This is more for the readers

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as Courtesy, Doctors, Drug Seekers, Education, Just a question, Lazy People, Me being a dick, PHARMACY SECRETS!, Rude, Stupid Nurses, Stupid People, True Story, Work Sucks

I got this from a reader recently. Let’s have a little bit of discussion on the double standard which applies to pharmacy (hereafter known as ‘gimme gimme gimme!’)

Friday night, a guy comes in. Wants a refill on omeprazole 40mg. Naturally, he didn’t call ahead or even have his bottle with him. He’s obnoxious and rude, balks that it will take TEN MINUTES to fill, and proceeds to stare at me thru the glass like I’m some sort of animal. The claim comes back prior auth, with the reject that the insurance will pay for X number capsules in 90 days, then they require prior auth.

I explain this to said jerk, who naturally flips out and calls me incompetent. Then he’s going to sue me because I won’t fill his medication and he NEEDS it. Riggggggght. I explain I’ll fill whatever he wants, but his insurance isn’t paying for it at this time, so he’ll have to.

Normally, I would’ve fronted someone 3 pills for the weekend. But I play by the golden rule, so this dude was paying, no favors from me. He pays for 5 capsules and leaves in a huff.

That’s all pretty typical, now we get to the good part..Monday morning I get a call from jerk’s doctor’s office. The nurse asks why I wouldn’t fill his prescription. Uhhh, I did fill it and he paid for 5 capsules. THEN SHE TELLS ME I SHOULD’VE JUST GIVEN HIM THE PILLS AT NO CHARGE. Ok. I don’t know about anyone else, but anytime I’ve EVER been to ANY doctor’s office they have about 6 million different signs posted stating, “PAYMENT IS DUE AT TIME SERVICES ARE RENDERED.” Last time I went I had to SIGN A FORM stating that I understood that I WOULD BE FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE for paying for any service that my insurance did not cover.

I told her it’s not my practice to give out medication for free. If the request is denied, then who is paying for those capsules? She really had no answer for that.

I’ve been thru the prior auth, front a-couple pills song and dance a million times..what gets me is the GROSS HYPOCROSISY and DOUBLE STANDARD here. This nurse scolded me for refusing to give medication away for free. As far as I know, no doctors are EVER giving their services away for free, they make sure they’re getting paid. Why should it be any different at the pharmacy?!

Any thoughts you might have on this particular incident/topic would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Frustr8ed Pharm

I’m sure we’re gonna all agree that we will give 3 days or so if it’s a maintenance meds, but is there more to the situation then that?

Medical Assistant Stupid, Pharmacist Not

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as Disgusting, Doctors, Education, Errors, Me being a dick, Me hating others, Stupid Nurses, Stupid People, True Story, Work Sucks

Quick post today.

Answered the phone today and it was a “nurse for Dr. Sayed.”

“Oh really?” [Knowing she wasn't a nurse] “What’s your name?” [Linda] “And are you an RN or LPN?”

“Welll, I guess I’m just an M.A. – I’m in nursing school though”

“Guess? … Okay then – on your way. What do we need today?” [I didn't go for the kill and say, 'So you're NOT a nurse then are you?' -- She knew she was beaten]

“Jeff Gordon, birthday is 8/4/1971, needs his Cozaar 20mg refilled. Directions are 1 po daily. And give him 2 additional refills.” [Most of you already see the problem. I wrote it exactly like this. My brain was shut off momentarily as I enjoyed my flawless victory from moments earlier.]

“Okay, thanks a lot!”

-=+=-

So, I loaded up Jeff’s profile and didn’t see any Cozaar. It was at this point, after the call was over, I realized that what I had written didn’t exist. Cozaar (Losartan) comes in 25, 50, and 100mg. I double-checked…nope, this guy doesn’t get hypertension medicines. He does, however, have an old cholesterol medicine that’s due to be filled.

Whaddua know — It’s ZOCOR 20mg — Simvastatin.

“Hello. I talked with MEDICAL ASSISTANT Linda about a prescription for Jeff Gordon a few minutes ago, and I think she misspoke. Could I talk to her again.” [I hold for a minute or two...patiently as I've already bodyslammed her. I don't want her to go postal!]

“This is Linda. Is there a problem?”

“Well, you called in Cozaar, and I don’t see where he’s ever gotten that before. That doesn’t mean that this isn’t a new order, but I specifically remember you telling me it was for refills.”

“Ugh. I’m not in my office. I don’t have my information here. I’ll have to call you back after I get my charts out.” [I realize this isn't pivotal to the story, but I thought it was hilarious that the medical assistant made it a point to tell me she was going back to HER office and pull HER charts.]
……
“Okay, I’ve got the chart right here in front of me and it says Cozaar. I guess I’ll have to call Doc for a clarification because it says it right here — Z-O-C-O-R — Cozaar.”

