Draconian Policy question...

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Phlame217

Phlame217

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Okay, we all know CVS is the devil, but hey it is paying the bills and giving my decent health insurance...


Anyways... Triple S for our April went from a 98 - 65. Reason: We got a 0 on wait time!

District wise, we went from 14th in nation to 56th!
--DM and DPM are not pleased and have gone haywire.

Lets review whats changed in the past two months:
Majorily: Our budget increased from 1000 weekly to 1150 weekly, but hours were cut by 5%?!?!??! Less staff...
From 1 to 4 Lists of calls to make: PCI, New Fills, etc...
Ready fill, must have ready fills done 3 days advance (district policy? idk)
-Ready fills must be >25 enrollment each week (again district? idk)
We are now judged on Drive thru performance ie wait time, etc.
+ other more minor stuff.

Anyways, some things got nasty at the last district meeting and two PIC's apparently left (got fired, but we're not supposed to know) after civilly voicing their ideals against the telemarketing scheme and other fast-food rules.

Today, 3 page fax rolls off the fax maching from district.
I summary:
-All scripts dropped in person are to take no longer than 10 minutes wether the person waits or not.
-All electronic, fax, voice scripts take no longer than 45 minutes from the time sent.
-Drive thru will take no longer than 10 minutes, and we can no longer discourage people not to wait at the drive thru.
-all daily phone calls completed before 1pm.
-Other misc stuff about outside vendor and whatnot.

At the bottom:
"Please sign your name stating you've read to and agree to these policies and acknowlege failure to carry out or willfull neglect of can lead to termination."



over the line?
discuss...
Members don't see this ad.
 
:::yawwnnn:::

sounds like typical CVS...I wouldn't worry about it, I'd feel bad for your PIC's/lead techs though, they'll get the third degree from the DM if metrics aren't met.

You can get fired for anything (especially if you're in an at-will state), so putting that line at the bottom doesn't really say much. It's like saying you acknowledge that if you cheat on a test, you can get kicked out of a class. It's not like signing that gives your professor any extra ammo, they could have done that anyway.
 
I would file a lawsuit about being forced to practice in an unsafe manner and being threatened with termination if I refused. I would then fax that letter to the board of pharmacy...and to a publication like Pharmacy Times...

Oh...and I'd LEAVE.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I am a lead tech, so I'm already in the frying pan.

I just want to know, what (well i guess if any) rights I have? Do workers have any rights? Is there anyways I can stand up for myself w/o risking getting fired in hopesake of progress?
 
Phlame217 said:
I am a lead tech, so I'm already in the frying pan.

I just want to know, what (well i guess if any) rights I have? Do workers have any rights? Is there anyways I can stand up for myself w/o risking getting fired in hopesake of progress?
Click to expand...

Nope...I just looked it up, Oklahoma is an at-will state. If you start rabble rousing about CVS policy, you'll probably get your ass handed to you on a plate and shown the door.

The best you can do is to just meet payroll and do the best you can...they'll grumble and yell but, well...hey you're only human. Just get your ass out of there and into med school (or whatever it is you wanna do) and be done with it.

What'll happen is district will install its own people to turn the store around if it feels the stores aren't making triple S/metrics (I would know since I was one of these people). It's usually not fun, and they'd usually install hard asses that cut you no slack...people fight/leave/etc and eventually the staff that remains are the ones that work the quickest, then they move on.

But to answer your question...no, nothing you can do.
 
I just need this job to last 1 year longer but I think its time to job hunt. Why not teller and make the same wages and sit on my arse all day? lol.
 
Phlame217 said:
I just need this job to last 1 year longer but I think its time to job hunt. Why not teller and make the same wages and sit on my arse all day? lol.
Click to expand...

Any costco stores near you? heard it's a dream working there...
 
Oh you can always instruct your clerks (on the low) to rip off the bottoms of receipts and call in from friends' phone #'s to inflate your triple S scores.

