Target Pharmacists transition

[RxPreceptor]

So I walk into Target now seeing CVS Health logos posted in the Pharmacy Area as well as outside of the building along with the usual Target Logo.

Just curious for those Target RPhs, how is the transition going? And are you guys/gals drinking the CVS "Kool-Aid" yet?

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[samuricool]

Well right now we still have the target computer system which is much better. And there isn't a way for anyone to do customer surveys so that is nice.

Otherwise, I didn't really drink targets kool-aid so doubt I will drink it from cvs either.


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[mentos]

I get my scripts at Target and the pharmacist is always outside the pharmacy socializing or shopping for her kids in the aisles with her white coat on (CVS would write you up for not taking it off LoL). So it doesn't seem like they felt the wrath yet.

 

[gwarm01]

Do you still get your Target employee discount? Will you continue using the red bottles with the color coded rings? Those rings are literally the only reason I started using Target as my pharmacy.

 

[samuricool]

Yes, we were grandfathered in so that we would still get our target discount.

Sadly our bottles will be going away. We will be getting the Rxconnect, or whatever cvs uses, so our bottles will no longer work with the cvs labels. I think I heard that cvs bought the clear Rx (bottle and ring patent) with the pharmacy. So maybe they will use it in the future?


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[lane one]

Those colored rings are one of the dumbest things to ever happen in retail pharmacy. It teaches patients to ignore the writing on the label and decide which med to take based the color of a ring. In my opinion its just one more opportunity for dispensing error and harm to patients. As for the bottles, people might think they're neat and everything but they seem impractical. The way those labels are vertically oriented makes it impossible to label stock bottles. How much money was Target wasting by not labeling 90ct stock bottles of atovastatin and instead using their own that they have specially manufactured? That money has to add up.

 

[mentos]

Yep, those rings and bottles are so stupid and wasteful. How much more plastic can they add to our landfills?

 

[CardinalGirl210]

The transition hasn't been bad at all - we got a payout from target, get to keep our target discount, and full benefits from CVS. It's still a very good job as far as retail comparisons. Target was much more organized than CVS has been though.

 

[CardinalGirl210]

Those colored rings are one of the dumbest things to ever happen in retail pharmacy. It teaches patients to ignore the writing on the label and decide which med to take based the color of a ring. In my opinion its just one more opportunity for dispensing error and harm to patients. As for the bottles, people might think they're neat and everything but they seem impractical. The way those labels are vertically oriented makes it impossible to label stock bottles. How much money was Target wasting by not labeling 90ct stock bottles of atovastatin and instead using their own that they have specially manufactured? That money has to add up.

Actually the rings were specific to each patient not to each drug. If you have a green ring and your spouse has yellow, you know never to take a medication with a yellow ring because it's your spouses. It was a safety feature to keep families from accidentally taking each other's meds.

We never label stock bottles; everything goes in an RX bottle so you can clearly read the label. Many of the manufactures (like Mylan) make all their bottles look exactly the same; so it's too easy to mislabel the wrong medication when you keep it in the stock bottle

 

[lane one]

Actually the rings were specific to each patient not to each drug. If you have a green ring and your spouse has yellow, you know never to take a medication with a yellow ring because it's your spouses. It was a safety feature to keep families from accidentally taking each other's meds.

I'm aware how they work. My point was I don't think its a good idea to teach people to identify their meds vs. someone elses meds by color. And it's only safe if the pharmacist does it correctly. Why add another variable to the dispensing process? You could dispense someone the wrong vial/drug altogether but as long as it has an orange cap, they take it because it's "their color".

 

[trailerpark]

Those rings are obnoxious. During my 4 week rotation my hands hurt from snapping those things in. We had a relief RPH one day who wouldn't put the rings on so I left them off too. I wonder how the families ever managed to take the right medication.


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[CardinalGirl210]

I'm aware how they work. My point was I don't think its a good idea to teach people to identify their meds vs. someone elses meds by color. And it's only safe if the pharmacist does it correctly. Why add another variable to the dispensing process? You could dispense someone the wrong vial/drug altogether but as long as it has an orange cap, they take it because it's "their color".

