I'm reading a few of the pharmacy blogs that I follow, and I saw posts about people just starting out in the pharmacy field. Made me think of an incident when I first started working as a technician...
I had only been working for perhaps a month or so. I knew nothing about any medications whatsoever. I thought fluoxetine was for the flu, that GoLYTELY is pronounced as "golly-telly" (though thank goodness I never said it aloud... It's "go lightly" for those who want to avoid embarrassment), and often confused Motrin, Aleve, and Tylenol and their generics with each other.
It took a while to build up the courage to answer the phone calls into the pharmacy. One day I answered to a woman asking if a doctor called in a prescription for her husband. They had: it was for Valtrex.
She asked me how much it cost, and more importantly, what it was used to treat.
Not knowing what it was for, I pulled up the "patient information" sheet that resides in the computer database. The only thing it really said is that it is used to treat herpes. I told her such. She seemed a bit put off and surprised, and we hung up rather quickly after that.
I told the pharmacist about it later, rather proud that I had figured it out the computer system by myself and was able to help a patient without pestering another technician to assist.
The pharmacist looked at me with horror on their face. I realized what a major mistake I had made (not to mention HIPAA, especially for that type of medicine), and now refer to any medicines of that caliber as general "anti-virals."
I hope I didn't cause marital stress. I mentally cringe any time I think about this situation. A lesson I will never forget...
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
All Sales Final
It was a decent day at work... Busy in the sense of numerous written prescription errors that we needed to call the doctor on, or just plain 'ole insurance overrides. By the time I left for the day we had filled a little over half of what we usually do during the day but I was pretty zapped anyway.
One patient came to the drop off window, so I cheerfully asked if I could help.
I thought I was going to have my eyeballs scratched out of my skull.
The patient loudly exclaims that the customer service desk won't return their blood glucose monitor that they just bought! They took it home, opened it, and tried to put in a test strip (with NO blood, mind you and thank-you-very-much) but the test strip and meter were 2 different brands.
I thought my heart was going to be ripped from my chest.
I knew that by law we were not allowed to return ANYTHING dealing with blood products, whether they have been used with blood or not. It doesn't matter. However, I blanked on this explanation and had the patient tell me how they decided to pick out this particular meter.
They had picked it out themselves for the person that they are taking care of.
How can you do this?! I have to keep something I bought even though I am never going to use it?! What terrible customer service...
The patient snatched the box from my hands and stormed off in a huff.
Once the patient had left, the other technicians and interns told me that there is a 1-800 number on the box for manufacturer returns. They can return the devices, but BY LAW the pharmacy cannot return them.
I wish I could have thought of that a little sooner.
If only I wasn't fearing for me life, perhaps I could have thought of that little gem.
Not to mention, on the shelf right above this particular meter is a printed document stating that all meters and strips are NON-RETURNABLE. If you would like to return any meters or strips, you MUST call that 1-800 number.
The irony is baffling.
One patient came to the drop off window, so I cheerfully asked if I could help.
I thought I was going to have my eyeballs scratched out of my skull.
The patient loudly exclaims that the customer service desk won't return their blood glucose monitor that they just bought! They took it home, opened it, and tried to put in a test strip (with NO blood, mind you and thank-you-very-much) but the test strip and meter were 2 different brands.
I thought my heart was going to be ripped from my chest.
I knew that by law we were not allowed to return ANYTHING dealing with blood products, whether they have been used with blood or not. It doesn't matter. However, I blanked on this explanation and had the patient tell me how they decided to pick out this particular meter.
They had picked it out themselves for the person that they are taking care of.
How can you do this?! I have to keep something I bought even though I am never going to use it?! What terrible customer service...
The patient snatched the box from my hands and stormed off in a huff.
Once the patient had left, the other technicians and interns told me that there is a 1-800 number on the box for manufacturer returns. They can return the devices, but BY LAW the pharmacy cannot return them.
I wish I could have thought of that a little sooner.
If only I wasn't fearing for me life, perhaps I could have thought of that little gem.
Not to mention, on the shelf right above this particular meter is a printed document stating that all meters and strips are NON-RETURNABLE. If you would like to return any meters or strips, you MUST call that 1-800 number.
