The Wellness Monitor, Cool Gadget or Little Brother?

Ok, so you want to track your daily movements and sleep cycles? This is the gadget for you. Using the on board accelerometer to detect intensity and duration of movement, steps, distance, and elevation, it also calculates the number of calories burned. It has a "sensor is small enough to fit into the included wristband even as you sleep, where it will track tiny tremors in the wrist to tell just how long it took for you to fall asleep, the number of times you wake up."

Using bluetooth, this information is uploaded to the manufacturer website which we hope isn't linked into the government Medicare computers. I like the idea, but having the data uploaded somewhere seems less than private and more George Orwellian. Sometimes I think George Orwell was somewhat right, but instead of Big Brother watching, we have a whole lotta Little Brothers keeping track of us.

Here's the LINK.

Random Observation: Ethics Shmethics

I guess the economic downturn has affected doctors as well. Just yesterday a doctor called to have his own Crestor Rx transferred from a local warehouse pharmacy. I called and found out that, of course, it is out of refills (thanks for wasing our time buddy, we appreciate that). Upon notifying the patient/doctor, he says, "That's ok, I'll write a refill for myself" as he's handing me a $30 coupon for a new/transfer script. So basically what this boils down to is that docs are prescribing for themselves so they can get a $30 gift card. Is it really that bad out there?

Does that smell like an ethical issue to you? It sure does to me.

Remembering names

Sometimes in the evening before closing it slows down, and if it's been a long day I'm tired. It's then that I usually get "deep in thought" on something. And that's when it usually happens... someone will come in to pick up their prescription and I have to ask for them name because it's just not there. Most people are just fine with giving their name. I even have one lady who after several years feels the need to say her name loudly, "FARGOST," then she always spells it for me, loudly and distinctly, "F-A-R-G-O-S-T." As you can imagine it doesn't matter how deep in thought I am, I always remember her name before she starts spelling it to me.

But I have 2-3 patients out of thousands of customers that are quite upset that "After all this time, YOU don't remember my name?" And the harder I try to remember their name, the less it comes back to me. And then there's times when I do remember it but other times when I don't. I have invented a way around the problem which seems to get me off the hook, though. I just say, "I know your name, but company policy requires me to ask you each time to verify the prescription." That seems to work.

And now that I've been deep in thought about this a little longer, there are two other things that are quite interesting, to me anyway, possibly because it IS me:

One is that there are some people who I have checked out many times and have no problem remembering their name. Then they'll come in another time and I got nothing. Nothing. I know I should know their name, but it's not coming to me. Then when I finally remember it's like, "What the heck?!" and I feel like and idiot. It reminds me of when I took the NAPLEX exam. (For those who don't know, that's the big exam to prove to the world you're worthy to be a pharmacist). There were several questions that I knew the answer to three questions later, but on the NAPLEX you don't ge the chance to go back and change your answer because it is computer-administered and you're SOL. Mrs. Fargost will be happy to loudly spell that for you: S-O-L.

The second thing that's interesting is probably really interesting. But now that I've typed this far, I can't remember what it is now.

Corporate Scheduling Nonsense

A recent email from corporate states:

"Covering regular technician needs is not a responsibility/priority of our scheduling department."

In other words, our SCHEDULING DEPARTMENT doesn't handle SCHEDULING. So if we have a technician call out sick, by no means can you rely on the scheduling department for any kind of assistance. You're on your own. They're lining up at both windows, the phone is ringing, you have a crap load of scripts to fill already, and the tech just called in sick because of an unfortunate hang-nail. Guess what, it's UP TO YOU to find a replacement.  SCHEDULING doesn't mean SCHEDULING. Not for you, anyway. Oh, they'll find an emergency replacement for a pharmacist (someday I'll tell you about the day I had to call in sick... and the "emergency replacement"), but not technicians.  

Also this gem:

"...it is the pharmacy managers/store managers responsibility to hire for ALL regular needs..."

In other words, we work for a huge corporation which you would think has people to handle this sort of thing, but nooooo... they want the pharmacy manager to work with the store manager to hire technicians. Yeah, good luck with that. When I page on the overhead speaker for a manager override, 2 out of 3 times no one comes to help. Sure, they're going to help us hire people too.

"Please hire for attitude and not experience"

So basically it is our job to babysit new techs, teach them how to do everything (which in other words means  "Move, let me do it") but as long as they have a smile on their face the company is happy. That's just great. That means they can smile their little head off while they tell the patient why they had to wait so long to get their script because "I'm new here. I don't know WTF I'm doing, but I was hired because I can smile!"