Judging by the contract we were required to sign on day 1 saying we would not sue CVS and all the CVS modules we have been required to do on misfills, DDI, verification, etc., I think dispensing errors are much more common with CVS than it ever was with Target lol

 

[Sine Cura]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/mistakes.1193023/

CVS doesn't exactly promote a culture of accuracy (see above thread and other threads where people admit letting wrong prescriber and wrong date go) unless the RXM sets the tone, and it's difficult if you are medium to high volume (like > 2,500 sold a week).

 

[gwarm01]

I'm aware how they work. My point was I don't think its a good idea to teach people to identify their meds vs. someone elses meds by color. And it's only safe if the pharmacist does it correctly. Why add another variable to the dispensing process? You could dispense someone the wrong vial/drug altogether but as long as it has an orange cap, they take it because it's "their color".

Good point, but I would counter with I thought it was cute having a purple ring on my bottle

 

[lane one]

Judging by the contract we were required to sign on day 1 saying we would not sue CVS and all the CVS modules we have been required to do on misfills, DDI, verification, etc., I think dispensing errors are much more common with CVS than it ever was with Target lol

I wasn't comparing accuracy rates for CVS vs. Target. Just pointing out that the more opportunities you create for mistakes, the more mistakes you will have. Regardless of the company.

 

[VeeSee]

Judging by the contract we were required to sign on day 1 saying we would not sue CVS and all the CVS modules we have been required to do on misfills, DDI, verification, etc., I think dispensing errors are much more common with CVS than it ever was with Target lol

you probably didn't have to do 400 Rxs with just one or two techs at Target

 

[owlegrad]

you probably didn't have to do 400 Rxs with just one or two techs at Target

Lol common now

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[CardinalGirl210]

you probably didn't have to do 400 Rxs with just one or two techs at Target

We have stores that do that many; the difference is that with Target there was not a metric attached to time on the phone and how fast you type, etc. That's why there are mistakes.

 

[Sine Cura]

CVS doesn't (didn't?) have input metrics visible at the store level. It'd help to get rid of techs.

 

[Kelp103]

CVS doesn't (didn't?) have input metrics visible at the store level. It'd help to get rid of techs.

If QT goes red, you get dinged (and everything is suppose to go into QT now). If you type W20 (anything over 15), you get dinged. Supposedly enough verification rejects from the pharmacist will send a tech back to drop-off class (never seen that happen, but that's what we were told). That's just off the top of my head.

 

[Sine Cura]

No, I meant input accuracy rate, average time to input prescriptions, # of verification rejects, # of type of verification rejects, total prescriptions input, % of prescriptions edited by pharmacist without rejecting (these are all visible at Walmart).

These would be useful tools to hold techs accountable for failure to improve. At Walmart the goal is > 95% accuracy, which is laughable at your average CVS.

 

[zelman]

...At Walmart the goal is > 95% accuracy, which is laughable at your average CVS.

I'd guess that the average CVS is ~20% accuracy and ~75% "close enough", so ~95% pass-through rate.

 

[Rukn]

I'd guess that the average CVS is ~20% accuracy and ~75% "close enough", so ~95% pass-through rate.

as long as the waiters are under 15 minutes

 

[RxPreceptor]

If QT goes red, you get dinged (and everything is suppose to go into QT now). If you type W20 (anything over 15), you get dinged. Supposedly enough verification rejects from the pharmacist will send a tech back to drop-off class (never seen that happen, but that's what we were told). That's just off the top of my head.

I think I would have sent several techs back to drop off class if this were the case...originally, my PIC told me not to use the reject function; instead, he just told me to use edit. Possibly to avoid retraining people like you mention; however, I have yet to witness this happen.

For being an overnight pharmacist, I find the reject function useless because the technician who screwed up doesn't have a chance to see what they messed up on hence they never learn from his/her mistake since I am always the one recorrecting QT errors. The tech goes home without becoming better at QT, which does suck when I am given the noobie s mostly for evening/night shifts. I really am an advocate of doing things right the first time, even if it takes longer typing...way too much slamming down on the enter key during data entry, especially on e-Rxs

 

[Kelp103]

No, I meant input accuracy rate, average time to input prescriptions, # of verification rejects, # of type of verification rejects, total prescriptions input, % of prescriptions edited by pharmacist without rejecting (these are all visible at Walmart).

These would be useful tools to hold techs accountable for failure to improve. At Walmart the goal is > 95% accuracy, which is laughable at your average CVS.

That would definitely be useful for some techs. CVS is pretty much full of the useless type of metrics