THAT will for sure get you fired if they find out, and it's not exactly ethical...but sometimes you need to loot the grocery store after a hurricane hits.
 
Phlame217 said:
Okay, we all know CVS is the devil, but hey it is paying the bills and giving my decent health insurance......
Click to expand...

You said it all right there.

Phlame217 said:
Today, 3 page fax rolls off the fax maching from district.
I summary:
-All scripts dropped in person are to take no longer than 10 minutes wether the person waits or not.
-All electronic, fax, voice scripts take no longer than 45 minutes from the time sent.
-Drive thru will take no longer than 10 minutes, and we can no longer discourage people not to wait at the drive thru.
-all daily phone calls completed before 1pm.
-Other misc stuff about outside vendor and whatnot.

At the bottom:
"Please sign your name stating you've read to and agree to these policies and acknowlege failure to carry out or willfull neglect of can lead to termination."...
Click to expand...

Is this practicing pharmacy? Is there any CVS pharmacist out there that feels good about what they are doing? This is a joke! Where is your triple BS score for how many patients you counseled or how many mistakes you fixed or interventions you had? Oh, there isn't one because CVS could give a crap less about all that. Where is your percent of new scripts counseled score? Oh, there isn't one becasue they do not want you to counsel because it takes to much time and prevents you from getting the script filled in 10 minutes. A joke...all of it. If you work for CVS you are a fool and doing more to contribute to the decline of this profession than 20 new schools opening up.

Phlame217 said:
over the line?
discuss...
Click to expand...

If you have to ask this you have even more problems than being a CVS employee. You already know the answer...its all BS. How you can even stand to work there one more day is beyond me. Escape while you can!
 
MountainPharmD said:
You said it all right there.



Is this practicing pharmacy? Is there any CVS pharmacist out there that feels good about what they are doing? This is a joke! Where is your triple BS score for how many patients you counseled or how many mistakes you fixed or interventions you had? Oh, there isn't one because CVS could give a crap less about all that. Where is your percent of new scripts counseled score? Oh, there isn't one becasue they do not want you to counsel because it takes to much time and prevents you from getting the script filled in 10 minutes. A joke...all of it. If you work for CVS you are a fool and doing more to contribute to the decline of this profession than 20 new schools opening up.



If you have to ask this you have even more problems than being a CVS employee. You already know the answer...its all BS. How you can even stand to work there one more day is beyond me. Escape while you can!
Click to expand...

Haha, I wonder if HE will respond to this attack on his beloved company...
 
I actually absolutely love my pharmacy job... It allows me to maximize creativity, work with different professionals everyday, see results, and travel to new and neat places.

😍


Far far away from retail tho.. :meanie:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
MountainPharmD said:
If the Old one does respond maybe he can explain how any of the above metioned policies amounts to the good practice of pharmacy.
Click to expand...

What retail pharmacies do have great policies in place that lead to good pharmacy practice?
 
whoever wrote that fax, id invite them to observe you guys in the pharmacy and then see if he/she still wants 10 min per drive thru rx

you should do what i do: trash the fax and say 'i never got it'

and as long as we do 300 a day, they are happy
 
PumpkinSmasher said:
What retail pharmacies do have great policies in place that lead to good pharmacy practice?
Click to expand...

costco, you get a cool headset and the pharmacists/techs seem happy...i infer this from the difficulty getting a job with them.
 
thats why i quit cvs.

my rx sup was cool but the policies were getting more and more ridiculous by the day, it was pretty much like working in mcdonalds
 
PumpkinSmasher said:
What retail pharmacies do have great policies in place that lead to good pharmacy practice?
Click to expand...

That is the point. There should be no policies that force, coerce or otherwise attempt to influence how a pharmacist practices. If this fax is legit then the company is dictating how a pharmacist is to practice.