Oh, we're also supposed to have two "cross trained" employees to help out in the pharmacy just in case. Yeah, right. Remember what I said about paging for help before? Our store (and every other store that I know of in our division) has been cut to the bone on help. Sure, they're just going to close down a register up front so they can send someone to come help me in the pharmacy.

What a load. EPIC WTF.

Sunday Funnies: Silly Entertaining Fun

Awesome Prank: The Invisible Driver!

Imagine you're a pharmacist under Obamacare and you lose your job because all health care is now delivered through the government, including prescriptions. Further imagine that because you've lost your job you have to work in the fast food industry. Now imagine a car pulls up without a driver.

Now there's a great prank!  See it here!

Verizon sells a lot of smart phones

Verizon Wireless is celebrating having sold 9.8 million smart phones in the 4th quarter of 2012.

I think half of them were to my 17 year old son who CAN'T KEEP A HOLD OF OR TAKE CARE OF A CELL PHONE TO SAVE HIS LIFE.

LINK

Cloning a Neanderthal?

There's some articles out there that Harvard Professor George Church believes that there's enough DNA available from fossils to actually clone a neanderthal like suggested in the Jurassic Park movie. There is controversy as to whether Professor Church is actually looking for a female to birth the clone, but one lady asked about the idea replied, "I don’t know. I’m in support of the science if she’s willing to do it. I would not be that adventurous of a female, no.”

I honestly don't know what the big deal is all about. I have a ton of neanderthals that walk into my pharmacy every day. Some are from corporate management, others are disguised as patients looking to get narcotic prescriptions filled. There's certainly no need to clone that which walks among us already.

Random Observation: Just a Transfer

I called a competitor for a transfer yesterday. I laughed with the other pharmacist about our mutual coupon woes.  We call for a transfer, hand out a $30 gift card. In 30 days, the other pharmacy transfers it back, and they hand the person another $30 gift card. I told her, "This is our way of rewarding people for not shopping with us regularly." She laughed and told me about a guy who asked to transfer a prescription to their pharmacy, then went in to pick up the $30 gift card. She said, "Sir, you have to pay for the medication, then you get the gift card." He argued with her, stating there was nothing in the verbage of the coupon stating that he had to actually get the medication... As it turns out, he didn't want the medication... he was under the impression that he could just TRANSFER the medication and GET THE GIFT CARD.

Miss Loosey

She's back again. This makes the third time in the past twelve months. It's Miss Loosey. She's here for another round of Plan B. Plan A (Stop having unprotected sex with any guy you run into) didn't work again, and now she's worried about being pregnant. Add to that the fact that last year she actually did get pregnant and ended up in the hospital for surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. And every time she comes in for another round of Plan B she has to ask me the same questions over and over and over again because she's certain she's going to get cancer.

The worst part is that Miss Loosey is actually Mrs. Loosey... MARRIED to a really nice disabled man and he's NOT responsible for any of the pregnancies. Wait, I'm not sure that's the worst part. Mrs. Loosey is also on state-funded Medicaid which means you and me are paying for her medicines and her trip to the hospital and the Valtrex she gets for COLD SORES... yeah... cold sores, that's it.

Dealing with a Death in the Family

A recent post by Dr. Grumpy reminded me of a patient last year. She came into the pharmacy literally in tears, handing me a prescription from her doctor for Lorazepam. It was to help her deal with a death in the family.

This situation happens more often than you would think. In fact, sometimes the first person a surviving spouse will call is the pharmacy. I don't know why. Maybe it's because when a patient is ill they see their pharmacist a lot and we're more sympathetic than the other healthcare providers? All I know is that I've entered a "D" for "deceased" in the patient's profile on the computer more than I ever wanted to.

The lady was quite upset and I worked quickly to get her the medication ready. In most cases, if I'm not interrupted I can get a new script typed, printed, counted, labeled, checked, double-checked, and ready to go in about 3.5 minutes. So 3.5 minutes later I'm handing her the prescription at the pick-up window and a box of Kleenex so she can wipe away the tears.

I felt very sorry for her. I did. But I didn't ask questions. Survivors of those who have passed don't want to answer questions. They don't want to hear how you know how they feel, because you don't. But they do like to hear sympathy, and I tried to express that.

