Pharmacy tips.

[PharmTechPhantom]

Pharmacy, like any service job has its share of intricacies and difficulties that wouldn't seem apparent to non-pharmacy employees, so here are a few tips for getting a prescription filled.

1) If you can avoid it, don't come to a pharmacy on a Monday. Mondays at a pharmacy are like Saturdays at restaurant. Busy busy busy.

2) It's not the pharmacy's responsibility to call for your doctor for a prescription. It's the responsibility of the patient and/or the doctor to get the script to us.

3) If your insurance company is jerking you around, that has nothing to do with the pharmacy. They decide the price, not the pharmacy.

4) While we're on insurance companies, I don't have every copay for every insurance company for every drug memorized, so asking me to predict how much it'll be is useless.

5) Don't ask me were front-store crap like shampoo is. The small corner of the store that is the pharmacy is my domain. I rarely ever leave. Ask someone in the front.

6) Staring me down while I work feverishly to fill your prescription won't make it come out any faster. Hell, I may just leave it on the back counter for a few minutes before I tell you it's done.

7) We may not be busy, and it may only take 10 minutes for me to fill your prescription, but if you're an @$$hole, I won't hesitate to make it longer. Much longer.

8) On a very serious note, pharmacists and pharmacy techs, like all humans, make mistakes. Check your bag when you get a script filled! Mistakes are few, but they happen, so be vigilant!

9) If you have to go to the same pharmacy fairly frequently, go out of your way to memorize the names of the people back there. Pharmacy employees treat "regulars" like friggin' royalty almost. Regulars typically have shorter wait times. I know it sounds shady and elitist, but hey it's true.

[Greenday]

10) If you haven't had prescriptions filled at that specific pharmacy before, let them know. Most places keep track of customers so they can see information to make sure you are mixing meds that are dangerous.

11) Don't argue when your prescription cannot be filled. There is usually a good reason like you didn't wait long enough, or taking two different specific meds at the same time is deadly.

12) If you are just going to the pharmacy to get a refill, call it in first, so you don't have to wait when you get there. This is very important if you are going to get there right before closing. Everyone is going to be really pissed because it's five minutes to closing and you want a couple prescriptions refilled.

[AFpheonix]

13) If I give you a wait time, don't try to haggle with me. Especially if that script is for a zit cream dated 3 months back. This sucker isn't an emergency, and I'm not about to bump you up in front of the poor fellow in the waiting area with his arm in a sling.

14)If you want brand specifically on something, please don't assume that I'm gonna remember. My average is about 500 scripts per day right now, I'm not gonna remember everyone's little foibles.

15) My drive thru is for prescriptions only. I will consider bending that rule if you call ahead for it and you have a sick child that you don't want to bring in or you have mobility issues. No, I will not fetch your photos and sell them to you.

16) Please don't whine about the wait in the drive thru. If the line is already into the street, please just come inside. You idiots waste more time whining than if you'd just shut up and let me do my job.

17) For the love of god, if your label says that there's no more fills on your birth control, please call it in the day you start your placebo week. Not the Saturday night 3 days after you were supposed to start a new pack. Do not throw a hissy if I can't give you that script without a doctor call in. No, I'm not gonna call the doctor on call for you on that one. You get to explain yourself.

19)No, we do not give out free samples or loans on controlled meds. Yes, you only have 6 fills total on those scripts, regardless of how many pills you got. No, I'm not going to make a sign. If I had to make a sign for every federal and state law that governs my profession, well, you wouldn't be able to see me for all of them.

20) Please....come pick up your pills. We only keep them around for a week or so before returning them to stock. If you're gonna come in a little late, feel free to call me and let me know. We're here 24/7. It's all good.

21) Please call poison control to identify whatever pill it was you found behind the stove. Better yet, just toss the damn thing.

22)No, I don't know what that rash is. I may wear a white smock, but that doesn't make me or my pharmacist capable of diagnosing you. That's what the doctors' offices down the street are for.

[AFpheonix]

Is it just me, or have just about every insurance company gone wonky over the holiday weekend? I had SOOOO many people booted off coverage today, it was ridiculous.

[powerboy]

Why is it, that when my medicine does get called in from my doctor, that it is never ready, when I get there. Even if they say in a 1/2 hour?

[Knightmare]

That was some good advice! Thanks for those. I do behave pretty well at the pharmacy; one time, however, I was a complete asshat to pretty much the entire staff. I was in incredible pain. I had something wrong with a molar, and couldn't afford to have it yanked. My dentist gave me an Rx for Vicodin (or something) and called it in for me. The drive to the pharmacy was about 20 minutes, and like I said, I HURT BADLY! (I know, excuses excuses). I was told it would be ready when I got there. It wasn't. How much longer did I wait? 45 minutes. After about 20 minutes is when the asshatery began. I was a jerk, I was an asshole, I was the complete SC, and I NEEDED the pain to stop (I've had tooth aches before, but multiply it by 42, and that's what I had). Finally it was finished. I paid and YANKED them out of the girl's hands. I went home, took twice what I was supposed to take (I usually do with Vicodin.. doesn't affect me like most folks) and went to sleep.

