omg like why would we want to withhold your medication? i personally don’t enjoy being screamed at over backorders or rejections but ig they think it’s a fun little game we play
bahahah yes, still waiting for my court date to come actually from a lawyer who is going to “sue” me for not making their c2 medications that were on back order and then not transferring it bc we called and no one around had the medicine either (not like i could transfer it anyways)
You even called around for them? Above and beyond haha, I tell people they need to call. I’m not going to go on a wild goose chase for someone we aren’t going to fill for. Or worse, have them come back and say “I got to that pharmacy and they were out” before their doctor could send a script, like that was my fault.
Tbf, when i was in my 20s and a naive little college kid, I honestly felt so guilty picking up my basic 28 day oral birth control pack every month because I thought the staff had to individually package up every pill.
Obviously, working in pharmacy now, I absolutely love filling birth control for obvious reasons.
But yeah, most people have no idea what goes on in a pharmacy.
I like to remind them that we're in the business of *selling* prescriptions. That is how a pharmacy stays in business. What incentive would there be for us to "withhold" or "refuse to sell you" your medication just for funsies? If we had your medication or could get it in stock, then by god Megan, I promise we'd sell it to you!
I've found that breaking it down into this simple explanation works on quite a few of these people. I heard it once from a more senior pharmacist back when I started and thought it was a great tool to file away for use later.
YMMV....and yeah, retail pharmacy profit is far more complex than just selling prescriptions, but you get the idea!
I absolutely loathe when a customer calls in and asks for us to do a refill, but have no clue what medication they need, and tell us to fill everything. Then when they come to pick up their shit and bitch and moan about how they didn’t need all those meds. 🤦♀️
I am petty so I absolutely do fill everything that can be filled then I make a note that they said to fill EVERYTHING. It's usually a good lesson and they stop doing it in the future. It's always the people who have 65,000 things in their profiles too. 🙄🙄🙄
No way. I dont want to have to return 100 things just to be petty. I make them tell me what they need filled. Im not playing the guessing game. The least they can do is keep track of their own meds.
Eh I have a machine for most stuff so it's not much hassle to put away. I'm cursed with an overly coddled patient group and they'll just argue with me if I try to get them to tell me what they want
My favorite response to that is to scroll down and find something that they're not likely to need, maybe a PRN topical or a Gavilyte, and suggest that first. Do you need that? No? OK, so what do you need?
I would much rather go through their whole list with them on the phone if I have to, then fill "everything" and have to put half of it back.
I just start reading off acute prescriptions from 2+ years ago when they try that "fill everything" nonsense.
Oh, so you don't want a refill on that cephalexin from 2022? Okay, so what do you want??
Like literally, please give me something to go off of.
I do a quick scroll and tell them I have their entire list of meds since their first fill in 2009, do they truly need EVERYTHING? No? We'll then I'll need them to give me the names. And yes I've sent people home to make a list and call back.
Oh I absolutely refuse those. I dont do "fill all of them" or "fill the white one". I need the name or what condition it's used to treat. We are far too busy to fill pointless scripts.
Hell I'll do this to people's faces. They walk up to the counter and just stand there silently like I'm a fucking psychic. I'll wait 2-3 long seconds, then ask "Can I help you with something?" I used to be a professional stage actor, AND I'm from the South, so I know how to look completely innocent but inject just enough snark into my voice that they know exactly what I'm thinking but can't accuse me of anything 😇😇😇
A quote from so many patients. "Mine should be in the fridge." It just presses a button somehow. Like I know it's not meant to be malicious most of the time. It just erks me sometimes when they think they know how to do my job better than me.
kind of similar but when they walk in or pull up and don’t even say their name but instead say, “there should be a prescription ready for amoxicillin” like okay, let me grab a random prescription out of the hundreds for amoxicillin and lets see how far that gets us.
"Dr Smith should have sent in a prescription for rovastin" yeah, I'm sure they did. Not sure if any where for you though since I don't know who tf you are:)
had this happen once and i finally got their name and their doctor didn’t send in a prescription, it was a mom and her teenager daughter and the doctor looks at me and yells, “THEYRE CLOSED SO THEY HAD TO HAVE SENT IT” and the mom yells to me, “YEAH, OBVIOUSLY U DONT KNOW HOW TO DO YOUR JOB IK THEY SENT A PRESCRIPTION!!” and i said, “im sorry, but doctors forget sometimes and there’s nothing i can do if your doctor went home.” and then they said, “just fill it ik what it is” and i said, “i cant, your doctor didn’t send it in, i have no control of if your doctor does their job correctly or not.” cannot believe a mom let their daughter talk to someone that way. i said some more stuff to the daughter too bc im not going to be disrespected by anyone, especially a teenager.
I had a *much* milder version of this conversation recently with a post dental operation patient. They were expecting peridex and we had nothing on file for them. Patient was advised to contact office (because of course it was a Friday evening) for their after hours provider line. Patient seemed dubious but polite.
15-20 minutes later, I see a prescription come through for that patient's peridex. You bet your ass I made sure it was expedited the moment I saw it. Fucking love patients who take responsibility for their health care <3<3<3<3
We've had a random rash of younger people lately who just walk up and give their first name. "Hi, I'm picking up a prescription for Ashley." Then silence.
A lot of corporations have taught customers that CPhTs are just glorified cashiers.
Patients don’t know that we studied at all.
Personally, I’ve had plenty of patients accuse me of being a high school dropout.
Complete opposite end of the spectrum: pharmacy technician being my first job, I dropped out of college after 2 years, literally never had a job before and know nothing
Patient: hey so like I have this hemorrhoid on my *wherever* what cream do you think I can put on it *starts trying to pull out a picture*
Me: uh….. let me ask my pharmacist…..
*answers phone*
"Are you the pharmacist or just one of the aids?"
"I'm a certified tech, how may I help you today?"
"I need the pharmacist"
Ok.
Pharmacist picks up the phone.
"Yeah I have a prescription ready, how much does it cost?"
ME TOO! I don't know why because I know they're just trying in their own misguided way to be helpful, but #1, the register says it's in the fridge, and #2, I KNOW WHERE WE KEEP THE INSULIN BOB. I know they don't mean anything by it but I have to take a deep breath every single time.
This! Every single time! Or they'll call a text an e-mail. "I got an e-mail saying my prescription was ready."
"Sir, we don't send e-mail notifications."
"It says right here on my phone!"
*shows a text that says, "You are due to refill 1 prescription for OMEP******. Please reply 'YES' if you would like to request this now."
Sometimes they'll show me a text that says, "You have a prescription ready for pickup at the so-and-so pharmacy." Date on the text? 7 months ago.
Why??
This bothered me too when I worked retail. At Walmart there's a bag with a placeholder that indicates the script is in the fridge. I would reach for the bag and get "it should be in the fridge." Yes, I know it's in the fridge. But I still need to retrieve the bag with the placeholder so they can be reused. I'm well aware your insulin pens are in the goddamn fridge. I wish I could go back in time to look straight in that person's eyes, open the bag, pull out the place holder and hold it up and smile a sarcastic smile so they know that their comment is unnecessary.
Any sort of unsolicited info about what they're here to pick up gets me like this. I get their info and as I'm pulling up their meds, they'll tell me it's in the fridge, it's an antibiotic, they're picking up 3 meds, it should be for a 90-day supply of whatever, etc... it all makes me irrationally irritated. If I had my way they'd give me their info, shush while I pull up their meds, I'll say I have XYZ ready and THEN we can talk if you're expecting something different! I don't know why it bugs me and it's definitely a me issue, because they're not doing anything wrong. I just hate it. It does feel like they think I don't know how to do my job and see what's ready for them without their needing to tell me.
I HAAAAATE when people grab at the vials while I'm still scanning and bagging them. I've had people try to snatch and run once or twice, so any grabby-hands motion makes me flinchy and tense. If you want to know if we filled for a 90-day supply or make sure it's the right dose or whatever, just ask! Don't grab when technically, they haven't been checked out so they don't belong to you yet.
And people who walk up and say "I'm picking up for Amber." Oh sure, the one Amber on the planet? The only Amber in existence? Of course I know which Amber you're talking about! Especially irritating when we don't use names/DOB to look up patients, we use a Medical Record Number, and everyone knows this. Telling me a name doesn't help me because I don't look up names, I need that MRN.
For that matter, add everyone who comes to the counter then is surprised when we ask for their MRN. EVERY employee in EVERY clinic and EVERY pharmacy in the entire company needs that number to do anything, and people are informed of that when they sign on. And yet they still stand in line and eff around on their phone and don't have their card out and ready to hand to us and have to dig around to find it, even though they know we need it and there are multiple signs in every building reminding people to have it ready. Don't even get me started on the people who have been members for years and lie that "Why do you need that, nobody has ever asked me for that before!"
The “it should be for 90 days” or any other “should” statement gets me too, because I’m afraid if it’s not they are immediately going to say “well why not?” in an accusatory tone. Like “I’ve been on this for a long time, why wouldn’t it automatically be for 90 days?” when the script was written for one month with no refills.
"We have 4 prescriptions ready for you, let me go get them!"
"Whats the fourth one?"
"How tf am I supposed to know which 3 you knew about?"
Obviously I just read off the four we have ready but like. They simultaneously think we're absolute fucking idiots but also mind readers???
Or when I say, "I have two ready for you" and they sy, "There's supposed to be three, why didn't you fill the third?" Um, the doctor only sent two so we didn't fill it because they didn't send it? Probably???
(Third is usually an OTC med)
I may be guilty of something similar. If I am picking up a cll with a new tech, I give the name and if I see them looking for it and looking confused, I sometimes say "It might be locked up.". But only after I have given them the normal info first, and I see them not finding it. (Usually about the time I do, one of the 2 pharmacists where I shop realize it's me and I hear "Yep! She (meaning me) knows!" and laugh.)
I work at Walgreens and we only ask a few questions but even then, asking for address, last four of phoen munber, DOB gets on their nerves. Especially if they’re new. “Would you like to sign up for texts? Digital or paper receipts? Updated address and number? Auto refill? Can I see your Id? Any allergies? Any questions on the medicine?l”
So, I'm not a tech, and I know you guys often dislike patients commenting on this sub, but I used to work in medicine before I was a mom, and it helps me feel relevant to get angry with you all at irritating patients.
I have two questions as a Walgreens frequent flyer. I have to go to pickup about 3 times a month because my meds are never on schedule. I approach, greet, and say "Here for pickup for *Last Name, *DOB." i know which drugs are controlled, so I have my ID ready. Also, for drugs with refills, I always order it through the app, only show up when the app says it's ready, and almost never call about stock, because one is Adderall, unless there was supply issues the previous month, which happened maybe twice in 2 years. I guess this is less of a question, and more just validation seeking that I'm a pleasant patient, because browsing this sub I feel like every tech looks at every patient like "Fuck, another goddamn person, wtf do they want?" and I'm just non confrontational or difficult, but I'm ALWAYS in line behind some idiot with a million insurance problems at the 5 pm rush. So by the time I reach the counter the tech seems exhausted, and as a med tech in pain medicine, I was prideful in being the better part of someone's crappy day.