She talked about her loved one that passed with great sorrow. But then the way she was wording things didn't make sense. A few more sentences and then it finally came out... she was talking about a HAMSTER.

All I can say is that must have been one special hamster.

Sunday Funnies - Laughter for YOU

It's JUST LIKE CORPORATE!

Useless.

This reminds me of any corporate executive from my company. Imagine the switches as being suggestions, ideas, proposals, or advice we try to give upper management. Upon lodging any of those suggestions, ideas, proposals, or advice we are immediately shut off and closed down.

Yep, this video expresses it all too well.

Favorite question of the week

"Do you have flu shots in single doses?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We buy 10 dose vials and draw up single doses for the patient using the same sterility conditions as a doctor's office. I am certified by the State Board of Pharmacy to administer immunizations."

"Ok." Lady looks down, walks away.

Cool: Blood Pressure made EASY

"The Nihon University recently exhibited a blood pressure meter which allows someone’s blood pressure to be read simply by touching it with a finger. This is something new and unheard of, and if you were at Medica 2012 which happened in Dusseldorf, Germany, from November 14th to 17th, 2012, you would have seen it in action. The lack of a cuff means it is a whole lot easier to measure the blood pressures of babies as well as elderly folk without making them feel uncomfortable."

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20121122/blood-pressure-meter-cuff/

Random Observation: Electric Carts

I see many people zipping all over the store... conveniently shopping for their Cajun spices and kitty litter while sitting on these store-provided electric scooters with a shopping basket attached. Unfortunately, I'm dead certain a good number of these people don't really need to use them... they just like to leisurely sit and ride around the store, using the cart while older people who could really use them can't because they're not available.

It's like seeing someone who is obviously not disabled park in a handicapped space simply because they have the license plate or sticker in their window. Someone in the family may be disabled, and I don't have a problem with them being able to park there WHEN they're with the disabled person, but all too often able-bodied people take advantage of the situation.

All I can say is, SHAME ON YOU.

January 2nd, Pharmacist Nightmare Day

<COUGH> <COUGH> <COUGH>

Yes, she's coughing a lot as she dumps down a pack of DayQuil/NyQuil on the counter with three bottles of Gatorade and a box of Kleenex.  "I'm just so sick..." <COUGH> "I'm here to get my momma's Ad-u-Vair. She's sick too. Oh, I just feel so horrible." <COUGH>

I go to our new fancy will-call system. It's not there. Like most pharmacists, I assume it's a trouble scrip and  go to where we keep our troubled items. Yes, here it is, the printout says "Coverage Terminated. Ask Patient for New Card."

"I think your mom must have a new insurance card. Do you have that with you?"

"Nope, it's the same insurance. The same as always." <BIG HUGE COUGH>

I've become so used to people arguing with me about their new insurance I don't even blink anymore. I show her the computer printout. Immediately she dials up mom on her cell phone.

"Momma, they say your insurance is no good. <COUGH> MOMMA, YOUR INSURANCE AIN'T NO GOOD." <COUGH> <COUGH> <COUGH>

A guy loading his cart with several six-packs of beer 100 feet away turns around, curious as to why she's so loud.

"No momma, that's what the man told me."

"That's not what I said. I said the insurance is expired. Your mom must have received a new insurance card in the mail." I am remaining calm. The guy with the beer rolls off.

"Momma! Do you have a new card? A NEW CARD? Ok, what's the new number? THE NEW ID NUMBER? Here, talk to the man." <COUGH>

She reaches out to hand me her cell phone.

"Just have your mom call the pharmacy directly and I'll get the info from her."

"But she's on the phone right now!" Her hand is still trying to give the phone to me.

"Miss, you've not only told me you're really sick, you're coughing horribly. I'm NOT going to talk on your cell phone. I'm sorry."

She gives me a TOTALLY BEWILDERED LOOK.  She puts the phone back to her face, "Momma! The pharmacist here, what's your name?"

"Crazy." I reply.

"The pharmacist here, Flazey, won't talk on my cell phone because I'm sick. No MOMMA, I can't get your medicine for you. No MOMMA." She snaps her flip-phone shut. I wonder if it is a free one from the government.

I attempt to start ringing up her items but she quickly gathers them up, turns 180 degrees, and trots off. She's genuinely upset that I wouldn't talk on her virus-laden, bacteria impregnated phone. I see a gift card in her future when she complains to management.

I sigh. The guy with the beer cart rolls by again.