The next day, I called the pharmacy and got the names of everyone that worked there. I asked if they were there now, and I got a yes. I drove to the local flower shop, bought a big bouquet of something, I don't know what, but it looked good, and made my way back. Luckily, it wasn't busy. I walked in and apologized to everyone that I dealt with. Over and over again. They probably got sick of my apologizing. But when I got home, I called the corp. number and told them exactly what happened; how horrible I was, and how everyone there was completely professional, courteous and understanding.
I don't know if corp. did anything for them, but those people are still there, 2 years later.

[CherryB]

9) If you have to go to the same pharmacy fairly frequently, go out of your way to memorize the names of the people back there. Pharmacy employees treat "regulars" like friggin' royalty almost. Regulars typically have shorter wait times. I know it sounds shady and elitist, but hey it's true.


Boy not the pharmacy I use...lol It rhymes with Walgreen's and the pharmacy techs there as well as the pharmacists are just downright rude. One of the techs refuses to make eye contact, or even say thank you. So when I get him I always make a pint of saying "well I am doing great, ty for asking! and how are you?"

Why do I continue to use them? Easy. They are the closest to my house and the front counter folks are sweethearts mostly. But I could do without the clods in the back.

[powerboy]

9) If you have to go to the same pharmacy fairly frequently, go out of your way to memorize the names of the people back there. Pharmacy employees treat "regulars" like friggin' royalty almost. Regulars typically have shorter wait times. I know it sounds shady and elitist, but hey it's true.


Boy not the pharmacy I use...lol It rhymes with Walgreen's and the pharmacy techs there as well as the pharmacists are just downright rude. One of the techs refuses to make eye contact, or even say thank you. So when I get him I always make a pint of saying "well I am doing great, ty for asking! and how are you?"

Why do I continue to use them? Easy. They are the closest to my house and the front counter folks are sweethearts mostly. But I could do without the clods in the back.

Samething with me. The ones in pharmacy, are jerks, at my wal-greens. They have this aura about them, that if you even look at them, you will get killed. They talk crap about everyone, and will not get in trouble for it. I already am not going back to that pharmacy. Now the only time I will go to Wal-Greens is, if I need to et something.

[AFpheonix]

Why is it, that when my medicine does get called in from my doctor, that it is never ready, when I get there. Even if they say in a 1/2 hour?

Mostly because your doctor never tells us when you are coming. I typically put in in for a pick up time of an hour or two out, as an average guess. Some people come in BEFORE the bloody thing's been called or faxed in, others a few hours after, some never do. I tend to defer them in favor of scripts for people already in the store.
Faxes take awhile to show up. They aren't immediate. I've seen them take up to 10 minutes to transmit before. And people at the counter aren't too appreciative if you stop ringing up to take voicemails off, especially when it's a day like yesterday, when you've had 4 days of the offices being closed and they're playing catch-up, so every time you check messages, there's about 5 or more on there, and more being left while you're transcribing the first batch.

I'm sorry your Walgreens suck, if you don't mind driving clear across to the West Coast, you can come to mine, we rock
I guess we're the opposite of your stores, in that our front end tends to be crappy (and we hear about it constantly), and we, the pharmacy staff, are the main reason people come in.

[Argabarga]

Is it just me, or have just about every insurance company gone wonky over the holiday weekend? I had SOOOO many people booted off coverage today, it was ridiculous.

Health America crashed n' burned pretty good my last week there, the week of Xmas, considering I was getting out, I found it pretty funny in a Murphy's Law kinda way.

[simplyanother]

9)

Boy not the pharmacy I use...lol It rhymes with Walgreen's and the pharmacy techs there as well as the pharmacists are just downright rude. One of the techs refuses to make eye contact, or even say thank you. So when I get him I always make a pint of saying "well I am doing great, ty for asking! and how are you?"

Why do I continue to use them? Easy. They are the closest to my house and the front counter folks are sweethearts mostly. But I could do without the clods in the back.

I frequent three pharmacies. Eckard (Eckerd? Used to be Revco. lol), Walmart and the Navy ones. For the Navy, it's my grandmother--and she's the biggest issue I have. When she has to get a refill it has to be called in 2 days prior to when we need it, yet she'll shove two more bottles in my face the day we're going to drive out there. But that has nothing to do with anything. lol.