“Wha wha wha waiit a second. You just spelled Zocor and said Cozaar. They are two completely different words and two completely different drugs.”

“Oh. Well, I guess you’re right.” [Guess? Like you GUESSED you were an MA and not a nurse? I know I'm fucking right. ] “He takes ZOCOR for his high blood pressure.”

“No. Wrong again. He takes Zocor for his high cholesterol. Mr. Gordon takes nothing for high blood pressure. Cozaar is for high blood pressure, but he has never taken it. Well, he almost did today, but I saved ya…Better make a note in YOUR chart.”

“Thaaaaaaanks. [She was less than enthused with me.]

-=+=-

I’m not shitting you though. She SPELLED         Z—O—C—O—R       and said, “COZAAR.”

You can’t make this shit up.

I’m just scared that she’s going to kill my own mother when she calls in TopROL 200mg po BID instead of TopaMAX for my tiny mother and stop my mom’s heart! Same word, right?

Send Complaints to The American Association of Colleges of Nursing for producing more dumbass graduates than smart ones we all love.

TAestP is a HERO!

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as Doctors, Hospital Pharmacy, Stupid Nurses, True Story, Work Sucks

That’s right. Today, I lept from the world of pharmacy into the area of HERO.

I was at the hospital — doing a little bit of ‘consulting.’ I decided to have a little bit of lunch. Of course, TAestP is a loser (and rejected by physicians) so he eats lunch alone.

As I was sitting in the quaint, 80-bed hospital lunch room, I saw the man sitting adjacent to me clutch his chest. He let out a resounding, “HRRRPMPHH!” I assumed he was having a heart attack as he was around 1-ton, eating a cheeseburger, and “HRMPH” is the requisite M.I. sound.

He fell to the ground like a rotten bag of potatoes. It was much to sudden to be an MI. It appeared more like he was having a seizure to me. A heart attack this was not…

I considered laughing (on the inside, I did). Instead, I lept into action. I went to his side, and I did the only thing I could think of. I mean, I’m not an emergency medicine physician. I pointed at some random nurse and instructed him to go and get me the AED.

I pounded my fist onto his chest as hard as I was able. That’s right. I performed a precordial thump. He may not have been in cardiac arrest. He could have really been having a seizure.

I contend that he would have been happy with my efforts — if it would have cost him a few broken ribs. Well, it turns out I did the right thing. He was going into ventricular tachycardia, and my little “5-10 joule” thump knocked him right out of it without the assistance of an AED — but I did break a rib. He was 60+ years old. That fucking guy is lucky that I didn’t crush him like a bag of Doritos as I was much larger than him…

Nonetheless, I am a hero. The hospital is going to give me a plaque. The newspaper is planning a story. I’m a big deal…

FFA — Fuck Free Antibiotics

Posted by The *Angriest* Pharmacist as Disgusting, Laws, Me being a dick, Stupid Nurses, True Story, Work Sucks

This shit pisses me off to no end — free fucking antibiotics.

http://www.schnucks.com/pharmacyprogram.asp#faq

As if we could devalue our pharmacists any more. I’m barely allowed to vaccinate (I have to do it per protocol and be within 50 miles of my collaborative) — yet an LPN fresh out of a 2-year technical school can stick a needle in someone without reservation.

I’m not allowed to make any sort of professional judgement on a prescription. If a doctor writes a prescription for Amoxicillin 501mg, I have to call and verify it with that 2-year technical school graduate LPN.

In some states (i.e. Rod Blagojevich’s Bribin’ Bungalo), pharmacists aren’t even allowed the professional courtesy of prescription denial. Meaning, if a doctor writes for a lethal dose of Morphine IR Tablets for an opiate naive patient, they are not allowed to say no. They fill  it (after confirmation with the prescribing physician) or they are subject to prosecution under this asshole’s executive order.

Now, we have some dickweed at Schnuck’s slapping the entire profession in the face. I can’t believe any self-respecting pharmacist would continue to work there. I would have told them to blow me. For fuck’s sake, I’d rather work for a rotten PBM. [Just kidding. I'd retire, draw Welfare, enroll in Medicaid, get myself on disability, and go fill my Norco/Soma scripts. You're entitled to those once you meet all those criteria right?]

I guess I’ll take solice in the fact that I know Schnuck’s, while padding their, “We did sumfin good, boss” file is losing their fucking asses on this one. You know damn good and well MOST people who would go there just for this offer isn’t buying a thing at that store.

You can replace free with $4 and Schnuck’s with Wal-Mart, K-mart, Target, et al. everywhere in this post.

BTW — I have a new arch nemesis (Yeah, he’s leap-frogged Angry, APhA, and even those pussies at DrugBuyers). You can view his website HERE.