I am the Crazy RxMan, your local pharmacist... smart enough to be a pharmacist, insane enough to work retail!
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Saturday, May 20, 2017
20 Minutes of a Typical Day at the Pharmacy
This is 20 minutes of time compressed into one minute at a CVS pharmacy. It just as well be any retail pharmacy because we're all busy.
Now imagine how this chaos gets insanely worse with the introduction of having a tech or pharmacist distracted because of GoodRx nonsense.
GoodRx adds TIME (See this BLOG POST) to an already burdened pharmacy. Eventually someone is going to get hurt.
It's time to end this nonsense.
Friday, May 19, 2017
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Nice Try, Patient
The Old Switcheroo Trick
A patient comes to the register and asks to pick up his medication. I look in the will-call and there's nothing there for him. He says the computer called him, but then reluctantly admits that it was sometime last week. I tell him that we return things to stock after nine days.
So I look at his profile and tell him it was probably his Lipofen. I fill his Lipofen for him in 3.5 minutes, he pays $25, and he's out the door.
I'm busy with other things and leave the empty bottle of Lipofen on the counter. I'm alone at the pharmacy today and throwing it in the trash would have meant me taking an extra step, so what the heck, it can wait until later. I'm taking lessons from Lazy RxMan.
A little while later Mr. Lipofen appears at the window with the bag, the receipt hanging out, and a labeled bottle of Avodart. He wants to know why I filled his AVODART when he needed LIPOFEN and he wants a REFUND of the $60 co-pay. Somehow Mr. Lipofen thinks that I'm going to fall for this voodoo and give him a $60 refund.
"Uh, no... I filled your Lipofen." I show him the empty bottle of Lipofen that was conveniently on the counter and easy to grab. "It was $25." At first he tries to argue with me, but then looks at the receipt and realizes it says $25. The only thing I can surmise is that he thought he would somehow fool me into giving him a $60 refund when he paid $25 before.
Nice try, but the old RxMan couldn't be fooled today. Being lazy paid off.
A patient comes to the register and asks to pick up his medication. I look in the will-call and there's nothing there for him. He says the computer called him, but then reluctantly admits that it was sometime last week. I tell him that we return things to stock after nine days.
So I look at his profile and tell him it was probably his Lipofen. I fill his Lipofen for him in 3.5 minutes, he pays $25, and he's out the door.
A little while later Mr. Lipofen appears at the window with the bag, the receipt hanging out, and a labeled bottle of Avodart. He wants to know why I filled his AVODART when he needed LIPOFEN and he wants a REFUND of the $60 co-pay. Somehow Mr. Lipofen thinks that I'm going to fall for this voodoo and give him a $60 refund.
"Uh, no... I filled your Lipofen." I show him the empty bottle of Lipofen that was conveniently on the counter and easy to grab. "It was $25." At first he tries to argue with me, but then looks at the receipt and realizes it says $25. The only thing I can surmise is that he thought he would somehow fool me into giving him a $60 refund when he paid $25 before.
Nice try, but the old RxMan couldn't be fooled today. Being lazy paid off.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
The Agony of Defeat
There's the thrill of victory. And then there's the agony of defeat.
OptumRx called today to ask about a claim we submitted for a patient a few weeks ago. They wanted to check the days supply for a Lantus prescription.
I could tell the caller was hot on the trail looking for a chargeback possibility. And with a Lantus script this could be quite a sum. I could almost hear her salivating at the thought as she licked her lips in anticipation.
When I read off everything on the prescription to her, she put me on hold. A moment later I heard her defeated, sad voice as she told me that everything was correct and that there was no problem. I sensed the agony of defeat in her.
Goofmart Pharmacy: 1
OptumRx: 0
OptumRx called today to ask about a claim we submitted for a patient a few weeks ago. They wanted to check the days supply for a Lantus prescription.
I could tell the caller was hot on the trail looking for a chargeback possibility. And with a Lantus script this could be quite a sum. I could almost hear her salivating at the thought as she licked her lips in anticipation.
When I read off everything on the prescription to her, she put me on hold. A moment later I heard her defeated, sad voice as she told me that everything was correct and that there was no problem. I sensed the agony of defeat in her.
Goofmart Pharmacy: 1
OptumRx: 0
Monday, May 15, 2017
The Balloon
From the other side of the counter I belt out: "I don't have a balloon. Can I have yours?"
She reached out her hand to give me her balloon. It was so cute it melts your heart.
There's still some good left in the world.
There's still some good left in the world.
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