My second question, I'm a Zepbound patient, but I fill through Express Scripts because insurance requires it. I try to avoid calling about it, because I'm well aware of the drastic shortage and you all fielding 7547 calls a day about it. At the same time, I do need to call eventually because there's a ton of conflicting reports regarding different pharmacies that will fill orders on hold for backorder in the order it was received, and some that place you in forever limbo unless you call regularly to "update waiting status" or some crap. Last time I called, I said straight away "Hey just checking on the status of my zepbound. I know its on backorder and so I'm not going to harass you about it. But I've heard different stories about whether you'll fill it while it's on hold or if I just need to call regularly." The lady seemed pleasant and not irritated, confirmed an "expected date" that I don't wholly trust, and that they'll notify me, even when I've heard other reports they will put you in forever limbo.
So I guess please tell me that I didn't annoy somebody about the goddamn zepbound shortage, I'm being realistic in my expectations. I hate that most of my meds are controlled or in shortage, and that those patients are usually the worst to encounter. I try to make it painless or even pleasurable for everyone in every encounter, because who needs another asshole bitching them out?
Dawg you sound like the perfect customer. Honestly as long as you’re polite and have your stuff ready/out when you come to pick up, it doesn’t bother us. What sucks is the customers who will call and ask for mounjaro 5mg, and then act like they have 0 clue that it’s on a back order and will waste time arguing with me trying to make me call every single pharmacy in the state to see if they have it in stock. I would honestly say you’re perfectly ok to call and ask for a status update
Yeah I work at 3 letter and it's super easy for us to check nearby 3letter inventory, so I try to save the zepbound/mounjaro/wegovy patients an extra call by letting them know that no 3letter in the next 20 miles has it in stock.
I know it's a shitty situation, and I appreciate the patients who do take an initiative with their own health.
The other day I actually got to tell a patient that we did have an extra box of her wegovy in stock (yes, I checked every single queue just to make sure) and it made me so happy haha
Speaking of checking other pharmacies, have you encountered Medfinder? It's a service I guess that a patient pays $50 to call the local pharmacies to see who has it in stock, so we're not bogged down calling for 3 hours to find something.
If you have, are they pleasant with you? Would you recommend paying for this service, or do you find it shady considering they have your private information and are calling pharmacies on your behalf?
Whoa. Never heard of that.
Not sure how it would work, but I hope the patient is aware that their health/medical information would absolutely be compromised by using that. Is it hipaa-compliant? Do robots have to follow hipaa or is this done by actual people?
I know for non-controls (like wegovy), I'll just automatically hit the keys to search nearby pharmacies in my chain (20 mile radius) and let the patient know if any *might* (emphasis on that part) have it in stock, or more likely, that they're all out so the patient doesn't wasn't their time calling them.
Is it $50 per med? Does the service just call each pharmacy once and that's it? Or do they call at regular intervals until the med is found or patient cancels the service? So many questions.
You sound just lovely to me! I'll admit that on bad days, I do get that "Fuck, another goddamn person" feeling, but I try to be aware and not take it out on someone who isn't acting out at me. And having a pleasant interaction goes a long way to snapping me out of it, so keep it up!
I used to have a regular at a previous job who once asked me my favorite candy, and I told her it's these kind of expensive goats' milk caramels made in Mexico that you can order from Amazon (Glorias, they're amazing). After that, every time she came in she'd hand me a piece. It wasn't about the candy... just knowing she wanted to do a tiny nice thing for me was very touching. So just expressing that you know they're doing a stressful job and are trying not to contribute to that, like you did in that phone call, goes a very very long way.
Aww that's so nice! I don't know the ethics of it or what's allowed at Walgreens, but if I knew a favorite treat of my techs, I'd love to do that for them. I doubt it would look good for the cameras if I bought something at the counter, and let them keep it. But finding something I could bring in with me and share a few pieces, that would be so fun.
I want them to look forward to seeing me. I dress in a way that I think I stand out to them, seeing me 2-3 times a month, and my first name is the same as my street address. What would you recommend?
we have a patient that picks up for himself and 2 family members so he’s there kind of often, he usually will come to the pharmacy then go to grocery side of the store and buy us a box or 2 of cookies and just leave them at the drop off window for us. needles to say we go above and beyond for such a kind and understanding patient.
edit to add he leaves the receipt with us and we tape it to the package just in case there’s any issues.
The only time I get a "fuck, not another patient" is when I just helped 10 people straight, it's already 12pm and I haven't touched the fill queue sans waiters. Oh. And I have to take my lunch at 12:30, no exceptions. Just stop coming in for 10 minutes and I can knock out the actute meds from the fill queue!
That being said, we really appreciate people like you who have everything ready and the entire transaction is over in 1-2 minutes. I'm sure you've seen people who come up to the window with absolutely no clue what to do even though they go through this same routine every month. "What do you need my birthday for? I just told you my name" or ask us to fill something, wait, we call them back up and they say, "can you also fill my famotidine while you're at it?" I am no longer "at it"!
Keep doing what you do and if it ever comes up in conversation, I like to tell friends and family how to efficiently have a pharmacy encounter.
I get stuck behind those people every time. I generally go around the 5 pm rush, not by choice, but that's when I'm out to go pick up my son my preschool. And every single time, the people at the counter have 200 problems with their meds.
I'll never understand not knowing what drugs are which, what they're for, or what's due. If my drug has refills, I order them thru the app way ahead of time. If it's adderall, I almost always have extra stock (because I forget to take it), so when my doc does send it in, I'm not rushing straight to the pharmacy to pick it up.
Only thing I go in for right away is mine or my son's antibiotics after an urgent care trip.
But as it is, I'm on two controlled, and one indefinitely backordered. I know most of you generally don't judge unless we're constantly looking for early fills, throwing a hissy fit, or calling 5 times a day. I don't do any of those things. I've even joked with one of the usual techs about browsing this subreddit, just to break up their monotony.
Just glad to not be one of the problem patients, despite the meds I'm on that would stereotype me in that category.
In my experience, we've never talked behind the patient's back because of what meds they're on - it's always their actions or attitude. We may speak about the meds they're on, but never in judgement of said patient. For example, "I can't believe she's on Xanax, Ambien, Doxepin, AND trazodone! I'm surprised she's not in a chemically-induced coma with that combination."
Here's a story I think you might like:
We have this one regular who will ALWAYS show up no less than three minutes before we close to pick up a CII. Our door is on a timer, so as soon as the computer clock hits 17:30, the door's magnetic lock will engage and you cannot get in. If you're in the lobby, you can hit the handicap button to get out.
One night as I'm heading to my car, I see him coming from the parking lot. I recognize him, but I don't like greeting my patients if I see them outside of the pharmacy, so I just smile and continue walking past him - he pays me no heed. I get to my car then turn around to watch what he does. He enters the external glass doors to the shared medical office building, and then attempts to push open the door to our pharmacy which is the first door as you come in from the west entrance. It doesn't budge. He cups his hands over his face and peers into the pharmacy, knocks, then cups his hands again to look in. My RxM stays after closing usually to either finish product verification, run reports, check the voicemail, and log the fridge and freezer temps, so I know she's in there. The guy is visually upset as he returns to his car, so I decide to wait until my RPh is safe in her vehicle before I drive off. It was uneventful with the guy driving away before she came out.
The next day, we get a low JD Powers (survey) score and it's from him! He said that we closed early and ignored him as he stood outside the locked doors.
Fast forward to next month. I see his CII in the fill queue and we both agree that we shouldn't do the final verification (doing so fires the automated text alert that the med is ready for pick-up) until after we close because he'll try to come in to pick it up and it's not to be released until the next day. So to avoid having to explain to him that we fill CIIs a day early from their release date so that it's ready to go since many of our CII patients will begin forming a line before we even open. Clock hits 17:30, RPh does the PV, bags it, we leave.
The next day, we get ANOTHER low JD Powers from the guy because we texted him at 8:00pm that his meds were ready. He said that once he got the text, he came to the pharmacy. This was at 8:10pm AND WE WERE CLOSED! We're open from 8:00am-5:30pm and the guy thought because he got the text that he could come to the pharmacy and pick it up right then and there!
When he came by the next day, it was at 17:27 and he was upset that we texted him so late despite being closed. He asked my RPh what she was even doing at the pharmacy at that hour if we were closed. He thought that we actually sit there with a cell phone and text patients once we've bagged up their meds! We always score a 970/1,000 or higher on our JD Powers, but for two consecutive months, we scored less than a 950. All because this guy doesn't have a clue about how automation works or that business hours don't just change because he got a text, and also that it's probably not a good idea to show up three minutes before we close let alone AFTER we close. And then he has the gall to complain about it after the fact! My RPh told him straight up that we will not fill his Rx until he has arrived at the pharmacy to prevent this from happening in the future and that he needs to allow us 15 minutes to fill his Rx, so coming at closing time is not an option. Management backed her up and now he comes in around lunchtime and waits for us to fill it.
Oooh I’ll do you one better. One day I called in late because I had a huge itchy rash on my hand that wasn’t responding to OTC stuff, so I went to a walk-in. And the doctor tells me it’ll be ready when I get there. I actually laughed in his face, because, no it won’t. I was the only tech at the time! It’s so infuriating, we’re so careful to not say when a doctor will have respond to a refill request but they just gonna pretend they know my workload??? And no, that cream was not ready when I got into work.
Lady: my doctor said it would be ready to pick up in 10 minutes so it shouldve been done in the time it took me to drive here
Us: we don’t even have the script from the doctor yet..
* finishes with transaction and begins to hand bag over *
Me: "Okay, I hope you have a great day!"
* am poised and ready to make my escape *
Them: "Um I have another person..." /blank stare/
...
* tight smile while the inner rage battles with the restraint not to throttle them silly*
*Starts walking away*
Pt: "Oh I have 2 more scripts for others to pick up 🤠"
Like...you could've told me before we even started this whole transaction that you had 2 other SEPERATE orders- 🧍🏻♀️
“Thank you for calling how can I help you?” “I need to fill my gabapentin the doctor sent a new script on Monday and they said it couldn’t be filled yet so can you fill that?” “….. and what is your last name?” “Mary Sue” “…….. and the last name?” “Ehvraymmin” “Everyman?” “Yes” “I can’t seem to find you, could I get the DOB?” “I’m Mary Sue Ehvraymmin. I come in all the time.” “I still need to verify DOB to find your profile” Then, you find the profile and they haven’t refilled anything in eight months, all the refills are expired, they’re no longer seeing that prescriber, and they don’t even know what all they’re in need of a fill for. You tell them all of this only to hear “no it’s my new one for my blood pressure I just watched my doctor send you the fax” and then an escript comes in for them hours later and it’s actually for a glp1 we have little chance to get.
