K, so I looked up that profile where that kid would go to the hospital if I absolutely did NOT give them the medication RIGHT THEN.
It was albuterol for a nebulizer. It looked like they had something similar back in November. That was roughly 75 days ago. The fill itself was for 60 days.
Hm. Looks like you waited till the last minute to get a refill, and the doctor accidently sent it somewhere else.
You lose. Better luck next time!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Lessons in Life
So I had the past couple of days off from work, but I started again today! And it sucked...
I came in the pharmacy and the pharmacist immediately said how relieved they were to see me! It had been quite busy all day. They were barely holding above the water.
I inputted a few prescriptions and saw that they kept being returned for being incorrect. I fixed them the best I knew how, and resubmitted to the pharmacist. They kept being returned...
Our computer system has a nifty function of letting the pharmacist highlight the field they find incorrect, and they may possibly put in a comment for the tech on how to fix it. This can help to teach us what to do, certain keystrokes, or if we simply misspelled a word.
I had no comments.
The pharmacist started to become more frustrated with me on a particular prescription because I couldn't determine what they wanted me to type. Understandable. By the time I fixed the prescription it had been sent back and forth at least 5 times.
There were numerous prescriptions in fill, more in check-point, and even more in visual verify. People that called on the phone to speak to the pharmacist were on hold for 10 minutes at a time. Too busy.
A parent came through the drive thru and asked about prescriptions sent in for their child. I only saw one prescription here, and it wouldn't be able to be processed through the insurance until tomorrow.
Parent: Ok, what about the other prescription?
Me: I'm sorry, I don't see another prescription here for you...
Parent: The doctor called in another prescription. I watched them. I saw them call it in.
At this point they are getting a tad frustrated with me.
Me: Ok, let me check one other place. *search host system* Yes, it looks like it was called into [sister store 10 minutes away]
Parent: ...Alright. Would you be able to transfer it here?
Me: I could, but we are quite busy right now. It might take a few hours for it to be ready, or even as late as tomorrow.
Parent: But if they don't have this medicine, they will have to go to the hospital!
Me: I understand that, but unfortunately it may take a while.
Parent: Know what. Forget it. We'll just get the prescription down in [sister store 10 minutes away] and transfer all our prescriptions down there.
Me: Ok. *hangs up*
I see now that that was my mistake. I should have tried to get it done sooner. The pharmacist was so flustered though I didn't want to put pressure on them to finish a prescription right now.
The parent came into the store and chewed us out. The pharmacist said that I was mistaken, and we could have it ready in 45 minutes.
The parent left and went to [sister store 10 minutes away] and, true to their word, transferred the remaining prescriptions down there.
I was so upset for the next couple of hours, it was horrible. I'm still quite upset. I'm going to look up the patient tomorrow and see if this was a refill or whatnot... May give indication on how appropriate their tongue-lashing was...
However, I guess it really doesn't matter. There's nothing that I can do about it anyway other than live on to another day. Many people weren't given that luxury today.
I just feel like perhaps this isn't the profession for me... Working in a science lab by myself with only music and no deadlines seems like heaven right now...
I came in the pharmacy and the pharmacist immediately said how relieved they were to see me! It had been quite busy all day. They were barely holding above the water.
I inputted a few prescriptions and saw that they kept being returned for being incorrect. I fixed them the best I knew how, and resubmitted to the pharmacist. They kept being returned...
Our computer system has a nifty function of letting the pharmacist highlight the field they find incorrect, and they may possibly put in a comment for the tech on how to fix it. This can help to teach us what to do, certain keystrokes, or if we simply misspelled a word.
I had no comments.
The pharmacist started to become more frustrated with me on a particular prescription because I couldn't determine what they wanted me to type. Understandable. By the time I fixed the prescription it had been sent back and forth at least 5 times.
There were numerous prescriptions in fill, more in check-point, and even more in visual verify. People that called on the phone to speak to the pharmacist were on hold for 10 minutes at a time. Too busy.
