How many consults/recommendations you make a day?

[ancienbon]

Today i floated at a cvs in a plaza with a high percentage of elderly population. I must have made at least 10 recommendations . I was working with one tech. Here are some of them
1) patient whose daugther got stung by ants
2) patient with wound on leg
3) patient who complains of wheezing
4) patient with cramps wants to know if it is secondary to drugs they are taking
5) patient who wants to know if her itching is due to side effects of meds she is taking
6) patient who wants to know the long term effect of taking azo otc as package label says it is not recommended to use for more than a few days
7) another patient similar to 1
8) patient with rash on arm.
9) patient looking for eye drop
10) patient who wants to know if her son can take her husband's bentyl. She said her son has the same abdominal cramp

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[owlegrad]

I never stopped to count but I assume somewhere between 10 and 20 on average.

 

[ancienbon]

I never stopped to count but I assume somewhere between 10 and 20 on average.

So true. I think we retail rphs make more important recommendations than our clinical rphs peers as we are more accessible to the public

 

[3boooda]

For me in a very busy place is 30 to 45 per day.

 

[ldiot]

Seems like most of ours are either for allergy, cough & cold, or a patient brings a homeopathic product to the counter and asks if it works. But I'd say around 10 a day maybe more.

 

[Corpseman]

So true. I think we retail rphs make more important recommendations than our clinical rphs peers as we are more accessible to the public

So many more that it isn't even close.

 

[radio frequency]

All. Day. Long. But usually it's a question about cough and cold stuff, drug interactions, this weird rash they've had for "years", weight loss OTC items, or something super random that we don't carry.

 

[owlegrad]

or something super random that we don't carry.

Excuse me sir do you have cola syrup with black cohosh and syrup of ipecac?

 

[ldiot]

Excuse me sir do you have cola syrup with black cohosh and syrup of ipecac?

Dr. Oz said it cures cancer. He's a real doctor, where did you go to medical school?

 

[angryrx]

I think we retail rphs make more important recommendations than our clinical rphs peers as we are more accessible to the public

SO TRUE. You're helping people pick between tartar control and whitening toothpaste, while I'm just piddling around at work today dealing with overdoses/acetadote, a rattlesnake bite, helping titrate drips, dosing meds, ordering drug levels, recommending PO meds for discharge, etc. LOL

"Is Motrin the same as ibuprofen?"
"Yes."
"Well, I trust the Motrin brand."
"Ok."

Not to bash retail, I work retail to get away from hospital from time to time, but come on, you're really making a stretch saying you "make more important recommendations than our clinical rph peers."

 

[rph3664]

All. Day. Long. But usually it's a question about cough and cold stuff, drug interactions, this weird rash they've had for "years", weight loss OTC items, or something super random that we don't carry.

"I got home from work and I think my wife is having a seizure. What should I do about it?"

"Get off the phone with me and call 911."

BTDT.

 

[MrBonita]

Whenever I go to Walgreeds or Slam's club pharmacy, the cashiers never even offer a consult. what is the policy on that to have your staff just ring up and go next in line please? Just wondering how you only do 10 to 20 when by law all new Rx's must be consulted? Is this common practice now to only consult when a patient ask a question?

 

[ldiot]

SO TRUE. You're helping people pick between tartar control and whitening toothpaste, while I'm just piddling around at work today dealing with overdoses/acetadote, a rattlesnake bite, helping titrate drips, dosing meds, ordering drug levels, recommending PO meds for discharge, etc. LOL

"Is Motrin the same as ibuprofen?"
"Yes."
"Well, I trust the Motrin brand."
"Ok."

Not to bash retail, I work retail to get away from hospital from time to time, but come on, you're really making a stretch saying you "make more important recommendations than our clinical rph peers."

Grunt work for the physician or retail customer service machine both are very important to the interprofessional healthcare team.

 

[CMUchicka]

Whenever I go to Walgreeds or Slam's club pharmacy, the cashiers never even offer a consult. what is the policy on that to have your staff just ring up and go next in line please? Just wondering how you only do 10 to 20 when by law all new Rx's must be consulted? Is this common practice now to only consult when a patient ask a question?

The place i work at, i think we only offer consult if its new script or unless patient has question. But most of time people don't want talk to pharmacist..

 

[BidingMyTime]

Just wondering how you only do 10 to 20 when by law all new Rx's must be consulted? Is this common practice now to only consult when a patient ask a question?

That's in your state, most states don't require all new RX's be consulted.

That said, I think the number of consults in hospital or retail are similar, although obviously in hospital consults are more likely to be critical as opposed to retail. Still, retail consults are important, they can keep people out of the ER when unneeded (and save a life if they are directed to ER when needed.) Most consults in both hospital and retail tend to be routine (hospital....vancomycin dose per pharmacy, retail.....I haven't had a bowel movement in a week, what should I do?)

