Love Being A Pharmacist

The MTM Debate

2012-11-27T13:54:00.003-06:00

I'm usually not one to use my blog to blast anyone or anything, but this has really ruffled my feathers. My company uses a company called Outcomes to file MTM claims. Some of you may be familiar with this company. I recently got "locked out" of my store's account because, and I quote, I was "filing too many of the wrong kind of claims". What, you may ask, are the "wrong" kind of claims? Well according to Outcomes my claims have been "educational in nature and do not significantly effect the patients' outcomes". Again, that is a direct quote from the Outcomes rep that I spoke with. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I can quote several well-known, multi-national studies that have proven beyond a doubt that the pharmacist's role in educating the patient DOES significantly affect the patient's outcome. So, upon informing the rep of these studies I received the following reply. "Well, your claims have to justify our existence to the insurance companies for us to continue to offer this service". Wow! How many of you didn't know that this was the reason for MTM services? Foolish me, I thought the reason for the service was to better the patient's disease outcome through pharmacist intervention. After 30 minutes of debate with this rep, the conclusion was that the only claims they want to see are ones that save them money. They have absolutely NO interest in bettering the patients' outcomes. The only claims they really want to see are things like drugs being discontinued or changed to something less expensive. They hide this fact behind a facade of caring for the patient's financial expenditure, but when I pointed out that most of my patients who qualify for this MTM service are receiving their Medicare Part D plan through state funding and their copays are the same regardless of what they get then the issue of financial expenditure only applies to the insurance company themselves. Now, my main concern for my patients is that they get the best care possible. I am also a strong advocate for giving them the best care at the lowest cost. However, there are situations where lower cost medications have been tried, have failed, and the patient is placed on a higher cost medication that works for them. Outcomes does not want to hear this. They are run by business professionals and not healthcare professionals so they do not understand this concept. All they see is dollar signs. They don't believe that educating patients on proper dosing, proper technique, possible side-effects, monitoring parameters, etc. is of any use. Why they allow for these kinds of claims to begin with is just part of the facade that is erected. File too many of these and you are banned from filing any more. I was informed that I could still file the "right" kind of claim and that if I file enough of those claims then I will be allowed back into the fold. You know what, I don't need Outcomes. I have been caring for my patients for 23 years without them. It would be great to get paid for the interventions that I have been performing for all these years but I will not be part of this farce. Their threat is that if pharmacists don't perform for them then they will start using nurses to do MTMs. Who cares! I will go on doing my job. I will not allow Outcomes, or anyone else, dictate how I care for my patients. What do they expect us to do with those patients who may cost a little more to care for? I will continue to educate my patients because I know it makes a difference. I have seen it with my own eyes. I ran a diabetes education clinic for several years and I saw patients whose blood glucose went from in the 500's down to normal after just a few sessions of pure education. Now that is truly an outcome!

What Keeps Me Young

2012-09-02T13:45:00.000-05:00

One of the things I love most about my job is working with young people. Invariably, the technicians I hire are young, very young. Most of the time they are working as a technician while in school or while trying to decide what to do with their lives. ( I know, and work with some technicians who are "seasoned" and I love working with them as well, but I'm not addressing them right now.) These young people usually have zero experience which alot of pharmacist might consider a negative but I like molding them to my own liking. Call it hubris if you will but I think I do a good job of teaching them. Anyway, working with the youth of today gives me insights into their culture that I would not normally be aware of. I don't have children and even if I did they would be old enough to be pharmacists themselves. I sometimes end up feeling like a mom to these young people. I know I am their boss and they know that I will "take care of business" if I need to, but I tend to be a little more layed-back in my approach to the title "boss". In the words of one of my current 20 year old techs "You don't act like a boss but I still know you are." Many times these young people come to me with things they wouldn't go to their parents about. Some of it is funny, some sad and some concerning but I am honored that they feel comfortable enough to talk to me. It can be anything from how to obtain birth control to writing letters of recommendation for college. Over the years I have seen many of these young people mature into wonderful adults. I see them go to college, get married and have families and I can't help feeling a parental pride. I hope that in some way I have influence them to be the adults they are. I hope they can look back on their lives sometime and remember me with fondness and respect. I know that when I was a 17 year old technician I worked with a pharmacist that influenced me to become one myself. She loved her job and it showed. She also helped me to understand how to get financial aid for college. No one in my family had ever gone to college so we didn't even know such aid existed. This pharmacist was my role model and mentor. She was fresh out of school herself and I thought she was the smartest person I had ever met. I have over the years lost touch with her. She would be in her late fifties by now so she would still be going strong if she is still working. Her husband was an archaeologist, which is unusual so if she's out there she knows who I am talking about. Anyway, back to my own young people. I want them all to know that not only do I want to influence their lives in a positive manner, but that they also influence mine. Working with them keeps me young! It's like having children but only for 8 hours a day. Sometimes some of the things they say makes me feel old, but for the most part I don't. They, of course love to point out how old I am when a song from the 80's plays on the in-store radio and I know all the words. They weren't even born yet. (I don't care what they say, the 80's had the best music!) I love seeing my "kids" get excited over things they are doing or new boyfriends. It also breaks my heart to see them disappointed or devastated by stuff that I know will seem trivial to them later in life. Anyway, this is what keeps me feeling young. Youth itself is the true Fountain of Youth. Youth is contagious so I keep it around.
As a disclaimer: I love all my "older" techs too. "Older" is a relative term so deal with it! Experience techs are a vital part of the pharmacy team and they are greatly valued. Unfortunately they are few and far between. Most of the really good, experienced techs are already working in a steady job and are less likely to apply for another one. That is why I end up hiring really young, inexperience ones so I don't want to see comments about unfair hiring practices. At this moment I am looking at hiring a brand-new, inexperienced tech who is older than me. I don't intentionally look at only the young ones.

Masked Man

2012-05-04T13:18:00.000-05:00

One of the comments on my "Shingles" post asked the question, "Why don't more people wear masks like the sensible people in Japan?" (paraphrased). That made me giggle because my husband wears a mask 24/7. No kidding! He has very bad allergies and cannot take allergy meds. He uses his voice for a living and the meds mess with the quality of his voice. The funny thing is, when he goes out in public he is treated either like a criminal or a leper. Why is that? Even his doctors, who should understand, act like he's trying to hide something. Why is our society so hesitant to accept this? He has been accused of the strangest things! He has learned not to walk into banks or even pharmacies because they think he's there to rob the place! Even pharmacies, where we should be used to seeing sick people wearing masks!!! What's up with that!!! I feel really bad for him. He had a man in a wheelchair challenge him on why he was wearing the mask. He challenged right back as to why the man was in the wheelchair. It shut him up. And it was a challenge not mere curiosity. Children are curios and that's o.k. Anyway, ask yourself, would you be ok with a society where everyone wore a mask?

