I applied for a job at corporate. Its in the local district office as a trainer for pharmacy techs. The district is brand new, splitting off from an established district. The guy heading it up is from another new district (my old one in fact)
I was just at the old district office Monday(yesterday) for a meeting (because the new district doesn’t have an office, and the meeting was with the person whose job I’m trying to get.
Today I get a call from the store manager. “Hey, just letting you know you have an interview tomorrow at 1pm at store-in-the-middle-of-nowhere. You can carpool with some other employees with meetings there too, because the interview is unpaid and you can’t apply for mileage. Call me back in an hour so I can see if someone wants to drive.”
Oh WONDERFUL. So not only did you give my less than 24 hours notice, I have to get coverage for MY shift at my store, get to this other store, then wait around for the other two people to finish their interviews?
Oh when I call back? “I called your trainee in to work your shift tomorrow. You’ll need to leave here by 11, so you should come in to work for your regular shift (9-5) and just leave when you need to. You can finish your shift when you get back.”
Oh joy.
Well I better go charge up my PSP tonight so I don’t go insane tomorrow waiting around for forever.
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August 19th, 2008
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lb969cpht |
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I had a office call me back on a PA. She gave me the number Medicaid gave her. I run it through the phone system. Ok. Ran the script. Came back DENIED.
If medicaid DENIES it, why the frick would you give it to me? You chose to write for Ortho-Tri-Cyclin DAW, you either get the PA or take off the DAW, not give me a DENIED number and let me have to tell the patient that I can’t magically make it work.
Oh and do all this at 2 mins to 5 so you are closed when I try to call you back…
Medicaid does not cover Brand name without a PA. EVER. (few notable exceptions). You know it, and I know it. I noticed right away that it was DAW and informed the patient about the PA.
Your office didn’t. Why? Cause you don’t want to tell them bad news? You’ll tell them they have cancer, but you won’t tell them that it might be a week before your office staff bothers to retrieve my fax and actually do something? (after sending me a “+6 refill OK’d” or three.)
I’m the one who has to cover for you, take your flak for you writing stuff thats not covered.
If your Patient wants DAW, and you write it, why not just get the PA BEFORE that script leaves the office?
Tags: Doctors, Frustrations, Insurance | |
July 23rd, 2008
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lb969cpht |
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Actually not work related at all. I have mentioned a few time previously that I am very technology oriented.
Tomorrow, the parts will be delivered for my new computer. I will be custom building this from scratch, and have very high standards for my work.
I’ll have to post some pictures of assembly and the finished project for you all. (I think I have readers…)
Now for the work related.
Woman comes in. Says she wants to transfer from the grocery store pharmacy down the street.
I say sure, we can do that, let me get you in the computer.
So I ask all the necessary questions, and it seems this woman is getting very agitated.
Rx is for Valtrex. Theres been a recent outbreak, its near the end of the week (order wise, I place my order tomorrow)
“What? How can you be out of this? Its a very common medication!”
“Ma’am, I’m not out, I just don’t have enough.”
“What do you mean you don’t have enough? You have to have enough!
“Well, I have one bottle left. But your doctor wrote for taking two a day.”
“Gimmie the bottle then. You can order more for the next person.”
“Well, the medication only comes in bottles of thirty. So you would only be getting 15 days worth.
“Well, what are you going to do about it?”
“I’ll give you ten tablets to hold you over, I’ll have more in tomorrow.”
“I’ll have you know that I used to work in my fathers pharmacy as a tech!”
At this point she’s making quite a fuss around the counter and the pharmacist walks up.
“Well then you must know you can’t make everybody happy then” he says, “I’m not going to give you all that we have on hand, so the next guy is out of luck. It doesn’t work like that.”
“I’d be happy to call around and see who else has the medication for you, in this quantity.” I said, knowing full well the reason she was coming here, was because the other pharmacy was out.
“Never mind, just give me the 10 pills.”
“Certainly. We’ll have the ready in fifteen to twenty minutes.”
“WHAT?!? I’m not waiting that long for 10 freaking pills! Why is it going to take that long? Thers nobody here!”
