New Tech...

Patient Care vs. No Backbone

pillpharmer — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:48:22 +0000

I worked until midnight last night. Pretty typical night. One of the assistant store managers came back in the pharmacy to collect money from the registers. She is pretty much known as the lazy, incompetant manager. The floating pharmacist and her get along quite well because they come from the same country and speak the same language. She always comes back to talk to floater about how she just has to drop everything whenever they need extra help in the pharmacy. Bullshit. She is the one that never comes, never helps, etc. But that’s a whole other point entirely.

She was complaining about getting a call from a customer just ranting about how the night pharmacist was rude to her. Given, the regular night pharmacist can be a bit gruff…but honestly he’s like that to people that annoy him. Actually actively listen and ask questions about your medication…and he’ll go out of his way to explain it to you. Anyways, she went on about how she has to act like the customer is always right out front, yet in the pharmacy we don’t act like that.

Granted, I do believe pharmacy should be about patient care. If you don’t care about patients, don’t go into the health field. But there are laws and rules to follow. I’ve learned that giving good patient care does not equal being the bitch of the customer. You have to have some backbone.

So when a lady comes through drive demanding her meds from the ER get filled -right now-, stand your ground. Do try and get it done as soon as possible…but also explain that we’re the only 24 hour pharmacy in the city and everybody from the ER comes here. Don’t bend when they start bitching about their passenger is in pain. I feel bad for you…it sucks having to go to the ER…you want to go home…but seriously people…be realistic.

I’ll try to update this more. Reading pharmacy blogs got my creative juices going again.

“The Blue Pill”

pillpharmer — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:27:12 +0000

Had somebody call in asking for refills on the “blue pill” which obviously meant Viagra. Seriously guys, if you’re not manly enough to actually call it Viagra as opposed to a blue pill when numerous pills are blue….you shouldn’t be taking this shit.

Idiots abound

pillpharmer — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:30:58 +0000

Calls while I was working:

Lady: Could you give me some information about Rx # ……., I took these pills and they made me feel really sick.
Me: *tries to put in RX number to bring up, nothing comes up* Um, did you get these filled at this store?
Lady: No, I got it filled at {competitor’s store}, but I need information about it.
Me: Well, what is the name of the medication?
Lady: Well I don’t know, can’t you look it up in your system?
Me: No…we don’t have information to other store’s prescriptions.
Lady: Oh…well I think it was hydrocodeine or something.
Me: ….lemme get you a pharmacist.

Man: Could you tell me when we are supposed to switch our clocks an hour back?
Honestly, who the fuck calls a pharmacy asking about that?

Lady: I need a refill on RX……
Me: *once again, doesn’t come up on screen* Did you fill it at {store name here}?
Lady: No, I filled it at {competitor name} but I can’t get it now since they’re closed.
Me: We’d be happy to contact that pharmacy and have it filled tomorrow morning.
Lady: No, I really need it now…I thought you could do that between pharmacies.
Me: We -do- transfer prescriptions, it just we need to contact the original pharmacy you filled it at to get your information, then we can fill it.
Lady: Well, I really need it….and I don’t have any left.
Finally she got off the phone. Honestly, people. Stop being idiots.

Stupid technology…

pillpharmer — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:18:57 +0000

About halfway through my shift, the computer systems at work stopped functioning. No insurance updates, no new prescriptions, faxes stopped coming in, printer stopped working. It was insane. Amazingly, the customers were cool about it and didn’t give too much shit…which was nice.

New to this.

pillpharmer — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:47:33 +0000

Just found out about this little blogsphere today. Guess I should introduce myself. I got hired as a technician three months ago at a national retail chain here in the USA. I want to go to pharmacy school and am working on applications as I type. It’s stressful and annoying at times, but hopefully it’ll all work out.

I felt pretty bummed today. Somebody came in with a prescription from a competitor and wanted to fill it at the pharmacy I work at. They were from out of town and needed them. I thought they had to call their pharmacy that they originally filled at and then have that pharmacy call us to change. Not so. We call -their- pharmacy after gathering information. So the patient left in a huff and me feeling like an idiot after asking the senior technician about the procedure.

I really hate being the new girl sometimes. I mean it’s one thing when a patient gets peeved at me when it isn’t the pharmacy’s fault. (stupid insurance prior auths) But when I do something wrong which causes the patient grief…it just makes my whole day bad.