A parent came through the drive thru and asked about prescriptions sent in for their child. I only saw one prescription here, and it wouldn't be able to be processed through the insurance until tomorrow.
Parent: Ok, what about the other prescription?
Me: I'm sorry, I don't see another prescription here for you...
Parent: The doctor called in another prescription. I watched them. I saw them call it in.
At this point they are getting a tad frustrated with me.
Me: Ok, let me check one other place. *search host system* Yes, it looks like it was called into [sister store 10 minutes away]
Parent: ...Alright. Would you be able to transfer it here?
Me: I could, but we are quite busy right now. It might take a few hours for it to be ready, or even as late as tomorrow.
Parent: But if they don't have this medicine, they will have to go to the hospital!
Me: I understand that, but unfortunately it may take a while.
Parent: Know what. Forget it. We'll just get the prescription down in [sister store 10 minutes away] and transfer all our prescriptions down there.
Me: Ok. *hangs up*
I see now that that was my mistake. I should have tried to get it done sooner. The pharmacist was so flustered though I didn't want to put pressure on them to finish a prescription right now.
The parent came into the store and chewed us out. The pharmacist said that I was mistaken, and we could have it ready in 45 minutes.
The parent left and went to [sister store 10 minutes away] and, true to their word, transferred the remaining prescriptions down there.
I was so upset for the next couple of hours, it was horrible. I'm still quite upset. I'm going to look up the patient tomorrow and see if this was a refill or whatnot... May give indication on how appropriate their tongue-lashing was...
However, I guess it really doesn't matter. There's nothing that I can do about it anyway other than live on to another day. Many people weren't given that luxury today.
I just feel like perhaps this isn't the profession for me... Working in a science lab by myself with only music and no deadlines seems like heaven right now...
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Think Before You Speak...
Two 15-16 year old boys come up to me to ask for advice.
Boy: *blinks furiously but stares off in another direction* Um... Where would I find prescription muscle relaxers?
Me: They're a prescription... They're behind the counter.
Boy: *still doesn't look at me, and keeps blinking* Yes, so how would we get some?
Me: They're a prescription. You have to have a prescription to get them.
Boy: Oh, man! *walks off*
Moral of the story: Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?
On a more positive note, we've been very busy for that past 3 days I've been at work! Also, it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow so people are trying to pull together all of their medications in preparation. And with insurance issues due to the new year, the wait times can get pretty long.
There are at least 5 other people waiting in line and we are in the 5 PM rush so there are plenty in fill and input. A lady comes up with her driver's license in hand, doesn't wait in line, and doesn't really wait for me to acknowledge her. I had just called the next patient up and she interrupted, asking if she can buy Claritin D.
Me: Well, of course you can, but I was about to help this person. If you wait in line...
Lady: Are you kidding me? You seriously just can't hand me the box?
Me: Unfortunately not... You have to purchase it here at the pharmacy...
Lady: *practically shouting at me* That's ridiculous. The other girl just told me I had to show my driver's license... Know what? Forget it. We'll just go to [competitor].
Me: Ok. *shrug*
I mean, seriously? Can you not wait your turn? I'm pretty sure you just walked up to the pharmacy, and not have been waiting for a while like everyone else. And the pseudoephedrine law has been in effect since... *quick Google search* ...2006? Where have you been?
Anyway, school starts up again on Monday! And it seems as though I'm going to be working a bit more often... The people up where I am now are just so much more... understanding and practical than I'm used to. I still have no idea where I'm going to get writing material.
Boy: *blinks furiously but stares off in another direction* Um... Where would I find prescription muscle relaxers?
Me: They're a prescription... They're behind the counter.
Boy: *still doesn't look at me, and keeps blinking* Yes, so how would we get some?
Me: They're a prescription. You have to have a prescription to get them.
Boy: Oh, man! *walks off*
Moral of the story: Drugs are bad, mmmmkay?
On a more positive note, we've been very busy for that past 3 days I've been at work! Also, it's supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow so people are trying to pull together all of their medications in preparation. And with insurance issues due to the new year, the wait times can get pretty long.
