2. Had a very rotund person (never seen her before -- so not a regular) came in and ask me about getting a shingles vaccine as she did not want to catch it from any of her friends. I told her that it was in no way contagious. She goes on to say that 2 or 3 of her friends have it or have had it and that her doctor told her that "IT. WAS. CONTAGIOUS!" I told her that "I will back off my previous statement a very small bit -- If a person comes into contact with a shingles rash, for instance if they are covering the wounds and come into contact with the actual seeping wound, they could potentially catch CHICKENPOX if they had not previously had CHICKENPOX or the CHICKENPOX Vaccination. Shingles, meaning the form of chickenpox that comes back up later in life and causes serious pain, cannot be transmitted from on person to another." [Source: http://www.immunize.org/askexperts/experts_zos.asp] Her response was a steadfast, "Well, my doctor doesn't agree. He says you can get it from anyone that has shingles on their skin or has ever had it."

At this point, I once again took the position of not giving a fuck. Either listen to reason or go away. I told her, "If your doctor is telling you this, and he is serious, I think you need to get a new doctor. As I can print out several different papers and references in just a few minutes that would disprove that notion."

Her response was, nothing less than I expected, "Maybe I should get a new pharmacist..." I just sad, in a trailing voice but loud enough for her to full figure out what I PROBABLY said, "I think you should do that you stupid fat bitch..."     Believe me...she was being a standoffish, stupid, fat bitch.

3. Had a lady come to pick up a refill for, of course, Xanax. It was later in the night -- slowed down immensely. I was completely caught up and actually listening to the radio a bit. She came to the pickup window, I looked up her name and immediately saw that we had requested refills, and we had not heard back. She looks me right in the eye and says, "Is it in you box? I mean...can you check your box?...Is it in your box?"    I really wanted to say, "Why no, have you checked YOUR BOX? I'm sure we could hide a set of car keys in there!"  Instead, she goes into a long diatribe about how a 3 months ago she came to pick up her refill and we told her it wasn't called it...only to find out that after she drove "all the way to the doctor's office," [a gas-chugging 4-5 minutes away] "it was sitting on the counter as there was a problem with it." [The doctor faxed it back sans signature] So, I stand by the statement that the doctor hadn't really done his job! At that juncture, we had faxed them back for ANOTHER Auth. Today, I told her that our inBOX didn't receive prescriptions (just email). She asked me to check our voicemail BOX, and I told her I didn't need to as our number of VMs is displayed on screen [I had ZERO]. No other BOXes to check...cept yours, biggun'!

-=+=-

"REFILL TOO SOON," GUYS. That means, in pharmacy lingo, your insurance will not pay for your prescription until the resubmit date. One late night at the pharmacy, which by the way is in the ghetto, a woman comes in to refill her son’s prescription. As I processed the prescription I explained to her that it is a REFILL TOO SOON and the insurance wouldn’t pay for the refill until tomorrow morning. She obviously wouldn’t accept that answer and went into a rant against me (a technician), the pharmacist working with me, and our drug store. As I recall it went something like this:

“My baby needs his medication! He is sick! He needs it NOW!!!!! You stupid white bitch you had better fill my prescription or im going to kick your ass! Her's too. That other bitch pharmacist! What you think yous better than me? I want it now! Ima get me suma that shit now and my momma gon' pay for it! Make it now! Get it ready, Bitch!”

I looked at her, looked at the pharmacist, and explained to the woman that if she would WAIT ONE MORE DAY [less than 18 hours, actually], the prescription wouldn’t have copay because this woman was on state assisted insurance.

I told her that the medication would be $45 and if she wanted it, she could pay for it, but that amount wouldn’t be refunded the next day. Her response, although not responsive to the information, went something like this:

“What you think I’m broke, bitch? I can’t pay for my babay's medicine? Fuck you ima just buy it ima just buy it you can’t tell me what to do, this my babay, THIS MY BABY AND HE NEEDS HIS MEDICINE NOW GET IT READY DUMB BITCH.”

You're not broke? Oh, okay. Then I guess you’re just one of those lazy folks who doesn’t work and just expects the government to pay for your prescriptions. I can safely assume you are probably on food stamps too? Welfare? You're yelling at me, and I am partially paying for your prescription by paying taxes? I have no choice but to have my tax dollars used to pay for “your babay's medicine,” and I have no choice but to abide by your every wish and want because 'the customer is always right,' right? So, I swallowed my insults, and I bottled my anger, and filled the prescription.

