Random Musings Concerning The Last Week’s Pharmacy Meanderings
1. Monday, I had a lady come up to the counter and ask where I carried the "Lacklend, Lacklyn, or Lacklin -- something like that." [I asked her for some possible spellings] After searching, I was pretty sure she was looking for Lac-Hydrin...possibly Lansinoh which is Lanolin. I presented these findings to her along with a product list of the various sizes of Lac-Hydrins. At this point, she became adamant that it was "LackLend" and that I wasn't looking right. At this point, I told her I thought I remembered them having the product on sale at a specialty pharmacy that is about 45 minutes away. Since she didn't bother to call me, I can only hope she drives all the way there to get the product. Either listen to reason or get told complete bullshit.
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'!
Should pharmacists get a lunch break by law?
I got the following email from a reader asking my thoughts on lunches for pharmacists. I'm not going to post his name or the store he works for, but you'll get the jist of what is going on:
I've been working for [this pharmacy] in [the Southeastern USA] for many years (5+ let's say). Before that, I spent 12 years at Walgreens. Is there any legal issue in a company not allowing their pharmacists a legitimate, leave the pharmacy, timed, lunch break? Well, legally, it must not be, or they would not be so easily getting away with it. As far as I know, it is the ONLY corporately run pharmacy not giving a lunch break in the state in which I live. All the usual suspects, when it comes to these human rights issues, Walgreeens, CVS, Wal-mart, Sam's Club, provide lunches -- sometimes even within a CLOSED PHARMACY. Do you have any comments? How can I post such a question on your site to ask other professionals?
Well, you did it in the right way. Send your questions, comments or guest articles via the CONTACT Page and I'll see what I can do.
Anyway, readers, tell him what you know. Here's what I know. Pharmacists are sometimes listed as salaried management and therefore fall under different guidelines than your every day cashier, technician, or stocker. I'd bet my bottom dollar that is the case where you work. That's the exact story where I live. Fortunately, I'm able to go sit down, even if just for a few minutes to eat some lunch every day. Even if it's a scattered 15 minutes. I shoot for noon when I know the phone will slow down as the nurses are all out to lunch, and patient's slow a bit too -- at least the ones that have jobs. So, I woof down my lunch. If you can't do that, I'm sorry. Move to another store/chain or transfer to a slower store that would allow you more time in general for afternoon tea...:-)
Anything else for the good of the order?
Helping a young pharmacist establish authority when faced with strong technician personalities
Note: Please visit this lady's website. The Wicked Chemist! She "affectionately" called me a troll, but she likes my posts!
This is a submitted question/dilemma from a young pharmacist known as "M" -- s/he is requesting that the community help her with some professional advice and recommendations from our little blogosphere community.
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As a new pharmacist, I have a dilemna concerning my role/authority in the pharmacy. Since I'm new to the store, I have a lot to learn from the senior techs as far as managing the pharmacy is concerned. In essence, they are actually training me to run the pharmacy. For this reason, I sometimes feel like they take advantage of that, and they do whatever they want. They often come in late and call off last minute. One technician doesn't like to 'fill' so I end up filling most of the scripts, verifying, and then ringing it out as well. She claims she has other stuff to do, which she sometimes does. I can't complain much because she will do certain tasks and help free my ear from the telephone. However, I'm just not comfortable with her not listening when I ask for her to help in filling. I'm trying hard to learn much so I don't find myself solely dependent on them (technicians). So far, I've been nothing but nice to them, and they've yet to call in on my shift. But I know that day will eventually come... Regardless, this has got to stop. We must be able to depend on them as our patients depend on us.
Please help me by providing me some ideas on how I can approach the situation with both my pharmacy manager, other staff pharmacists, and most importantly, address my concerns gingerly with the technicians without alienating them and subsequently finding myself on the wrong end of a string of sick days! I've also got to consider various friendships (or grudges) between techs and pharmacists, or even techs and techs.
Any advice would be most appreciated! Thanks!
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Do you want to submit a guest post or discussion topic [since I don't post nearly enough]? Type it up and email it to me via the 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.
Your refill? Yeah, it’s too soon
This is a guest post from a technician known for now as J.S. -- s/he will be responding to all comments as necessary. Should you want to send a private email, please use the CONTACT Page and I will forward it on to him/her.
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"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.
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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.
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