Shingles!!

2012-04-09T08:23:00.000-05:00

So, I've been dealing with a case of shingles. Anyone not familiar with this can Google it. I strongly believe that administering the shingles vaccine is what led to this. I am immune compromised due to the meds I take for rheumatoid arthritis (Remicade, Imuran, prednisone) and within 6 weeks of starting to administer the shingles vaccine I end up with shingles. I've been on these medications for 3 years now with no adverse events and suddenly I have shingles. It's too coincidental for me to believe it's cause was random. In case your not familiar with shingles in an immune compromised patient, the disease can disseminate causing wide spread consequences. The pain doesn't just stay localized to the rash area, but spreads along all nerve roots on that side of the body. Fun!
My big concern with this happening it that we spend alot of time learning safety measures for administering the vaccine to patients, but very little, if any, time on safety measures for those doing the administering. I have staff members who have never had chicken pox or the vaccine. Are they at risk? We toss the vaccine vial in the trash when we're through with it, but it still contains live virus. How safe is this? What exactly are the risks to the healthcare professional who handles live virus vaccines? Our employers aren't going to address this topic because all they want is for us to sell, sell, sell these vaccines. Is this a legitimate workers' comp claim? Are they going to compensate me for the hearing loss I now have? Should I have known better than to administer this vaccine with my current health issues? Was this really the cause of my shingles? It's not like I experienced a needle-stick, but the event is too coincidental for me to believe otherwise. I am contacting the CDC to see if there is some way to report this kind of event. We use VAERS to report adverse events that patient experience, but I can't find any info on the web site on adverse events experienced by the healthcare professionals. Why is this subject not even addressed by the CDC? We talk about needle-stick injury all the time, but never about virus exposure injury. This subject needs to be addressed. I'm sure I'm not the first healthcare professional to become ill after exposure to a live virus vaccine. Any thoughts on this issue?

PSE Sales

2012-02-24T10:51:00.000-06:00

When I first moved to this area, I saw allergy products on the pharmacy shelves that I had not personally dispensed in years. My first thought was "Oh no" because I suffer from ever worsening allergies. After extensive testing the conclusion was that I'm pretty much allergic to everything. I take more stuff to control my allergies that I do my RA! Anyway, what I'm getting at is that in this area we see ALOT of pseudoephendrine sales. The problem I have is that I would estimate about 90% of them are not legitimate. We now have a state wide, real-time data base that lets us know if these jokers have been buying somewhere else and have reached their limit (its always a suprise to them, huh?). However, where there's a law or a data base there are those that have found a way to get around it. We definitely see smurf parades on weekends especially. Many of us have been placing the most popular pse products out of sight of the public so that if we don't want to sell to someone we can just say we are out of stock instead of getting into a confrontation with them. Our state also just passed a law that says that all pse sales must first have a pharmacist consultation to make sure the product is being used for a legitimate medical purpose. What a joke!! Are they really going to tell us, "Naw, man, I'm going out to your parking lot and cook me up some meth"? So to make things simple we just deny having the product they want. Believe me we err on the side of the patient. I'm sure I have sold to plenty of cookers just so I wouldn't not sell to someone who really needed it. I've actually had people want to buy who had just been on the evening news for getting busted cooking meth (yeah, those I deny out-right). Well, now we are getting pressure from our corporate higher-ups that we have to display these products. They don't want to listen to anything we as front-line pharmacists have to say. Our jobs are actually being threatened over a $7 product! That's how much they value us as professionals. I can understand some of their arguements. The name brand products are contracted to be displayed, but why can't we display an empty box and still hide the stuff? That way we can still deny having it in stock without breaching the contract. Corp's arguement also is that if people don't see the product they will leave and never come back. Oh please! I wasn't born yesterday! We, as the pharmacists, are concerned about safety. We don't want to get into anymore conflicts than we have to. I actually denied pse to a guy, ended up calling 911 because he became violent, it ended in a 3 county high-speed chase with the police, a shoot-out and attempted murder of an officer because the guy had an outstanding warrent for, you guessed it, meth cooking! I'm not sure what kind of world these corporate people think we live in but they really need to get out more. They also need to actually listen to our concerns and take them seriousely. We are not OVER REACTING!!! Personally, I rarely deny a sale anymore. If the data base allows the sale then I let it go. My life is worth more than $7 and there is no way anyone can prove that I knew it was not for legitimate purposes. Hey, junkies get colds too. What I do, however is limit the package size I sell. For some reason I only have the 24 count boxes in-stock. If they want to buy 2 boxes that's ok with me. Our state limits pse purchases to 2 packages per transaction per day and 3 packages total in 30 days. There is a gram limit also but it keeps changing so I'm not sure what it is now, but by selling 2 boxes of 24 they meet their package limit quicker without coming close to the gram limit. My boss is ok with this because 2 boxes of 24 is a bigger sale that 1 box of 48. Everybody's happy. I hate compromise but sometimes ya gotta. I think with pharmacist jobs becoming fewer and harder to get, the corporate world will have more leverage against us. I mentioned to a physician friend of mine the other day that it is really, really tough being an employee but also being a professional. We have two masters we have to please and they don't always agree. I would love to hear some feedback from other states (I'm in Tennessee) about your states' pse laws and how you guys handle this challenge. So many people don't want to see this stuff become rx only but I'm really getting tired of being the gate-keeper for this stuff. I personally hate the "grey area" products that are kept behind the counter but don't need an rx. How many of you feel more like cops than pharmacists?

I'm Back!!

