Now if this was real...

I would totally be into the winter games...

They Itch a Lot

One of our regular patients came by to pick up some scripts. She's really nice and is actually the wife of one of the physicians in the neighborhood.

After paying for her prescriptions, she asked me where we keep the bleach. I tell her, not expecting what's next:

"My doctor told me to fill my tub with water and add a gallon of bleach. Then I'm supposed to get in up to my neck to kill the mice."

Yes, she said mice.

Valentine's Day

It's only money.

There's plenty of that around.

Ask any liberal.

Opioid Observations

These are just observations. My observations. I'm just one person. One pharmacist. My pharmacist friends agree with my observations, but they're just a handful. This isn't scientific at all.

But this is what I have observed since 2004:

* A huge increase in the number of prescriptions written for narcotics.

* We used to only stock hydrocodone/APAP in 5/325 and oxycodone 5/325. Now we stock multiple strengths of both to keep up with multiple prescriptions.

* We used to only stock oxycodone 30mg. Now we stock all strengths in large numbers to keep up with demand.

* I see an ever-increasing number of prescriptions for Norco for discomfort associated with coughing from respiratory illnesses.

* I also see an ever-increasing number of prescriptions for narcotics for routine dental procedures. (I was given Tylenol when I had my wisdom teeth out years ago).

* An ever-increasing number of prescriptions for Oxycontin (a twelve hour medication) written to take every eight hours.

* Methadone used much more frequently for the treatment of pain. 

* Very few attempts to switch patients from short-acting narcotics (like oxycodone) to fentanyl patches or Oxycontin.

So from MY perspective, we're in an opioid crisis. It seems pretty clear to me unless things are vastly different at every other pharmacy in the country. I'm not pointing fingers or suggesting who is to blame. 

I'm just observing.

A Little Laugh to Start you Week

Fun with my Son at the DMV

Well just shoot me.

Last week my 16 year old informed me it was time to take the driving test to get his drivers license.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "It doesn't seem like it's been six months since you got your permit," I say.

"It's time," he says.

So we went to the DMV, only to find out you need to make an appointment online and print a barcode for use at the DMV.

So after getting him out of school early and letting him drive around to get used to my car again, we get down to the DMV... where the barcode we had to print at home didn't do much. We still had to wait 30 minutes to get to the head of the line.

During that 30 minutes I amused myself with the wonder of the DMV, for it is absolutely like the movie Zootopia. It's like watching real life in slow motion... only slowed down to barely above a crawl.

At last they call my son's name. We step forward. Now bear in mind we had to go online to put in all of his information, including WHY we were there today and his current permit information. We printed the ever so important barcode way ahead of time. 

The sloth at the DMV scanned the precious barcode. I get excited thinking how this will all be over soon enough. My son is nervous, though. He had already made several blunders during our TWO HOUR practice run.

The sloth turns to us...

"It hasn't been six months since you obtained the permit. You'll have to come back on or after February 28th."

Now you would think all that barcode-preparing nonsense online might have checked the dates ahead of time for us.

No.

And of course my son looks at me like it's my fault.

Shoot me. Just shoot me.

What I need...

...at the end of a really bad pharmacy shift: