-=+=-

Has anyone else had this issue? Do people really think that NON-DROWSY means insomnia?

Does Non-Profit mean that an organization is designed to LOSE money?

Just wondering...

Well, the man, probably used to being turned away, accepted his fate and slumped away. A few minutes later, he and one of our front-end assistant managers came back in a sort-of triumphant march. The look on Sudafed-Man's face was a I-got-you-now-motherfucker glare...as if this Assistant Manager was going to put me in my place.

"So, what's the deal here with this man's license." ~Dumb Ass. Manager [My tech conceded to me.]
"We no longer accept license that have a broken laminate. It's not a legal license, and it's a ticketable offense per our local DEA Agent." ~TAestP
"Well, that doesn't make sense to me. All the information is clearly readable and we'd accept this if he were trying to pass a check." ~Dumb Ass. Manager
"That's all well and good, but we're not passing checks here. We're selling a substance that is controlled by federal law and regulated by national legislation." ~TAestP
"I don't understand. I used it last week to buy some 4-hour Sudafed!" ~Sudafed Man
"Okay. I understand. This laminate deal just came to our attention very recently. How bout this. I'll sell you this box now, but from this point forward, it is the policy of this store that your license is illegal and will not be honored. You need to have a new one printed." [Then I glared at the Dumb Ass. Manager] "And you stick around. I want to talk to you for a second."

So, I made the sale. Then junior and I went into a secluded aisle.

"So, do you know what just happened here?"
"Well, I just..." [I cut him off here -- The crimson hue of my face should have told him to shut the fuck up]
"I'm sorry. That was a rhetorical question. I'm going to do the talking, and you just listen. Since you felt the need to come back here and defend a scumbag, you undermined my professional judgment. I understand that you accept that to verify checks. I'm not dealing with checks back here. I'm dealing with dangerous chemicals. Now, that man is going to take the dangerous chemical and make it into a VERY dangerous chemical by mixing it with a ton of OTHER dangerous chemicals and sell it for people to inject into their veins and get high. It's called methamphetamine.

You front end managers think you are doing people a solid by coming back here and challenging my decisions day in and day out, but all you are doing is causing MORE problems for me. You give stupid fucking idiots validation in their flimsy arguments against my professional decisions as the pharmacist on duty and the pharmacist in charge. You, by merely coming back and inquring, are saying that you and some fucking idiot are right and that I may be wrong.

From this point forward, you and the rest of your front-end staff are NEVER to come to my pharmacy and inquire about anything with related as to decisions I, or my staff have made. Your response from now on is the following: 'You are going to have to talk with the pharmacist on duty. If you don't agree with him you can ask for the pharmacist in charge or inquire about when he will be returning.' Even if I told a little old lady to shove a broom up her asshole, you tell people their only recourse is to talk to the pharmacist. You have no say in the pharmacy and you will get no say until you complete your doctorate of pharmacy in an accredited pharmacy school.

Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir. Absolutely." ~Dumb Ass. Manager

"Okay. Please pass this information on to EVERYONE else in this store that is not in the pharmacy....Good talk."

-=+=-

Now...That was fucking brutal wasn't it? You bet your ass it was.

I nearly made him cry, and I'm not shitting you all, that's almost word for word what I said to that poor bastard. And no, I'm not going to apologize or recant in any way.

That's once small step for a pharmacist and one giant leap for the profession. Never again will I let someone without R.Ph or Pharm.D after their name even attempt to question the policies and procedure I institute in my pharmacy.

Why do old, toothless people always appear to be chewing on something?

Why is it than if someone is walking to my pharmacy, I can predict with 99% accuracy that they want to buy 12-hour Pseudoephedrine?

Why is it that someone that wants a script filled 10 minutes before closing will have had that prescription for no less than 7 days?

Why does the person wanting a rare, expensive C-II drug come to my pharmacy each month wanting it only to find out that I still don't have it and won't order it for them unless they fill it with me once and wait for the order to come in?