Do want your pharmacist solely worried about how fast your prescription is filled because he doesn’t want to mess up his triple BS numbers? I want to go to a pharmacy where a pharmacist has the time to properly evaluate and fill the prescription. Perhaps call the Doctor if there are any questions or interactions and then have time to counsel me on it so I understand exactly why and how I am to take it. It doesn’t do me a whole lot of good if I get the prescription in 10 minutes and it is wrong.

Lets apply this policy to other areas of healthcare. Would you want to go to a surgeon whose goal was to get the surgery done as fast as possible because he would get in trouble if he were to slow?

If give a chit less how long it takes me to fill a prescription. You know why? Because I know that every prescription I fill I have taken the time to properly evaluate. I have resolved any problems and I counseled the patient so they understand how and why they are taking it. If it takes 10 minutes great. If it takes an hour than that’s great to. I do not care as long as what goes out the door is correct.
 
bigpharmD said:
indy's
Click to expand...

I agree, I really enjoyed when i worked at an indy and i would love to own if the opportunity ever presented itself. I was just trying to point out that it is not just CVS that is a big ole turd when it comes to chain pharmacies.
 
seriously cant you guys submit that sh^& to a local new agency with no name and just say "you want to know why mistakes are made"
 
Phlame217 said:
Okay, we all know CVS is the devil, but hey it is paying the bills and giving my decent health insurance...


Anyways... Triple S for our April went from a 98 - 65. Reason: We got a 0 on wait time!

District wise, we went from 14th in nation to 56th!
--DM and DPM are not pleased and have gone haywire.

Lets review whats changed in the past two months:
Majorily: Our budget increased from 1000 weekly to 1150 weekly, but hours were cut by 5%?!?!??! Less staff...
From 1 to 4 Lists of calls to make: PCI, New Fills, etc...
Ready fill, must have ready fills done 3 days advance (district policy? idk)
-Ready fills must be >25 enrollment each week (again district? idk)
We are now judged on Drive thru performance ie wait time, etc.
+ other more minor stuff.

Anyways, some things got nasty at the last district meeting and two PIC's apparently left (got fired, but we're not supposed to know) after civilly voicing their ideals against the telemarketing scheme and other fast-food rules.

Today, 3 page fax rolls off the fax maching from district.
I summary:
-All scripts dropped in person are to take no longer than 10 minutes wether the person waits or not.
-All electronic, fax, voice scripts take no longer than 45 minutes from the time sent.
-Drive thru will take no longer than 10 minutes, and we can no longer discourage people not to wait at the drive thru.
-all daily phone calls completed before 1pm.
-Other misc stuff about outside vendor and whatnot.

At the bottom:
"Please sign your name stating you've read to and agree to these policies and acknowlege failure to carry out or willfull neglect of can lead to termination."



over the line?
discuss...
Click to expand...

Who send you page 3? It sounds like a load of crap. I work in a bunch of CVS and have never saw such a memo. The reason is that this is illegal as it infringes on the practice of pharmacy. I would take that piece of paper as other ppl said and send it to my attorney, HR, board of pharmacy, etc. I wouldnt be surprise if this memo is from a tech who is assisting the DM/P. supervisor rather than the company itself.

Seriously... the last statement please sign your name stating you've read... blah blah is not something that CVS would do. Maybe Old timer can chime in on this. I know for a fact if we ever got this memo, ALL of the pharmacists in my district/region will riot.
 
bigpharmD said:
seriously cant you guys submit that sh^& to a local new agency with no name and just say "you want to know why mistakes are made"
Click to expand...

It violates company policies (not just cvs) to share private memos with press. You are opening yourself to a can of whoopass lawsuits if you do...
 
I WILL NOT get into a pissing contest on the merits of any particular policy of my employer.

What I will say is the memo you describe DOES NOT comport with CVS's policy and procedures. This is done locally. They have lowered the limits beyond what is required in the hope that you will meet the real target by striving for the fake target.

As for hours, please tell me you understand flex. If you don't or or your PCI doesn't, you are not in a position to comment on any changes in hours.

p.s: To get a zero for wait time is unforgivable. The patient's come before anything else, including any paperwork. You have to try really hard to get a zero for wait time unless the number of calls you got was very small.
 
