fucks is that I would/should be fired in their business for doing X or saying Y. Who are they to judge me or question what I do.

I can't fully express how much this pisses me off. Nor can I adequately express how some of these hatred and anger is misplaced. I'm not a bad guy. I'm not an unethical dick. 'You' just don't like THAT post.

Now, don't get me wrong -- I'm not deleting these comments because they person questions my judgment or doesn't like what I did. I can handle a dissenting opinion. That's not the issue. I would be FINE with that. But, I've yet to have a dissenting opinion posed in a professional manner worthy of being posts. For instance, in response to, "Unfortunately, this is  a true story" I got the following comment:

"This was written in a humorous way I’ll give you that.. Guy sure was stupid LOL!! I would fire you ASAP but I suspect you probably own or manage the pharmacy in the story, which is even more repulsive. You sir sicken me, and should be ashamed of your profession."

Now, do you see how that has no point? That serves no purpose other than to push me down (as well as the profession of pharmacy. Now, I can accept that this situation could have been handled a different way. But, unless you present a clear and concise rebuttal without resorting to belittling me or our pharmacy, I don't give a fuck what you have to say. Now, you don't have to be a kissass, but you can bring about a different POV without being a prick. Here's what you could say:

"While I agree that was frustrating, you handled it dead wrong. You're a pharmacist and obviously have some education. Not everyone in the world is a smart as you. Some people need things spelled out to them. Some people have learning disabilities. Did you ever things of that? Did you do what they taught you in school and ask him to show you how he will use the inhaler after you educated him? Oh, I forgot, you barely did educate him. This situation is nothing but a failure of a pharmacist to counsel a patient effectively.

See how that works? With a little cunning, you can tell me I'm wrong, pose your opinion, maybe even take a jab at me, have your comment posted, and not get permanently banned from my site WITHOUT BEING A SNIVELING PRICK. I'm not saying you can't swear. I'm not saying you can't question me or what I did. Just don't be a jerk. Don't attack me -- unless it is REALLY fucking funny and REALLY fucking good.

So, how do I remedy this? I thought about deleting all comments and blocking all future comments/discussion, but I value that input from fellow pharmacists and technicians. Instead, I've decided to require registration. That means that initial registration will require a name, verified email address, and maybe some other information as I see fit (such as an acceptance of terms of service). Then you can post comments on the site. After a certain number of approved comments, you will get the ability to post comments that skip my moderation -- after earning trust so to speak.

http://www.theangriestpharmacist.com/wp-login.php?action=register

We'll see how this goes for a while. Maybe a little bothersome registration will prevent assholes from doing what they do best.

Also, this website was sent to me in an email. The reader asked me to share this with the world. I didn't delve too deep into it, but it certainly looks like a dynamic relationship. WOW!

http://hatetheroommate.blogspot.com/

http://www.twitter.com/TAestP -- Official TWITTER of myself and the website. If you are not already following me, YOU SHOULD BE.  Thoughts and jokes are submitted almost hourly. Once I get home and get to drinking, updates become much more liberal. For instance, I submitted 9 updates tonight insulting all aspects of Toddlers and Tiaras...:-)

http://www.cafepress.com/TheAngriestPharmacist -- New kid on the block. In the past, I created funny, witty, and/or pithy t-shirts on another side. This allows me to do the same thing on a massive level. Instead of creating, for instance, a plain-old man's t-shirt, yellow organic T, or a ringer t-shirt, I can now take the same design and create every single type of shirt (male, female, long/shirt, ringer, etc) all at one time.

http://www.zazzle.com/TheAngriestPharm -- The old merchandise store. While the store was successful, I'm simply not happy with the functionality of the site. It won't even open in firefox (all I get is the full source code) and in IE, the administrative portion of the site doesn't function properly.  I'm slowly but surely moving the designs to CafePress, but not all designs are going to make the trek. I'll, of course, keep the zazzle store running, but it won't be maintained.

http://www.facebook.com/TAestP -- Profile of TAestP (Angri Est Pharmacist -- for some reason it won't allow a first name of THE or ANGRIEST), texted updates/musings daily. This is a good way to share funny shit with me.

http://www.facebook.com/TheAngriestPharmacist -- Official Page of this website. Updated when there's a new post. Often updated with stupid shirts I make to amuse myself.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/TAestP/ -- My SU profile if you want to see how I amuse myself every evening...

http://bit.ly/gp2wTh -- My Bit.Ly URL. Use this as a shortened version of my website.

http://digg.com/angriestpharm -- My DIGG Profile. If you don't digg this site, I will haunt your dreams!

