tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post999838775453017878..comments2024-01-31T08:27:22.773-08:00Comments on Your Pharmacist May Hate You: It's Not The Way The Pharmacist Defended A Mistake By Saying "Well, You Know, They Both Begin With H." That Bothers Me The Most About This Story. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-12688834689715362902015-07-21T20:40:12.908-07:002015-07-21T20:40:12.908-07:00I am way late and someone beat me to it. I will p...I am way late and someone beat me to it. I will point out that checkboxes and decision trees are used in many places with equally bad results when used in place of intelligence and experience.Justa Dudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02753773176520974822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-62672824253674949672014-04-30T15:20:58.107-07:002014-04-30T15:20:58.107-07:00Wow I saw someone catch the hydr mistake a few yea...Wow I saw someone catch the hydr mistake a few years back and saw the cyclo mistake too, scary!<br /><br />Smiling: yeah that's the reaction sick people want when they're discussing their misery. Why not grin at the old guy who's asking about the gawdawful side effects of his chemo and smirk at the lady who's describing her hemorrhoids in excruciating detail? I'm sure that'll go over well.<br /><br />If they're gonna mandate a facial expression they ought to go with Bill Clinton's famous I-feel-your-pain concerned frown. I'm imaging training classes and step-by-step instruction: first you lower your eyebrows.... finish with a slight nod. Think I can sell it?Alicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-51948622099402150252014-03-05T09:07:15.565-08:002014-03-05T09:07:15.565-08:00Only coached and counseled? Favorite word for the...Only coached and counseled? Favorite word for the DM here is "retrained". Maybe a Learnet course on smiling is next?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-61221998015806623302014-03-04T07:14:55.714-08:002014-03-04T07:14:55.714-08:00On a more important clinical note:
Last week, our ...On a more important clinical note:<br />Last week, our CVS District Manager sent out a mass e-mail to pharmacists admonishing that we don't smile enough. Those observed not smiling when engaging customers will be coached and counseled (we ain't talking' therapy here). I am at a distinct disadvantage here as my pharmacy school of 22 years ago did not yet have a Smiling Lab. Perhaps a pertinent live CE class?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-66790315663630669222014-02-27T06:27:21.566-08:002014-02-27T06:27:21.566-08:00I used to work for WAG and as previously said,&quo...I used to work for WAG and as previously said,"it is not the same company." After 26 years, I quit because what I see to be happening in that company. They are turning into a CVS wannabe, or maybe they are already there. There is no way to be a responsible pharmacist with all the "programs" they are involved in. Answer the phones, greet customers, answer the questions about sale items on the floor, fill Rxs, oh yeah, don't forget the guy at the end of the counter waiting for his cholesterol check during the 5PM rush. Soooo happy I'm gone. Oh yeah, forgot about being robbed 3 times in 2 months!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-75159600027664687722014-02-26T21:08:33.622-08:002014-02-26T21:08:33.622-08:00We all have to admit that every chain is the same....We all have to admit that every chain is the same. No mention of patient care, only the "scores". We all rush to beat the clock and hope and pray that we have not harmed anyone. There but for the grace of God…...bcmigalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-7376975517671866322014-02-26T10:45:20.221-08:002014-02-26T10:45:20.221-08:00I did seven years as a tech at WAG before I manage...I did seven years as a tech at WAG before I managed to find my out. Everything you said is resonating so hard inside my skull that it feels like I'm back in the store taking more and more crap from corporate. <br /><br />Hired in '06, I distinctly remember a far different company culture. The emphasis was customer service. Being good people. Being knowledgeable, helpful. They say it's what differentiated them from the others. And you know what? It worked. Our loyal customer base was large, friendly, and they bought things by the cartloads and got all their friends and family in on it. We had five permanent techs and 3 pharmacists as part of our rotation, and at 1900 scripts a week, we were comfortable and quite profitable in our district.<br /><br />I don't know what happened in the ensuing 5 years. Before we knew what happened we were down to 2 permanent techs and 1 pharmacist. There were no more than 2 techs scheduled at any time. Gone was the customer service focus, instead forcing us to shove upsellables at any Rx customer regardless of how long that tied things up. I think the biggest surprise was right near the end of my tenure in march or april last year where flu shot quotas were being discussed. No more PMs. I only realized the truth behind what was happening when I started jumping on those like a hobo on a ham sandwich, finally realizing I'd fallen into the corporate soul-sucking vacuum.<br /><br />I hope you find the change you're looking for in the end. Whether Walgreens gets its act together or you ship out, godspeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-45118356789521616082014-02-24T20:45:42.048-08:002014-02-24T20:45:42.048-08:00Mail order pharm that my insurance insists on usin...Mail order pharm that my insurance insists on using for my more expensive meds sent me cyclophosphamide instead if cyclosporine. When I called to report the mistake they tried to talk me into taking it anyhow, since 100 of one is as good as 100 of the other! The next person I talked to lied about having talked to my doc to approve the change, apparently the girl that waters the plants when my doc is out of town "agrees that it's probably ok" to take the pills.