Why does someone on Medicaid give me their card only to ask me to "just fill it for cash" -- knowing full well that I'm going to bill it to Medicaid FIRST?

Why is it that people think they need Watson brand Hydrocodone/APAP? Nevermind - I know the answer to this one...more street value cause it can be identified by pill-heads.

Why does every person that I would idenfity as a drug seeker use "I have fibromyalgia" as the excuse for their early refill or other behavior?

Why does every complaint go to a non-pharmacist store manager rather than to me?

Why does every doctor's voicemail message have the same bullshit message that I can't skip over (they can press ZERO to get to me!)? "Leave the patient's name, date of birth, drug name with spelling, strength, quantity, last fill and pharmacy call back number."

Why do people have to ask for the pharmacist to give a refill number?

Why will people have pizza delivered to their home in an hour and be happy with that wait time but want their prescription in 15 minutes or less?

Why do people want name brand drugs then be completely happy with store brand soda, chips, water, clothes, and everything else?

Why would someone present a prescription for a child then refuse it when the copayment is anything more than free?

Why would someone call me a 'stupid fucking cocksucker' during one trip to the pharmacy then yell at me during their next trip when I use the word 'shit' in front of their child?

Why do I have to concern myself with HIPAA when any patient would be willing to yell, "Yeah my name is Fred Jones...3-14-51. Doctor Smith called in my Viagra refill this morning"?

"Sir, are you taking any other medications?" No.
"No OTC meds?" No.
"No Vitamins?" No.
"Any herbals?" Nope.
"No other medicines at all?" Well, I've been taking this Saint John's Wort for depression.

Why is the answer always, 'NO' to "Do you have any questions for the pharmacist" only to have the patient call the pharmacy back in 10 minutes later?

There are 24 hours in the day. Why does everyone have to spend their 30 minutes in the pharmacy on the cell phone?

Why does every patient with a new insurance card present that card at the cash register rather than the pharmacy drop off window when the read the sign that says "Please present your insurance card when you drop off your prescription"?

Why is it that 1 out of every 100 patients feel the need to poor their pills out on the counter and count them right there in front of all of us?

Why do Americans have the words, "I want to talk to your supervisor" into their brains for use at the first sign of a problem, dissent, friction, or trouble?

Why is there a direct correlation between the number of items in a person's shopping cart and the likelihood they will want them rung up in the pharmacy?

Why is there a direct correlation between the number of scripts filled in my pharmacy and the amount of alcohol I ingest every evening? Nevermind -- I know the answer to this one too...

Why is there a direct correlation between a patient's lack of teeth and oral hygiene and the likelihood they will present a medicaid card?

Why do I have to be the person to explain to some people that BEER cannot be paid for with Food Stamps?

I have a feeling this post has instant classic written all over it...

I received a bottle for a script from some small town outside of Indianapolis. Not such a weird occurance. I’m pretty near to a major interstate. Here’s where it gets silly. The script was written by a doctor in Atlanta, Georgia. The first fill was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where it was subsequently transferred to the store in Indiana. The man lives in Iowa. Maybe he’s a truck driver? I don’t know, but he used three different chains in all.

Of course, it was for Viagra, and he wanted only one tablet. Again, not that weird, but we’re talking several thousands of miles between all the different pharmacies.

Is there anyone that is a diehard Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, or Costco customer anymore? Even if they end up somewhere else, they still go to that pharmacy? I don’t know anymore.

What does it mean? Someone explain it to me…

-=+=-

Why does someone want to buy 96 tablets of 30-mg Pseudoephedrine before they go on vacation? I got that today and was perplexed. You’re gonna be gone for 7 days, and you think you’re going to take 13 tablets of PSE per day? C’mon! I don’t even take that much in a year.

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PSE cannot be sold anymore in it's pure salt form.

Done.