(Not true, I have 10 other customers in various stages, all milling about the store not hovering over the counter”
“Well, ma’am, you are a new customer with us, and until I get the prescription billed through, I don’t know if I need to call your insurance, and that can take extra time. We’ll try to have it as ready as possible.”
She’s just as rude at the register. I have the joy of ringing her out. (The other tech is on lunch).
“Thats going to be $15.00 today.”
“But thats what I normally pay for 60!”
“When the computer system runs a partial fill, the insurance returns a copay. Some make you pay all up front, other companies only what you get, still others do it 50/50.”
“I better not have a charge when I pick up the rest tomorrow.”
She storms off, taking the 10 tabs.
I guarantee I’ll see her tomorrow before my delivery comes. Even told her that we don’t usually get a delivery before noon.
Now had she been nice, I would have suggested calling her md and oking
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July 9th, 2008
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lb969cpht |
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Yeah so I disappeared for a bit. No I wasn’t on vacation. I had to do double duty at work. I had.. *shudders* .. Trainees.
Yep, the company just opened a new location, and I got the pleasure of having to train some.
Couple cashiers and a tech. Two other techs were trained at another location.
Today I was informed that my tech was working overtime. (for my company this is horror unleashed).
Apparently the one tech was “sick” the first day, and the other was “sick” on the second day.
Glad we set a good example.
Not the fist time I’ve had trainees either. about 4 months after we opened, I had trainees for another store. Two techs.
I got a shocker. One of my trainees is now a trainee again. She got promoted to management.
So now I gotta take orders from someone I trained…
Ah well. My vacation will come soon enough. I’m going to a Boston and Styx concert the beginning of August.
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July 8th, 2008
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Old guy pulls up to the drive-thru. Wants a Rx filled and a box of Claritin-D. The RX I can do, but the Claritin-D you have to come in for. Company policy, and also a very practical reason. The Drive-Thru POS terminal lacks a keyboard and a signature pad.
I know he’s trouble, from the way he came flying in, and the way he flings the script into the drawer.
“I’ll be happy to get you entered into our system, but I’m afraid you’ll have to come inside for the Claritin-D.”
“But I’m handicapped!!!” he exclaims as he shows me his parking tag.
“Unfortunately, according to the Combat Methamphetamine act, we need you to sign for your purchase, and I have to enter the details on your drivers license. While I can pass you the signature pad, I can’t enter the data required because I don’t have a keyboard. ”
“Well do it at one that has one!”
” While I can do that, that would mean you would need to come inside, because I have to have you sign it.”
‘Gimme the dang script back, You’ll be hearing form my lawyer, this is discrimination against handicapped people!”
I never even had time to look at the Rx to learn his name….
.
.
.
.
.
The next thing is a new policy from Corporate. Apparently we have to restrict sales of Iodine Tincture to 2 bottles a day, and 15 a week.
Because apparently its now being used in Meth production. If you want more details see This publication.
Great. There’s only 2 ways I can see this being enforced. One you have to have a soft block on it, and require a signature for it like Psuedoephedrine, the other is keeping it behind the pharmacy counter. Both are more work for us.
Also, check out the warning signs if your customer is a druggie…
* Customer does not have a legitimate reason to purchase iodine or cannot justify the quantity requested.
* Customer purchases iodine crystals for animal use but has little knowledge of horses, cattle, or other livestock.
* Customer resists providing personal information.
* Customer repeatedly purchases the maximum amount permitted by law at the shortest interval permitted.
* Customer simultaneously purchases iodine and other products that are used to produce methamphetamine such as acetone, alcohol, camp stove fuel, ether, drain cleaner, muriatic acid, rock salt, road flares, unusual quantities of matches, or the cutting agent MSM.
* Customer purchases over 4 fluid ounces of iodine tincture and purchases hydrogen peroxide at the same time.
Camp Stove fuel? Matches? Flares? Rock salt?
What if I’m going camping in the wilderness, and its going to be icy, and I need iodine to purify water?
Tags: Frustrations, People | |
May 23rd, 2008
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lb969cpht |
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How is it that people in NY do not understand the mandatory generic law?