 

[Sine Cura]

I get interrupted ~50 times at the consultation window on a given Saturday

 

[bacillus1]

So true. I think we retail rphs make more important recommendations than our clinical rphs peers as we are more accessible to the public

Not sure about that, since we are rounding with the team and able to assess the patients AND communicte with the MD right then and there. Let's not say one is more important than the other; both are important.

 

[trailerpark]

Most people at Walmart just want to know where something is located so they don't have to look for themselves.


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[CMUchicka]

Most people at Walmart just want to know where something is located so they don't have to look for themselves.


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Haha, true.. Do you guys consult on every script? I have picked up scripts few scripts and i was offered consulting each time, i thought it was nice especially when pharmacist is cute lol

 

[rph3664]

In Iowa, it has to be offered, but the patient does not have to accept. The staff at the pharmacy I use know I'm a licensed pharmacist (especially because I used to work with one of them) but they still have to ask me anyway.

 

[Rukn]

At least a dozen life saving recommendations a day

 

[Hot Pharmacist]

do homopathic med work?

 

[TheBlaah]

do homopathic med work?

This is hilarious and sad at the same time.

 

[EML9255]

i would say probably in the 20s. Mainly cough/cold where someone will show me 3 different products thinkinig they are different but in fact they all have the exact same ingredients.

the ones i hate the most are people who want me to recommend weight loss pills and i always tell them "diet and exercise" but they will not accept that and try to lure me into saying hydroxycut etc is safe and effective (lol no)

but then they go grab it anyway, oh well!

 

[bacillus1]

do homopathic med work?

Stop treating being gay like a disease!

 

[pharmacist_retail]

I got a question the other day. "Where are your watches?" What type of watch? The gentleman points to his wrist "a wristwatch!" Honestly, I had no idea. It wasn't busy so I brought him up front and it turns out there they were right in the front of the store. I really believe you learn something new every day. And that day, I learned where the watches were in my store. And I'm a better person because of it.

 

[waiter]

i would say probably in the 20s. Mainly cough/cold where someone will show me 3 different products thinkinig they are different but in fact they all have the exact same ingredients.

the ones i hate the most are people who want me to recommend weight loss pills and i always tell them "diet and exercise" but they will not accept that and try to lure me into saying hydroxycut etc is safe and effective (lol no)

but then they go grab it anyway, oh well!

Agree on diet and exercise but Hydroxycut is pretty safe as a mostly indigestible fiber.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

SO TRUE. You're helping people pick between tartar control and whitening toothpaste, while I'm just piddling around at work today dealing with overdoses/acetadote, a rattlesnake bite, helping titrate drips, dosing meds, ordering drug levels, recommending PO meds for discharge, etc. LOL

"Is Motrin the same as ibuprofen?"
"Yes."
"Well, I trust the Motrin brand."
"Ok."

Not to bash retail, I work retail to get away from hospital from time to time, but come on, you're really making a stretch saying you "make more important recommendations than our clinical rph peers."

Bruh.

Bruh.

You know we keep people out of your setting.


"Yes, dentist? I'm calling about this Motrin 800 you prescribed.
Yeah, this patient's cardiologist has them on Valsartan /hctz right now.
They've been on smz/tmp from urgent care too.

No, I'm not calling so you can repeat the prescription.
I'm calling to tell you why I'm not dispensing this. "

Or

"Hello family doc M.D.?
Yes, I'm calling about the prescription for augmented betamethasone you gave to this *literally* intellectually challenged parent for their underweight one month old.

Yes I know you use it for adhesions all the time.

I'm calling to let you know I'm not dispensing it, and furthermore, mom thought she was meant to apply it liberally. "

 

[npage148]

Excuse me sir do you have cola syrup with black cohosh and syrup of ipecac?

Someone asked me for acetone and carbon tetrachloride last week. I was like wtf? Rural folks love their weird solvents to clean things

 

[ldiot]

Someone asked me for acetone and carbon tetrachloride last week. I was like wtf? Rural folks love their weird solvents to clean things

Not sure if this is sarcasm but I doubt they are using it to clean things...

 

[Dalteparin]

Number of consults/recommendations varies a lot from night to night. Some nights I'll page the docs a dozen times (gotta love those residents) and some nights, you can only hear crickets.

 

[zelman]

Not sure if this is sarcasm but I doubt they are using it to clean things...

I thought that was all carbon tetrachloride was good for. The acetone has more nefarious uses, of course.

 

[npage148]

Not sure if this is sarcasm but I doubt they are using it to clean things...

It was like a 60 year old man if grease/stains/paint on his hands. Meth is probably not his list of stuff to do with acetone (or huff the CCl4