Ok, so I told you about our Auto Refill
system.
For those of you not paying attention (and those of
you from Idaho), let me explain again. You others can skip the next
paragraph.
The company developed an addition to our
computer system called Auto Refill. Just as the name implies, it will
automatically print labels for patients two days before they (normally) run out
of medication. This is a brilliant system, win-win for both patient and
pharmacist. For the patient, they don't have to do any thinking... just come in
when you run out of your medication and it is there on the shelf waiting for
you. If you forget after a few days, the system automatically calls you to
remind you. Plus, if you are out of refills, it will automatically fax the
doctor for a refill, providing seamless drug therapy. For the pharmacist, it
prints out a stack of labels two days ahead of time and we can fill them during
down times in the pharmacy. And the BEST feature is that people who for
whatever reason are afraid to type in their Rx number when they dial the
pharmacy and then get connected to the pharmacist/tech and bug us during
business times; now they don't have to bother.
I'd like to think that this system is completely
altruistic in terms of helping the patient and the pharmacist, but I'm sure it
is more of a form of "push technology" to get more business. Cha-Ching. I can
certainly attest that I have presented a medication on Auto Refill to various
patients who didn't really want the medication but took it anyway because it was
filled and ready, Cha-Ching.
What has been helpful is that with a lot of people,
it has stopped the monthly telephone calls to give us their Rx number. Here's a
sample:
Ring-Ring, Ring-Ring, Ring-Ring
Me (answering before the 4th ring because THAT
would be rude not to. Corporate said so):
"Pharmacy, may I help you?"
"Pharmacy, may I help you?"
Patient: "Yes, I want to refill my prescription,
but I don't have the Rx number."
Me, hearing the bottle of medication make noise as
it rattles in their hand (yes, we CAN hear that over the phone, by the way): "Ok, what's the
medication?"
Patient: "Hy-dro-clor-ROT."
(The label is too short to print the entire name of
hydrochlorothiazide, so it is abbreviated, but they don't know that, and they
always emphasize the "ROT")
Me: "Ok, we'll get that ready for you..."
Now instead of that exchange, we get this
one:
Ring-Ring, Ring-Ring, Ring-Ring
Me. "Pharmacy, may I help you?"
Lady: "Yes, I just had a call from your automated thingy saying I have a prescription ready to pick up? I didn't know I had anything there. Is it my Alprazadonastatin?"
Me: "Yes, it's your Atorvastatin. You don't
have to call us... just come in and get it."
Next month... same thing happens with same
patient. So instead of calling us to give us the number, they call us to tell
us they're going to pick it up. I even had one lady say she talked to the
computer. Seriously, she says she talked to the computer and the computer
replied.
I realize automated systems may be helpful to some customers, but I hate them. I got three phone messages in as many days, reminding me to renew a med that I actually take PRN (yes, by doc's order) and was nowhere near ready to renew. I told them politely to take me off the call list and have happily never heard from them since.
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate that, and at my pharmacy we immediately take anyone off the call list who doesn't want the reminder calls. It is an opt in and opt out service, and when someone complains I do ask them if they want me to stop the phone calls. Most of the time they say no, they still want the calls, even if they're getting multiple calls.
ReplyDeleteWhat is really difficult about the system is that it doesn't account for the fact that a lot of people miss a few days on their medication, so when it pops up for refill at 30 days, it appears to the patient that it is being filled early when it really isn't. They just don't take their meds as directed.