"I've been reading your blog and you seem to be upset when people treat you no better than a cashier at Walmart. To top it off, you compare what you do for a living (counting pills and dropping them in a bottle) with the work of skilled trades like carpenters, electricians, and plumbers who work on your house.

Let's face it: You work behind a counter in a retail store, you hand things that you didn't build or produce to people and then you take their money. Why would you expect people (customers) to treat you any differently than a Walmart cashier?

Yes, you may have invested $150,000 more in your schooling than the person wearing the Walmart smock but what else separates you? Why should customers treat you like a deity?

By your own admission, you draw a pretty serious salary. I think you should just cash your humongous paychecks and try to give people the service they think they want or deserve. You are not a wise old doctor who is treating a patient. You are simply counting 100 pills (which you did not invent or manufacture) and putting them in a plastic bottle.

I have seen "medication vending machines" in the lobby of hospital emergency departments. I can't wait for the day when these automatic dispensing machines are available in every supermarket. I don't need to talk to someone who went to college for eight years just to get another thirty days worth of a medication I've been taking for years. I want to put my credit card in a machine, press a few buttons and have my prescription drop into a chute.

I get nearly all of my refills via Medco (mail order). I like using my PC to order medication refills in the middle of the night and then seeing the meds in my mailbox in a few days. I don't need someone who is making $150,000/yr to put three Advair 100/50's in an envelope and mail them to me. Some college kid getting $12/hour can do that. I can't stand going to Walgreens and being told "you have to wait for the pharmacist to come over and talk to you before you can leave the store with your new prescription." Why doesn't that rule apply when I purchase meds through Medco?

I'm sorry that customers treat you like dirt. But look at the scene from my side of the counter: You are handing a product over the counter and taking money from the customer. In the customer's mind, you are not very much different than a cashier at Walmart or the college kid working the cash register at a gas station."

Now that he's had his 2 cents (which I wouldn't pay him for), I get mine -- which is worth $55/hr. Advair eh? Who are you going to call when you get a white growth in your mouth that tastes horrendous? I sincerely hope you call the college student. He's going to laugh and ask for a picture to put on Collegehumor. He's not going to tell you that it's a fungal infection, because he didn't go to college and learn that inhaled steroids, like the one in your Advair can do that.

Your Medco scripts are reviewed by a pharmacist. If there are any problems (i.e. drug interactions), I guarantee that you and your doctor will be notified. You aren't "counseled" because a ton of literature is included, and they give a phone number...Legal obligations covered.

Do you have kids? Sick kid at 11pm. Better give the ole' vending machine a call and see what he says to give your 6 month old for a bad cough and high fever. Ask it for the dosing as well...some parents have been killing their kids by OD'ing them on antihistamines. Make sure it double checks the calculations. Or, there's a 24-hr Walgreens around the corner. The pharmacist may be asleep or watching a movie, but if you wake him up or get his attention, he'll be glad to help.

You're right in accessing our knowledge versus carpenters, electricians, mechanics or other trades. They have vast knowledge. I planned on doing a post on this in the future, but I'll address it know. If my car is going ca-chunk ca-chunk, I'm fucked. I know nothing about cars. I'm not super handy around the house. I can change a lightbulb, but I probably wouldn't trust myself to hang a ceiling fan. I've just never had to do that stuff before. Here's the thing though, if those things don't get done -- I won't die. If grandma stops taking her Warfarin because she doesn't know what it's for, she will die. I can tell you how the Warfarin works, why it works, what it treats, and most importantly, what OTHER drugs interact with it and could cause problems -- leading to that death thing I was talking about. Let's see an electrician explain what an INR is to a patient.

I paid a lot for my education. Sure, I do my fair share of 'merely putting pills in bottles that I didn't create or manufacture' -- but here's the real bitch of it, I could have. I could have gone into pharmaceutical research and development. Hell, two guys in my class DID! I am just not methodical enough to do that. You are right though, I didn't make those pills -- but here's the real bitch of it, I could have. I spent numerous classes learning aliquots and compounding. I could've made that cream, punched that capsule, or molded that suppository. It's mass produced cheaper and faster than I can do it. Many years ago, everything was made by the pharmacist, much like I could do it now. I just don't make every single product to save my patients money.

