Don't get me wrong.. But

[ineeddrug]

First, I should say I enjoy counselling patients with meds because I believe it is important.

But after working almost one year at busy retail.. I still like it, but sometimes I feel like it is too much. I am not talking about my patients, but people just walking by.

We offer couselling to public for free.
I know it is one of pharmacist's job. But what else healthcare professionals provide this for free other than pharmacists?

When I am busy with all dr's call, rxs to qa, pt's call, techs who ask for my help, and transfer request, refill follow up,
- people just come up with all mixed up 20+ pills and ask "Can you tell me what each pill is?"
- people who bring 15 meds list that her father take from multi-pharmacy and ask "is there any interaction between those & which one goes to kidney because he has weak kidney?" (I know it needs pharmacist's knowledge but isn't it almost mtm service?"
- people bring glucometer and ask me to poke his finger and tell how high his sugar level

I know..Maybe I am too mean.
But whenever I do these (I mean not just simple questions like otc recommendation), I can't help thinking 'why do pharmacists do this for free?'
People think 'oh, I see pharmacist there counting pills. And it is free to ask. Let's just go and ask some questions that I wouldn't ask if it is not free. '

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[VeeSee]

We have MTM tho ... LOL

No matter how backed up it is I also attend to these types of questions ... if someone asks me something personally I try and address their concerns the best I can ... Unfortunately for me, maybe I care too much

We are the most "accessible" health care professional (also the only one who operates a cash register) ... whatever that means ...

 

[NateRobinson]

The problem I have is that its literally impossible to counsel nowadays. When you're doing hundreds and hundreds of scripts a day on a bare bones budget, when do you have time to counsel?

The root cause is poor reimbursements from insurance companies. Something has to be done. Make drugs more profitable for big box chains and they'll staff better. That or enforce the law.

Nobody counsels in retail. Its hilarious because its the law. But it doesn't get enforced.

 

[Mounjaro]

That's true, I typically see the pharmacists I work with have to spend time with a patient who has about nine pages of meds, meanwhile we have four or five lines of baskets sitting their waiting to be verified and customers standing at the front and the drive thru blowing up. I can understand why it get's tiring, especially if you're working for a retail chain which is constantly busy.

That's why I literally think that the question, "How long does it take to count pills?" makes me implode on the inside.

There's a line of five or six people at the front.

"LANE ONE, LANE ONE"
"LANE TWO, LANE TWO"

Excuse me while I contemplate my life.

 

[Rouelle]

I feel a bit torn when someone comes in and says "I got this through mail order. Would you..." identify drugs/counsel/etc. I generally try to help out but don't really feel right in doing so.

 

[genesis09]

I've told mail order people to contact their pharmacy if they have questions. Only if it is a true emergency will I help.

 

[Muse600]

experience calibrates you to cut off/walk away from/respectfully excuse yourself from the people that take too much time without being rude, offensive, or not pleasing the customer

 

[croquemonsieur]

Person: I normally get my meds from the kidney center mail order pharmacy. I got my epo in the mail, but it wasn't as cold as it usually is. I called them and they told me to call a nearby pharmacy to ask if it's OK to use.

Me: Do you use our pharmacy?

Person: No

Me: Please call them back and ask to speak to a pharmacist. Bye, Felicia.

 

[Digsbe]

I've worked with pharmacists that wouldn't answer questions about mail order meds or meds they didn't dispense due to liability concerns. You don't charge for handing out med or healthcare advice/info, but what you provide for free you can get sued for as I was told.

People expect a lot out of us when it comes to cognitive knowledge. We're the easiest healthcare professional to access and typically we get paid via dispensing fees and not per counselling. That's one reason why script volume > quality of patient care. You get paid the same for dispensing a drug that anyone else doe regardless of if you provide comprehensive counselling and care for your patients and the business models know that.

I wish pharmacy reimbursement would move more to a quality measure where insurance companies value patient counselling and pay higher rates to those who are thorough in the hopes that it improves their adherence and reduce hospital admissions/need for more therapy. For the most part it's tied to product though, and so long as it stays that way how much and how fast you can get product out the door is what will be profitable.