The irony is baffling.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Kansas Anti-Birth Control Bill
As I was perusing the interwebs last night I stumbled across numerous people complaining about a bill that the state of Kansas just passed concerning birth control.
"I've been on birth control (I chose to) for the last few years. I think it's bulls**t that certain states have laws that allow pharmacists to deny women BCP's if they believe it's immoral. Last I checked this is 2012, not 1960!"
"Controlling birth-control is another way to control women; something our society is very fond of. We're treated like inept children who cannot be trusted to function on their own. I can only get access to 1 month supply's at a time, and one of the arguments is that women might 'over dose' themselves on their BC so we shouldn't be given too many months supply at a time. I wish I was kidding. It's controlling women, controlling our bodies, and owning us. Every woman regardless of opinion on BC should be furious with this."
"So I would be screwed if I lived in the states. I suffer from ovarian cysts and the only thing keeping me from unbearable pain and surgery to remove the cysts or in a worst case scenario my ovaries is the pill."
I feel quite passionate about this bill too, but I am sad that the government feels as though it is necessary. The public looks at the pharmacy and sees it as nothing more than a dispensary. A place to get the medicine that a doctor, PA, nurse practitioner, or dentist prescribed. A place where a pharmacist has no business second-guessing what a health practitioner prescribed for. A place where the pharmacist simply dispenses the medication, and has no emotion or opinion about it.
A pharmacist should be able to question the validity of a prescription. If a patient is constantly refilling medications early, or too late, then maybe they are taking them improperly to begin with. If they are taking numerous medications in the same drug class, that also needs to be looked at. If they are doctor shopping and getting numerous medications, that should be flagged.
I agree that a woman should be able to decide what to do with her own body and should feel free to go wherever she welcomes to receive this treatment. I do not, however, believe that a practitioner should be forced to do something that he or she is uncomfortable with.
From one of the excerpts that I found here:
"I've been on birth control (I chose to) for the last few years. I think it's bulls**t that certain states have laws that allow pharmacists to deny women BCP's if they believe it's immoral. Last I checked this is 2012, not 1960!"
"Controlling birth-control is another way to control women; something our society is very fond of. We're treated like inept children who cannot be trusted to function on their own. I can only get access to 1 month supply's at a time, and one of the arguments is that women might 'over dose' themselves on their BC so we shouldn't be given too many months supply at a time. I wish I was kidding. It's controlling women, controlling our bodies, and owning us. Every woman regardless of opinion on BC should be furious with this."
"So I would be screwed if I lived in the states. I suffer from ovarian cysts and the only thing keeping me from unbearable pain and surgery to remove the cysts or in a worst case scenario my ovaries is the pill."
I feel quite passionate about this bill too, but I am sad that the government feels as though it is necessary. The public looks at the pharmacy and sees it as nothing more than a dispensary. A place to get the medicine that a doctor, PA, nurse practitioner, or dentist prescribed. A place where a pharmacist has no business second-guessing what a health practitioner prescribed for. A place where the pharmacist simply dispenses the medication, and has no emotion or opinion about it.
A pharmacist should be able to question the validity of a prescription. If a patient is constantly refilling medications early, or too late, then maybe they are taking them improperly to begin with. If they are taking numerous medications in the same drug class, that also needs to be looked at. If they are doctor shopping and getting numerous medications, that should be flagged.
I agree that a woman should be able to decide what to do with her own body and should feel free to go wherever she welcomes to receive this treatment. I do not, however, believe that a practitioner should be forced to do something that he or she is uncomfortable with.
From one of the excerpts that I found here:
"No person shall be required to perform, refer for, or
participate in medical procedures or in the prescription or administration of
any device or drug which result in the termination of a pregnancy or an
effected of which the person reasonably believes may result in the termination
of a pregnancy, and the refusal of any person to perform, refer for, or
participate in those medical procedures, prescription or administration shall
not be a basis for civil liability to any person. No medical care facility, medical care
facility administrator or governing board of any medical care facility shall
terminate the employment of, prevent or impair the practice or occupation of or
impose any other sanction on any person because of such person’s exercise of
rights protected by this section."
Basically, from my understanding, it is saying that a medical professional has the right to refuse service to a patient due to their religious and/or spiritual affiliations and beliefs.