A new lady appears at the counter. They do this like genies. The tech is munching on something in the back. She has low blood sugar issues so she has to keep munching all day long. For the moment I'm trapped at the register. Oh, there's things to count and things to sign off, but I'm register-boy right now.

"I'm here for my Sim-bye-court. McGrady's the name." I look, but nothing is there. I also check Mrs. McGrady's first name. Sometimes the munching tech files scripts under the first name. I don't know why. It's probably behavior induced by low blood sugar.

Since it's not in the fancy will-call, I go to the trouble printouts. It's not there. I sigh. I go to the computer. There's an Rx for Symbicort placed on hold and never filled, but that was six months ago. SIX MONTHS.

"Miss, I don't have a prescription waiting for you..." She cuts me off, "Yes you do. Mickey said he'd keep it for me."

"I see a prescription from last July that we have ON HOLD. We've never filled it."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ON HOLD?! That's not what Mickey said! He said he'd have it ready for me! I need my medicine!" I've just been accused of keeping an old lady from her medicine, but I stay calm.

Mickey is our pharmacy manager of several years. He's bent the rules for people so much I think the rules are in the shape of coils by now. He's the guru, the man in charge, the go-to guy, the honored one, the amazing man, the Jedi, and also the one who gets most of the holiday gifts from patrons nice enough to think of their pharmacist, WHICH AREN'T MANY, by the way, you ungrateful cheap skates out there.

"What I'm telling you is that we have a prescription here for Symbicort that's on our computer from last July. It hasn't been processed. I can do that now."

"I don't understand. Mickey said it would be waiting for me." This lady REALLY thought we would process an Rx for Symbicort and have it hanging in will-call for six months waiting for her. She really thought that.

I give up. I'll try a new tactic. "There must be a mistake. I'll get it ready for you right now."

"There's a good boy," she replies. 

Yes, she really said that.

The guy rolls by again. This time the cart now has several bags of chips on top of the beer.

A guy walks up to the counter. He's here to pick up the Rx he dropped off earlier in the day. He had the courtesy to actually give us time to fill the prescription without staring at us the whole time. I start to ring up the prescription. He runs his card and a receipt prints out.

I briefly think that maybe there's hope in this dark, dismal world of pharmacy. There's people out there who get it, people who care, people who understand the process, people who listen... I'm taken away in this dreamland of pharmacy where patients are patient, they take pride in having their insurance info correct, they are polite and respectful and listen to my counsel.... I'm blissful on my hammock in this perfect pharmacy land. All is right with the world. I have my red-rider BB gun....

<BURST>  "Oh, here's my coupon card. My prescription wasn't supposed to be more than $25."

He hands me the card. It has a sticker on it which says "Attention Patient: Call this number to activate." I have no doubt this card has not been activated.

I can't be certain, but I think just then a pharmacist died somewhere in the world.

Off in the distance I see the beer and chip guy. He's loading his cart with more beer. 

Sunday Funnies

Milking the Topic of Tolerance

Around "8,000 years ago in what's now Turkey — just when humans were starting to milk newly domesticated cows, goats and sheep — mutations near the gene that produces the lactase enzyme started becoming more frequent."

It was about that time that lactose tolerance developed in human populations. I know you might find this is aMOOsing: Cows felt udderly exploited, goats tried to make the breast of it, but sheep thought it was just baaaaaad. I know some people will not find this dairy funny, but I just go my own whey.

You really should skim the link for MILK TOLERANCE.

Favorite Question of the Week

A lady presents with a prescription for Cipro and Pyridium, they typical combination for a bladder infection.

She feels compelled to tell me she just got engaged, as if this was some sort of "excuse" for her needing these medications.

I gave her a professional, blank stare. We try to maintain some dignity for the patient, even if they don't appreciate it.

"Aren't you at least going to crack a smile?" she asks...

Always Positive Pregnancy Test

I admit it. I love a good prank. But... I think this might go a bit too far. You best be sure your mark can handle the news...

That being said... there's more than one obnoxious customer of mine I'd like to swap these out for in the pregnancy tests they keep buying because they're worried they're pregnant (when I know the husband is sterile). Or at least I'd like to think about it. I don't think I could every really go through with it. There's probably some pesky ethical issues and legal issues involved.

I just had an interesting idea, though. Teenagers are gullible enough. I could see some clever parent getting his teenage SON to piddle on one of these sticks and then when it shows POSITIVE, insist that he fess up on what the name of the girl is that he got pregnant! I could see a gullible boy falling for it and getting all worried that his girlfriend is preggers!