2012-01-27T09:45:00.000-06:00

I know it's been forever since I last posted. For some reason I couldn't access my account but it seems to be fixed now.
The world of pharmacy hasn't changed much since my last post. Unless of course we want to talk about certain large chains and certain large PBMs not getting along. We all know the story. Personally, I can see the point of both parties. However, let's face it, neither party is going to be "ruined" by the decision not to play ball with each other. The ones caught in the middle are the patients. Thousands upon thousands of patients now have to find a new pharmacy. The PBM acts like its no big deal, but it is. I know I have patients that I have interacted with for years that now have to establish a new relationship with a new pharmacist. That can be unsettling. It's not that I'm any better at my job than any other pharmacist, but it's the point that these people have, at times, poured out their soul to me. We have laughed and cried together. I've seen their children grow up and get married and their families have become my patients. Over the last few weeks I have had to say good-bye to patients who have become my friends. They know it's not my fault and I know it's not theirs. We are all caught in the corporate whirlwind of money and greed. Every person I have had to say good-bye to has had the same look on their face. They don't know how to solve the problem, they really don't want to go anywhere else, but they also can't afford not to use their insurance. I know that feeling. I've had to change physicians before due to insurance issues. The medical professionals in our lives create an intimate relationship that a third party shouldn't be able to come between. Whether that third party is the PBM or the corporation who ultimately gets their money.
So, am I upset about the decisions that have been made concerning my relationship with my patients? You're darn right I am! Is there really anything I can do about it? No, there is not! Like my abandoned patients, I will go on to forge new relationships with new patients and, hopefully, since I live in a small town, I will still see the ones who had to leave.

Not My Best Day

2011-10-15T16:38:00.000-05:00

So, as I stated in my last post, I love giving flu shots (or any immunization for that matter). However, on Thursday I definitely had THE worst experience of my career. I had an eleven-year-old try to bite me! I have never seen a child so out of control. At one point he was hissing at me! I actually have shoe scuff marks on the wall of my immunization room that are about four feet off the ground. Now this child is not mentally challenged. He is being treated for ADD but this was something else all together. I refused to help restrain him so his mom and sister did while I took a dive between them and got him in the thigh. It really bothered me! Not because he was being forced to get this shot, because children often have to be forced to get what is best for them. It bothered me because now he will never trust me or another pharmacist again. His mother had to be so "forceful" that I'm sure he had some bruises the next day. That's all I need is for his school teacher to ask how he got those bruises and have him tell her "the pharmacist did this to me". We just aren't trained in how to handle these situations. I personally don't have children and have very little patients for this kind of thing but everyone said I handled it really well. The funniest part was that while this was going on in the shot room there was a lobby full of other people waiting to get their flu shot. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fun. I normally would have given him the Flumist but we have been unable to get any this year. I offered to call other pharmacies to see if anyone else had it but Mom was insistent that I give the vaccine because everyone in the family had come to me and was impressed with how "good" I was. That's nice and I appreciate the loyalty but this was really not pleasant for anyone involved. I have my opinion about why the child acted this way but I will keep that to myself. My whole staff is laughing about it now (as am I) but I really could have done without that experience. It was actually a two day process because he came in on Wednesday and acted this way so Mom took him home. They were back and waiting on me when I got to work the next afternoon. What a way to start a shift!

It's Back!

2011-10-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's back. Flu shot season is upon us. I don't know about the rest of you but I love giving flu shots. I don't know what it is that I love so much but I do. Maybe it's the one-on-one contact with patients. Maybe it's because most of the people receiving them actually want your service (as opposed to that MAJOR inconvenience of our counseling them on a med they've been taking for 20 years). Or maybe it's the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping my community stay healthy thru the flu season. Or maybe I'm just a masochist and like sticking people with a needle, who knows. What ever the reason I love it. I don't love trying to fit it into my work-flow, but I have an awesome staff that makes it run like clockwork so even that isn't too bad. I don't love my company's total, complete concentration on the subject by setting goals and running contests. That kind of thing cheapens the service and takes the professionalism out of it, but what can you do. A corporation is always going to focus on quantity rather than quality. It's up to us as the professionals to put that kind of thing into perspective and coach our staff on proper procedure and not cutting corners just to meet goals or win contests. And, oh yeah, we still have prescriptions to fill so we can't put flu-shot "blinders" on and forget everything else. But taking all of that into consideration, I still love the simple act of sitting down with a patient, talking to them about what they are going to receive then administering the vaccine.

"Whether I like it or not"

2011-08-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago I had two ladies in my store. They were elderly mother and adult daughter. Earlier in the day the daughter had called asking for advise. Her mother had accidentally inhaled one of her oral meds and it had taken quite some doing to get it out of her trachea. She had a persistent cough and the daughter wanted to know what to do. Of course, I advised going to the emergency department as it was a weekend and her MD could not be reached. So she went to the E.R. and was then in my pharmacy to get some prescriptions filled. While I was filling them I over heard them talking. The daughter said," You know Mom, my insurance company wants me to use mail-order but I just don't want to. I want a pharmacist that I can reach anytime and that I can talk to face-to-face. I come to this pharmacy because that pharmacist filling your medication will tell me what I need to hear whether I like it or not." I think that was the single most flattering comment I had ever had made about me. This lady trusted me enough to pay higher copays to use a local pharmacy and she trusted me enough to tell her what she needed to hear not just what she wanted to hear. So many times we deal with people who just want us to agree with them; they don't really want our advise. It's good to know that there are people who respect our opinions and advise. It is very humbling to know that there are people making decisions about their healthcare needs based on the experiences and encounters they have had with me personally. That is why I love this job and that is why I go back day after day and put up with the people who don't respect me. Sometimes it feels like no one cares what you have to say and no one respects you as a person let alone a pharmacist, but every now and then God will bring someone your way to let you know that you are valued and respected and that you are impacting people's lives in a positive way. Watch for these opportunities and hold them dear in your heart.

I Am Amazed!

2011-07-15T10:13:00.000-05:00

It amazes me that in this day and age an employer can have policies in place that deprive their employees of basic rights like freedom of speech. I'm not talking about when they are at work, representing the employer. I'm talking about policies that make it a violation to say anything negative about the company or any of its representatives when the employee is NOT on the clock. That's what my employer does. They make it a violation to speak out against any entity of the company on public forums such as Facebook or blogs like this one. Just how is that legal? If what I'm doing is not illegal then how can my job be jeopardized by what I do outside of work? The policy is mute on the point of positive statements, by the way. It's only negative that they want to control. Well, I'm here to tell you that my opinion is MY opinion and does not represent the opinion of any person or entity of my employer. I have a right to freedom of speech in any form. I think there would be a civil suite waiting for them if they tried to deny me the rights that are given to me by the government of this country. This is not a dictatorship! These so called "media policies" were put in place to protect the company from liable by limiting the statements to the media to those who are better equipped to handle "touchy" subjects, but somehow the policies have morphed into something else entirely. All I can tell my readers is to watch what you post. Most of these policies contain clauses that say if you list your employer, by name, as your employer on your profile (such as Facebook) or have any image that represents your employer (such as pictures taken at work) then you are, in fact, representing that employer with everything that appears on your post. So, I for one, have removed all such images and references from my Facebook page. I refuse to not mention my employer on my blog simply because I post this anonymously and would just like to see them trace this back to me. Plausible deniability anyone?