There are at least 5 other people waiting in line and we are in the 5 PM rush so there are plenty in fill and input. A lady comes up with her driver's license in hand, doesn't wait in line, and doesn't really wait for me to acknowledge her. I had just called the next patient up and she interrupted, asking if she can buy Claritin D.
Me: Well, of course you can, but I was about to help this person. If you wait in line...
Lady: Are you kidding me? You seriously just can't hand me the box?
Me: Unfortunately not... You have to purchase it here at the pharmacy...
Lady: *practically shouting at me* That's ridiculous. The other girl just told me I had to show my driver's license... Know what? Forget it. We'll just go to [competitor].
Me: Ok. *shrug*
I mean, seriously? Can you not wait your turn? I'm pretty sure you just walked up to the pharmacy, and not have been waiting for a while like everyone else. And the pseudoephedrine law has been in effect since... *quick Google search* ...2006? Where have you been?
Anyway, school starts up again on Monday! And it seems as though I'm going to be working a bit more often... The people up where I am now are just so much more... understanding and practical than I'm used to. I still have no idea where I'm going to get writing material.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Finals!!
So I'm almost done with my first semester of pharmacy school and there's not much to show for it...
Work isn't too bad, patients are pretty nice and considerate where I work. It's not a very good story mine, but it helps keep my sanity. I'm becoming jaded less quickly and I somewhat remember why I wanted to go in this profession in the first place.
I'm making Cs in the most difficult classes, immunology and biochemistry. I'm making the worst grades out of my roommates, so that's going to need to change.
I legitimately failed a test last Monday. A 56% in immunology. Not a proud moment.
I keep hearing:
"C equals degree!"
"What does everyone call the last person in the class? Doctor."
I guess I'm just a little down because I could have done better this semester... But could I have really? I don't know. I'm not the first, nor shall I be the last, to have doubts about this profession I'm stepping into. I suppose we're all in this together!
Work isn't too bad, patients are pretty nice and considerate where I work. It's not a very good story mine, but it helps keep my sanity. I'm becoming jaded less quickly and I somewhat remember why I wanted to go in this profession in the first place.
I'm making Cs in the most difficult classes, immunology and biochemistry. I'm making the worst grades out of my roommates, so that's going to need to change.
I legitimately failed a test last Monday. A 56% in immunology. Not a proud moment.
I keep hearing:
"C equals degree!"
"What does everyone call the last person in the class? Doctor."
I guess I'm just a little down because I could have done better this semester... But could I have really? I don't know. I'm not the first, nor shall I be the last, to have doubts about this profession I'm stepping into. I suppose we're all in this together!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Schedule 2 Mishaps
I went into work this afternoon and heard all about the weekend. Apparently the pharmacist had someone arrested.
A person called in impersonating a doctor and attempted to verbally fill a prescription for a schedule 2. When they came to pick up the medication, the police were waiting too!
Who could have thought that was a good idea....
A person called in impersonating a doctor and attempted to verbally fill a prescription for a schedule 2. When they came to pick up the medication, the police were waiting too!
Who could have thought that was a good idea....
Friday, November 4, 2011
Perhaps you should know where you fill....
Hi! Lots has been going on since last postings: lots of tests, quizzes, papers, and articles. I'm pretty much tapped out for the semester.
However, onto tonight's story: knowing where you fill prescriptions. It's encouraged for people to fill prescriptions at one location so that the computer system and pharmacists can stop drug interactions. It's so insurance information is all in one place (including coupon cards, yay!) and to develop a relationship with patients.
If you don't happen to fill at only one pharmacy don't be surprised to find that that automatic call is actually for another store altogether.
After a long day of grueling classes I came into work ready in a costume for Halloween! During downtime I found a refill reject notice, so I thought I would be nice and call the patient to let them know. The phone number was disconnected. I made note of it and went about my works.
During the 5 'o clock rush the patient came up and said that we had called them on the phone to let them know a prescription was ready. It was the patient that had the refill reject. I showed them the paper and said how we had nothing else ready for them, so it couldn't have been us that called them. Was the message from another day? Perhaps we put the prescription back to stock...