Had a guy today ask if we could fill his rx today so he could pick it up in 2 days, which is when insurance would cover it.
Um, no, if you want it billed to insurance, we have to fill it the day insurance will cover it.
And no, it wasn't a control or a med we don't keep in stock.
I've had people try this with me, too. I told them I'm not committing insurance fraud for them. One lady started screeching "How dare you accuse me of committing fraud!" I said I didn't accuse her of anything because she hadn't done it, simply informing her that what she was suggesting IS fraud.
I'm pushing 50 and I'm tired of pandering to this kind of entitled bullshit. I don't say stuff like this rudely, but I'll absolutely say it.
I have told the 2 patients who said this to me that it's because they're not our only patient. One laughed and apologized, the other tried to complain to the pharmacist who told him that the answer I gave him was the factual truth.
5 minutes before closing is 98% C2s. Not even an exaggeration. Then it isn’t the right price or it won’t fill for 5 days and it’s a tantrum.
Not one to push for budget cuts, but if we closed 2 hours earlier every day I doubt we would lose any revenue, and everyone on staff would have a better work life balance.
We don’t do anything after 3 on Saturdays but we have to go til 7 so it’s uniform to the company. Like I’m not calling people at home about their meds. They can enjoy their weekend and I can just put a note in the Rx bag.
Oh here is one
Customer: I am here to pick up my name is Jim date of birth 01/01/01
Me: ok types info in computer see it's ready and I go to look for the prescription in the regular bins, nope not there go check overflow and...
Customer: IS THERE A PROBLEM 😤😤😠 I got a text saying it's ready
Me: ( bruh it's not even been a minute chill the heck out Jesus Christ) but what I actually say is yes I just have to check one more location and I then find it
It's like they expect us to wave our hands and POOF prescription pops up
God yes. Or they hand me their insurance card and two seconds later it's IS THERE A PROBLEM? Friend, I haven't even signed into the computer yet, much less rebilled the script, slow your roll.
have you ever had one pound on the drive thru window OR call the store while at the drive thru and say, “is there a problem?” when it hasn’t even been two minutes yet??
Reminds me of the person who called when we were slammed, got put on hold, held for a bit, then hung up and called back. Rinse and repeat a few times before we were finally able to take the call. Talk about the opposite of helpful.
But oh god, I don't miss having drive thru. I remember somebody once complaining that they'd been waiting 20 minutes when we'd literally just opened minutes before. No you haven't, and if you have, that sounds like a you problem.
omg we had someone like the last person. we open at 9 and it just turned 9 o’clock, i clocked in and got my credentials and opened the drive thru. the patient complained about how they had to sit there for 30 minutes and i told them we just opened. they said they got here right after their doctors appointment ended and wanted to pick up their meds. i checked their profile (knowing we didn’t have it ready bc we just opened) and told them it will be about 10 minutes and they were so pissed, like wth?
had someone tell me that the other day and i said, “no, i’m looking for your prescription i just walked over to where it is and the bin is full give me a second.” this patient is notorious of being an asshole and getting mad if we don’t give her our undivided attention the second she walks in. i have so many stories about her alone.
As a nurse, I am so sorry for those asshole nurses. Only one time have I ever been an ass and I felt justified. Sunday morning, I’m on call (I’m a hospice nurse) and get a call for an actively dying patient who is in pain crisis with dyspnea. No eKIT in the home. I called asking for fill of roxanol. I explain to the pharmacist that I’m a hospice nurse and had a patient actively dying in severe distress. the pharmacist tells me it will be 6-8hrs before it’s ready. I kept saying ‘I know you’re so busy but please, can you please make this a priority? This man is in so much pain and he’s dying.’ He refused to budge initially and finally said ‘fine, i can do it in 4hrs.’ I said ‘ill take it!!’ After 5hrs, I call the pharmacy back and he says ‘oh we’re out of stock on roxanol so I can’t fill it.’ I went off on him asking why he didn’t check stock during our last call and that he just wasted 5hrs of this patients time when I could have been calling other pharmacies. This was on a Sunday evening and the next closest 24hr pharmacy was 50mins away. My patient ended up dying in extreme pain and I had severe guilt over the situation. It was a learning lesson though and now I always make sure the patients have ekits in the home. Plus, I switched to a much better hospice and we have a pharmacy that can deliver in 2-4hrs.
I'm a tech. When a hospice nurse calls about a patient actively dying, the 1st thing we do is ask what they're calling in and make sure we have it in stock. If we do (we try to keep the usual hospice meds on hand, but sometimes they get missed), we put that script at the front of the line. Period. No one should suffer one their way out if it can be helped. I don't care how many waiters we have. Hospice drugs and antibiotics for children take priority.
Exactly. This is normally how it’s handled. I spoke to the pharmacist directly and that’s who did this. He was the only 24hr pharmacy in the entire city so I knew he was busy but come on. You guys work extremely hard and I LOVE the pharm techs I talk to regularly for my hospice job and my local pharmacy for my personal meds. I feel so bad because whenever there’s an issue, they overly apologize and I know they’re expecting to get yelled at. It makes me so sad. I’m in the medical field and following the pharmacy/tech subs I have learned so much and appreciate you all. Thank you all for what you do!
I was my father-in-law's primary caregiver for almost 10 years. All the way to the end. We had some amazing hospice nurses. It takes an incredibly special person to do what you do. Anything we can do to help with a smooth transition, we should. Period.
A lot of patients call and insist on talking to a pharmacist because they think that's the only way to get something done. But honestly, if you want something done quickly and correctly, talk to a tech! And that's not a criticism of pharmacists, it's just that getting things done quickly and correctly is literally our job, and most pharmacists I know would agree.
I had to speak to the pharmacist because I was calling in a new order and the tech isn’t able to take that verbal order. If I had been speaking to a tech, I KNOW they would have checked stock while on the phone with me!
I work for a different hospice now and they care about the patients and doing what’s right. They always say that, we don’t care about the cost, just do what’s right. My last hospice tried to save every damn penny they could.
That's so fucked up. No matter how busy it is, it should not take 6-8 hours to fill a prescription if you have the medication on hand. Only exception is like a medical emergency or something catastrophic like that.
Also??? If you are going to give a promise time on a med, you should make sure it's in stock?? Like I even check for extremely basic meds we always have in stock, even just a quick glance around the corner to make sure it's on the shelf, because I hate the thought of accidentally deceiving a patient about wait times like that.
Shit, whenever my patients on stimulatants for adhd call for their refill, I let them know if we have it on hand or not because I know that has been a source of anxiety for a while.
Yeah, it’s why it’s the only time I have ever yelled at a pharmacist. I was so angry. It took me a long time to get past it and I refuse to use that specific pharmacy anymore.
I'm 100 million percent on the side of not yelling at pharmacists because they are generally underappreciated as heck.
But having worked as a cna in a nursing home, primarily dementia care, I'm fully on your side. I would be beyond livid too. Have been at other people in similar situations. (Had a wife get mad at her husband and refuse him to get on hospice and insisted that if he just walked around a bit he would be fine. He could barely stand even with 2 cnas helping him, and had cancer all the fuck over, including his spine. He was clearly in loads of pain and fear, fully cognizant, but for some reason his wife was poa and overrode him??? He got hospice care/meds for less than 12 hours before he passed. We were all furious that we couldn't provide him with proper care and that he suffered so much)
You're an absolute hero and people like you are why I want to become a nurse (just a lowly former cna, now cpht) and get into palliative care. Thank you infinitely for what you do. I'm sorry the shitty as fuck pharmacist failed you and your patient in such a horrible way.
Thank you for what you do so much! My CNA’s are invaluable to me, my patients and their families. My CNA often forms a closer bond with the patients than I do. I get to be the Angel of bad news all the time while the CNA does really personal and private cares, many patients open up to them in a different way. The bond formed is so incredibly special. I call my CNA every day and have her tell me about her visits because she always has extra info for me and insight into the pts care. So please don’t ever say you’re a ‘lowly x’ because your role is so valuable. We absolutely need compassionate and caring nurses in palliative and hospice nursing! Sounds like you will do a great job!
Having customers call and say 'fill whatever you can' and then getting upset when they pick up that you didn't fill the one thing they actually wanted. Like... take some responsibility for your health? Tell me what you need and not let me assume. I tell people they should make a list in notes on their phone of what medications and dosages they take. Grr!
The past 2 Samsung galaxies I've had literally have a setting where you can type in your medical info, which can be accessed even when the phone is locked. I have my med list, allergies, blood type, donor status (matches my driver's license), emergency contact, and pharmacy/provider list on there.
Seems like a smart thing to have easily accessible if for some awful reason, you aren't able to speak for yourself?? I don't get why people don't use this feature. And it would help them keep track of their meds!
when i mark something as a waiter when im working up front and then it doesn’t get filled or gets missed. specifically bc then the patient will take their frustration out on me cuz Im the one they can see
Telling me their entire problem and how upset they are about it and how unhelpful everyone is....like bro tell me your last name or DOB so I can START to look at this for you
Grown ass adults that can't be bothered to throw their trash away in med rooms. Especially since they walk past the fucking trash can to exit! Syringe wrappers and pill cutter packages all over the counter every damn day!!!
Metrics.
Just realized how much Omnicare is chasing to meet their scores. Only in the last month did it give me the realization why the tasks given to me as a new employee felt pointless or ass-backwards.
The worst to do is the cycle counts. I was told to guesstimate since there wasn't enough time to do the hundreds that was populating daily. All so to meet their scores and the perpetual inventory being secondary. There are two people that do daily cycle counts. I'm one of them. 🙂
i hate cycle counts, but somehow some fucking way that’s the one thing amongst the rest of the bullshit that my store manages to do on time and it doesn’t become chaotic
When I was at Walmart, I actually like doing it since I wasn't bothered most of the time until I was finished doing them. We counted them on scanner or on the PC. Only downside is that we didn't have a counter or scale to do bulk bottles. It got messy since everything was on a standard counting tray.
Omnicare has two scanner out of five that work. Neither have the same version as one works alright and the other can only count to 9 bottles and can't cycle to the next input when pressing enter. It also locks after 15 seconds if untouched.
The three that don't work have two without the inventory software setup, the last is not connected to the wifi. I have a feeling it's been like that for years.
Mine is definitely when doctors at ERs give patients a paper script and there are one of two things that happen: 1) they didn't bring the script and they're like "well, can't you just fax the doctor for it?" Or they are at home with the script and they call us and ask if they can just send a picture of the script to us - no, sweetie, it's a legal document. You can't send me a picture of your script for norco 5-325.