Ever Want A Re-Do?

2011-06-23T10:02:00.001-05:00

Have you ever thought that you would love to go back to pharmacy school now? Knowing what you do now and not having any of the pressures or worries. I have.
I absolutely love learning and I'll admit I am a bit of a pharmacy nerd. I love reading about pharmacy issues and talking about new things. When I was in school I had alot of pressure and worries both scholastically and financially. I would love to be able to just sit in class and absorb all that I could without the pressure to perform (and compete). It's one of the reasons I am a preceptor because I love having young, ambitious, and somewhat naive students in my pharmacy. It keeps me young I think.
Anyway, back to the question. If you could would you go back to school just for the enjoyment of it? When I asked myself that question the answer was a resounding "YES!". So I thought about how I could do that without actually, physically being in school. My answer was to buy a book that many graduate pharmacists use to prepare for the NAPLEX and do a comprehensive review. In fact the book I bought is Comprehensive Pharmacy Review which is available through APhA or Amazon.com (the price is the same and with the book you get on-line access as well). I bought the book and the practice test book also. I started from page one and it is wonderful. I was transported back to pharmacy school, which for me was over 20 years ago. I was actually surprised at the things I remembered that we obviously don't use every day. The book starts out with calculations and has practice problems at the end of the chapter. I am proud to say I received a 92% on my practice test. I have to admit I became nauseated at the sight of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. For my non-pharmacist readers, that is an equation that was in our faces from day one of pharmacy school and drilled into our heads like it was the answer to life's ultimate question. How many of us have used it since graduating? Yeah, I thought as much.
Anyway, I wanted to throw this challenge out to you all. If you seriously love learning about your chosen profession, do this along with me. I know, I know, I am a pharmacy nerd and I probably don't have a social life, or kids or whatever to take up my time if I have enough time to do this, but it's my thing and I'm excited about it. Maybe part of it is nostalgia and seeing that not much has changed when it comes to the education of our next generation of pharmacists. The basics are still the basics. I does beat sitting in front of the television for hours on end.

Spring Is In The Air

2011-06-02T13:23:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh! Spring! Or if you live in the South, we go directly from winter to summer. It's HOT! Anyway, I haven't posted in quite awhile because I've been so busy. What is it about springtime that makes people move or change jobs? In the last few weeks I've lost half of my technician staff. Luckily, it's all been for good reasons like promotions and college. I had one tech get accepted to pharmacy school. I like to think I was at least a partial influence on that decision. So, I've been busy trying to re-staff. That is so difficult! A good tech is just so hard to replace. We all know how it is; you get so comfortable with a tech that you can anticipate each other's next move. They know what to expect out of the pharmacists and we know what to expect out of them. It's symbiosis at it's best. When in tune we run like a well-oiled machine. Now I have to replace some of that machine's parts. The whole training process starts all over again. Fortunately, word got out that I needed techs and I have had a flood of phone calls from other stores' techs that have had their hours cut, so I have a good pool to pull from. So, that's what I've been up to not to mention some physical ailments that have been taking up my time. I'll try to post again soon, but for all my readers, I just wanted you to know that I'm still here. I spend alot of time reading other blogs as well. So, everyone have a great spring!

Respect Our History

2011-05-02T10:44:00.000-05:00

This is a short post with just some observations I gained while at a C.E. conference this weekend. It was great, by the way. One of the universities in our state has a twice yearly continueing education seminar that gives us all of our required C.E. for the year. Anyway, as I looked around the room there were approximately 200 people there. They ranged from pharmacists to pharmacy students to technicians and they represented all types of practice areas. I saw people there from their mid-twenties clear up to pharmacists in their nineties and I realised that this was a picture of our profession. We have bright new minds and we have long standing experience. Personally, I have to admire any pharmacist who hasn't practiced in 30 years but still attends continuing education seminars and is still active in the profession in other capacities.
One thing that bothered me was that, as I sat there waiting for the program to begin, I overheard some young people behind me ridiculing and making fun of an elderly pharmacist who looked to be in her 80's or 90's. Of course, they weren't doing it to her face, but to me it was pure disrespect. That woman represented at least 60 years of history and experience in our profession. I can't even imagine the hurdles she had to overcome as a woman trying to make it in a man's world when she was younger. I wish I would have had the time to sit and talk with her; possibly glean some wisdom. I mean can you imagine the changes she has seen in this profession in her lifetime?! I know that in the 23 years that I have practiced there have been enormous changes. Some good, some not so good, but massive none the less.
I want to say to those young people that time flies when you're in this game. Soon there will be new grads looking at you like you're their grandparents. Respect your elders in this profession because if it weren't for them and their hard work, you wouldn't be making the big bucks right now. Learn what you can from them as long as they are around. If nothing else, grow up!