Oh hell naw. Screaming and basically saying that we were incompetent because WE called THEM.
"Someone needs to get their act together. Whoever is making those phone calls obviously doesn't know what they're doing."
Now, I'm very prone to becoming flustered. I don't like conflict, and I definitely don't like it when someone becomes angry with me. I'm a huge people pleaser and I love when people are happy with whatever I do. It certainly makes sense that I would choose "pharmacist" as a profession... But at the time I had no idea how much abuse they receive. Anyway, I'm getting better with my nerves.
However, I was absolutely flustered with this patient. So much that I couldn't think straight. It wasn't until they left that I realized that I had tried to call them and the phone number was disconnected! If that was the case, then how did they get an automated phone call?
The pharmacist let me know that their prescription was called in by a doctor and filled at another one of our stores in a different town.
ASSUME makes an ASS out of U... and I guess ME.
They were going to call their doctor the next day to see what was going on. I hope they felt like a dumbass for making a scene. I am not omnipotent, but if you react civilly perhaps we can figure out what happened to the "disappearing" prescription....
I need to learn not to pigeon-hole answers to problems. And if there is a problem, step back and take time to actually figure out an answer. People would much rather have the correct answer that took a bit longer to figure out, than a BS answer that will just exacerbate the problems...
In other news, I successfully counseled a patient all by my lonesome self. :-)
A 16-17 year old came up asking for an OTC laxative for her 14 year old sister. I showed her the sennosides and then prompted to fiber pills for more regularity (after the initial problem is cured). She looked at me skeptically and proceeded to grab 2 100 count boxes of senna and leave.
Guess it was that bad...
However, onto tonight's story: knowing where you fill prescriptions. It's encouraged for people to fill prescriptions at one location so that the computer system and pharmacists can stop drug interactions. It's so insurance information is all in one place (including coupon cards, yay!) and to develop a relationship with patients.
If you don't happen to fill at only one pharmacy don't be surprised to find that that automatic call is actually for another store altogether.
After a long day of grueling classes I came into work ready in a costume for Halloween! During downtime I found a refill reject notice, so I thought I would be nice and call the patient to let them know. The phone number was disconnected. I made note of it and went about my works.
During the 5 'o clock rush the patient came up and said that we had called them on the phone to let them know a prescription was ready. It was the patient that had the refill reject. I showed them the paper and said how we had nothing else ready for them, so it couldn't have been us that called them. Was the message from another day? Perhaps we put the prescription back to stock...
Oh hell naw. Screaming and basically saying that we were incompetent because WE called THEM.
"Someone needs to get their act together. Whoever is making those phone calls obviously doesn't know what they're doing."
Now, I'm very prone to becoming flustered. I don't like conflict, and I definitely don't like it when someone becomes angry with me. I'm a huge people pleaser and I love when people are happy with whatever I do. It certainly makes sense that I would choose "pharmacist" as a profession... But at the time I had no idea how much abuse they receive. Anyway, I'm getting better with my nerves.
However, I was absolutely flustered with this patient. So much that I couldn't think straight. It wasn't until they left that I realized that I had tried to call them and the phone number was disconnected! If that was the case, then how did they get an automated phone call?
The pharmacist let me know that their prescription was called in by a doctor and filled at another one of our stores in a different town.
ASSUME makes an ASS out of U... and I guess ME.
They were going to call their doctor the next day to see what was going on. I hope they felt like a dumbass for making a scene. I am not omnipotent, but if you react civilly perhaps we can figure out what happened to the "disappearing" prescription....
I need to learn not to pigeon-hole answers to problems. And if there is a problem, step back and take time to actually figure out an answer. People would much rather have the correct answer that took a bit longer to figure out, than a BS answer that will just exacerbate the problems...
In other news, I successfully counseled a patient all by my lonesome self. :-)
A 16-17 year old came up asking for an OTC laxative for her 14 year old sister. I showed her the sennosides and then prompted to fiber pills for more regularity (after the initial problem is cured). She looked at me skeptically and proceeded to grab 2 100 count boxes of senna and leave.