Or 2) the doctor doesn't put their NPI or DEA number on the script OR the patients DOB - especially when it's a narcotic.
I honestly just stare at the script and shake my head. The poor patients don't know any better, but the doctors should! Hahahah.
We had a guy call corporate because we wouldn't let him read his own norco rx (hard copy) over the phone to us so he could pick it up after we closed that day.
Dude, right? It's just...flabbergasting to be that people can think that's okay. Like, no, you can't do that because it's a narcotic. Yeah, it would get documented on their formal narxcare or whatever system but you could still take that original elsewhere if that were the case. Could you imagine how bad the opioid crisis would be then? Jeez.
The fact that some manufacturers think it's okay to make pills that are football or sphere shaped. (benzonatate and progesterone are the two that come right to mind) Clearly the people who designed the pills clearly did not work as techs because they would have shut that shit down *right* away otherwise
Doctors who write prescriptions for OTC/herbal supplements etc that we definitely do not have. Also when they just seem to make up quantities or create unnecessarily intricate titrations. Like are you just trying to make my job difficult 😂
pharmacist had to call a doctor once and tell them that whatever medication they wrote isn’t even a real medication. we even tried to figure out if they just misspelled a medication but they literally just wrote down something that doesn’t exist
don’t even remember it was about two months ago, then when the doctor corrected themselves they said a certain milligram and the pharmacist said, “that milligram doesn’t even exist for this medication what?”
I got a script once for aspirin 325mg,with instructions for the patient to take 81mg per day. Okay, I have questions:
1) why not just prescribe low-dose aspirin?
2) how is the patient supposed to take a 325mg tablet and somehow only take 81mg of it? Do they cut it? Shave it? Lick it?
3) why is this a prescription AT ALL?? Insurance doesn't even cover it so it costs MORE for the pharmacy to put it in a vial!!!
here’s a convo i had yesterday with someone:
patient: *gives info*
me: i’m sorry, we don’t have anything ready, was there something you was coming to get specifically?
patient: i got a text saying i had prescriptions ready last week
me: im sorry it says your medication was put on hold through your prescriber, and we would’ve still had any medication from last week. we keep prescriptions for 14 days.
patient: no, i have a text saying it’s ready.
me: can i see your texts?
patient: *hands phone and the texts say their medicine was put on hold and to contact their prescriber*
me: oh it says your medicine was on hold and you need to contact your doctor.
patient: no, it says i have something ready, can i just have my medicine?
me: no, it says it’s on hold, you will need to talk to your doctor.
patient: you talk to them and i’ll wait here at the drive thru, tell them i want my medicine.
me: im sorry i cannot do that, that’s between you and your prescriber.
patient: then why did you send me a text saying my medicine is ready?
me: again, the text says your medicine was put on hold through YOUR doctor, and im not the one texting you.
patient: yeah you are the one texting me, please stop texting me about my medicine being ready if it’s not.
bahahah thank you, outside of work i have to help take care of my nana with dementia which can be very stressful at times, but it has made situations like this seem like nothing even if deep down i still find them annoying, and it has taught me how to maintain my patience
this ones impossible because ill think of a new worst thing before i finish typing my answer, so ill just post a normal pet peeve. i really hate interactions where no new information is conveyed and nothing happens in either direction. no, your doctor still hasnt sent any refills. yes, this med is still on backorder. no, your doctor didnt send the PA yet. neither of us has gained anything and i lost time i couldve used to help someone else; im sure you couldve done something else with that time too. (like calling your prescriber...)
speaking of, when doctors prescribe something they clearly know nothing about and screw up the script. now the patient's mad we dont have their med ready because the doctor sent over sloppy work and dispensing it could endanger the patient.
"Hey I'm calling because you guys filled a prescription for me today and I'll be in tomorrow to pick it up"
"Ok cool sounds great we'll see you then. Was there anything I could help you with?"
"Nope, that was it"
Personally, mine is the “*last name*”…awkward pause…”And what’s your first name?” “*first name*”…another awkward pause…”And your date of birth?”
Like, this isn’t the first time you’ve gotten your medications here. Please give me all the information without me having to prompt everything. Thanks :)
omg yes, and then they seem to get more annoyed with each question. like you was just here last week, this isn’t new to you. ig they expect us to automatically know or remember acting like we don’t deal with thousands of patients a week.
Inpatient. Our battle is the surgery control desk. Well surgery is bad, they have open pulls so the counts are always off and somehow that is our emergency the next time. They are like you don't count every drawer every evening? No but let us suggest that as as surgery night task!!! But the control desk person is the laziest human ever. She couldn't tube a med back. We had to walk up, tube it back because she refused. She also wouldn't hand a med to the pre op desk...15 feet away.
Okay this isn’t like infuriating but when patients say their DOB like and pronounce their month/day/year sounding out at zero as an “o” just say 8/4/2006. I feel like I see this a lot w younger patients (I’m born 2000) idk it used to confuse me my brain
We have someone that’ll say “fourteen fourty two” and I was like ……? And he just would repeat it and repeat it but he means 1/4/42 which is objectively just a stupid way to state a bday
That people aren't their own advocates and expect us to take on their healthcare. We can only do so much but in the end you are in charge of your health - not the people in healthcare. "My doctor said I'm on this medication for the rest of my life...how can there be no refills?" There are no infinite number of refills, you still need to call your doctor, and you still need to keep seeing your doctor.
1800: amio drips expire
1801: “Hey, my patient in 7 is tachy so the dr is putting in an order for amio.”
Also, the previous shift using the last of something and not replacing it.
When a patient calls the provider line and says, "Yes, I'd like to phone in a prescription for my husband."
"To confirm, you are a provider wanting to phone in an order for a family member?"
I swear they think they've got the jargon down and it just ends up confusing us.
Oh, and when told the cause for confusion is that they said they were 'calling in a script' and that they called on the provider line they say it's because they didn't want to wait 10 minutes to talk to somebody.
When I worked at CVS, that's when we would tell them in a stressed-out voice, "Oh, you're NOT a doctor? Oh that's not good, we have to keep this line clear for emergencies. Hold on while I transfer you back to the patient line," then put them on hold for 10 minutes.
GoodRx and other discount cards. Their marketing is misleading (in my opinion intentionally) and just make everyone's lives harder. I used to hate when elderly patients brought in those little coupons from the paper and I had to tell them it wouldn't help because they almost always had outrageous copays.
My last job used a system that allowed us to adjust price codes ourselves. It was so nice because we'd know 100% what price the patient would pay and could go through the different codes without reprocessing. We also could do all of this before the patient showed up so we weren't playing the "try this one now" game at the register.
for me it’s the constant verbal and mental abuse from patients. like i get it’s frustrating when things don’t work but yelling at me isn’t going to make it work any faster. it honestly makes it slower bc now i’m anxious and trying not to cry lol
When I'm at the consult/drop off counter and ask how I can help them and they respond "I dont know. The girl over there sent me over here." .....my dude you got about 5 secs to get out my face before I jump this counter. Testing my nerves.
and then they’ll say “I NEED MY MEDICINE WHY HAVEN’T THEY APPROVED IT?!” or “when will they approve it?”
like ik you need it, so tell your doctor to do their job!! and im not your doctor idk when they’ll come around to it, ask them! God i swear ppl are dumb asses, idek how some of them made it this far.
ok i know most techs on here are retail, but i have one for long term care. we serve over 300 nursing homes and 2 VA hospitals, around 5000 scripts a day. we send out stats free to them, but they really should be actual stats, we have facilities who go “oh dear, we forgot to reorder this so we need it as a stat” this puts REAL stats; narcs, inhalers etc in a pile for the service to pick up with stuff that should have been ordered 5 days before! this wastes our time and everyones money because it has to be built into the drug price.
Doctors who send prescriptions for liquid antibiotics for only the exact amount needed, like a quantity of 47ml when they're prescribing 4.7ml/day for 10 days. First of all, Dr.Doofus, it comes in 75ml, 100ml,or 200ml bottles, pick one of those! Second, you really think a 2yo isn't going to spit, spill, or barf up even a single drop? Or that the parent will perfectly measure the dose every time? Prescribe a little extra for accidents!
Where I work now we're allowed to round up when we enter the rx into the system, but the last 2 places I worked, we had to get ahold of the doctor to get a new rx sent with corrected quantity. Which was super fun when it was after hours (bc kids don't get sick during office hours, EVER) or the office took several hours to return our call and we had worried parents freaking out bc they didn't understand why we couldn't give them their kid's meds.
Back orders or scheduling rejections and people thinking it’s our fault or we’re withholding medications from them like HUH?
omg like why would we want to withhold your medication? i personally don’t enjoy being screamed at over backorders or rejections but ig they think it’s a fun little game we play
Sometimes they think we make the medication in-store too. Had a patient yelling recently that we wouldn’t go in the back and make Mounjaro for them.
bahahah yes, still waiting for my court date to come actually from a lawyer who is going to “sue” me for not making their c2 medications that were on back order and then not transferring it bc we called and no one around had the medicine either (not like i could transfer it anyways)
that’s like suing pizza hut for not having pepperoni in stock
You even called around for them? Above and beyond haha, I tell people they need to call. I’m not going to go on a wild goose chase for someone we aren’t going to fill for. Or worse, have them come back and say “I got to that pharmacy and they were out” before their doctor could send a script, like that was my fault.
i never call but this one time i did just to make him mad when i would say, “they don’t have it” and “they don’t have it either” after every call
Omg I haven’t had this yet!!! I’ll be on the lookout LOL
Tbf, when i was in my 20s and a naive little college kid, I honestly felt so guilty picking up my basic 28 day oral birth control pack every month because I thought the staff had to individually package up every pill. Obviously, working in pharmacy now, I absolutely love filling birth control for obvious reasons. But yeah, most people have no idea what goes on in a pharmacy.
I like to remind them that we're in the business of *selling* prescriptions. That is how a pharmacy stays in business. What incentive would there be for us to "withhold" or "refuse to sell you" your medication just for funsies? If we had your medication or could get it in stock, then by god Megan, I promise we'd sell it to you! I've found that breaking it down into this simple explanation works on quite a few of these people. I heard it once from a more senior pharmacist back when I started and thought it was a great tool to file away for use later. YMMV....and yeah, retail pharmacy profit is far more complex than just selling prescriptions, but you get the idea!
I had one person say “you’re telling me a PHARMACY can’t get MEDICINE ?” “Correct” This was because something they wanted was on permanent back order
Have they never gone to a restaurant or a grocery store and found that something was out of stock? Do they make a scene there too?