Old Timer said:
I WILL NOT get into a pissing contest on the merits of any particular policy of my employer.

What I will say is the memo you describe DOES NOT comport with CVS's policy and procedures. This is done locally. They have lowered the limits beyond what is required in the hope that you will meet the real target by striving for the fake target.

As for hours, please tell me you understand flex. If you don't or or your PCI doesn't, you are not in a position to comment on any changes in hours.

p.s: To get a zero for wait time is unforgivable. The patient's come before anything else, including any paperwork. You have to try really hard to get a zero for wait time unless the number of calls you got was very small.
Click to expand...

Yes we understand flex, but we get very little of it since they raised our budget while cutting hours. I went over hours once and the PIC was shat on and in due course, myself, so I am very strict and usually right at an hour leeway by the end of the week. Point being, its still not enough.

*Update* apparently some other members who took their voice public have gotten a local investigation by a news channel and the story is set to air thursday.

PS, and as for the 0, we have no idea. We already complied to our fullest extent with the rules other than the rediculous but as far as I can concede, it had to have been drive through. We have alot of medicaid customers and there tend to be fights quite often at the drive thru wen medicaid doesnt cover anti-tussives or high dollar meds which clogs things up.
 
Phlame217 said:
Yes we understand flex, but we get very little of it since they raised our budget while cutting hours. I went over hours once and the PIC was shat on and in due course, myself, so I am very strict and usually right at an hour leeway by the end of the week. Point being, its still not enough.
Click to expand...

CVS does not change the budget of a store unless there is an acquisition. You would have to show me a copy of your green sheets from earlier in the year and now. If you are speaking about starting January 1st, then it was your pharmacy sup who changed your budgets,

Phlame217 said:
*Update* apparently some other members who took their voice public have gotten a local investigation by a news channel and the story is set to air thursday.
Click to expand...

This is always a good thing that your bosses will love....

Phlame217 said:
PS, and as for the 0, we have no idea. We already complied to our fullest extent with the rules other than the rediculous but as far as I can concede, it had to have been drive through. We have alot of medicaid customers and there tend to be fights quite often at the drive thru wen medicaid doesnt cover anti-tussives or high dollar meds which clogs things up.
Click to expand...

That doesn't account for the zero score on wait time. Have your scores been trending down and that zero was the last straw. It seems like an over reaction if you just have one bad month. Also, two few calls can skew your score.
 
A) our budget is adjusted quarterly, and after last quarter, our budget was modified.

B) Yep!

C)We did have fewer calls then normal, but we've always been around a 93-93 SSS before.
 
Phlame217 said:
A) our budget is adjusted quarterly, and after last quarter, our budget was modified.

B) Yep!

C)We did have fewer calls then normal, but we've always been around a 93-93 SSS before.
Click to expand...

Please ask to see your green sheets. Ask your PIC and your store manager and get a copy from each month. Somebody is bull-------- you.
 
Phlame217 said:
A) our budget is adjusted quarterly, and after last quarter, our budget was modified.

B) Yep!

C)We did have fewer calls then normal, but we've always been around a 93-93 SSS before.
Click to expand...

I agree with old timer. Your budget is not adjusted quarterly. The hours might not be the same to reflect seasonal changes but that goes for weekly hours too. However ultimately, your yearly total hours should be the same.
 
"all scripts are to be filled in 10 minutes whether the patient waits or not" ...

practicing pharmacy in an unsafe manner.. let's see what happens when someone dies.
 
pinkpillowzz said:
"all scripts are to be filled in 10 minutes whether the patient waits or not" ...

practicing pharmacy in an unsafe manner.. let's see what happens when someone dies.
Click to expand...

This is not company policy.................. It's some low level manager putting the fear of God into his underlings because he is too afraid of losing his own job and does not have the ability to solve the problem...
 
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