Loyalty Rant

2011-04-17T16:18:00.000-05:00

Recent events at my pharmacy have had me thinking about loyalty. What it is, what it isn't and how it has changed over the years.
I can remember my dad talking to me about loyalty to my employer. He said that loyalty is a one way thing. It's something I show toward something or someone else. It's not a two way deal where I'll be loyal but only if you are loyal to me. Or I'll be loyal until you tick me off. That is not loyalty; that is performance based acceptance which is totally different.
I guess the reason loyalty to employers has declined is that most people these days work for a corporation that has no "face" to it. It's much easier to be loyal to someone you can see, interact with and voice yourself to. Why is it harder to be loyal to corporations? Well, corporations are big and by being big they employ a large number of people who all have to be treated the same. That means we usually aren't treated like individuals or recognized for individual performance. The person who constantly calls off work is treated the same as the person who always shows up, that sort of thing. Corporations have lots of "management" who really are impotent when it comes to addressing your concerns. They may boast an open door policy for voicing concerns but they don't guarantee that any of the concerns will be recognized or taken care of. But, still, are these good reasons to drop any loyalty toward your employer? What about loyalty to the actual people you work with. No, they don't have any effect on your paycheck but what about loyalty for loyalty's sake. Why are so many people in the workforce only looking for what the employer can give them rather than just doing their job. I figured out a long time ago that the only thing my employer owes me is a paycheck at the end of two weeks because I had worked for it. I'm loyal to my employer because I'm grateful to have a job in this economy. I may not always like how individuals in my company do their jobs or I may not agree with decisions that are made, but I remain loyal because I'm not a quitter. I hung my hat here, so to speak, and I'll stay.
You are probably wondering why I'm going on about this topic. Well, I have recently been stung a few times by lack of loyalty on the part of some of my staff. For example, I needed a Senior tech and I knew of one at another store who was not getting the opportunity that she wanted, so I asked to have her transferred to my store. She did so and I set about augmenting her knowledge of procedures that was lacking in her previous training. I gave her encouragement and opportunity,but how was I repaid? She was stealing me blind on hydrocodone! I felt betrayed. You may say that she had a problem and I agree. She has a bigger problem now because she will never set foot in a pharmacy again. Okay, so we don't count her. Her addiction was overriding her loyalty to me; got it. The next example is a technician who I also gave opportunities to who previously did not have said opportunities. She used our company resources and time to become certified. The company paid for her classes and for her exam. How did she repay that generosity? As soon as she became certified she took a job with an insurance company doing prior authorizations. Oh, she still wanted to work for us but only one day a week. That, my friend, is ingratitude! It made me look bad because I recommended her to the program. So not only did she display a lack of loyalty toward my company but also toward me personally! Don't get me wrong, I can't blame anyone for wanting a) to get out of retail if they can and b) get more money if they can, but decency would tell you to give some time to the company that got you into the position you are in. Without them you wouldn't qualify for the new job in the first place. If it were up to me, I would slap her with a bill for the price of the classes and the exam. If it were a pharmacist who had done this, they sure would be.
I guess it all comes down to selfishness. It's not all about me. Look around at the people you work with. Even if you don't care for that person they are still your comrade. They are still on the same side of the counter as you are. That big corporation that you may work for is made up of individuals. They are the ones that deserve your loyalty. Be grateful for what you're given. Not just a paycheck but things that are harder to measure like experience, opportunity, and trust. And most of all, don't ever get the attitude that just because you show up your employer owes you anything but a paycheck. Everything else is out of the goodness of their hearts (even if they don't have one).

One Of My Favorite Things

2011-03-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

   I think one of my favorite things about my job is working with young people who are either in pharmacy school or considering pharmacy as a career. The pharmacy students usually still have that warm fuzzy feeling about "helping people" which is refreshing (although sickening at times). They are young and bright and they keep me on my toes. I love theses people and I love being part of their education and shaping. In our area we have three pharmacy schools so I see alot of students. I'm also not stupid enough to think that I can't learn something from them.
   I also like finding young people to work in my pharmacy who are considering pharmacy as a career. I purposely look for this when interviewing for a technician spot. The one thing that has helped me the most in my career is that I worked in a pharmacy in some capacity since I was 13 years old. I knew what I was getting into when I headed off to university. Once there, my experience in a compounding pharmacy helped with my compounding lab and my calculations classes. I met many, many students who didn't have a clue what pharmacy was all about. They just knew that pharmacists made good money. Or I met the ones who didn't really like to work with people and they thought that pharmacy was a good choice. All they knew was that they could study lots of chemistry. I'm not sure what they were thinking they would be doing when they graduated. There are only so many research jobs available, you know. Anyway, working in a pharmacy is a great way to see if this job is for you. I like to think I'm a good influence on their choice because over 20 years later I'm still enthusiastic about this profession.
   However, I have had a disturbing trend lately. Every one of my "candidates" have decided that they don't want to do what I do every day. I think that's good in a way because it's better to find out now than after 6 years of study and thousands in student loans. Of course, each one has had different reasons for not wanting to pursue the career. I've had ones that just didn't want to make that much of an effort to study. That's great because they would make pharmacists who don't want to work. I get that. I've had ones that decided they would rather be medical doctors. That's great too, although I always point out to them that medical isn't better than pharmacy, it's just different. They still can learn alot by working in a pharmacy; like understanding what pharmacists can contribute to patient care.
The ones that really bother me are the ones that choose not to go into pharmacy because they hate working retail. That's the one I don't understand. Oh, don't get me wrong, I understand not liking retail, but that's only one aspect of pharmacy. Not to mention that your role as the pharmacist is vastly different than your role as a cashier or technician. I also see a huge difference in my job and my profession. I can use my profession to influence my job and the atmosphere in which I work. That's up to me. So, I guess I just can't figure out where I'm failing these young people or where I may be misrepresenting my profession. Maybe I'm just in a slump right now, I don't know. I just really want to get the message out that pharmacy is a great and noble profession. It is worth the time, money and effort to become one of us. Retail is not the worst thing in the world and it's not the only choice you have. It was my choice, but then I'm a people person and I've grown a pretty thick skin over the years.
   So, please, if you're considering pharmacy, just step back and take an unbiased look at the profession. Try to get a look at other aspects like hospital or consulting. I was fortunate. I worked hospital, retail and nursing home consult before and during pharmacy school. Try to get a well rounded, full aspect view of this wonderful profession before making your decision. If you're already in pharmacy school and you really, really don't like what you see in this profession, then leave now. Don't rack-up those student loans just to work in a job that makes you miserable. Believe me you will take it out on your patients even if you don't mean to. If you're already in school and you like what you see I welcome you to this profession with open arms. My best advise is to be flexible and open to change. Because this profession changes more rapidly than we realise and being open to change makes you a valuable asset to any company and makes your life a whole lot easier.
   If you're a pharmacist out there that has students or would-be students pass through your stores, do your best to put a good face on what we do. It's easy to get negative in this business. We often feel abused and taken advantage of. When this happens your attitude is what will be the lasting impression for these young people. The patient that yelled at you can be gone for hours, but if you keep ranting about it it makes the experience last a whole lot longer than it needed to. Shake it off and teach your students that this kind of thing can be survived and that how you handle it can influence the rest of your day either for the better of for the worse. We are the face of pharmacy and we can make a difference.

