excuse me, have you seen my diazepam?

I always find it interesting when medicine gets lost.  Not because it's impossible for it to happen, but because sometimes it just seems so suspicious and fishy that it doesn't make sense.

For instance, we have a woman who gets all her meds mailed to her.  Every one of them arrives okay except for her Clonazepam.  That one always seems to be the one that's missing.  Then when she comes in to pick it up, she calls saying we shorted her, that we scratched out the quantity (which was actually the other tech's initials that she had double-counted the pills).  So now we can't mail it out to her and we have to count the pills in front of her.

Now another one has lost her Diazepam.  This wouldn't be odd except if she never received the last one we shipped her, she'd be out for 3 weeks.  Anyone here know a patient who takes these type of meds regularly that could go 3 weeks without it?

I didn't think so.

Most people on those types of meds are calling a week before they're supposed to be out screaming that they've run out and that we need to fill it yesterday.  They don't certainly don't wait 3 weeks.  And this one again had received her other meds without a problem.  The Diazepam?  M.I.A.

It just strikes me as odd that she should be out for 3 weeks then, yet she seemed relatively calm about it.  It really makes me think that she did receive it, took more than she should've of, and needed a good cover story.

It just amazes me that it's always the controls that go missing.  You almost never have someone calling saying their Potassium went missing.

I say almost because there's a woman who comes here who loses everything.  Pills, print-outs, it doesn't matter.  She can't find them a week later.  She's been especially bad of late.  I've printed a print-out 3 times for her now because she keeps calling saying she lost it.

Please, if you can't keep track of your meds, find someone who can.

can't rely on computers for everything

I am the first to admit I've made mistakes.

I've misscounted pills.  I've missread prescriptions or forgotten key pieces of information.  I was notorious for a while for filling stuff under the wrong name.

In every case, I knew I had made a mistake and that it was on me to not make that same mistake in the future.  I knew that the computer wasn't going to recognize the name was wrong, the refills were missing, or the directions somehow ended up in spanish.

It was still up to me to not make those mistakes.

Sure, all the fancy technology we have is nice.  We can track inventory (not very well), some pharmacies have accuracy scans that have to be done before you can count the pills, and pharmacists have 17 steps they have to perform before they can put the bag in the waiting bin.

Not everything can be checked by a computer though.  Sure, you can verify the script was typed correctly, but you can still put the bottle into someone else's bag.  You can still accidentally give someone the wrong bag at the register.  These things can't be automated by computers.  This is up to the person at the station to get it right.

What's dangerous to me is the reliance on computers.  Sure, it's nice to have that safeguard in place because people do make mistakes, but at what point is it too much?  At what point do we become so complacent that instead of being sure we've accurately checked the script, we just toss the bottles in the bag, throw it in the bin, and don't think twice because the computer didn't sound an alarm at you?

You still need to pay attention to what you're doing and take pride in being accurate.  I've known far too many people who upon making a mistake, blame it on the computer or say that their should be something to stop you from making that mistake.

Well, there is.  It's you.  Be accountable for whatever mistake you made and stop trying to look for shortcuts.  Stop trying to pass the blame on to the computer and realize that YOU were the one who messed up.

I don't go bitching at the computer when I make a mistake.  I get mad at myself for making that mistake in the first place.  I own up to the mistake, not look for a way to pass the blame on.

Look, we're lucky to have automation and scanning and all the other fancy things we have to help us in our jobs.  But we still need to take pride in what we do and do the job correctly.  Mistakes will always be a part of it, but we should be able to learn from those mistakes and move forward, not add another function to our already taxed computers.

Besides, too much reliance on computers and next thing you know, the Terminator movies will be documentaries, not far-fetched stories.

I am not a mind reader

It's bad enough when customers/clients think I'm a mind reader.

The number of times someone's called and started spewing their life story and what we need to do or did wrong without saying who they are is astounding.  the number of times someone's walked up to the counter and said "I need my refill" without saying anything else confounds me.  Then there are those who say "Did my medicine go through?"

I don't know who you are, what you're taking, and I'm almost certainly never going to, so why don't you just start by giving me your name.  Yes, there are some people I know as soon as I see them, but most of you do not register with my brain when you walk up.

However, it's just as bad when a coworker seems to think you should be able to discern what they mean.

Generally, at my main job, we fill things automatically unless requested otherwise.  To help distinguish this, we put a note that says "fill by request only" or something along those lines so that I know not to automatically fill those prescriptions.  When I go through my report, I look for such notes to help with the process.

So imagine my surprise when I get sequestered as to why I didn't automatically fill Mrs. Dependency's if I had already done my report.  I responded by saying it said fill by nurse's request only.  I then found out that wasn't what it meant and I should've filled them.

Turns out it meant that we were supposed to fill them in one week increments due to a request by the nurse.  The way it was worded though made it sound like it meant something else.

Then again, communication has always been an issue.  If someone's not mumbling, they're not saying anything at all.

Look, if you don't tell me, I don't know.  If you mumble, I don't know.  So speak up and be clear.

K thanks, bye.

Answer the damn phones!!!! or better yet, get off yours

I'm not too particular on a lot of things at work.

I realize that the phone is likely to ring a lot since people call in for any reason they can think of.  Compounding the issue at my main job is half the clients think the pharmacy line is the reception line and I spend a good part of the day transferring calls over.

However, one thing irks me and that's when one person alone is answering most of the calls.  Or specifically, I'm answering 75% of the calls and when I don't pick up within the first 2 seconds, I hear someone ask "is it me?"