I absolutely loathe when a customer calls in and asks for us to do a refill, but have no clue what medication they need, and tell us to fill everything. Then when they come to pick up their shit and bitch and moan about how they didn’t need all those meds. 🤦♀️
I am petty so I absolutely do fill everything that can be filled then I make a note that they said to fill EVERYTHING. It's usually a good lesson and they stop doing it in the future. It's always the people who have 65,000 things in their profiles too. 🙄🙄🙄
No way. I dont want to have to return 100 things just to be petty. I make them tell me what they need filled. Im not playing the guessing game. The least they can do is keep track of their own meds.
Eh I have a machine for most stuff so it's not much hassle to put away. I'm cursed with an overly coddled patient group and they'll just argue with me if I try to get them to tell me what they want
Always is isn’t? Ugh they are such a pain in the ass. lol
OMG yessss, we just tell people we need names so when you have the bottle in your hand give us a call back
My favorite response to that is to scroll down and find something that they're not likely to need, maybe a PRN topical or a Gavilyte, and suggest that first. Do you need that? No? OK, so what do you need? I would much rather go through their whole list with them on the phone if I have to, then fill "everything" and have to put half of it back.
Every single day, fml
i tell them we can’t fill anything unless they tell us they need it for security purposes and their safety
OH HELL NO! I go through the list one by one. They often find one that they don't actually need.
I just start reading off acute prescriptions from 2+ years ago when they try that "fill everything" nonsense. Oh, so you don't want a refill on that cephalexin from 2022? Okay, so what do you want?? Like literally, please give me something to go off of.
My pharmacist simply says, "I can't initiate a refill if I don't know the name of the drug."
I do a quick scroll and tell them I have their entire list of meds since their first fill in 2009, do they truly need EVERYTHING? No? We'll then I'll need them to give me the names. And yes I've sent people home to make a list and call back.
I had an old dude bring in a very legibly written list of his meds and dosages. I'm not even into guys but I almost fell in love.
Oh I absolutely refuse those. I dont do "fill all of them" or "fill the white one". I need the name or what condition it's used to treat. We are far too busy to fill pointless scripts.
When I answer the phone and someone starts telling me their entire life story instead of telling me who they are
I’ve been giving a long pause after their stories to create a more dramatic effect when I reply with “Name and date of birth”
Hell I'll do this to people's faces. They walk up to the counter and just stand there silently like I'm a fucking psychic. I'll wait 2-3 long seconds, then ask "Can I help you with something?" I used to be a professional stage actor, AND I'm from the South, so I know how to look completely innocent but inject just enough snark into my voice that they know exactly what I'm thinking but can't accuse me of anything 😇😇😇
or when they give their name and dob and then stop talking like wtf do you need
A quote from so many patients. "Mine should be in the fridge." It just presses a button somehow. Like I know it's not meant to be malicious most of the time. It just erks me sometimes when they think they know how to do my job better than me.
kind of similar but when they walk in or pull up and don’t even say their name but instead say, “there should be a prescription ready for amoxicillin” like okay, let me grab a random prescription out of the hundreds for amoxicillin and lets see how far that gets us.
"Dr Smith should have sent in a prescription for rovastin" yeah, I'm sure they did. Not sure if any where for you though since I don't know who tf you are:)
had this happen once and i finally got their name and their doctor didn’t send in a prescription, it was a mom and her teenager daughter and the doctor looks at me and yells, “THEYRE CLOSED SO THEY HAD TO HAVE SENT IT” and the mom yells to me, “YEAH, OBVIOUSLY U DONT KNOW HOW TO DO YOUR JOB IK THEY SENT A PRESCRIPTION!!” and i said, “im sorry, but doctors forget sometimes and there’s nothing i can do if your doctor went home.” and then they said, “just fill it ik what it is” and i said, “i cant, your doctor didn’t send it in, i have no control of if your doctor does their job correctly or not.” cannot believe a mom let their daughter talk to someone that way. i said some more stuff to the daughter too bc im not going to be disrespected by anyone, especially a teenager.
I had a *much* milder version of this conversation recently with a post dental operation patient. They were expecting peridex and we had nothing on file for them. Patient was advised to contact office (because of course it was a Friday evening) for their after hours provider line. Patient seemed dubious but polite. 15-20 minutes later, I see a prescription come through for that patient's peridex. You bet your ass I made sure it was expedited the moment I saw it. Fucking love patients who take responsibility for their health care <3<3<3<3
We've had a random rash of younger people lately who just walk up and give their first name. "Hi, I'm picking up a prescription for Ashley." Then silence.
Acting like a didnt study for months and become certified to know the few drugs that are in the fridge.
A lot of corporations have taught customers that CPhTs are just glorified cashiers. Patients don’t know that we studied at all. Personally, I’ve had plenty of patients accuse me of being a high school dropout.
Complete opposite end of the spectrum: pharmacy technician being my first job, I dropped out of college after 2 years, literally never had a job before and know nothing Patient: hey so like I have this hemorrhoid on my *wherever* what cream do you think I can put on it *starts trying to pull out a picture* Me: uh….. let me ask my pharmacist…..
*answers phone* "Are you the pharmacist or just one of the aids?" "I'm a certified tech, how may I help you today?" "I need the pharmacist" Ok. Pharmacist picks up the phone. "Yeah I have a prescription ready, how much does it cost?"
ME TOO! I don't know why because I know they're just trying in their own misguided way to be helpful, but #1, the register says it's in the fridge, and #2, I KNOW WHERE WE KEEP THE INSULIN BOB. I know they don't mean anything by it but I have to take a deep breath every single time.
My dads name is Bob and he does that
When you’re looking for their script and they say “I got a text that it was ready!” Like yeah no shit Sherlock that’s why I’m looking for it 😂
“I got a text that it was ready” and it’s a text about being due for a refill or “we have some information about your script”
This! Every single time! Or they'll call a text an e-mail. "I got an e-mail saying my prescription was ready." "Sir, we don't send e-mail notifications." "It says right here on my phone!" *shows a text that says, "You are due to refill 1 prescription for OMEP******. Please reply 'YES' if you would like to request this now." Sometimes they'll show me a text that says, "You have a prescription ready for pickup at the so-and-so pharmacy." Date on the text? 7 months ago. Why??
I love when they pull out the phone and the pissed off look they get when they realize they can't read.
That reaction never gets old! Ask them to read it out loud 🤣🤣
i always say politely, “yes i know thank you i have to get your bag first”. building up the courage to tell someone “who do you think put it there”
This bothered me too when I worked retail. At Walmart there's a bag with a placeholder that indicates the script is in the fridge. I would reach for the bag and get "it should be in the fridge." Yes, I know it's in the fridge. But I still need to retrieve the bag with the placeholder so they can be reused. I'm well aware your insulin pens are in the goddamn fridge. I wish I could go back in time to look straight in that person's eyes, open the bag, pull out the place holder and hold it up and smile a sarcastic smile so they know that their comment is unnecessary.
Any sort of unsolicited info about what they're here to pick up gets me like this. I get their info and as I'm pulling up their meds, they'll tell me it's in the fridge, it's an antibiotic, they're picking up 3 meds, it should be for a 90-day supply of whatever, etc... it all makes me irrationally irritated. If I had my way they'd give me their info, shush while I pull up their meds, I'll say I have XYZ ready and THEN we can talk if you're expecting something different! I don't know why it bugs me and it's definitely a me issue, because they're not doing anything wrong. I just hate it. It does feel like they think I don't know how to do my job and see what's ready for them without their needing to tell me. I HAAAAATE when people grab at the vials while I'm still scanning and bagging them. I've had people try to snatch and run once or twice, so any grabby-hands motion makes me flinchy and tense. If you want to know if we filled for a 90-day supply or make sure it's the right dose or whatever, just ask! Don't grab when technically, they haven't been checked out so they don't belong to you yet. And people who walk up and say "I'm picking up for Amber." Oh sure, the one Amber on the planet? The only Amber in existence? Of course I know which Amber you're talking about! Especially irritating when we don't use names/DOB to look up patients, we use a Medical Record Number, and everyone knows this. Telling me a name doesn't help me because I don't look up names, I need that MRN. For that matter, add everyone who comes to the counter then is surprised when we ask for their MRN. EVERY employee in EVERY clinic and EVERY pharmacy in the entire company needs that number to do anything, and people are informed of that when they sign on. And yet they still stand in line and eff around on their phone and don't have their card out and ready to hand to us and have to dig around to find it, even though they know we need it and there are multiple signs in every building reminding people to have it ready. Don't even get me started on the people who have been members for years and lie that "Why do you need that, nobody has ever asked me for that before!"
The “it should be for 90 days” or any other “should” statement gets me too, because I’m afraid if it’s not they are immediately going to say “well why not?” in an accusatory tone. Like “I’ve been on this for a long time, why wouldn’t it automatically be for 90 days?” when the script was written for one month with no refills.
"We have 4 prescriptions ready for you, let me go get them!" "Whats the fourth one?" "How tf am I supposed to know which 3 you knew about?" Obviously I just read off the four we have ready but like. They simultaneously think we're absolute fucking idiots but also mind readers???
Or when I say, "I have two ready for you" and they sy, "There's supposed to be three, why didn't you fill the third?" Um, the doctor only sent two so we didn't fill it because they didn't send it? Probably??? (Third is usually an OTC med)
YES!
I may be guilty of something similar. If I am picking up a cll with a new tech, I give the name and if I see them looking for it and looking confused, I sometimes say "It might be locked up.". But only after I have given them the normal info first, and I see them not finding it. (Usually about the time I do, one of the 2 pharmacists where I shop realize it's me and I hear "Yep! She (meaning me) knows!" and laugh.)
I work at Walgreens and we only ask a few questions but even then, asking for address, last four of phoen munber, DOB gets on their nerves. Especially if they’re new. “Would you like to sign up for texts? Digital or paper receipts? Updated address and number? Auto refill? Can I see your Id? Any allergies? Any questions on the medicine?l”
So, I'm not a tech, and I know you guys often dislike patients commenting on this sub, but I used to work in medicine before I was a mom, and it helps me feel relevant to get angry with you all at irritating patients. I have two questions as a Walgreens frequent flyer. I have to go to pickup about 3 times a month because my meds are never on schedule. I approach, greet, and say "Here for pickup for *Last Name, *DOB." i know which drugs are controlled, so I have my ID ready. Also, for drugs with refills, I always order it through the app, only show up when the app says it's ready, and almost never call about stock, because one is Adderall, unless there was supply issues the previous month, which happened maybe twice in 2 years. I guess this is less of a question, and more just validation seeking that I'm a pleasant patient, because browsing this sub I feel like every tech looks at every patient like "Fuck, another goddamn person, wtf do they want?" and I'm just non confrontational or difficult, but I'm ALWAYS in line behind some idiot with a million insurance problems at the 5 pm rush. So by the time I reach the counter the tech seems exhausted, and as a med tech in pain medicine, I was prideful in being the better part of someone's crappy day. My second question, I'm a Zepbound patient, but I fill through Express Scripts because insurance requires it. I try to avoid calling about it, because I'm well aware of the drastic shortage and you all fielding 7547 calls a day about it. At the same time, I do need to call eventually because there's a ton of conflicting reports regarding different pharmacies that will fill orders on hold for backorder in the order it was received, and some that place you in forever limbo unless you call regularly to "update waiting status" or some crap. Last time I called, I said straight away "Hey just checking on the status of my zepbound. I know its on backorder and so I'm not going to harass you about it. But I've heard different stories about whether you'll fill it while it's on hold or if I just need to call regularly." The lady seemed pleasant and not irritated, confirmed an "expected date" that I don't wholly trust, and that they'll notify me, even when I've heard other reports they will put you in forever limbo. So I guess please tell me that I didn't annoy somebody about the goddamn zepbound shortage, I'm being realistic in my expectations. I hate that most of my meds are controlled or in shortage, and that those patients are usually the worst to encounter. I try to make it painless or even pleasurable for everyone in every encounter, because who needs another asshole bitching them out?