Desturbing Trend

2011-02-20T16:21:00.000-06:00

I wanted to comment on a disturbing trend I've noticed lately. I get alot of "floater" pharmacists through my store due to vacation coverage and whatnot. Many of these are young, newly licensed pharmacists. The trend I'm seeing is young, mostly male pharmacists who are treating their job as if it is just a spring-board to something bigger and better. I see them spending a majority of their time at work on the phone "workin' a deal" of some kind. I've even seen them bring their lap-top to work so they can work their on-line business in their "spare" time. It just amazes me! I spent six years in school to become a pharmacist. That's what I wanted to be when I was done. Most of these guys are talking about owning or working a business from their computers so that they can do what? Sit around all day on the computer? Uh, we do that anyway (minus the sitting part). They say they want to spend a few years in pharmacy and make enough money to quit and do something else. I don't know what kind of money they think we are making. I mean I know it sounds like alot to a starving college kid, but when you factor in taxes and life in general, we do o.k. but not much past that. I guess it just disturbs me that their focus is not on pharmacy as a profession but as a tool for something else. Where is the pride in that? Obviously these guys had someone else pay for their education, because if they have student loans then that is just one more factor in when they can "quit and do something else". Some could argue that it's no different than the women that only work a few years then quit to have babies, but somehow I see a difference there. It's a sacrifice rather than a selfishness, maybe.
I don't know. I just really had to comment on this trend. For someone who loves being a pharmacist regardless of all the negativity out there, it's just disturbing. I almost feel like I have an enemy in the camp. We spend so much of our time defending what we do as a profession then we have these young people coming right into our midst and under-mining our work. I wouldn't consider someone a professional if, while filling my prescription, they were working a deal on the phone to sell their brand of energy bars (true case). Not only is this a conflict of interest by selling product similar to that of you employer's but it is stealing. Yes, I said stealing. When you are paid to do a job and you spend your paid time doing something else, that is stealing. If you paid a babysitter to watch you kids and she spent the entire time in bed with her boyfriend, would you feel like paying her? It's called Self Interest and it takes the care out of health care.
Maybe this is just a trend in my area, I don't know.

Here We Go Again

2011-02-03T12:03:00.000-06:00

Here we go. My store was robbed again on Tuesday. Thankfully no one was hurt. That makes twice in less than four months. I practice in a very small town so if we are having this much trouble I can only imagine what it's like in larger cities. Over the years I have seen this job become more and more dangerous and most people have no idea. I have always said that this job is 90% law enforcement only we don't get to carry weapons or wear body armour. At what point are the corporations going to add more safety precautions to our stores? We have counseling windows that are so low that anyone can jump across them with no difficulty. Why do they have to be so low? When I posed that question to my superior I was told that they have to be handicapped accessible. Uh, if someone is in a wheelchair I can easily leave the pharmacy to counsel them face-to-face, I don't have to do it at the designated window.
I know I'm rambling but I am very concerned about this. The perpetrator came to the window and handed the technician a note that said, "We can do this the easy way or we can do this the f**ing hard way!" The tech gave the note to the pharmacist who proceeded to give the guy what he wanted. This was a real threat even though a weapon was not produced. The guy left with no further difficulty. Then my company steps in. They didn't close the pharmacy or allow the staff to go home to recoup. So, it's the first of the month, busy as all get out and my staff pharmacist is having to talk to the police in-between counseling and filling prescriptions! At no time was it even offered to my staff to take a break or go home all together. Then the real kicker is that I, as Pharmacist-in-Charge, was not even notified that this had happened. I was off that day and no one bothered to call me. I didn't find out until the next day when I went to work. I'm a little upset about this situation as you can tell. My staff were courageous and handled this situation with poise and professionalism. My company on the other hand left alot to be desired.

The Results Are In!!

2011-01-22T13:18:00.000-06:00

After many responses to my last post, the results are unanimous: Certified Pharmacy Technicians are healthcare professionals. Everyone pretty much has the same opinion that if the job requires specialized training, education and licensing then it qualifies as a profession. I was not surprised by the results. That being said, I have to denounce Walgreens for making their technicians work as cashiers on Thanksgiving and Christmas. They would not have gotten away with asking the pharmacists to do the same. I have also seen a marked change in attitude toward my technicians ever since. The rest of the front-end staff is treating them like "hey, if you can do my job I'm sure that I could do yours just as easily". This practice devalued my staff in the eyes of other employees and store management. I'm not saying that the techs are personally better than the front-end help but I am saying that they are professionally better and should be treated as such. I know it's a mute point because starting this year all Walgreens pharmacies will be open so the techs will have to work the holidays, but at least they will be doing "techy" things instead of selling cigarettes. And at least they will have more than 2 weeks notice that they will have to work..unlike last year.
I want to extend a huge thank you to all the technicians out there who acted as team players and did their best in the position they were placed in. This in itself proves that you are consummate professionals! You make me proud every day that I work with you. I know that this blog is anonymous but my "thank you" goes out to not only my own staff but all the hard working technicians across the country (and elsewhere). We cannot do our jobs without you nor do we want to try!
My state is implementing a law this year that will require all technicians to be certified. That tells me that even the state board recognizes that the job requires special training and dedication which is the hallmark of a professional!!

Update and Question For The Masses

2011-01-04T09:44:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't posted much recently. With the onset of colder weather, I am struggling with worsening rheumatoid arthritis. Typing is difficult. Working is difficult. Being patient with my patients is difficult. Being patient with my employer is most difficult. In an industry where speed is valued over anything else, there isn't much room for someone who has difficulty moving quickly or needs help getting lids off bottles. Luckily, I'm a good manager and my store is doing well enough that some of my short-comings are over looked.
The question I wanted to pose to the masses is this: Are certified pharmacy technicians considered healthcare professionals? I want to state right away that my answer to this is a resounding "YES"! However, I think there are some employers who do not agree. My company made the decision several weeks ago that if a technician worked in a store that had the pharmacy closed on Thanksgiving or Christmas, that the technicians had to work one of the holidays as a front-end cashier. What kind of message did that decision send to these valued employees? It said, "We don't think of you as healthcare providers. We don't care that you already had plans made for your holidays (the decision was passed down a mere 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving). We don't care that you had to study and pass a certification exam. On these days you are no different than the unskilled, minimum wage cashiers that we employ." Now the next question is: What message did this decision send to the customers of the store? Many of these customers were regulars to the store. They saw their pharmacy technician behind the front counter selling cigarettes. That, in my eyes, was the wrong message to send. The techs had no choice in this but yet their reputation as a caring healthcare professional was tainted by this decision made by some out-of -touch corporate flunky who was probably trying to impress someone. And who didn't have to work the holiday himself. Not to mention the fact that because it was a holiday everyone that worked was getting paid double-time. I don't know, I'm not a business major, but that math doesn't add up to me. Minimum was vs. CPhT wage? Hmmmm!
Anyway, I would like to hear some thoughts on this subject. I actually had one of my best technicians quit over it. She went to work for a PBM where she has a cubical, a desk and an hour lunch break. She evaluates prior authorization requests. It sounds to me like she made the right decision, don't ya think? Let me hear from you on this. I would like to know if any other companies made such a stupid decision to try and alienate some of their most valued professionals.