YOUR PRESCRIPTION WILL BE FILLED GENERICALLY IF THE PRESCRIBER DOES NOT WRITE DAW IN THE BOX BELOW.
Understand this. I don’t care if your insurance prefers brand name. I don’t care if you think the brand is far superior to the generic. If your doctor doesn’t put those 3 letters in that box, I can’t give you brand.
“What if you don’t have the generic?” she asks. “If no generic is available, the prescription will be filled with the Brand name.”
“What if you’re just out of it?”
“According to our pharmacists interpretation we have to order it in, we can not substitute brand for generic. According to NY LAW, only your doctor has the right to tell us that he wants you to have brand name medication.”
So she asks for the script back. Sure, if you wanna try every pharmacy in the area, but they will all tell you this same thing. Its not company policy, its THE LAW.
So what does she do? Scribbles DAW on the Rx and hands it back. “There. You can’t prove it wasn’t on there before.”
Umm yes, I can. I scanned the RX in the computer when I took it in. I have not yet deleted it. Its still there. Furthermore you are on CAMERA illegally modifying a prescription.
So I documented that the patient had modified the Rx, and she reluctantly accepted the generic.
Tags: Frustrations, People | |
May 22nd, 2008
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Woman comes in for a script for her daughter. Its Lovenox. Doctor warns patient and parents that it will be expensive. She gives us a no-fault auto card. Ran it through, needs Prior Authorization, its over $700. “Yeah, the doctor warned us that you might have to call them if its too expensive.”
That was yesterday. Office was called, insurance was called. Woman comes in today, and no PA. I call, and the phonemonkey tells me that the other phonemonkey didn’t do anything, or even leave a note, but she’ll handle it. She calls me back, and I reprocess. Its non formulary, but the doctor’s PA apparently covered that too, so its covered if I reprocess again. Goes through, $0 co-pay.
I inform her that the insurance covered the complete cost of the medication, and that she saved $7000 dollars. (its printed on the tag)
She’s happy, leaves, then about 2 mins later comes back. That fast she couldn’t have gotten past the photo counter, let alone out the door. She points out the price and asks if thats correct. “Yes mam, I believe I pointed that out when you were rang out.”
“Oh, I just assumed you misspoke! The doctor told us it would be only $700.”
“No mam, this stuff is really expensive, but your insurance did cover it all.” Pfft. Doctors, what do they know?
So she leaves, in sticker shock.
15 mins later, she re-appears. “I want to return this. I talked with my husband and he says we have to return it. He think that the insurance company may limit our claim for damages on the car if this stuff is so expensive.”
Now I’m getting kinda miffed. This stuff is expensive. If she returns it, we can’t really dispense it to another patient if it left the store, so we’re out $7K. Second, her auto coverage should cover something like 25K in medical expenses. I inform her that claims for medical and damage are unrelated, and one should not effect the other, but she does not believe me.
We end up settling on her calling the insurance company in the morning, and discussing how this will effect her claim for damage to the auto, and we’ll hold onto the medication for now. We also tell her to discuss options with the patient’s doctor about getting her on a different medication. Since the pharmacist on tonight was temporary help, we’re going to leave the decision to refund the medication up to the supervisor who will be working tomorrow.
As she’s leaving she threatens that if the insurance is going to limit her claim for auto damage, she’ll refuse to pick it up and that we’ll have no choice but to refund it.
She thinks she left an ultimatum, but since its paid for, if she refuses to come back, we’ll just mail it to her.
Tags: Frustrations, People | |
May 8th, 2008
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So today, I get this call from a woman. She just picked up her husband’s medication. Omeprazole (OTC). She demands to know why it wasn’t filled with Prilosec(OTC).
I informed her that the prescription was written for Prilosec(OTC), but since we live in Ny, we are forced to automatically dispense the generic when available. She demands to know how we can do that if the Rx is written for Prilosec(OTC). I explain that Ny state law says that unless the Dr. writes DAW on the Rx, by law, we must give the generic. If she wants the brand name, she’ll need the doctor to write a new Rx, and mark it DAW.