Combo drugs are okay. People cooking meth will have a hell of a time trying to extract loratadine, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or a -pheniramine from the pseudoephedrine. I would doubt it could be done...if it's possible, it wouldn't be easy or cost-effective.

You want pure PSE? Get a script. Make it a legend drug...it doesn't need to be controlled - then all the NP and FNPs wouldn't be able to prescribe it.

Seriously - how hard is that solution?

Why isn't it done yet?

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This middle aged lady brings in a box of Alavert-D to return it. She bought it yesterday, but meant to buy (read: waste her money) just plain ole Alavert. She had the receipt...but it didn't matter. The box was opened. Hell, there may have been a tablet or two gone.

"I'd like to return this. The manager told me that if you had a problem to call him..."
[I think it's cute the manager is trying to flex his nuts here. At the same time, I hate him for pawning this off on me...]

"Well ma'am. It's not really a matter of me calling the manager in this situation. I simply cannot return this product for a plethora of reasons. It's been opened. It's a controlled-substance now, and the main reason I can't accept it back is because it's against the law. Once a medcine leaves the pharmacy, I can't take it back."
[Here's where it gets funny. I usually allow the person to say something here - mostly to see what their thoughts are. If they even just say 'well I really wanna return it' I tell them that I'll do them one better...I'll give them store credit for the cost of the product AND let them keep it. Hell, I can't resell it. I can't do anything with it. It's a bitch to return - so I leave it with them.]

This bitch didn't even give me the CHANCE to give her the cake AND let her eat it. She got so huffed up she grabbed her little plastic back, snatched her receipt, and literally marched the fuck out of my pharmacy. And it wasn't a slow march - this bitch was moving. She was almost RUNNING.

I was taken aback. I kept my cool. I didn't call her a bitch, idiot, or any of the other words running through my mind. Ohh, I wanted too.

I just left her with one word, "BYE!"

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-=+=-

Again...when I ask someone, "Have you filled here before?" The answer I'm looking for is NOT, "Well, not this one..." -- Duh...I'm holding the prescription...

Why are you retarded?

-=+=-

Some rando came in today and wanted two boxes of twenty-four-hour Sudafed. He bought one yesterday as well. His NON-DRIVER license address is 20 miles away - I confirmed with him that it was correct. I told him that two was over the limit, just as it was yesterday when he asked. I also asked him what happened to the box from yesterday. He lost it.

Aside: Normally I don't ask. Hell, most people I tell to come back tomorrow and again the next day and get their month supply in three days so they don't have to worry about it. This joker had black shit under his fingernails, major meth mouth, was wearing a doo-rag, had long hair, and was covered in tattoos. Yes, I am aware that he has sinuses as well, but he passed 10 pharmacies to get to mine two days in a row (one of those days being a Sunday) to try and purchase 24-hr Sudafed.

Anyway, I was in a dick mood - go figure - and I told him that I was out. He looked at the shelf and pointed, "It's right there." I told him I didn't feel comfortable making the sale since he bought it yesterday and he's from so far away from home. He then told me that I was required by law to make the sale. He could have me arrested! I said I wasn't aware of the law, and I offered to call the police to come nab me for the criminal I am...then we would see who they would want to arrest...He declined...

-=+=-

Speaking of an above note - what's the deal with NON-DRIVER ID CARDS? I'd say that around 30-40% of my Sudafed sales are to people flinging over a non-driver id card instead of a valid drivers license. I know it's state issued and used for stuff like that, but it seems weird to me. I know that this people didn't just magically teleport to my pharmacy -- they fucking drove. They don't have a license....I don't like it at all...

-=+=-

I filled a script today for a cat. Lantus and syringes...to the tune of 120-something dollars..."Mommy" came in to pick up schnuckum's scripts. I shit you not, this lady paid me in one-dollar bills. 121 one-dollar bills. I said nothing. I merely smiled. She told me that "she was not a stripper...she was a bartender...and her boss wouldn't let her change out the ones for larger bills..." Where was she a bartender? A nearby strip club...

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