By this time, her mom (the "babay's" grandma) came to the counter and apologized profusely with the accurate explanation that woman was mentally retarded. MENTALLY RETARDED. And she has children? What the fuck. You can draw your own conclusions on that one. And by the way, after all that, she didn’t, or better yet, her mom didn’t buy the medication because she, having some sense about her, WANTED TO WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT DAY. By the way, the drug was for SEASONAL ALLERGIES. Not seizures, not juvenile diabetes, not horrible psoriasis, not dangerous asthma, not epi or glucagon. SEASONAL ALLERGIES. Couldn't wait 18 hours, and *I'm* the dumb bitch.

-=+=-

Do you want to submit a guest post [since I don't post nearly enough]? Type it up and email it to me via the same contact page. Also, let me know if you want your name/email address shared publicly, what POLL question you would like to accompany it (if any), and anything else you think is important. Guest Posts will be edited for grammar and spelling. I may also add emphasis, clarification, funny links, or other silly stuff [I might remove inappropriate stuff as well]. I will NOT alter the content/message of your post.

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.

He came back in...as angry as every. I asked him what the problem was and his exact response was precious: "I asked you what I'd need to do if I get this inhaler home and it didn't work and you SWORE UP AND DOWN IT WOULD. Well guess what -- the motherfucker don't work. Ya'll are selling defective shit in here, and I've done spent like $80 bucks on these sumbitches and you, yeah, you...right here [pointing at me as if I were the master of all things Ventolin HFA]...are gonna give me my money back....plus some, find out whose got one of these Gaht DAMN things that work, and transfer this prescription there."

Can you hear a big bellied redneck saying this? HAHAHAHA!

He brought all this stuff with him so I said, "Okay...calm down just a second. Pull out the inhaler you got the other day, and let's take a look."

He pulled it out and I nearly laughed because the answer was INSTANTLY OBVIOUS to me what this guy had done. He handed me the Ventolin HFA inhaler. It was in fine shape. I even squirted it in the air to check. I saw the medicine come straight out in burst of air.

Then, he handed me the Aerochamber. It still had the little plastic piece in it from a Proventil HFA inhaler that they had used once upon a time!

He was either removing the canister from the Ventolin HFA, inserting it into the Proventil HFA inhaler (sans canister), and trying to use the mismatched pair which was obviously unsuccessful [and EXACTLY how he broke the 1st Ventolin HFA - which he attributed to manufacturing flaws and ME!!!], OR he was spraying the Ventolin HFA IN TO the Proventil "plastic piece" and bitching about how the medicine wasn't making it into the chamber.

If only he would have removed his head from his ass and the stupid little Proventil HFA shell from the Aerochamber, he might have wondered, "I wonder what goes in this little inhaler-shaped hole on this Aerochamber." And then, combined that statement with the thought, "I just BETCHA this masked end of the Aerochamber, that's shaped like a nose and mouth covering, goes over the nose and mouth!"

So, I removed the yellow Proventil HFA 'shell' and held it up and said, "this is trash." I flipped the cap off 0f the Ventolin HFA and inserted it into the chamber. I held it up to my mouth, depressed the cannister, and low and behold, the chamber filled with a life-saving aerosol. To hammer the point home, I held the mouth piece near my face and feigned a big breath as if to say, "This is how you inhale the medicine."

Now, ignorance and common sense aside, this is obviously an example where I thought I had counseled a parent sufficiently, but I failed to account for the aforementioned confounders (ignorance and lack of common sense).  I mentioned this in the last post -- he showed up and I thought THEN, I didn't explain well enough how to use it. Him coming back a second time, just shows ignorance...plain and simple.

When he calmed down and realized that he now knew how to operate an inhaler, something that I had mastered at the age of 4 years old as I was strickened with childhood asthma, he didn't apologize for his swear-laden rant. He merely tried to shift blame onto me.

"Well, the other day when you were showing me how to use it, you didn't take that little piece out of there!"
"That's because I just thought you had the rest of that yellow inhaler at home. I didn't realize that was from something different. See how this Ventolin HFA has a metallic canister and plastic shell. That yellow shell is a Proventil HFA that, once-upon-a-time had a metallic canister with medicine in it as well. I just thought you would've assumed it fit into this chamber much like the other. I had no idea my not removing it would lead you to believe it were a part of this chamber itself. I'm sorry for the miscommunication."