Christmas Greeting

2010-12-23T10:55:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to post a short one this time to wish all my readers a very merry Christmas. Please remember why we celebrate this day and give thanks for our Father's everlasting Gift. May you all have a beautiful time with your loved ones. Appreciate them while you can.
Thanks for all the support I've received in the short time I've been doing this. I'm learning so bear with me.
Have a safe and happy New Year!

T'is The Season!

2010-12-11T14:44:00.000-06:00

Ah! Christmastime in retail! The most wonderful time of the year. I know alot of my colleagues who hate this season. They've been jaded by years of seeing Christmas "stuff" on sale since October, have had it in their "back rooms" since July, and have been inundated by Christmas music on the in-store broadcasting system since the day after Halloween. I used to be like that. In fact, I spent years not "doing Christmas" at my house because of it. I don't have children so I could get away with it and Santa wouldn't put me on the bad list. But then I made a decision. I decided that I would not allow corporate, retail America to spoil my celebration of this most wonderful season! This season (not just one day) is a celebration of the birth of Christ! Our God loved us so much (and still does) that He sent His Son to us! Christ loved us so much (and still does) that He stripped Himself of all the glory, riches and honor of life with the Father to come into this world! He started life on Earth as we all do and from that lowly position He became hope for this world! What's not to celebrate! So I do "do Christmas" at my house now. I put up the biggest tree I can find and I load every branch with as many lights and ornaments that I can find! Each ornament I place in praise of a most generous and loving God. Each gift I give is a mere representation of the Gift I was given! I sing along to our in-store broadcasting system because even secular songs are joyous because they celebrate this season!
So, to all you Scrooges out there, make your own decision. Don't allow corporate America to steal the joy from this season. We live in a wonderful country that has turned Christmas into a money-making season, but at least we can celebrate the birth of Christ without threat of imprisonment or death. There are many, many countries around the world where Christians have to celebrate in hiding. We live in one of the greatest countries on Earth, where we can celebrate openly and where our freedom of speech allows us to write blogs such as this. I am truly grateful to my God for what He has given to me. That is why I now celebrate, fully, totally and completely at my house!
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. May God bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you! Merry Christmas!

Patient vs. Customer

2010-11-23T16:46:00.000-06:00

I've been doing alot of thinking lately about what constitutes a patient and what constitutes a customer. The easy answer is that a patient is someone in need of medical assistance whereas a customer is just there to buy something. Easy, right...or is it? Patients buy medication so that makes them a customer as well. Should we include a caveat that says they are only considered patients if they are obtaining the medication for "legitimate" use? I know, we're only supposed to be filling the rx if it's for legitimate use but we are in the real world not FDA/DEA-land where everything is black or white. When there are drugs on the market such as Suboxone that are obviously for questionable patient to begin with, things get more into the grey area.
What about people buying OTC products and asking your advise: patient or customer? How much time do we spend on this transaction? We all have encountered the "patient" who asks us a question about an OTC product and they only want us to agree with them they don't really want our advise. Our time is money. Do we waste time on these people or cut it off quick. They are, after all, only making a purchase of a few dollars anyway.
How about the person on the other end of the phone, who doesn't fill their prescriptions with you but their pharmacy is closed/mail-order and they just have to ask this question now? About 30 seconds into the conversation you realise that they don't want to hear what you have to say, they just want to argue or they just want to talk. Once again, our time is money. Lately, I really don't have patients for these "patients"! I really don't have patients for these calls when I have people standing in line waiting for counseling on the rx that I just filled and they just paid for.
I think as pharmacists we have given away our information for far too long. I know it started out as the mom and pop stores that knew all of their patients by name and were neighbors with most of them. Of course you'll give your neighbor advise for free when it's needed. Then this morphed into pharmacists working for corporations who used this free advise to "draw customers in". It was a form of public relations in both cases. These days with everybody and their brother on some kind of drug do we really need this kind of P.R.? The demand for our services is such that we should no longer have to give it away. The question is how do we change? After decades or even centuries of free advise how do we start charging? How do we set a price tag on our knowledge? Obviously the MDs have figured it out. Who will be the first pharmacist to say "You don't get your prescriptions filled here so I will not answer that question until you give me your credit card number."? The computer help desks do this why can't we?
So let me know how you classify a patient vs. a customer. I would really like to know. As for me, I'll continue giving away my knowledge because that's what my employer demands of me, but I won't like it and if it's not life-threatening, I may tell them to call their own pharmacy. I don't care if it is mail-order and you have to be on hold forever!

Medicare Part D Rant

2010-11-13T11:40:00.000-06:00

OK, its that time of year. I'm not talking about open enrollment; I'm talking about the time of year when a larger majority of Medicare Part D recipients enter the dreaded "donut hole". I agree that its probably the most asinine way to manage this system and I really can't understand the concept, but its there and we have to deal with it. My biggest gripe about it is the people that act totally, completely surprised that there even is such a thing. Where have they been to not know about this? They act like the government is personally attacking them or, better yet, that the pharmacy is just trying to screw them. The majority of these recipients are over the age of 65 correct? Do they not remember the time before Medicare Part D when they had to pay full price for their meds every time? I mean, for God sake, I can remember when this plan started! Why can people not be grateful for what they have received instead of complaining about what they think they deserve? I guess I just don't get it. I really think that part of the problem is that they don't realise how much their drugs normally would cost when they only have to pay $1.10 all year. Maybe we should start having our technicians point out to them how much their insurance saved them each time they check-out. Even my grocery store does that! Maybe it would make our patients a little more grateful. Not to mention the fact that they still get a discount even in the donut hole, its just not what they are used to. Every now and then I run into someone who gets it and is happy to hand over whatever money they have to because they either know how important the drug is to their health or they realise that things could be a lot worse for them without this insurance. Even when I point out to most patients that when they enter the donut hole they will get a $250 rebate check from Uncle Sam, they are still pissy with me. I had one lady say "If they are going to treat me this way then I guess I just won't take my medicine and die!" What is that about? Who are the mysterious they and how is dying going to teach them a lesson? I guess it just frustrates me because I do realise how much my insurance saves me. I personally use one medication that would cost me over $4000 per month if I didn't have insurance. And I take alot more than just one medication. Ingratitude annoys me. I can handle when people are not grateful for my services, that's just part of the job, but to not be grateful for a system that saves you hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month is crazy and more than a little selfcentered.
On a more positive note I do encourage my patients to be, well...patient. The donut hole is going to close eventually. Also, this time of year, don't have them buy a 90 day supply when the plan year will start over at the first of the year. I also use this opportunity to teach them about their formulary and making sure they give a copy of it to their doctor. Let's face it, most drugs have a less expensive alternative. That's what formularies are all about. The docs are going to write for whatever drug they have samples for, and we all know that this translates into whatever drug is newer and more expensive. I mean really, do you have to give your patient Seroquel just because they don't sleep well?
That brings me to another point. I would love to have a law passed that says the docs have to put on the rx what its being used for. Not only would it help us with proper counseling, it would help us to ascertain it there is a less expensive alternative that we could "lobby" the doc for. I think this may be a law in some states (California maybe?). With so many drugs being used off-label we often have a guessing game on our hands when counseling. How many of you have counseled a patient receiving Metformin that it is used to lower blood sugar, just to find out they are using it for poly-cystic ovarian disease? I have a doc in town who is prescribing Victoza for weight loss!! If the state boards think counseling is so important then how about making it easier for us to do it more effectively. How many times have you counseled someone on a med and they had no idea what they were taking it for? What did they go to the doc about anyway?
Well, enough of my ranting. I do make a point of kindly pointing out how much a patient's insurance is saving them when they complain about prices. I personally remember a time before rx insurance and I believe that the advent of insurance is what has driven prices so high. , but that's a subject for another post.