Hmmm... I have a teenage son... hmmm.....

Click here for the PRANK PREGNANCY TEST

It's a SIMPLE Question...

"This appears to be your medical coverage. I need to see a card with your PRESCRIPTION coverage. Maybe a card that says Medco or CVS/Caremark?"

Bearded Freak: "No, that's what I have."

There's nothing on the card that indicates prescription coverage. I think back to the ONE time someone gave me a card with nothing on it that referred to prescriptions. After I figured out how to get the info into the computer, just as the patient said it would, it worked. So every time someone hands me a medical card I wonder if this is another one.

"Are you sure? This card doesn't have any information how to bill prescriptions," I ask, again. A line in forming behind the bearded wonder. It's not a nice trimmed beard. This guy looks like he came straight from the Occupy Wall Street group.

"No, that's what I have."

I call the 800 number, get transferred around a lot, beg the computer to let me talk to a human, press ZERO about 100 times... finally I get to talk to a human. I explain the situation.

"Sir, you're going to have to call back. No one is there today, it's a HOLIDAY." Of course, no one actually gets sick or gets prescriptions on holidays, so why should they have to work, right? I guess I didn't mention this was a New York state government funded card the patient has handed me. Government workers never work holidays. They're in the other 50%. Those of us in this 50% have to work today.

So I turn around to deliver the bad news to beard boy. I see a huge line has now formed behind him. But he has his hand stretched out to hand me a card. It's a CVS/Caremark card with big letters, "PRESCRIPTION COVERAGE" on it.

"I found this. Will this work?"

I just shake my head. I put in the info and run the claim. He's out the door in 3.5 minutes.

Honestly, it's a pretty simple question: "Are you sure you don't have a separate card for your prescription drug coverage?" And yet, I go through this scenario way too many times. I just want to scream.

Why your pharmacist looks miserable...

Yesterday a Vet's assistant called to phone in an Rx for some monster dog weighing 155 lbs. The dose called in was higher than usual, even for a dog at that weight, so I questioned the assistant to make sure I was getting the right dosage.

She snapped at me telling me "that's how it rolls" in the Veterinary world. So I finish getting the info and as a parting comment I said, "I sure hope the dog lives..." then I hear <Click>.

Five minutes later I get a call from the Vet herself who starts berating me for such unprofessional behavior, questioning the dosage and making such a snappy remark about how I hope the dog lives.

So I reply: "Dr. Sensitive, my job as a pharmacist is to protect the patient whether he or she has two or four legs, and verifying the dosage with your assistant was appropriate. As for my comment, it was completely misunderstood. I was thinking that since the dog needed such a high dose of antibiotics, she must really be sick and I hope that she lives. If your assistant had not hung up on me, I was going to finish the sentence with 'She must really be sick.'"

The Vet, finally catching on, laughed and apologized. Moral of story: Just fill the medicine, pill boy... keep your pie hole shut.

A Toe in the Water

I work for a pharmacy inside a grocery store. It's a national chain with locations all over the United States. Our company is well-respected and although we're never the first to do anything (we copy our competitors), I think most of the company's pharmacists truly care about their patients and want to be great pharmacists. Unfortunately, the company itself keeps us from being great pharmacists.

To me, if you want to have a pharmacy in your grocery, you're either all in or all out. Quit this "toe in the water" mentality. Quit friggin worrying about the inventory and technician hours. Quit putting all the workload on a lone pharmacist because you're too cheap to hire techs. Quit treating your pharmacists like interchangeable cogs. We're not gears. We're professionals. Quit trying to run the pharmacy like a grocery store. Quit telling us to lower the inventory. We're not an automobile manufacturer getting part deliveries four times a day. We get ONE order FIVE days a week. We have to have a higher inventory to serve the needs of our patients. We can't sell out of an empty wagon. I'm tired of losing business, turning people away, not being able to help someone with a sick baby because we don't have something in stock because your bean counters at corporate (who have never actually been in a pharmacy) say we can't keep something in our inventory. We fill MEDICATIONS, and people NEED THEM NOW, not TOMORROW. If you really want to run a pharmacy, it has to BE a pharmacy. No one would expect or put up with a hospital where the hospital told the patient, "Sorry, you need this med, but we can't get it for you until tomorrow." That would be crazy! So if we're going to be a pharmacy, BE a pharmacy. Get over the pitiful amounts of money you free up by keeping our shelves bare. You've GOT the money... you've reduced our tech hours so we look ridiculous as it is, you've taken away half of our retirement funding three years ago (which we were told at the time would be TEMPORARY), and you show you have the money by paying auditors to call our pharmacy and see if we're answering the correct questions on when flu shots are available. So if you want to have a pharmacy, run it like a pharmacy. All in or all out, no toe in the water!