Anyway, when we get a script filled we have to bring it to the naval hospital (which is in a completely seperate from where we pick up refills, different facillity..etc). The wait at the hospital pharmacy is rarely under 1 hour, it's usually closer to 2.5, with 3 or 4 not being outsize the realm of normal. People WHINE constantly about how long it's taking. You know that they saw that the whole pharmacy waiting area--the whole corridor was FULL when they decided to wait, so SHUT up. If their time is that precious, why couldn't they drive to a civilian pharmacy and pay the 3 to 9 dollars for the script? Oh, for the same reason my grandmother is there, and the same reason everyone else is. So, why don't they shut up.

And yes, it does seem like that guy over there in uniform gets priority over you. Because he does. Dufus. That's why there are two or three different number tickets to take. He took one with the indication that he was ACTIVE duty. I mean, come on. DUH! Also, This are? HUGE HUGE navy population. This hospital serves people from all over the freakin area. It's busy. So shut up. lol

My grandmother takes a bunch of prescriptions (over 12, under 20.). Almost all she gets from the navy, there are two that they don't have on their formulary, so she gets from the civilian pharmacy. I don't know why I'm sharing this.

But there have been a few times we've gone up to the hospital and it's been hell. Like after waiting 4 hours--then to get up there and find out that the doctor left out IMPORTANT stuff on the prescription. They ARE usually nice enough to try to contact them to get it it, but sometimes it isn't possible. That just irritates the crap out of me. (At the person who wrote the script and ME and my grandmother for not checking it before we drove 20 miles away).

OH and the checking the pills thing--is very important. I always make my grandmother do this when we pick them up. When we get them from the hospital, they do it with you, but when you pick 'em up, they just shove the paper bag at you. lol So we pull over and check the pills. A couple of times they have changed the look of pills or given her a new generic and not told her, so we have to go inside to make sure... It's FUN! lol

Anyway, the Eckerd, we've been using since before it was eckerd, and I couldn't tell you the names of any of the staff there, but they DO recognize me. I pick up meds for both my mother and grandmother (and my kids). They are, for the most part wonderful. The only issues I've had was when they've not had a certain medicine and I haven't found out until I got home to a call from them. Which is fine. But now when I drop off a script for Amoxicillian I always ask if they have it first. (Because they were out three times. It seemed like every kid either had an ear infection or strep throat).

And that was the only time I've ever been to Walmart. I hate going to that pharmacy. Just do. The people are fine. It's the lurking customers from over in the feminine hygiene products or the cold meds THAT STAND TOO CLOSE.

I have a point, I do. I just forgot it.

My point. The pharmacy techs and the pharmacists I've dealt with have been great. For the most part.

Except for the one guy who after telling my grandmother that they didn't have pill X on their formulary---that he wouldn't advise her to take it--because it was scary. Which prompted her NOT to take it, and she was in a great deal more pain than she needed to be. (He didn't tell her that because of her history, or because of drug interactions, it was because this was one of the pills in the news...and he was leery of it. Which isn't bad. I guess.)
(And I found out that they do have a copy of the formulary online...so now we avoid THAT. lol)

Sorry about the novel. I'm verbose, I guess.

[AFpheonix]

Oh! Thought of another one, mostly because we had 3 such patients with this issue in the last few days.
23) If you are using IPledge to get isotretinoin, or are on another med that requires the doctor to get authorization to write the script, the pharmacy to get authorization to fill the script, and you the patient to do a survey, please, do your survey before you drop off.
And for the love of 8 pound, 6 ounce baby Jesus, bring your IPledge card when you drop off your script. I need your id # off of it. And if I can't get authorization to fill, that means the doctor screwed up or you didn't do your survey. Don't argue with me about the survey part, I don't care that you had a hysterectomy. (Apparently it didn't completely remove your hysteria) You still need to do the survey to tell them that you aren't feeling like going and throwing yourself off of a bridge. Thank yew.

[Luckymom]

Any of you in pharmacies have problems keeping Yaz in stock, sheesh if I don't call my BC script in a month before hand I won't get it.

[dizzy_starshine]

When you come in and bark cough medicine while waving your arm at the display of 20+ bottles behind me do not act like a royal SC when I ask you what type of cough. Yes there are different types of cough and honestly if you just answered my questions instead of huffing and stamping your foot over every little detail you would have been out of there by now. No you can't buy these cough medicines down the super market, they're locked in a glass unit for a reason. Plus refusing to tell me how long you've had the cough, what medicine you take will result in my refusing you service and yes that is legal and I am fully in my rights to do it. The pharmacy medications are to be sold by strict guidlines only.

grr lol

[AFpheonix]

No, we usually have at least 2 boxes of Yaz in stock. (heh. Yaz.) It was a disaster one time when we ran out of Yasmin, and then there was the time that Nuvaring was on backorder....
Right now I can't get in Inderal LA (any strength), any strength of quinine, Paxil CR 37.5mg, and guaifed 600/120.

We ran out of hycotuss before our shipment came yesterday, and we promptly went through another bottle and a half once we located it in the totes....yay for cold season....