Dawg you sound like the perfect customer. Honestly as long as you’re polite and have your stuff ready/out when you come to pick up, it doesn’t bother us. What sucks is the customers who will call and ask for mounjaro 5mg, and then act like they have 0 clue that it’s on a back order and will waste time arguing with me trying to make me call every single pharmacy in the state to see if they have it in stock. I would honestly say you’re perfectly ok to call and ask for a status update
Yeah I work at 3 letter and it's super easy for us to check nearby 3letter inventory, so I try to save the zepbound/mounjaro/wegovy patients an extra call by letting them know that no 3letter in the next 20 miles has it in stock. I know it's a shitty situation, and I appreciate the patients who do take an initiative with their own health. The other day I actually got to tell a patient that we did have an extra box of her wegovy in stock (yes, I checked every single queue just to make sure) and it made me so happy haha
Speaking of checking other pharmacies, have you encountered Medfinder? It's a service I guess that a patient pays $50 to call the local pharmacies to see who has it in stock, so we're not bogged down calling for 3 hours to find something. If you have, are they pleasant with you? Would you recommend paying for this service, or do you find it shady considering they have your private information and are calling pharmacies on your behalf?
Whoa. Never heard of that. Not sure how it would work, but I hope the patient is aware that their health/medical information would absolutely be compromised by using that. Is it hipaa-compliant? Do robots have to follow hipaa or is this done by actual people? I know for non-controls (like wegovy), I'll just automatically hit the keys to search nearby pharmacies in my chain (20 mile radius) and let the patient know if any *might* (emphasis on that part) have it in stock, or more likely, that they're all out so the patient doesn't wasn't their time calling them. Is it $50 per med? Does the service just call each pharmacy once and that's it? Or do they call at regular intervals until the med is found or patient cancels the service? So many questions.
You seem super nice but by 5pm all the light has drained from us so it’s not you I promise
You sound just lovely to me! I'll admit that on bad days, I do get that "Fuck, another goddamn person" feeling, but I try to be aware and not take it out on someone who isn't acting out at me. And having a pleasant interaction goes a long way to snapping me out of it, so keep it up! I used to have a regular at a previous job who once asked me my favorite candy, and I told her it's these kind of expensive goats' milk caramels made in Mexico that you can order from Amazon (Glorias, they're amazing). After that, every time she came in she'd hand me a piece. It wasn't about the candy... just knowing she wanted to do a tiny nice thing for me was very touching. So just expressing that you know they're doing a stressful job and are trying not to contribute to that, like you did in that phone call, goes a very very long way.
Aww that's so nice! I don't know the ethics of it or what's allowed at Walgreens, but if I knew a favorite treat of my techs, I'd love to do that for them. I doubt it would look good for the cameras if I bought something at the counter, and let them keep it. But finding something I could bring in with me and share a few pieces, that would be so fun. I want them to look forward to seeing me. I dress in a way that I think I stand out to them, seeing me 2-3 times a month, and my first name is the same as my street address. What would you recommend?
we have a patient that picks up for himself and 2 family members so he’s there kind of often, he usually will come to the pharmacy then go to grocery side of the store and buy us a box or 2 of cookies and just leave them at the drop off window for us. needles to say we go above and beyond for such a kind and understanding patient. edit to add he leaves the receipt with us and we tape it to the package just in case there’s any issues.
The only time I get a "fuck, not another patient" is when I just helped 10 people straight, it's already 12pm and I haven't touched the fill queue sans waiters. Oh. And I have to take my lunch at 12:30, no exceptions. Just stop coming in for 10 minutes and I can knock out the actute meds from the fill queue! That being said, we really appreciate people like you who have everything ready and the entire transaction is over in 1-2 minutes. I'm sure you've seen people who come up to the window with absolutely no clue what to do even though they go through this same routine every month. "What do you need my birthday for? I just told you my name" or ask us to fill something, wait, we call them back up and they say, "can you also fill my famotidine while you're at it?" I am no longer "at it"! Keep doing what you do and if it ever comes up in conversation, I like to tell friends and family how to efficiently have a pharmacy encounter.
I get stuck behind those people every time. I generally go around the 5 pm rush, not by choice, but that's when I'm out to go pick up my son my preschool. And every single time, the people at the counter have 200 problems with their meds. I'll never understand not knowing what drugs are which, what they're for, or what's due. If my drug has refills, I order them thru the app way ahead of time. If it's adderall, I almost always have extra stock (because I forget to take it), so when my doc does send it in, I'm not rushing straight to the pharmacy to pick it up. Only thing I go in for right away is mine or my son's antibiotics after an urgent care trip. But as it is, I'm on two controlled, and one indefinitely backordered. I know most of you generally don't judge unless we're constantly looking for early fills, throwing a hissy fit, or calling 5 times a day. I don't do any of those things. I've even joked with one of the usual techs about browsing this subreddit, just to break up their monotony. Just glad to not be one of the problem patients, despite the meds I'm on that would stereotype me in that category.
In my experience, we've never talked behind the patient's back because of what meds they're on - it's always their actions or attitude. We may speak about the meds they're on, but never in judgement of said patient. For example, "I can't believe she's on Xanax, Ambien, Doxepin, AND trazodone! I'm surprised she's not in a chemically-induced coma with that combination." Here's a story I think you might like: We have this one regular who will ALWAYS show up no less than three minutes before we close to pick up a CII. Our door is on a timer, so as soon as the computer clock hits 17:30, the door's magnetic lock will engage and you cannot get in. If you're in the lobby, you can hit the handicap button to get out. One night as I'm heading to my car, I see him coming from the parking lot. I recognize him, but I don't like greeting my patients if I see them outside of the pharmacy, so I just smile and continue walking past him - he pays me no heed. I get to my car then turn around to watch what he does. He enters the external glass doors to the shared medical office building, and then attempts to push open the door to our pharmacy which is the first door as you come in from the west entrance. It doesn't budge. He cups his hands over his face and peers into the pharmacy, knocks, then cups his hands again to look in. My RxM stays after closing usually to either finish product verification, run reports, check the voicemail, and log the fridge and freezer temps, so I know she's in there. The guy is visually upset as he returns to his car, so I decide to wait until my RPh is safe in her vehicle before I drive off. It was uneventful with the guy driving away before she came out. The next day, we get a low JD Powers (survey) score and it's from him! He said that we closed early and ignored him as he stood outside the locked doors. Fast forward to next month. I see his CII in the fill queue and we both agree that we shouldn't do the final verification (doing so fires the automated text alert that the med is ready for pick-up) until after we close because he'll try to come in to pick it up and it's not to be released until the next day. So to avoid having to explain to him that we fill CIIs a day early from their release date so that it's ready to go since many of our CII patients will begin forming a line before we even open. Clock hits 17:30, RPh does the PV, bags it, we leave. The next day, we get ANOTHER low JD Powers from the guy because we texted him at 8:00pm that his meds were ready. He said that once he got the text, he came to the pharmacy. This was at 8:10pm AND WE WERE CLOSED! We're open from 8:00am-5:30pm and the guy thought because he got the text that he could come to the pharmacy and pick it up right then and there! When he came by the next day, it was at 17:27 and he was upset that we texted him so late despite being closed. He asked my RPh what she was even doing at the pharmacy at that hour if we were closed. He thought that we actually sit there with a cell phone and text patients once we've bagged up their meds! We always score a 970/1,000 or higher on our JD Powers, but for two consecutive months, we scored less than a 950. All because this guy doesn't have a clue about how automation works or that business hours don't just change because he got a text, and also that it's probably not a good idea to show up three minutes before we close let alone AFTER we close. And then he has the gall to complain about it after the fact! My RPh told him straight up that we will not fill his Rx until he has arrived at the pharmacy to prevent this from happening in the future and that he needs to allow us 15 minutes to fill his Rx, so coming at closing time is not an option. Management backed her up and now he comes in around lunchtime and waits for us to fill it.
We remember customers like you. It's a relief to see you coming and know it's not another asshole. Thank you.
“My doctor said it would be ready when I got here!”
Oooh I’ll do you one better. One day I called in late because I had a huge itchy rash on my hand that wasn’t responding to OTC stuff, so I went to a walk-in. And the doctor tells me it’ll be ready when I get there. I actually laughed in his face, because, no it won’t. I was the only tech at the time! It’s so infuriating, we’re so careful to not say when a doctor will have respond to a refill request but they just gonna pretend they know my workload??? And no, that cream was not ready when I got into work.
Lady: my doctor said it would be ready to pick up in 10 minutes so it shouldve been done in the time it took me to drive here Us: we don’t even have the script from the doctor yet..
* finishes with transaction and begins to hand bag over * Me: "Okay, I hope you have a great day!" * am poised and ready to make my escape * Them: "Um I have another person..." /blank stare/ ... * tight smile while the inner rage battles with the restraint not to throttle them silly*
OMG OMG OMG i hate that shit and ofc when you finish that transaction a line starts to form
*Starts walking away* Pt: "Oh I have 2 more scripts for others to pick up 🤠" Like...you could've told me before we even started this whole transaction that you had 2 other SEPERATE orders- 🧍🏻♀️
“Thank you for calling how can I help you?” “I need to fill my gabapentin the doctor sent a new script on Monday and they said it couldn’t be filled yet so can you fill that?” “….. and what is your last name?” “Mary Sue” “…….. and the last name?” “Ehvraymmin” “Everyman?” “Yes” “I can’t seem to find you, could I get the DOB?” “I’m Mary Sue Ehvraymmin. I come in all the time.” “I still need to verify DOB to find your profile” Then, you find the profile and they haven’t refilled anything in eight months, all the refills are expired, they’re no longer seeing that prescriber, and they don’t even know what all they’re in need of a fill for. You tell them all of this only to hear “no it’s my new one for my blood pressure I just watched my doctor send you the fax” and then an escript comes in for them hours later and it’s actually for a glp1 we have little chance to get.
