They'll Do Anything

Nothing good ever comes from answering the phone any time during the last 30 minutes you're open. 

Nothing. 

The phone rings. It's 20 minutes until closing. Am I going to answer the phone or pull a Lazy RxMan and be "helping a customer on aisle eight?" I ask myself.

I decide to answer the phone.

"Uh yeah, my friend is Jim Swell. His phone died. I'm coming in to pay for his Oxycodone script for him."

I've actually been down this road before. I'm much wiser now.

"He'll have to verify that's ok," I reply.

"Uh yeah, but his phone died. He said it was ok."

"That's fine, but he specifically asked us not to let anyone but him pick up his meds. It's here in his file."

"He did? Uh... <long pause> yeah, I'll call b..."

<disconnects abruptly>

Five minutes to closing Jim Swell comes in to pick up his meds. He has no idea who called or anything about giving someone an ok to pick up his meds today.

How the caller knew Jim's name or that he had an Oxycodone script ready to pick up is still unknown, but I do know people will do anything to get more of those magic tablets.

Anything.

I've heard that Laughter Cures Cancer

What Entices Management?

Some of My Patients...

Think this is how their antidepressants work...

Wanted: Pharmacy Technicians

"We're doing everything we can to find, hire, and train new technicians for our Goofmart family of pharmacies in the Tri-County area."

--The latest email from corporate

Demotivational Hump Day... Lab Reports

I Give Up

At Goofmart Pharmacy our software sucks. It's slow, cumbersome, and sketchy. Here's some examples:

1: One day, for no reason at all, the insurance information on file for a few patients that we've had for years just disappeared. It was gone like Andy Dufresne without a clue where it went. We couldn't process claims without it, so a call was placed to the "Helpless Desk" to attempt to talk to someone.

While on hold a good twenty minutes, the insurance magically reappeared. If that was the only technology issue, I'd be happy. But noooooo, that's only one of many issues.

2: We have one computer at the pick-up window that has a monitor that just decides to "blank out" like the computer has gone to sleep. But a mouse click or press on the keyboard does nothing. It won't come back up for at least an hour. I've explained it to the IT department several times. They come out fiddle with it and then tell me there's nothing wrong with it.

AND BEFORE YOU START IN ON ME WITH THE "DID YOU TRY TURNING IT OFF AND ON AGAIN?" CRAP, LET ME EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO YOU TECH PEOPLE:

That's NOT solving the problem! That's not fixing what causes it to go blank! When I have a line of people waiting to drop off prescriptions I don't have time to turn the computer off and then on again. I want the problem FIXED so that I can process prescriptions and help the patients... that's MY job, so why don't YOU do YOUR JOB and fix the damn technology so this doesn't happen?

3: We have a separate program to collect signatures on the signature device. At random times it decides to stop working. You can't close it to reload it for at least three minutes (I've timed it) and you're stuck at the register. 

"IT is aware of the problem. Our solution is to close the program and re-run it," was the response from the IT department. Another "on and then on again" pretend fix? Actually fixing the issue isn't a solution?

Making a customer wait three minutes at the register is pretty much the biggest imposition possible in Snootyville. People have no sense of patience, and really in this situation why should they? See example two above.

I could go on, but you get the idea. So I give up. I'm tired of trying to kill myself filling prescriptions for a company that doesn't even have the decency to TRY and fix the computer issues. 

Get out the popcorn and butter. It can all burn as far as I'm concerned!