Hm. Okay. I understand that aspect of the bill. Freedom of beliefs should be enjoyed by all people.
The only issue that I take with this bill is the "...the refusal of any person to perform, refer for, or participate...."
So a medical professional can refuse the service AND not be obligated to refer the patient who would do such a service? That seems quite childish and unprofessional to me. "I don't believe that what you're doing is right even though it is your choice to make about your own body, so I'm not even going to help you find someone who would. :-P !"
A medical professional is a person who wants to help a patient as much as possible and do what they can to complete such tasks. However, a professional should not feel as though they are threatened of being fired, demoted, or just blacklisted for doing what they feel is right for themselves.
If the bill removed the "referring" clause, I think I could stand behind this idea.
P.S. - I am a female who has been taking oral contraceptives on and off for the past 3 years. I take it for the lovely cramping, acne, and PMS issues (severe depression and anger), as well as a contraceptive. I have taken Plan B before and have no issue providing it to patients.
Please let me know your thoughts.
So much to say!
So many things have occurred since my last posting. I have finished my first year as a pharmacy student. I passed all of my spring semester classes, and was only 0.10 points from making Dean's List. I'm so happy to be done with the year though. Now I get to crochet and read as much as my heart desires!
My school is a tad different than most pharmacy schools. Instead of completing internships and rotations during the summer between school years, we do them during the semester on a designated day. However, we are trying the summer rotations this year. I am completing my retail phase right now and will participate in the institutional phase (hospital) in the fall.
I am with a local, somewhat private pharmacy / knick knack store that has 2 other locations within the state. They cater to a much older crowd, and I like it in a lot of ways because there is not a lot of red tape to go through to do what you feel is best for your patient.
"Oh look, we're running low on [drug]. We'll order some more, but in the meantime give [patient] our last #15 and we'll owe them the rest when it comes in."
No three day loans! You can loan them as much as you want! And the on-orders come every day of the week!
The patients know the technicians and the pharmacists, and will sometimes just stop by to chat. It's truly surreal...
However, given that it is largely populated by the elderly generations, there can be some short fuses for all parties involved. Needless to say one technician is no longer with us in the pharmacy because things became a little too heated.
All that aside, I feel very welcomed into my rotation site. I feel more accepted there in the 2 weeks I've been there than in 10 months at my workplace. It truly makes a huge difference depending on the people that you work with. If I hadn't just received health and 401K benefits at my workplace, I would seriously consider asking to be hired onto my rotation site...
My school is a tad different than most pharmacy schools. Instead of completing internships and rotations during the summer between school years, we do them during the semester on a designated day. However, we are trying the summer rotations this year. I am completing my retail phase right now and will participate in the institutional phase (hospital) in the fall.
I am with a local, somewhat private pharmacy / knick knack store that has 2 other locations within the state. They cater to a much older crowd, and I like it in a lot of ways because there is not a lot of red tape to go through to do what you feel is best for your patient.
"Oh look, we're running low on [drug]. We'll order some more, but in the meantime give [patient] our last #15 and we'll owe them the rest when it comes in."
No three day loans! You can loan them as much as you want! And the on-orders come every day of the week!
The patients know the technicians and the pharmacists, and will sometimes just stop by to chat. It's truly surreal...
However, given that it is largely populated by the elderly generations, there can be some short fuses for all parties involved. Needless to say one technician is no longer with us in the pharmacy because things became a little too heated.
All that aside, I feel very welcomed into my rotation site. I feel more accepted there in the 2 weeks I've been there than in 10 months at my workplace. It truly makes a huge difference depending on the people that you work with. If I hadn't just received health and 401K benefits at my workplace, I would seriously consider asking to be hired onto my rotation site...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Biggest Critic
Tonight was awful. I'm so happy to have a day off tomorrow because I'm in just a... depressed mood about myself. I'm my biggest critic in anything. If I say or do something that I later realize was the slightest error, I will replay it over and over in my head. I guess it's kind of a punishment. I can't ever let anything go, even if it's all fixed and no harm, no foul.
Tonight I worked the troubleshoot queue. A prescription came up that said someone in the pharmacy had called the doctor to alert them of a prior authorization. Okey doke.