Then...he did the thing that pissed me off more than anything so far -- more than pointing at me like a child, more than cursing at me, more than calling me an idiot to my face. He just walked away. He gathered his things and walked away.

Now, in this whole debacle, I wasn't all that rude, testy, or unkind/unthankful. I was just average...if anything I was a touch condescending. But, I would contend that if he weren't smart enough to grasp the use of an inhaler and chamber, he could not recognize the presense of condescension. But just to up and walk away? To just turn your back without a thank you, fuck you, or hell, even a thanks for nothing, that's just bogus. With all due respect, you fat bastard, eat shit and die old man...

I refuse to say any variation of the above when I am working the register. It's not that I'm not polite to people, I just feel that it means nothing. Everyone hears it all day long, with every purchase they make, every person they have an encounter with. With everyone saying this, it just means very little. There's no power behind it. Also, does it really make you have a better day? Having a high school-aged cashier tell me, "Have a nice day," does nothing for me. It doesn't make me feel better, it isn't an ego booster, and it certainly does not mean that I am going to have a good day.

Additionally, do we care if the person has a nice day? Most of the time our patients are sick, so they are not going to have a nice day. Sometimes, they are rude, so we don't WANT them to have a nice day. Sometimes they are perfect, and we do want them to have a nice day. So, why don't we reserve that for the people we enjoy, care about, and want to have a nice day -- those great patients that love and respect us, that hug us and call in their refills early, that understand "the doctor did not call back" does not mean "the pharmacist won't give you your medicine." They deserve a great day. They get a little more out of me in terms of politeness. Everyone else does not get that from me.

So, is that rude? Am I wrong? I'm sure someone out there has some crazy reason for why I should say, "have a nice day" -- or why they do. It's not going to change my mind, but I will humor you.

What do I say to end a sale and say goodbye?

"Thanks a lot. We'll see you next time." -- because hopefully, if I've done my job right, they'll want to come back, whether for an Rx, beer, or a greeting card.

Have a nice day,
The Angriest Pharmacist

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.

That's right. They call me at my job, who currently pays my bills, and asks me if I want to quit and work for any company that will take me. They will promise you the world. Can they deliver? They don't know. They don't care. They likely read off a script just like every other telemarketer in America.

I understand as well as anybody that it takes a ton of different people to make the world go around. For every job, there is a worker willing to take that job at that wage. It may not be what I would want to do, or what I could earn, but the job is there nonetheless.

But, how in the fuck do these people make their place in the world? I just don't get it! I could not imagine a pharmacist, regardless of their level of disgruntlement, saying, "Yeah, I'll quit this bitch for whatever job you can find me with XYZ company." I've never heard of someone doing it. So, I've never heard of a success story. To make matters worse, they bother us at our already hectic jobs. This pisses us off and REALLY makes me want to jump ship!

What makes this specific commenter all the more asinine is that I had a run in with her a while back. The Pharmacy Alliance had an oft-used email listserv prior to their meeting in Texas. She chimed in with this same recruitment chum. I didn't reply in a swear laden hate-speech. I didn't even tell her to go fuck herself. I just replied with, "Whoa."

Now, at work, I like to fuck with these people. The way I see it is that my time is money. I'm sure my time is worth more than there's, but I'm a huge dick and I like to get a laugh at other people's expense. I often ask them for all the details and not pay a lick of attention. Then I ask them again. After that I'll ask them random questions they have no business knowing until they get the hint. "Ma'am, why can't tigecycline be used for bactermia?" or "Why is Zyvox contraindicated in people on MAOIs?" or "What's the max daily dose of Oxycodone in a properly titrated person" or my personal favorite, "Why can't enteric coated aspirin be used to treat a headache?" If they still don't get the hint, I ask them, "Why does Mickey Mouse have big ears?" -- That's usually the fuck off question that gets em.

Bonus points for answering the real questions in the comments.

A new submission (form: "Contact Form")
============================================
Submitted on: June 4, 2008
Via: http://www.theangriestpharmacist.com/contact/
By <edited out IP> (visitor IP).

All kidding aside, it was 9pm. It was an odd assortment of customers. We sat across from a black man and woman. It was her birthday. Our waiter was amazing. He was polite, quick, and always around when he needed to be. Anyway, it was the lady's birthday - she was rewarded with a free daiquiri for her achievements.