Scott, you may not think you need a pharmacist. You may not want the help of the pharmacist. That's fucking fine. We don't want you. As the international representative for all pharmacists, I hereby ban you from ever speaking to a pharmacist for any reason. You cannot ask questions. You cannot ask directions. You cannot ask for a tissue when you have a runny nose. You're officially blacklisted, cunt. To be honest, I'd rather spend my time and effort helping those that want to help themselves and respect my educated opinion.

Next time, if I want your opinion -- I'll head over to the Dairy Queen and see which is better: Chocolate or Strawberry.

In the post, he references an older CLASSIC post of mine which was recently updated.

Just a few comments about our situations. Screw Pharmacy Mike's management. I have been in that situation. I've told those management to butt-the-fuck-out on many circumstances. I've pulled out my Pharmacy Practice Act statues and highlighted passages which gave me the right to tell them to butt-the-fuck-out. I make every effort to be nice and help every single person that comes in my pharmacy. Here's how I want to be viewed: I want everyone to see my pharmacy as a bad ass American Bulldog. I'm loving. I'm caring. I'm a great animal and perfect best friend. I love those around me. But, I'm protective of my own -- and especially protective of myself. I want dickheads to see me and realize that if they fuck with me, they might get the TEETH. You don't want the TEETH. To function adequately as a pharmacy/pharmacist, you have to have patients that respect you because of the TEETH. I'm not talking about fear (even though some pussies out there have irrational fear of dogs and/or pharmacies). I'm talking about a humble, head-nodding respect that goes both ways. Don't cross the dog and you won't get the TEETH...you'll only get superior pharmaceutical care.

Long, pointless metaphor -- but you get the point...I hope anyway.

Secondly, fuck Pharmacy Mike's State Board of Pharmacy. What a bunch of fucking hypocritic pricks. He's completely right -- he gives out that drug without a valid script on file and the patient dies, he loses his license and the pharmacy goes on probation. If that patient RESPECTED the pharmacy, he would have had the foresight to realize he was out of refills and called in his LIFE-PRESERVING prescription in a few days early. We're not talking about a statin here -- where he can miss several doses with no repurcussions. We're talking about insulin. A bad diabetic, if going uncontrolled over the weekend, could wind up in the unit by Monday...

Let me also clarify my situation. I don't own my pharmacy. I don't have dictator-esque control of my pharmacy either. However, I do have my staff and my customer-base convinced that my pharmacy is a dictatorship. Acknowledgment of that fact is recognition of my TEETH if you will. My power over my place of business is largely based on growth and success. If I'm running my pharmacy with minimal problems, showing positive growth, and having no problems -- I can do pretty much as I please with no intervention. This is compounded with the fact that my yearly wages are based on several factors. Pharmacists in my area could command as much as $60 dollars an hour. I, on the other hand, make only $50 per hour. In exchange for that, I receive a massive incentive-based bonus in December of each year. I'm not trying to measure dicks or anything here, but my bonus this year was around $38,000. So, the salaries are, in the end, very comparable. The difference is, I feel like I actually have an active role in earning my salary. Therefore, my corporate counterparts allow me massive leeway in making managerial decisions in the management of my pharmacy. They may make suggestions -- I can implement them or I can tell them why I'm not going to implement them (and why my way is or will be better).

My bonus is based on a ton of things: generic substitution rate, percentage of growth, number of competitors and their projected growth, number of fills (new are worth more than refills), payroll for other store personnel (negative dollars if above goal), coupons used (less used is more money), success of the store as a whole (even our beer sales make me a little bit of money), and a few other things that escape me right now (complaints and my review count somehow as well).

Because of these facts, I take it upon myself to toss out (or somehow get rid of creatively -- like 'not having their medicine in stock' -- unethical? Yes, I know.) the trouble makers that don't recognize the TEETH. I go ahead and show them the teeth. As Druggist2 said, 90% of your problems come from 10% of your customer base. Let's get rid of those pricks and treat the other 90% of our customer base that much better. That will increase our efficiency and growth in the long run. The small amount we lose in lost sales from the pricks is minimal when you take into account the man hours spent dealing with them and the stress we get from them.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from
The*Angriest*Pharmacist and Brian Peppers!!

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