Guess it was that bad...
Sunday, October 16, 2011
"I'm tired of studying!!"
Hi again. It has been a while, I know. Things in school are quite overwhelming right now since it's mid-terms, but nothing that can't be taken down!
Last week before fall break we had 3 tests, 3 quizzes, and I personally had a presentation that Friday. The presentation didn't go very well (go figure)... The next week we were supposed have 3 tests in a row, but one of them was pushed to the next week early on. Some people were unhappy since this meant that we would need to study during fall break, but overall people were excited to have somewhat more time to study.
Cue Wednesday: the day before fall break began.
We were meant to have a biochemistry test in the morning, then essentially coast for the rest of the day. There were issues uploading the test onto the exam software that we use, so essentially no one was able to download the test either. The teachers apologized and went to quickly print off paper copies of their tests.
One of teachers found an issue with her version of the test before she passed it out. When she types in questions to the exam software she puts every correct answer in the "A" slot, and the computer then scrambles them logarithmically. However, for some reason this does not occur when you simply print off the test.
Therefore, they couldn't give us the test that day, and it has now been pushed for this upcoming Wednesday.
Most students were understanding. Frustrated, but understanding. What can be done?
Cue our class vice president.
"This is BS!! Why can't we take the test today? I'm tired of studying! We've been studying for the past week and a half, and I don't want to study anymore!! I don't want to have to study over fall break!" This continued for 10 minutes.
Needless to say, everyone in the class is embarrassed to be associated with her. I have no idea how she received the votes of my classmates, but I'm sure they're re-thinking their decision. She had a full blown-out temper tantrum and disrespected the professors.
Perhaps this is why we're required to agonize over professionalism in our two week orientation before classes begin.
In other news, I have become an official store intern!! This means that I get to wear my nice white coat and pretend to know what I'm talking about. I've been told that I can pass off any questions I don't know PRN.
I've also signed up for company insurance and a 401K. My pharmacy school required me to have medical insurance before enrolling, so I have a cheap plan with a ridiculous deductible. This should be more appropriate. I feel so adult-like!
Last week before fall break we had 3 tests, 3 quizzes, and I personally had a presentation that Friday. The presentation didn't go very well (go figure)... The next week we were supposed have 3 tests in a row, but one of them was pushed to the next week early on. Some people were unhappy since this meant that we would need to study during fall break, but overall people were excited to have somewhat more time to study.
Cue Wednesday: the day before fall break began.
We were meant to have a biochemistry test in the morning, then essentially coast for the rest of the day. There were issues uploading the test onto the exam software that we use, so essentially no one was able to download the test either. The teachers apologized and went to quickly print off paper copies of their tests.
One of teachers found an issue with her version of the test before she passed it out. When she types in questions to the exam software she puts every correct answer in the "A" slot, and the computer then scrambles them logarithmically. However, for some reason this does not occur when you simply print off the test.
Therefore, they couldn't give us the test that day, and it has now been pushed for this upcoming Wednesday.
Most students were understanding. Frustrated, but understanding. What can be done?
Cue our class vice president.
"This is BS!! Why can't we take the test today? I'm tired of studying! We've been studying for the past week and a half, and I don't want to study anymore!! I don't want to have to study over fall break!" This continued for 10 minutes.
Needless to say, everyone in the class is embarrassed to be associated with her. I have no idea how she received the votes of my classmates, but I'm sure they're re-thinking their decision. She had a full blown-out temper tantrum and disrespected the professors.
Perhaps this is why we're required to agonize over professionalism in our two week orientation before classes begin.
In other news, I have become an official store intern!! This means that I get to wear my nice white coat and pretend to know what I'm talking about. I've been told that I can pass off any questions I don't know PRN.
I've also signed up for company insurance and a 401K. My pharmacy school required me to have medical insurance before enrolling, so I have a cheap plan with a ridiculous deductible. This should be more appropriate. I feel so adult-like!
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