As our wonderful waiter was serving us our salads and asking us if we needed anything else, our neighbor across the aisle decided that he needed my waiter's attention more than I did. I guess he didn't notice the fact that I had a male waiter, while his server was most definitely a female. Nonetheless, he let out a resounding, "Excuse me!" while a salad was being placed before me. In pure Angriest-Pharmacist fashion, the waiter ignored the man like he was a fart in the wind. After we were tended to, the waiter's response was perfect. He acknowledged the man (barely), told him to wait just a second as he returned the "serving table" to the back, and walked away. He never returned -- however their waitress came by a few moments later. I found this absolutely hilarious.

Finally, they brought out our main course. I proceeded to chow down on my feast before me. As most may know, there is some splatter involved with food that lives in water. You break a hard shell to get to the sweet, succulent, heroin-like substance within. I'm also a very, very, very messy eater. I got a little on me...and my date. She was not as amused as I was.

Our neighbors thought my entire meal was quite funny. They giggled and laughed. Hell, I think they pointed. It was pretty fucking irritating. I'm not sure why someone would spend more time watching someone else eat than staring at their own food and their own wife's tits. I hope they enjoyed my dinner - I did.

Moral: Keep your eyes on your own fucking plate.
Tip on $50 check? $15 for service. $5 for ignoring rude ass people.

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 got a call from a doc's office saying that they got a call from a patient about a PA. We had told the patient we called several times but the doctor's office said they received no notification about it. I assumed we were faxing to the wrong number. I flip to the applicable letter in our little "call doctor box" where we file the slips after the MD has been notified (and the date and time has been recorded) and low-and-behold, it's in there! Yet, no notification had been made. Why the fuck was it filed then? Slips that have not been called on go in the front of the box -- in front of all the letters -- or under the box itself. I was perplexed. I asked my tech what was up. He tells me, "Well I put them in there by the letter like your supposed to..." WRONG! He's worked for me for 3+ years. He's pulled this shit before, and I've bitched him out for it. I lost it this time. "Look. We call on everything once unless it's been a long time or the patient is at the register and is telling us to call again right now. I don't go through the entire box each time. There's tons of slips in there. I know you may go through the entire box each morning, which I've told you not to do, but from now on, you do it my way. If you don't call, it goes in the front. Once you call, put it under the letter. Now, because of you, this lady has to go without this medicine another weekend, and we look like incompetent dicks. Don't do this again. Now, go through this entire box and make sure that everything has been called on. If it's been in there longer than a week, call again. If it's been in there longer than two, throw it away." I was fucking pissed.

Later on in the day, a lady calls me and inquires about her refill request. She knew we had to call the doctor because when she called and requested it, I told her most doctors don't authorize refills on antibiotics, they'd want her to come in and be seen again. I told the lady that her refill request had been denied because the doctor was on medical leave and all his patients had to come see his replacement to authorize refills. [This denial was made a mere hour prior to her call] "When were you all going to call me and tell me this?"
"Well, ma'am, we usually don't call and tell people about denied refills."
"And why not? I guess I was just going to make a worthless trip up there? Would you pay for my gas?"
"Well, most people call and inquire about them prior to driving here...much like you're doing right now. So whether it'd denied or the call hasn't been returned, people call and check before coming. If it's approved and the person calls or makes a trip, it doesn't really matter now does it? If we haven't heard back, it's never an issue to give people a few tablets of a maintenance medicine they are on long-term to hold them over."
"That makes no sense."
"Do you want me to explain it to you again? Or, do you not understand why I don't call every person that requests a refill, which is a ton each day, whether their request was approved or denied?"
"I wonder what the board of pharmacy thinks about this?"
"Well considering we only call on refills as a service and it's not a requirement of any pharmacist or pharmacy, I'd bet they don't really care."
"How do I move my prescriptions to another pharmacy?"
"Since this one was denied, you don't have any prescriptions to move."
*click*
This lady was a pain in the ass every time she came in. Losing her one prescription a month means nothing to me...bitch...Ideally, I *do* call and tell people their Rx's were denied and see if perhaps I should've called a different/new doc, but I saw her name, knew she was a bitch, and avoided calling her. That's how we got here...:\

EARTH TO CONSUMERS
When the first words our of your mouth are, "I DON'T WANT THIS PRESCRIPTION RAN ON MY INSURANCE," prior to tossing me a prescription for a controlled or abused drug, chances are I'm not filling it...and if I do, I'm running it on your insurance first just for shits and giggles. Get a fucking clue...

It's like handing a policeman your license when he pulls you over and telling him, "Don't run this license number, it's suspended. Just write down my name and address." Give me a fucking break...

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