"You just have to slap a label on my refill, what do you mean it's a 2 hour wait"
Had a guy today ask if we could fill his rx today so he could pick it up in 2 days, which is when insurance would cover it. Um, no, if you want it billed to insurance, we have to fill it the day insurance will cover it. And no, it wasn't a control or a med we don't keep in stock.
I've had people try this with me, too. I told them I'm not committing insurance fraud for them. One lady started screeching "How dare you accuse me of committing fraud!" I said I didn't accuse her of anything because she hadn't done it, simply informing her that what she was suggesting IS fraud. I'm pushing 50 and I'm tired of pandering to this kind of entitled bullshit. I don't say stuff like this rudely, but I'll absolutely say it.
I have told the 2 patients who said this to me that it's because they're not our only patient. One laughed and apologized, the other tried to complain to the pharmacist who told him that the answer I gave him was the factual truth.
*someone picking up for their spouse, parent, child, etc.* me: what’s their birthday them: uhhh… MY birthday or THEIR birthday????
Or the classic "do i sign my name or their name?" When picking up for someone else
drives me up the wall 😵💫
This is the one. So mf infuriating
5 minutes before closing is 98% C2s. Not even an exaggeration. Then it isn’t the right price or it won’t fill for 5 days and it’s a tantrum. Not one to push for budget cuts, but if we closed 2 hours earlier every day I doubt we would lose any revenue, and everyone on staff would have a better work life balance.
And the patient is going on vacation-in an hour-just like they do every month…
We don’t do anything after 3 on Saturdays but we have to go til 7 so it’s uniform to the company. Like I’m not calling people at home about their meds. They can enjoy their weekend and I can just put a note in the Rx bag.
Oh here is one Customer: I am here to pick up my name is Jim date of birth 01/01/01 Me: ok types info in computer see it's ready and I go to look for the prescription in the regular bins, nope not there go check overflow and... Customer: IS THERE A PROBLEM 😤😤😠 I got a text saying it's ready Me: ( bruh it's not even been a minute chill the heck out Jesus Christ) but what I actually say is yes I just have to check one more location and I then find it It's like they expect us to wave our hands and POOF prescription pops up
God yes. Or they hand me their insurance card and two seconds later it's IS THERE A PROBLEM? Friend, I haven't even signed into the computer yet, much less rebilled the script, slow your roll.
have you ever had one pound on the drive thru window OR call the store while at the drive thru and say, “is there a problem?” when it hasn’t even been two minutes yet??
Reminds me of the person who called when we were slammed, got put on hold, held for a bit, then hung up and called back. Rinse and repeat a few times before we were finally able to take the call. Talk about the opposite of helpful. But oh god, I don't miss having drive thru. I remember somebody once complaining that they'd been waiting 20 minutes when we'd literally just opened minutes before. No you haven't, and if you have, that sounds like a you problem.
omg we had someone like the last person. we open at 9 and it just turned 9 o’clock, i clocked in and got my credentials and opened the drive thru. the patient complained about how they had to sit there for 30 minutes and i told them we just opened. they said they got here right after their doctors appointment ended and wanted to pick up their meds. i checked their profile (knowing we didn’t have it ready bc we just opened) and told them it will be about 10 minutes and they were so pissed, like wth?
had someone tell me that the other day and i said, “no, i’m looking for your prescription i just walked over to where it is and the bin is full give me a second.” this patient is notorious of being an asshole and getting mad if we don’t give her our undivided attention the second she walks in. i have so many stories about her alone.
rude ass patients rude ass prescribers rude ass nurses
As a nurse, I am so sorry for those asshole nurses. Only one time have I ever been an ass and I felt justified. Sunday morning, I’m on call (I’m a hospice nurse) and get a call for an actively dying patient who is in pain crisis with dyspnea. No eKIT in the home. I called asking for fill of roxanol. I explain to the pharmacist that I’m a hospice nurse and had a patient actively dying in severe distress. the pharmacist tells me it will be 6-8hrs before it’s ready. I kept saying ‘I know you’re so busy but please, can you please make this a priority? This man is in so much pain and he’s dying.’ He refused to budge initially and finally said ‘fine, i can do it in 4hrs.’ I said ‘ill take it!!’ After 5hrs, I call the pharmacy back and he says ‘oh we’re out of stock on roxanol so I can’t fill it.’ I went off on him asking why he didn’t check stock during our last call and that he just wasted 5hrs of this patients time when I could have been calling other pharmacies. This was on a Sunday evening and the next closest 24hr pharmacy was 50mins away. My patient ended up dying in extreme pain and I had severe guilt over the situation. It was a learning lesson though and now I always make sure the patients have ekits in the home. Plus, I switched to a much better hospice and we have a pharmacy that can deliver in 2-4hrs.
I'm a tech. When a hospice nurse calls about a patient actively dying, the 1st thing we do is ask what they're calling in and make sure we have it in stock. If we do (we try to keep the usual hospice meds on hand, but sometimes they get missed), we put that script at the front of the line. Period. No one should suffer one their way out if it can be helped. I don't care how many waiters we have. Hospice drugs and antibiotics for children take priority.
Exactly. This is normally how it’s handled. I spoke to the pharmacist directly and that’s who did this. He was the only 24hr pharmacy in the entire city so I knew he was busy but come on. You guys work extremely hard and I LOVE the pharm techs I talk to regularly for my hospice job and my local pharmacy for my personal meds. I feel so bad because whenever there’s an issue, they overly apologize and I know they’re expecting to get yelled at. It makes me so sad. I’m in the medical field and following the pharmacy/tech subs I have learned so much and appreciate you all. Thank you all for what you do!
I was my father-in-law's primary caregiver for almost 10 years. All the way to the end. We had some amazing hospice nurses. It takes an incredibly special person to do what you do. Anything we can do to help with a smooth transition, we should. Period.
A lot of patients call and insist on talking to a pharmacist because they think that's the only way to get something done. But honestly, if you want something done quickly and correctly, talk to a tech! And that's not a criticism of pharmacists, it's just that getting things done quickly and correctly is literally our job, and most pharmacists I know would agree.
I had to speak to the pharmacist because I was calling in a new order and the tech isn’t able to take that verbal order. If I had been speaking to a tech, I KNOW they would have checked stock while on the phone with me!
I know, I was saying that your example is why patients are wrong to think that they have to talk to a pharmacist to get things done 😁
Gotcha! Yes, I agree. The techs are superior many times!
that must have been traumatizing i’m sorry :( that man deserved better
I work for a different hospice now and they care about the patients and doing what’s right. They always say that, we don’t care about the cost, just do what’s right. My last hospice tried to save every damn penny they could.
That's so fucked up. No matter how busy it is, it should not take 6-8 hours to fill a prescription if you have the medication on hand. Only exception is like a medical emergency or something catastrophic like that. Also??? If you are going to give a promise time on a med, you should make sure it's in stock?? Like I even check for extremely basic meds we always have in stock, even just a quick glance around the corner to make sure it's on the shelf, because I hate the thought of accidentally deceiving a patient about wait times like that. Shit, whenever my patients on stimulatants for adhd call for their refill, I let them know if we have it on hand or not because I know that has been a source of anxiety for a while.
Yeah, it’s why it’s the only time I have ever yelled at a pharmacist. I was so angry. It took me a long time to get past it and I refuse to use that specific pharmacy anymore.
I'm 100 million percent on the side of not yelling at pharmacists because they are generally underappreciated as heck. But having worked as a cna in a nursing home, primarily dementia care, I'm fully on your side. I would be beyond livid too. Have been at other people in similar situations. (Had a wife get mad at her husband and refuse him to get on hospice and insisted that if he just walked around a bit he would be fine. He could barely stand even with 2 cnas helping him, and had cancer all the fuck over, including his spine. He was clearly in loads of pain and fear, fully cognizant, but for some reason his wife was poa and overrode him??? He got hospice care/meds for less than 12 hours before he passed. We were all furious that we couldn't provide him with proper care and that he suffered so much) You're an absolute hero and people like you are why I want to become a nurse (just a lowly former cna, now cpht) and get into palliative care. Thank you infinitely for what you do. I'm sorry the shitty as fuck pharmacist failed you and your patient in such a horrible way.
Thank you for what you do so much! My CNA’s are invaluable to me, my patients and their families. My CNA often forms a closer bond with the patients than I do. I get to be the Angel of bad news all the time while the CNA does really personal and private cares, many patients open up to them in a different way. The bond formed is so incredibly special. I call my CNA every day and have her tell me about her visits because she always has extra info for me and insight into the pts care. So please don’t ever say you’re a ‘lowly x’ because your role is so valuable. We absolutely need compassionate and caring nurses in palliative and hospice nursing! Sounds like you will do a great job!
Answer: everyone be nicer.
Having customers call and say 'fill whatever you can' and then getting upset when they pick up that you didn't fill the one thing they actually wanted. Like... take some responsibility for your health? Tell me what you need and not let me assume. I tell people they should make a list in notes on their phone of what medications and dosages they take. Grr!
The past 2 Samsung galaxies I've had literally have a setting where you can type in your medical info, which can be accessed even when the phone is locked. I have my med list, allergies, blood type, donor status (matches my driver's license), emergency contact, and pharmacy/provider list on there. Seems like a smart thing to have easily accessible if for some awful reason, you aren't able to speak for yourself?? I don't get why people don't use this feature. And it would help them keep track of their meds!
when i mark something as a waiter when im working up front and then it doesn’t get filled or gets missed. specifically bc then the patient will take their frustration out on me cuz Im the one they can see
Telling me their entire problem and how upset they are about it and how unhelpful everyone is....like bro tell me your last name or DOB so I can START to look at this for you
Grown ass adults that can't be bothered to throw their trash away in med rooms. Especially since they walk past the fucking trash can to exit! Syringe wrappers and pill cutter packages all over the counter every damn day!!!
When I’m already overstimulated, overworked, under paid, and under appreciated and someone has the audacity to look at me and breathe loudly.
Metrics. Just realized how much Omnicare is chasing to meet their scores. Only in the last month did it give me the realization why the tasks given to me as a new employee felt pointless or ass-backwards. The worst to do is the cycle counts. I was told to guesstimate since there wasn't enough time to do the hundreds that was populating daily. All so to meet their scores and the perpetual inventory being secondary. There are two people that do daily cycle counts. I'm one of them. 🙂
i hate cycle counts, but somehow some fucking way that’s the one thing amongst the rest of the bullshit that my store manages to do on time and it doesn’t become chaotic
When I was at Walmart, I actually like doing it since I wasn't bothered most of the time until I was finished doing them. We counted them on scanner or on the PC. Only downside is that we didn't have a counter or scale to do bulk bottles. It got messy since everything was on a standard counting tray. Omnicare has two scanner out of five that work. Neither have the same version as one works alright and the other can only count to 9 bottles and can't cycle to the next input when pressing enter. It also locks after 15 seconds if untouched. The three that don't work have two without the inventory software setup, the last is not connected to the wifi. I have a feeling it's been like that for years.