Why Are We In Such a Hurry?

2010-10-30T12:33:00.000-05:00

That's the question for this post. Why are we in such a hurry all the time? Somehow we have been brain-washed into the mentality of "fill it quick"! Why does a prescription have to be filled so fast? Well, some might say its because the patient is waiting and they don't feel well. OK, I can sympathize with the not feeling well patient, but how long did they spend at the doctor's office? I can bet it was more than 5, 10 or even 15 minutes, so I'm not really buying that one. Others will say, that the sooner they get their meds the sooner they will feel better.That is such a load of crap! Most "sick" patients are getting antibiotics which, I believe I remember from school, don't work instantly. Yes, these patients may be getting cough syrup or anti-nausea meds which will make them "feel better" but a few extra minutes of suffering isn't going to kill them. A miss-fill just might! The other patients are the ones in pain. I agree, they need pain relief, but honestly when you're hurting badly enough the prescription could be filled in record time and it wouldn't matter. In that situation, five minutes fells like an hour. The sick or in pain patients I really do sympathize with but why do we rush ourselves with the prescriptions for chronic meds or refills? I have actually seen pharmacists and techs in such "hurry-up mode" that they were out of breath! AND THEY WERE WORKING ON REFILLS THAT HAD BEEN PHONED IN!! There is something seriously screwed-up with that. How did we get to this point?
I believe that this "hurry-up" mentality has seriously undermined the credibility of this profession. We complain about our patients having a fast-food attitude with us, but we encourage that very attitude every time we rush to get a prescription filled just because the patient complains about our wait-time or threatens to go somewhere else. We cave in, no one forces us to! Why is that? Is it because we know we can speed it up if we need to? Are we afraid they will go somewhere "faster"? We have been pressured by the patient and our employers to work faster and faster. And, like the good little worker-bees that we are, we have complied, but at what cost? There is a price paid for this by the patient and the employer if there is a miss-fill, we all know that, but considering the volume we do that is really rare. But, if you really think about it, we pay a price every day, every hour and every minute that we press ourselves to perform faster and do more. Our profession pays a price in respect and image when we become so performance oriented. It needs to stop!!
With all of that said, I personally maintain a wait-time of under 10 minutes on average. I can do this without the stress of being in a rush for the most part because I have trained my staff to be efficient rather than fast! I have worked in high and low volume stores and I can say I have never felt rushed or over-whelmed. I maintain efficiency by not allowing things like cell-phone, facebook, twitter, blogging, e-mail or long personal phone calls to steal my time. I'm there to work not to socialize and I'm sure my employer agrees. I see pharmacists that waste their time on stuff like this and then wonder why they are so far behind. They usually try to blame it on not having enough staff or they try to blame it on the staff. That's usually when I drop the bomb of being able to breakdown the wait-time indices to see where the delay has occurred. I've also gone so far as to watch security videos to see who is doing what and when. That's sneaky but sometimes necessary. After all, I work with the same techs as all my other pharmacists to so I know what is possible if we just stay focused. Do you remember freshman chemistry when they taught us about the rate-limiting step in a chemical reaction? Well, I've always thought of the pharmacist as the rate-limiting factor in filling a prescription. Nothing can leave the pharmacy until it passes through me (our work-flow makes it pass through us twice), so I control how fast or slow things get done. When I am steady and unstressed so are my staff members. That trickles down into their demeanor with the customers. How the customers are treated ultimately results in a better experience for them, they are willing to wait for their prescription and they are more willing to return. So building our business is not all about speed (which some say equals convenience).
So, my friends, slow down, take a breath (or bathroom break) and enjoy yourselves. Be at peace and create a peaceful atmosphere by not rushing yourself or your staff. They will love you for it, they will enjoy their work and your patients will be well taken care of and want to return. Just remember: YOU ARE IN CONTROL!!

Aftermath

2010-10-25T16:30:00.000-05:00

My last post was about my getting robbed at my store. Apparently, Opana ER is the new Oxycontin out on the streets. I thought I was up-to-date on that stuff but this one slipped by me. I guess because I refuse to stock Oxycontin, I was unaware of the change over to a new marking on the tablets that make them not as valuable on the streets. Its just too bad that Opana has to have such a unique shape. There are times when I wish all drugs were "round, white pills". Other times I don't. Like when patients don't know the names of their drugs or why they take them.
Anyway, you would not believe the grief I'm getting for how I handled the robbery. Everyone has an opinion about what I should have done. It ranges from knocking the guy over the head with something to refusing to hand over the goods to telling him that I didn't have what he was asking for. I had one person say that the pharmacists are the problem and that if we didn't give up the drugs so easily there wouldn't be so much junk on the streets. All I have to say to that person is that the next time someone robs me I'll give the robber their address and tell him they have plenty of what he wants! I'm really! Why in God's name would I risk my life for an inanimate object? I hope I'm worth more to this world alive than the drug is with me dead. And what exactly was I supposed to hit this guy over the head with? My spatula perhaps? Telling a lie about what I have in stock isn't real brilliant either considering the doors to my "safe" are glass and all the guy had to do is look for himself.
Luckily, my company says I handled it by the book. In fact they say I could write a training program on how to handle robberies. So, for once they're on my side.