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-59767093641245395012014-02-24T17:30:25.063-08:002014-02-24T17:30:25.063-08:00This shows the POWER of Centralization, script typ...This shows the POWER of Centralization, script typed off-site, reviewed somewhere else off site, in store RPH just checking product against leaflet and hopefully counselingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-88325727503555558912014-02-23T23:22:56.718-08:002014-02-23T23:22:56.718-08:00Unfortunately all the chains (CVS, Walgreens, Krog...Unfortunately all the chains (CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Walmart, etc) are all doing the same thing - push the pharmacy to do more, more, more with less, less, less. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-49799601166201741342014-02-23T21:44:28.354-08:002014-02-23T21:44:28.354-08:00A friend of mine just got out of the hospital, bro...A friend of mine just got out of the hospital, brought her prescriptions to CVS...and was given Aricept instead of Abilify. The directions on the script, which was dutifully copied onto the label, said "take daily for depression." my friend is 28. What kind of idiot dispenses Aricept to a 28 year old to treat depression? <br /><br />His response when she went back? "I'm sorry, we were really busy that day."<br /><br />*head->wall*Lexinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-88006433072414001282014-02-23T18:48:40.137-08:002014-02-23T18:48:40.137-08:00There is so much that can be written about Walgree...There is so much that can be written about Walgreens. The company that I've worked for almost 20 years. It's not the same company now that it used to be. I have become an active anti-Walgreens recruiter: no pharmacist I know would want to work for this awful company after speaking with me. And I've worked here for almost 20 years. <br /><br />No excusing errors - or the moron who replies "well, they both start with H", or the bigger moron that talks about a "multi-step process". You know who's checking those prescription? A pharmacist who is being bombarded left and right with questions from management, techs, and customers. Have to acknowledge every customer, "Welcome to Walgreens!", between answering doctor calls. Catch an error? Hell, I'm lucky to catch a bathroom break. I'm usually crossing my legs - it definitely makes it hard to think when you've had to pee for 3 hours. <br /><br />My techs won't ever get paid what they're worth. They won't ever have enough time to get trained. Up in volume? Okay, great! Oh - we're going to cut your budget for next month since you're doing so well...<br /><br />"Do more with less" has become "do more and more and more with less and less and less". My staffing level is about to reach an all-time low, and there's nobody on the floor we can reach out to for help. Did you know that all front end personnel used to be technicians? Might not mean much, but at least they could ask "did you have any questions for the pharmacist" legally. Now my tech has to do it between ringing the other two customers he or she is ringing up. And answering the phone. And typing. And filling. And fixing the printer. <br /><br />Free blood pressure checks! Vaccines! MTM's! <br /><br />And, I kid you not, daily we have 20-30 phone calls to make for late refills, late pick ups, new to therapy... yeah, right. Are you frigging kidding me? <br /><br />I seriously have never been so disenfranchised with a company and worried about the future of it. I honestly feel they're trying to see just how far they can take it before the cost of the errors exceeds the costs they are cutting with staffing, technology, etc. <br /><br />How low can Walgreens go? I guess we all have to wait and see... <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-46292552145156360742014-02-23T17:40:04.774-08:002014-02-23T17:40:04.774-08:00I'm a pharmacist for WAG and the computer aler...I'm a pharmacist for WAG and the computer alerts you to be careful in filling these two medications. A pop up box says something to the effect that hydralazine is for hypertension and hydroxyzine is for itching/allergies. The process works. It wasn't followed. Counseling would have caught it. Cudos to the pharmacist for owning up to the error and contacting the patient, albeit her response was certainly less than stellar. As for corporate response, did you really expect anything different? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-44788134483353847992014-02-23T08:18:36.720-08:002014-02-23T08:18:36.720-08:00I understand that errors happen in a pharmacy, and...I understand that errors happen in a pharmacy, and yes, hydroxyzine vs. hydralazine is asking for trouble, but to tell the person who just got the wrong med "they both start with an H" is boneheaded, tonedeaf, and unacceptable. <br /><br />And unfortunately, only mildly surprising in today's chain environment. The fact people like you are enabling them just contributes to the downward slide in standards. <br /><br />And to brag about your quality control immediately afterwards is even stupider. That is the point of this post. Your reading comprehension... should be better than this.DrugMonkey, Master of Pharmacyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17626504777714043799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-70150620131506759502014-02-23T08:11:42.443-08:002014-02-23T08:11:42.443-08:00Come on. Hydroxyzine vs. hydralazine is very comm...Come on. Hydroxyzine vs. hydralazine is very common. I can't believe that you are ragging on them for a comment reported second-hand. Seriously, the amazing thing is that someone caught it after the drug left the pharmacy without the patient reporting the error. You are better than this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10776815.post-14853107352377674822014-02-23T06:32:01.192-08:002014-02-23T06:32:01.192-08:00"We have a multistep filling process" th..."We have a multistep filling process" that has replaced those pesky, experienced techs and pharmacists with minimum wage yahoos off of the street.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com