Suppose you went into a fancy restaurant and ordered a delicious five course meal for you and the whole family. The cooks slave away preparing everything then the waiters and waitresses bring it all out and set it on the table.
You look at the pile of prepared food, turn to the waiter, and say...
"I don't want [THIS ONE] or [THIS ONE] or [THAT ONE]. Please take it away."
All that time, all that effort... gone. Time wasted, money wasted, for nothing but your "good pleasure."
It's not that much different in pharmacy when you ask the pharmacist and technicians to "fill all my meds" and then at the pick up window you say, "I don't need all these. I just want [THIS ONE] and [THAT ONE]."
At the pharmacy we can return items to stock and fill them for someone else... in MOST cases, but the idea is similar. We've wasted a bunch of time, effort, and money filling prescriptions for no reason.
Please have the respect for your pharmacy team NOT to do this. Don't ask us to fill "all your meds" if you don't really need all your meds. Ask for the specific medications you need. We won't waste time and effort for nothing. Our time is valuable, and expensive. And we don't need extra practice filling medications.
Thank you.
Ring, ring...
<Crazy RxMan gives the usual introduction>
"Yes, you shorted me 30 tablets of my Ibuprofen and 30 tablets of my Norco."
<These are words you don't want to hear as a pharmacist or technician. It never ends well.>
So I talk to the lady and she claims that the medications she received while on vacation in Snootyville were each for quantity 60 and each bottle was short by 30 tablets. She's since returned to her home state and discovered it AFTER returning home.
"I can take a picture of my bottles and email it to you," she says. That's her "Colombo" evidence that she's going to use on her behalf.
Now it has been 15 days since she picked up the medication and the Norco was an eight day supply. But she didn't discover it until day 15. Magically, each bottle is short exactly 30 tablets.
I've been through this routine before and I want to keep an open mind. So I put her on hold and do a back count of the two NDCs in stock. Ironically, I guess, my counts are spot on with what the computer says we should have in stock. And counting 575 tablets of Ibuprofen was just such a hoot.
So I get back on the phone and explain to her what I did and that she's going to have to talk to the pharmacy manager when he returns.
As you can imagine, things turned ugly. Now, just so you know, I didn't process, fill, or sell either medication to this patient. I'm just the unfortunate slob who fielded the phone call after the fact. And when I try to explain that small part to her, she gets more furious, asks for my name, the name of MY supervisor, the director, and Obama's phone number.
"This ISN'T over!" she yells, and hangs up.
<sigh>
Another fun day at Goofmart Pharmacy!
Lady: "What can you tell me about that new medication that just came out?"
Me: "There's lots of new ones coming out all the time. Which one?"
Lady: "It was on TV last night. I think it starts with a D."
Me: "Well, I don't know what that is. What condition does it treat?"
Lady: "I can't remember. But it was on TV last night."
I start rattling off the names of new medications I've seen ads on TV for recently.
Lady: "No, no, no! I think it started with a D, or maybe an F."
Me: "I'm not sure what it is. Do you have any idea what the medication is for?"
Lady: "No, but I think I need it. Don't YOU know what it is? Maybe it starts with an S?"
Me: "No, but maybe..."
Lady, cutting me off, "I don't know why I asked "the pharmacist" like I thought he would know!"
Lady exits, in a huff.
Ring... ring... ring...
"Hello and thank YOU for calling Goofmart Pharmacy. This is Crazy RxMan. How may I help you?"
"Did the doctor call in the prescription for my father?" she asked. I don't recognize who it is.
"What's your father's name?" I ask.
<pause>
"The script is for Amoxicillin. It would have been called in today."
"I've been working all day and we haven't had any scripts called in for Amoxicillin today. What's your father's last name and date of birth?"
<long pause>
"It would have been called in this morning," she says.
"Yes, I did hear you. Maybe it was called in yesterday, but I need to look up your father on the computer and see. What's his last name and date of birth?"
<pause>
"I can't tell you," she replies. "This isn't a secure line. Don't you have a way of looking up what medications were dispensed today and look it up that way?"
"No," I said.
"I have to go. I've said too much."
<click>
Maybe she forgot to wear her foil hat?
When a patient threatens to transfer all their prescriptions to another pharmacy because I won't give in to their demands for an early refill on a narcotic...
You wouldn't wait until your dinner is served at a restaurant and then ask them to quickly bring out another dinner, would you?
You wouldn't ask your doctor to remove your tonsils while you're in recovery for another surgery, would you?
You wouldn't ask as your car wash to wax your car after it's already been rinsed and dried, would you?
You wouldn't ask the car dealer to lower the price after you sign the deal, would you?
You wouldn't ask your painter to paint another room after he's already painted the whole house, would you?
You wouldn't? Good.
BUT WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS OK TO ASK US TO FILL ANOTHER MEDICATION RIGHT AFTER YOU'VE ALREADY PAID FOR THE MEDICATION WE JUST FILLED?!