I noticed in the rejection that the insurance would pay for #10 in a 30 day fill. Ah, the prior authorization must have gone through! At least they'll cover #10... *checks prescription* Doctor had written for #90?! That must be a typo... *fix to #10 and fill!*
It gets filled. The floater pharmacist verifies and bags it. The patient picks it up and I tell them what the insurance will cover. They say that it's supposed to be a maintenance drug, but whatever. They are pleased with a $0 copay and leave. If that's what insurance will cover, then so be it.
Later on I ask the stable pharmacist about the quantity and dosage and am told that we were waiting on the prior authorization because it is for maintenance. That low dosage is to keep it in their system at all times.
I feel guilty. I feel upset. I feel stupid. I feel like I've let down my pharmacist, the one who depends on me to make their job easier. I've just increased their workload ten-fold. I feel so disappointed.
I call the patient later on when possible and let them know of our mistake. They understand (patients up here seem to all the time... it's quite amazing) and say that they will bring it back so we can resubmit the claim to the insurance for #90.
The pharmacy manager comes by to do some shopping and the whole story is relayed to them. The look of... well... not surprise, because who could be surprised that it was me who released the prescription? Disappointment. Frustration. Exhaustion.
The patient brought it back and we resubmitted it. Now we wait for the prior authorization.
I'm never working the troubleshoot queue again.
However, no one else ever does either. I've never seen other techs working on it. Prescriptions can be stuck in there for an hour if the pharmacist is too busy before it will show up on their screen again....
Yes. Tomorrow's day off cannot come soon enough....
Tonight I worked the troubleshoot queue. A prescription came up that said someone in the pharmacy had called the doctor to alert them of a prior authorization. Okey doke.
I noticed in the rejection that the insurance would pay for #10 in a 30 day fill. Ah, the prior authorization must have gone through! At least they'll cover #10... *checks prescription* Doctor had written for #90?! That must be a typo... *fix to #10 and fill!*
It gets filled. The floater pharmacist verifies and bags it. The patient picks it up and I tell them what the insurance will cover. They say that it's supposed to be a maintenance drug, but whatever. They are pleased with a $0 copay and leave. If that's what insurance will cover, then so be it.
Later on I ask the stable pharmacist about the quantity and dosage and am told that we were waiting on the prior authorization because it is for maintenance. That low dosage is to keep it in their system at all times.
I feel guilty. I feel upset. I feel stupid. I feel like I've let down my pharmacist, the one who depends on me to make their job easier. I've just increased their workload ten-fold. I feel so disappointed.
I call the patient later on when possible and let them know of our mistake. They understand (patients up here seem to all the time... it's quite amazing) and say that they will bring it back so we can resubmit the claim to the insurance for #90.
The pharmacy manager comes by to do some shopping and the whole story is relayed to them. The look of... well... not surprise, because who could be surprised that it was me who released the prescription? Disappointment. Frustration. Exhaustion.
The patient brought it back and we resubmitted it. Now we wait for the prior authorization.
I'm never working the troubleshoot queue again.
However, no one else ever does either. I've never seen other techs working on it. Prescriptions can be stuck in there for an hour if the pharmacist is too busy before it will show up on their screen again....
Yes. Tomorrow's day off cannot come soon enough....
Monday, March 19, 2012
Stupid classes and their stupid requirements...
I am so mad right now. I need to be careful to not write back anything horrendous to the teacher, so therefore, I am going to rant about it instead.
We have internship during the school year. I am with the health department. I have been having a great internship in which I'm involved in numerous different sections of the department and get to see lots of ways we help patients. Awesome. I'm involved in numerous projects and see different things each week. Wonderful.
I have been getting 100s on all of my papers in this class.
Well, for this one paper I wrote how I was "bored" because the preceptor left me alone for half an hour (and really for more like 1.5 hours, but I was being nice) and I had nothing to do. That's because I had finished what they wanted me to do and were elsewhere. I didn't have my computer to work on anything else. What am I supposed to do, start roaming around the hallways or look through their desk to find something else? Umm... no.
Then we had a class where we talked about cultural competency. I got a freakin' 60% on this paper. WTF.
