Labor Day Weekend -OR- Tell me to call your doctor for your refill for Klonopin before 4:30pm on a Friday please

Ok, that was a long title. But I'm really irritated.

Everyone, EVERYONE was a total retard today.

Call received at 11:24 am :"I need my XYZ for this weekend. My doctor closes at 12 today. Call you request it?" Multiply this by 46, divide by one call-out, and you have a formula for my telling you to do it yourself.

Ungrateful People

Remember this next time you walk into your neighborhood pharmacy:

Just because we take your insurance doesn't mean I have to stay on the phone for 20 minutes for you. As a matter of fact, all insurance processing is a courtesy, and a "Thank you for calling those fuckers at Blue Cross for me" is always appreciated.


Just FYI.

Pros and Cons of Working in a Grocery Store Pharmacy

Pros:

1. Don't need to worry about where to get lunch in a rush.
2. You never ever need to make a special trip to the supermarket as you are there 30+ hours a week anyway.
3. Since nobody buys anything from the organic section, (its hidden near the pharmacy and its overpriced) all the stuff goes on sale and you can totally buy a gallon of milk for like $2.50 dude.
4. HR manager can't technically come behind the counter to bitch about my punch ins that are like not my fault he just can't finalize a fucking schedule right. (LOL the stupid fucker)
5. NO FUCKING DRIVE THROUGH


Cons:

1. Those bastards in Floral keep stealing your garbage bags.
2. I get to field awesome questions like "How long should I set a microwave to defrost this chicken?" or "I couldn't seem to get a hold of the produce department, so I called you. If portabellas start to smell, do I need to throw them out?"
3. The retarded guy who cleans the bathrooms and takes out the trash is smarter,more competent and much more pleasant than 95% of your patients.
4. Said retarded guy is the only non-pharmacy staff you trust behind the counter. (To be honest, this may not be a con)

Being ADD does not make me a retard

I do not like forgeries.

If you are trying to pass a forgery on to my pharmacy, then I do not like you.

If you have the audacity to bitch about a price match on your forged drugs, then your likelihood of being arrested goes up by about 500%.

(Calling me a "faggot" and an "asshole" really doesn't help your case, either.)

Threatening me with bodily harm makes me happy. You see, I've had a very bad day and I am very interested in improving certain martial arts forms I learned last week.


But I can say I have a grudging sort of admiration to the lengths people are willing to go to get their hillybilly heroin.

Case #1: Lady drops off a new Rx for some (insert favorite Schedule II here). About #120 of them. New patient, cash only, yadda yadda yadda, you know the red flags. After hours, naturally, although this doesn't really stop me from paging anyone. Printed on watermarked paper. (Very clever, but undaunting. This is easily bought. Having that VOIDVOIDVOIDDONTPHOTOCOPY shit all over the back is pretty irrelevant to me.) All in all, a very well made script. (As a former art student, I am impressed.) I relay my suspicions to the pharmacist. She agrees, and calls the number that is printed on the top of the Rx. A few seconds later, a strange look crosses her face, and she leaves a message. She looks at me and says that something isn't right. Where is the answering service?

I decide to call the number myself. A nice, professional message greets me and encourages me to leave a message. I do not, and hang up. Pharmacist seems confused. And so I am, for a moment.

Then I had a eureka moment. The DEA number, the address and the name of the doctor were all correct, but I became convinced that the phone was not. I called again. No answer. And again.
And again. (I'm trying to piss someone off, in case you haven't guessed.) Then, after two more attempts, I get a grumpy old lady pick up. With a TV blaring in the background. I laugh and hang up on her.

VERY clever. Very clever indeed.

ARGH

There is a physician from a local urgent care facility whose handwriting drives me up the wall. (Well, I guess if you want to call it that. The handwriting, not the wall.)

If a patient ever hands me a script with the little box checked next to his name, I groan inwardly and automatically tack on at least 10 minutes to the fill time, cause I know I'll be a callin'. "But hey, ADHD," you must be thinking, "at least he has the presence of mind to check the little box, right?"

It doesn't matter, trust me. You know who he is, even if he doesn't sign it, as his chicken scratch is that bad. (I swear whenever he writes 'Bactrim DS' it looks exactly like 'Batman'.)