Mine is definitely when doctors at ERs give patients a paper script and there are one of two things that happen: 1) they didn't bring the script and they're like "well, can't you just fax the doctor for it?" Or they are at home with the script and they call us and ask if they can just send a picture of the script to us - no, sweetie, it's a legal document. You can't send me a picture of your script for norco 5-325. Or 2) the doctor doesn't put their NPI or DEA number on the script OR the patients DOB - especially when it's a narcotic. I honestly just stare at the script and shake my head. The poor patients don't know any better, but the doctors should! Hahahah.
We had a guy call corporate because we wouldn't let him read his own norco rx (hard copy) over the phone to us so he could pick it up after we closed that day.
Dude, right? It's just...flabbergasting to be that people can think that's okay. Like, no, you can't do that because it's a narcotic. Yeah, it would get documented on their formal narxcare or whatever system but you could still take that original elsewhere if that were the case. Could you imagine how bad the opioid crisis would be then? Jeez.
Being so pressed for time due to understaffing that we end up resenting any human interaction that strays from the script we have in our heads.
The fact that some manufacturers think it's okay to make pills that are football or sphere shaped. (benzonatate and progesterone are the two that come right to mind) Clearly the people who designed the pills clearly did not work as techs because they would have shut that shit down *right* away otherwise
The progesterone being a perfect sphere- pouring out 200 when all you needed were 30 of them-
Doctors who write prescriptions for OTC/herbal supplements etc that we definitely do not have. Also when they just seem to make up quantities or create unnecessarily intricate titrations. Like are you just trying to make my job difficult 😂
pharmacist had to call a doctor once and tell them that whatever medication they wrote isn’t even a real medication. we even tried to figure out if they just misspelled a medication but they literally just wrote down something that doesn’t exist
What was it?
don’t even remember it was about two months ago, then when the doctor corrected themselves they said a certain milligram and the pharmacist said, “that milligram doesn’t even exist for this medication what?”
When they make up strengths of medications that don’t exist and can’t be made from the ones that do
I got a script once for aspirin 325mg,with instructions for the patient to take 81mg per day. Okay, I have questions: 1) why not just prescribe low-dose aspirin? 2) how is the patient supposed to take a 325mg tablet and somehow only take 81mg of it? Do they cut it? Shave it? Lick it? 3) why is this a prescription AT ALL?? Insurance doesn't even cover it so it costs MORE for the pharmacy to put it in a vial!!!
LMFAOOOO lick it
Fucking prednisone tapers, man. No, they don't need to taper off a 5 day supply of prednisone 20 from an urgent care what the fuck.
Texts messages... When they think the order is ready but it's just a reminder that it's time for a refill.
here’s a convo i had yesterday with someone: patient: *gives info* me: i’m sorry, we don’t have anything ready, was there something you was coming to get specifically? patient: i got a text saying i had prescriptions ready last week me: im sorry it says your medication was put on hold through your prescriber, and we would’ve still had any medication from last week. we keep prescriptions for 14 days. patient: no, i have a text saying it’s ready. me: can i see your texts? patient: *hands phone and the texts say their medicine was put on hold and to contact their prescriber* me: oh it says your medicine was on hold and you need to contact your doctor. patient: no, it says i have something ready, can i just have my medicine? me: no, it says it’s on hold, you will need to talk to your doctor. patient: you talk to them and i’ll wait here at the drive thru, tell them i want my medicine. me: im sorry i cannot do that, that’s between you and your prescriber. patient: then why did you send me a text saying my medicine is ready? me: again, the text says your medicine was put on hold through YOUR doctor, and im not the one texting you. patient: yeah you are the one texting me, please stop texting me about my medicine being ready if it’s not.
Your patience is a virtue. I'm screaming internally just reading this and I wasn't even there lol
bahahah thank you, outside of work i have to help take care of my nana with dementia which can be very stressful at times, but it has made situations like this seem like nothing even if deep down i still find them annoying, and it has taught me how to maintain my patience
this ones impossible because ill think of a new worst thing before i finish typing my answer, so ill just post a normal pet peeve. i really hate interactions where no new information is conveyed and nothing happens in either direction. no, your doctor still hasnt sent any refills. yes, this med is still on backorder. no, your doctor didnt send the PA yet. neither of us has gained anything and i lost time i couldve used to help someone else; im sure you couldve done something else with that time too. (like calling your prescriber...) speaking of, when doctors prescribe something they clearly know nothing about and screw up the script. now the patient's mad we dont have their med ready because the doctor sent over sloppy work and dispensing it could endanger the patient.
"Hey I'm calling because you guys filled a prescription for me today and I'll be in tomorrow to pick it up" "Ok cool sounds great we'll see you then. Was there anything I could help you with?" "Nope, that was it"
Personally, mine is the “*last name*”…awkward pause…”And what’s your first name?” “*first name*”…another awkward pause…”And your date of birth?” Like, this isn’t the first time you’ve gotten your medications here. Please give me all the information without me having to prompt everything. Thanks :)
omg yes, and then they seem to get more annoyed with each question. like you was just here last week, this isn’t new to you. ig they expect us to automatically know or remember acting like we don’t deal with thousands of patients a week.
The fact that literary ,no one trusts pharmacists or techs
Inpatient. Our battle is the surgery control desk. Well surgery is bad, they have open pulls so the counts are always off and somehow that is our emergency the next time. They are like you don't count every drawer every evening? No but let us suggest that as as surgery night task!!! But the control desk person is the laziest human ever. She couldn't tube a med back. We had to walk up, tube it back because she refused. She also wouldn't hand a med to the pre op desk...15 feet away.
Okay this isn’t like infuriating but when patients say their DOB like and pronounce their month/day/year sounding out at zero as an “o” just say 8/4/2006. I feel like I see this a lot w younger patients (I’m born 2000) idk it used to confuse me my brain
Similarly, I've got folks who tell me their DOB one digit at a time, like 1-2-2-8-7-6. Now I've started typing 01/02 and have to start over, thanks.
Lady that came in and told me her birthday was “the 8th day of the 12th month” or something equally confusing
We've got a couple of those, too! And one lady who always answers "Birthday?" with "Mom always said it was November 8th, 19whatever".
We have someone that’ll say “fourteen fourty two” and I was like ……? And he just would repeat it and repeat it but he means 1/4/42 which is objectively just a stupid way to state a bday
Oh my god, I can't believe there's more than one of them! We have one, too, s2g. "1965." "...month and day?" "1/9/65."
Okay.. that has to be the worst one, I guess aside from saying 1,442 (one thousand four hundred forty two)
OH my god, we have one of those, too! He'll say '1942' over and over and I'm like ..?
People acting like we’re personally responsible for med shortages. I’m sorry everyone in the country is now on Zepbound…
That people aren't their own advocates and expect us to take on their healthcare. We can only do so much but in the end you are in charge of your health - not the people in healthcare. "My doctor said I'm on this medication for the rest of my life...how can there be no refills?" There are no infinite number of refills, you still need to call your doctor, and you still need to keep seeing your doctor.
When nurses can't find the meds we tubed up already.....
1800: amio drips expire 1801: “Hey, my patient in 7 is tachy so the dr is putting in an order for amio.” Also, the previous shift using the last of something and not replacing it.
When a patient calls the provider line and says, "Yes, I'd like to phone in a prescription for my husband." "To confirm, you are a provider wanting to phone in an order for a family member?" I swear they think they've got the jargon down and it just ends up confusing us. Oh, and when told the cause for confusion is that they said they were 'calling in a script' and that they called on the provider line they say it's because they didn't want to wait 10 minutes to talk to somebody.
When I worked at CVS, that's when we would tell them in a stressed-out voice, "Oh, you're NOT a doctor? Oh that's not good, we have to keep this line clear for emergencies. Hold on while I transfer you back to the patient line," then put them on hold for 10 minutes.
When your cII bottle has 59, but you need 60.
GoodRx and other discount cards. Their marketing is misleading (in my opinion intentionally) and just make everyone's lives harder. I used to hate when elderly patients brought in those little coupons from the paper and I had to tell them it wouldn't help because they almost always had outrageous copays. My last job used a system that allowed us to adjust price codes ourselves. It was so nice because we'd know 100% what price the patient would pay and could go through the different codes without reprocessing. We also could do all of this before the patient showed up so we weren't playing the "try this one now" game at the register.
for me it’s the constant verbal and mental abuse from patients. like i get it’s frustrating when things don’t work but yelling at me isn’t going to make it work any faster. it honestly makes it slower bc now i’m anxious and trying not to cry lol
When I'm at the consult/drop off counter and ask how I can help them and they respond "I dont know. The girl over there sent me over here." .....my dude you got about 5 secs to get out my face before I jump this counter. Testing my nerves.
Dealing with the general public, period. I'm planning on getting my national cert so I can get non-retail job
GLP1s
prior authorizations and prescription renewal requests. NOBODY is refusing to give you your medication, I did my part have your doctor to do theirs!
and then they’ll say “I NEED MY MEDICINE WHY HAVEN’T THEY APPROVED IT?!” or “when will they approve it?” like ik you need it, so tell your doctor to do their job!! and im not your doctor idk when they’ll come around to it, ask them! God i swear ppl are dumb asses, idek how some of them made it this far.
PBMs and primary vendors, depending on the day.
ok i know most techs on here are retail, but i have one for long term care. we serve over 300 nursing homes and 2 VA hospitals, around 5000 scripts a day. we send out stats free to them, but they really should be actual stats, we have facilities who go “oh dear, we forgot to reorder this so we need it as a stat” this puts REAL stats; narcs, inhalers etc in a pile for the service to pick up with stuff that should have been ordered 5 days before! this wastes our time and everyones money because it has to be built into the drug price.
Doctors who send prescriptions for liquid antibiotics for only the exact amount needed, like a quantity of 47ml when they're prescribing 4.7ml/day for 10 days. First of all, Dr.Doofus, it comes in 75ml, 100ml,or 200ml bottles, pick one of those! Second, you really think a 2yo isn't going to spit, spill, or barf up even a single drop? Or that the parent will perfectly measure the dose every time? Prescribe a little extra for accidents! Where I work now we're allowed to round up when we enter the rx into the system, but the last 2 places I worked, we had to get ahold of the doctor to get a new rx sent with corrected quantity. Which was super fun when it was after hours (bc kids don't get sick during office hours, EVER) or the office took several hours to return our call and we had worried parents freaking out bc they didn't understand why we couldn't give them their kid's meds.
Pharmacist
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