Sunday Funnies -- you WILL laugh

One Way to Stop REFILL TOO SOON

If you're a pharmacist you've heard this more than one time, and often more than once from the same patient:

"I had some friends over and someone stole my Vicodin out of my medicine cabinet. May I please get an early refill?"

I have one lady that's not only used this excuse TWICE (some friends, huh?), she's also had narcs stolen out of her purse, her car, out of her parent's medicine cabinet while she was staying there, and out of her friend's car while they were shopping. Can you just imagine all the bad luck there for this poor lady? Wow.

Anyway, here's the solution to her problem! A little medicine safe! It will keep your medicine out of the wrong hands and promises to bring a whole new set of worn out phrases...

"I had some friends over and someone stole the key to my medicine safe. May I please get an early refill?"

But for your patients that genuinely would like to lock up their meds to keep away from teenagers, kids, and prying eyes... it looks like a good alternative. Check out the medicine safe here: MEDICINE SAFE

Favorite Phone Call of the Week

...on a BUSY Monday morning:

"How much does a postage stamp cost?"

"Miss, you've called the pharmacy, not the post office."

"Well! Don't YOU know?"

Bad News: Just a Box of Rocks

"You know that popular saying where if you misbehave, you will find coal in your Christmas stockings instead of gifts? Well it looks like that saying may have somewhat come true for a kid when his mom bought him a Nintendo 3DS from Walmart. Unfortunately instead of receiving a console in the box, what the mom found was that the box was filled with rocks!"

In other news, a 71 year old rock collector in Kanab, Utah, opened up his much anticipated gift on Christmas morning only to find a miserable Nintendo 3DS console.

"Well, this sucks," the man reported.

Here's the link to the original story: CHRISTMAS RUINED

Cool Idea: 3D Printing

"...the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have demonstrated recently using a novel bioprinter that relies on a couple of low-cost fabrication techniques so that it can deliver a structure which is not only durable but biologically active."

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20121129/knee-print/

When they get this technology perfected, I'm going to print a whole new set of patients that don't complain!

I don't know why....

I don't know why your insurance won't cover your medication. I'm not a Jedi. All I do is electronically submit the prescription to your insurance.  It either gives me a reject of "not covered" or the co-pay. It does not give me anything else but that. This is a question for your insurance. Call them.
 

I don't know why your co-pay is higher this time. I'm not a Jedi. I don't have a crystal ball. All I do is electronically submit the prescription to your insurance. It just tells me what to charge you for a co-pay.  It doesn't tell me why it is more. This is a question for your insurance. Call them.

I don't know why your doctor hasn't called back on your refill. I'm not a Jedi. I don't have a crystal ball. I have no magic skills. All I do is fax over the refill request and wait to hear from them. Most doctors don't even look at the faxes until the next day, so calling me an hour later is a waste of my time (and yours). If you can't wait any longer, call your doctor. And by the way, at any time we have 20-30 faxes out to various doctors for various patients for various refill requests. We're not personally watching over yours and standing by the fax machine waiting.

But I do know why your prescription isn't ready for pick up yet. You dropped it off less than FIVE MINUTES ago.  I'm not a Jedi. I don't have a crystal ball. I have no magic skills. I'm NOT the Wizard of Oz. It takes TIME to fill a prescription. We're NOT McDonalds. Relax and calm down. Go have a Starbucks. We'll have your Rx ready shortly.

Pandariffic News!

In my pharmacy school my teachers went out of their way to scare us about the impending dangers of the over-prescribing of antibiotics and the eventual effect it will have on the ability to control disease.

I have always had faith that there are undiscovered options out there in nature. As it turns out, I may be right.


Scientists have discovered that Pandas produce a powerful antibiotic in their blood stream that kills bacteria and fungi. The bad news is that there are only about 1,600 Pandas left in the world.

"The antibiotic is thought to be released by the bear’s immune system to protect them infections when they are living in the wild. Researchers discovered the compound, known as cathelicidin-AM, after analysing the panda’s DNA."

Check out the original LINK.

Happy New Year!

May you have a great new year!