The archaic markings on the little green paper appears as though a chicken crapped on its claws, mainlined some heroin, subsequently had a stroke, and in its death throes sort of scratched some of its shit all over the prescription in a manner vaguely resembling the English alphabet.

What really get me is that he doesn't even write the full name of the patient at the top, just the first three letters of both the first and last name (ie: for John Smith, he'll put 'Joh Smi') yet instead of putting '#30', he will actually write out "Dispense 30 tablets".

I chickenshit you not.

Stealing from your own pet!

Ok, this is one of those things that you should really step back and say, "I think I might have a problem."

The veterinarian that practices just down the road from us called in a prescription for, oh, lets say 13 Lortabs. This was supposed to last Fluffy a whole month, assuming the sig on the label would be implemented properly. Fluffy apparently had some sort of surgery and was in need of some good 'ol fashioned pain relief. No big deal, we fill it, and send the script on its merry way.

Three days later we get a call from the vet's office.

ADHD: "Thanks for calling Understaffed Pharmacy, this is ADHD speaking. How may I help you?"

Vet: "Hi, I just got a call from the owner of Fluffy and he's saying he only received three pills."

ADHD : (after a flurry of ninja-like typing) "Well, I don't see any notes that show we had to partial them...oh was it for just 13?"

Vet: "Yeah, I only called in 13."

ADHD: "Not only is it extremely unlikely that I miscounted 13 tablets, its also doubly unlikely, seeing how its a scheduled drug, and as such, it also gets counted by the pharmacist."

(pause)

ADHD : "Plus my on-hand is right."

Vet: "Yeah, I kinda thought so. So I'm saying now, no refills. Fluffy needs to get his meds direct from us."

In a way, this was almost funny, but almost as bad as stealing pain medication from a kid.

It's quite pathetic, really.

Poor Fluffy.

My first post! - OR - CII post dates are fun

Hello, blogging world! I am a CPhT that has been working in retail pharmacy for about 5 years, most of which in the same chain. As you can tell by the title of my blog, the description, and the general layout of my composition, I has the (adult) ADHD. (I was diagnosed waaaaay after childhood.) One might think having an ADHD tech is BAD for a pharmacy. If all your techs are ADHD, then I would say yes, that would be a negative. But I try to use the positive aspects of my, uh "condition" to function in a chaotic, high stress, understaffed environment. The ability to bounce all over the place to three different windows, talk on the phone to an insurance rep while counting/labeling/typing/contemplating suicide at the same time is a gift, not a detriment.

But to get to my point, and my first real post.

I take a popular Schedule II medication for my ADHD. It is very helpful. (Especially at the start of a new semester). However, if I ever run out before my next fill (which has happened I think once in like 2 years cause I don't take it every day anyway) I do not show up demanding that a pharmacy fill my post-dated script even after it has been patiently explained about 47 times that it would be illegal to fill and I need a new one. Example:

(For a 6-year-old kid, of course)

ADHD: "Sorry, its dated for 3 days from now, we can fill it then."

Mom: "But school starts TOMORROW! He needs it for school and focus blah blah
blah...." (Ironically, I had gotten bored listening to her)

ADHD: "Look, its illegal to fill. We can't do it. You can get a new script dated for today and then we can fill it, no problem."

Mom: "Blah blah blah stuff stuff....but he'll tear up the classroom without this!"

What? WHAT?! are you fucking serious? Your kid will...WHAT?

ADHD : "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Mom: "He tears up the classroom and gets into fights without his supermegahighadderitaoclin!"

ADHD: (Seriously, I am not sarcastic when I say this, though it sounds like it here) "WOW, you really need to get that new script then!"

Well, she eventually left, in a huff naturally, claiming the World of Wally would fill it for her.

She came back the next day with a new script.


A few things:

1. The kid has been getting this type of drug for about a year now. Mom knows better.
2. WHY IN GOD'S NAME IS YOUR CHILD 'TEARING UP THE CLASSROOM' WITHOUT HIS MEDICATION? My ass got beat if I ever tried that shit, ADHD or no.
3. Go ahead and let your child miss school for 2 days if you can't get that new script. Probably better for the other kids, anyway.
4. I'd be taking my child's meds for fun too if I had to deal with that over the summer.
5. Actually, I'm pretty certain you are, considering that it's been early consistently (and not like by 1 day, either)

Geez.