She then yells that its a refill, not a new script, and that we can’t change it. No, by law we must change it. She informs me that because we gave her Prilosec(OTC) why didn’t we change it the last time. I tell her that the generic is new since the last time she had it filled. She proceeds to inform me that the generic has been available for years, and that I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Well you’re partially correct. The generic for PRESCRIPTION Prilosec has been out for years, but the generic for Prilosec(OTC) is brand new.
She then demands that I refund her the money, and give her the prescription back so she can take it somewhere where they will give her what she wants.
I inform her that we can not do this. The Rx has been filled and refilled a couple times by now, so by law, it can’t be given back, she’d need to have the other pharmacy call for a transfer, but that since its not marked DAW, by law, they can not give her the brand either.
She then demands a refund. Again, we can’t do that. If you can get the Dr. to write the new script, we’ll gladly do and exchange for the product, but she can’t just get a refund.
She calls me an asshole and slams the phone down.
Why is this our fault?
YOUR doctor didn’t write the script DAW when you told him you wanted brand. YOU didn’t notice until you got home. and complained we didn’t tell you. We did. On your patient leaflet it says in plain english, in big letters: Generic substituted. There is a green sticker on the bottle and leaflet, that says : “This is the same medication your have been getting, but the color and or shape may be different.”
People like her make it hard to keep a civil tone. You want so badly to inform them that THEY are the one throwing the tantrum. But you can’t. Because they can write a letter, and say you were rude.
Tags: Frustrations, People | |
May 2nd, 2008
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Not even remotely pharmacy related. I just spent the last half hour dissecting my DVD player to retrieve a disk. A lil plastic tab slipped out of a lil plastic slot, and therefore the whole thing won’t open. Seems the motor didn’t stop when it was supposed to and forced itself to far back and things slipped out.
On the plus side, I have been just waiting for an excuse for taking this thing apart. Actually its fairly simple. However RCA uses WAY too many case screws….
Yes, I am a geek. Not only am I a pharmacy Tech, but a techie. I built the PC I am writing this on from scratch.
This is what makes my job so interesting. I’m the one everyone comes to when we have a problem. And I love it.
Tech support on the phone? Sure put em on hold and I’ll grab the phone in the server closet.
Printer jammed? Give me a screwdriver, and I’ll gladly tug adheasive labels out of the rollers with tweazers.
Looks like I’ll be shopping for a new DVD player tomorrow, seems the motor malfunction was because a capacitor blew, and shorted out one of the control boards.
Tags: Frustrations | |
April 5th, 2008
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Today was inventory day. God only knows how many people wandered in and out of the pharmacy today. Not only did I have the employees of the company we hire for inventory, but also my boss, the pharmacist, her boss, Her bosses boss, and my training supervisor.
We scored really good for it being our first inventory.
One of the big problems is that we’re supposed to be able to keep up with our normal workload, with an additional 10 people in the pharmacy. Now remember, I work in a chain pharmacy, so it tends to be quite small back there. I got lucky with an L shaped pharmacy, so its a lot bigger than some, but its still about the size of a trailer.
The other is that the people who do inventory, don’t know anything about pharmacy, so they are constantly interrupting, asking questions, and just generally causing chaos.
Later in the day after inventory was finished, (took about 4 hours, from 7am to about 11am for the pharmacy) we started settling back into our normal routines.
Then the fun really started. Customer comes in, complaining she got amoxicillin, and said the doctor was supposed to give her penicillin. She wants to return the amoxicillin and exchange it for penicillin. Sorry, it doesn’t work like that, call your doctor. She does, and asks for a refill on her Metoprolol.
Well, she comes back later, and the doctor had called in a penicillin script. I proceed to begin to ring her out, when she decides she wants to check her meds to make sure she got penicillin. While doing so she notices that we gave her pink tablets instead of white for her Metoprolol.
Last year we were getting Sandoz from the warehouse, and they were white. This year we are getting Teva, and they are pink.
She proceeds to inform us that we need to order her white tablets, as she refuses to take the pink ones, because they are so horrible compared to the white ones.
End of story, we basically told her we’re not special ordering a generic drug from an outside vendor just for her.
Tags: , Frustrations, People | |
March 27th, 2008
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