You know what?  It doesn't matter! Answer the damn phone!

I also never thought I'd be one who would believe that personal phone use needs to be reigned in.  I was always one who thought that as long as it isn't impacting work, you should be able to text or make a call if need be.

While I do enjoy the privileges of being able to text relatively freely, I now understand why phones are the bane of so many pharmacists and other people in charge.

As much as I enjoy looking at you and seeing you constantly on your phone, it gets awfully annoying when it's all day every day.  There are a couple of people here who seem to think that there's nothing wrong with being on the phone constantly.  One goes from the cell phone to the work phone and then back, seemingly always with one attached.

I'll again admit to texting.  But not when I have people standing there or a ton of things to get done.  I think there's a time and place for it, and it's not when there's a million things to do.

Oh, and pick up that ringing phone!

Thursday May 12, 2011 - it's been a while hasn't it?

You have to excuse me.

I know it's been a while since I've written anything in here.

What can I say?  Business picked up infinitely more than any of us expected, sooner than we expected, so much so that expansion was inevitable.  Hours increased, another tech was added to the mix, and after moving into a new location, we're now exposed to so many more clients than we were before.

And I get to be front and center to the intriguing developments that take place out in the waiting room.

And believe me, the natives get restless rather quickly.

So what's happened since last August?

We're open later.  We moved across the street and look like a real pharmacy, not the quick hash-up that we were before.  We hired a new tech and a new pharmacist.  We signed on a floater for PRN needs.  Ironically both the new pharmacist and floating pharmacist also double at the same retail operation that I still take part in on a part-time basis.

We've had hiccups, misscommunications, and frustrating moments.  We've also shown growth and an ability to adjust on the fly.

All in all, it's still going well.

Sure, the people are still interesting.  This is, after all, a mental health facility.

So what have I learned as I approach my one year anniversary?

It's simple.  Whether it be retail or private, the clients are equally liable to be nutjobs with no idea of what they're taking, why they're taking it, or why the doctor thinks they should be on it.

**Column Intermssion**

I know that every now and then, something gets lost in translation when a doctor explains why a medication is being prescribed.  I find it hard to believe that so many people left the office without a shred of an idea though.  The number of times I've heard "I don't know why he/she/it wrote this for me" is astounding.  Upon working in an office with doctors though, I've learned that most do explain it.  You just were in lala land when it happened.

Which is probably why you're on it.

In the end, it's been a challenge at times, but it's been rewarding as well.  The experience has been eye-opening and everything I expected at the same time.  There have been slow days, busy days, quiet days, and incredibly frustrating days.

I'm going to attempt to write more often since I don't like writing about work stuff in my real life blog on Facebook, so this will give me a chance to go on and on about all kinds of things.

I hope.

The Mad Pharmacy Tech is back.

You've been warned.

Dear Mr. Grumpy Pants

I realize that you were supposed to receive Vicodin.  I realize that what we took over the phone was actually Darvocet.  I realize again that the office is telling you that they called in Vicodin, not Darvocet, and you think we are the ones who messed up.

But when I look at the hardcopy and see Darvocet written, I have to believe that's what the nurse actually called into us.  So you giving me the "I'm sitting here in pain" story is nice, but you have shown in the past that you are not the most pleasant, and also tend to leave out important details when it comes to filling stuff with us.

I can't do anything until your office calls us back to clarify what was written.  I completely believe that it's supposed to be Vicodin, but I can't just change it because you said so.

K, thanks.

Things that cause pharmacy madness

These are just a few of the things that will cause us pharmacy staff to go a little more insane every day that we work.

Oh, and I'm aware it's been a while since I wrote.  Between the two jobs and trying to get things settled at my apartment, it's been a wee bit hectic.

The first thing is calling the pharmacy with a massive complaint like the one that was left on our voicemail yesterday morning.  Some lady called threatening to sue us for all we were worth if we didn't remove her profile from our computer.  She was quite adament about the suing us part, but I had never heard of her.

Sure enough, when I looked in the computer, she was nowhere to be found.  She later called and apologized for the threats, but still demanded we remove her from our computer.  I told her she was never in our computer, she said thank you, and hung up.

The second thing is a retail thing apparently.  At my retail job, we have three cash registers.  Usually one person is running the front and using just one register.  This part is important.  See, when we run our registers, only one register is used by each person.  Therefore, when there's a line, it's assumed everyone will walk up to the open register after the person is finished in front of them.  However, there's always one person who messes this up.

Sure enough, last night, I had a line of people.  The first two people came up to the right register.  I rang them out with no issues and then walked up the third person.  Instead of walking up to my counter like everyone else had, she walks over to the counter next to me, sets all her stuff down, then looks at me like I'm supposed to walk over there.  After telling her I can help her at the register I'm at, she huffed, picked up her stuff, and tossed it on my counter.

Let me pause to say that I would've gladly helped her move her things if she had shown any sense of competence, but since she didn't and she huffed on top of it, forget it.

Later, I had another woman who had one medication come up at $20.  It never ceases to amaze me when they ask "didn't my insurance cover this?"  Well, let's see.  This is an osteo med with no generic that normally runs a couple hundred dollars without insurance.  I'd say they did.  They always look so shocked when I tell them this detail though.

Look, I know people don't generally know much about medication costs and all that.  But $20 for Boniva is pretty damn good.  I'd be more upset if I was the lady picking up Singulair for $70 just for one month.  But that's me.

It just goes to show how different people are.