"I am concerned that you were "bored" when your preceptor was not available to you. Perhaps you need to be a little more assertive in finding things to do or explore. Have you had an opportunity to be involved in any of the clinics such as STD or immunization clinics? Your description of Professor ***'s "game" was interesting but [I] would have like[d] to see you explore a bit more of how the concept this [of] game was illustrating may be helpful to you in your practice."
Ok, for one, I have already been a part of the STD and immunization clinics. Did you NOT read my other papers? Another, me writing about how that game presented how people have difficulty communicating and how it can lead to stereotyping and racism should have been all I needed to describe what I got out of the lecture. Being racist and sexist = bad for pharmacy business. Apparently I have to spell it out and make it idiot-proof.
I really want to write a nasty email to this professor. I'm not the first person to get a bad review due to "not being involved" and truthfully writing about how I felt. Others get penalized for writing how they never get any experience with patients, and are told off because "rawr rawr rawr you should be with your patients and be more active in your internship rawr rawr rawr." Apparently I need to badger my preceptors to get them to have me do stuff, even though there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO. I just want to point out her poor grammar and thump her on the forehead. I don't feel that I can say anything though because she will hold a grudge and that will affect my future grades.
We are encouraged to write about our feelings and experiences. And NOT WRITE ABOUT WHAT WE THINK THE TEACHERS WANT TO HEAR. I feel as though I have been lied to.
We have internship during the school year. I am with the health department. I have been having a great internship in which I'm involved in numerous different sections of the department and get to see lots of ways we help patients. Awesome. I'm involved in numerous projects and see different things each week. Wonderful.
I have been getting 100s on all of my papers in this class.
Well, for this one paper I wrote how I was "bored" because the preceptor left me alone for half an hour (and really for more like 1.5 hours, but I was being nice) and I had nothing to do. That's because I had finished what they wanted me to do and were elsewhere. I didn't have my computer to work on anything else. What am I supposed to do, start roaming around the hallways or look through their desk to find something else? Umm... no.
Then we had a class where we talked about cultural competency. I got a freakin' 60% on this paper. WTF.
"I am concerned that you were "bored" when your preceptor was not available to you. Perhaps you need to be a little more assertive in finding things to do or explore. Have you had an opportunity to be involved in any of the clinics such as STD or immunization clinics? Your description of Professor ***'s "game" was interesting but [I] would have like[d] to see you explore a bit more of how the concept this [of] game was illustrating may be helpful to you in your practice."
Ok, for one, I have already been a part of the STD and immunization clinics. Did you NOT read my other papers? Another, me writing about how that game presented how people have difficulty communicating and how it can lead to stereotyping and racism should have been all I needed to describe what I got out of the lecture. Being racist and sexist = bad for pharmacy business. Apparently I have to spell it out and make it idiot-proof.
I really want to write a nasty email to this professor. I'm not the first person to get a bad review due to "not being involved" and truthfully writing about how I felt. Others get penalized for writing how they never get any experience with patients, and are told off because "rawr rawr rawr you should be with your patients and be more active in your internship rawr rawr rawr." Apparently I need to badger my preceptors to get them to have me do stuff, even though there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO. I just want to point out her poor grammar and thump her on the forehead. I don't feel that I can say anything though because she will hold a grudge and that will affect my future grades.
We are encouraged to write about our feelings and experiences. And NOT WRITE ABOUT WHAT WE THINK THE TEACHERS WANT TO HEAR. I feel as though I have been lied to.
Monday, March 5, 2012
A rose by any other name...
I was working on something arbitrary when I overhear this exchange:
Technician: "Yes ma'am, can I help you?"
Lady: *mumble mumble* "Willow bark."
Technician: "I'm sorry, what was that?"
Lady: *mumble mumble* "I'm looking for willow bark...."
Technician: "Umm... Ok. What is their date of birth?"
Funny thing is, you can almost be guaranteed that some child, somewhere, has the name "Willow Bark."
Technician: "Yes ma'am, can I help you?"
Lady: *mumble mumble* "Willow bark."
Technician: "I'm sorry, what was that?"
Lady: *mumble mumble* "I'm looking for willow bark...."
Technician: "Umm... Ok. What is their date of birth?"
Funny thing is, you can almost be guaranteed that some child, somewhere, has the name "Willow Bark."
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