A dream

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vafcarrot

vafcarrot

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You know how if you stay up late to study for a test and then you try to get some sleep, your dreams are riddled with Organic Chemistry equations or how the kidney functions?

Well, I had a job interview yesterday and last night I kept on waking up every hour or so because I dream someone in my interview asked me what the biggest problem with pharmacy today is. And I couldn't answer it. I kept on thinking to myself "oh, if I just go back to sleep, the answer will come to me." Yeah, it never came to me.

So, a question for all you folks so that my poor sleep won't be harassed by this question anymore:

What do you think the biggest problem with pharmacy is?

(Sorry I can't give you more specifics on the question. The question was pretty vague in my dream 😛 )
 
Umm, back to the dream issue. I've been out of school for 5 years now but I continue to have the same recurring dream that involves either having a paper due that I haven't started yet, or a final that I've forgotten about, or a class that I keep forgetting to attend. It's absolutely horrible, and I have it at least every couple months. An MD friend of mine who is in his 60's says he still has similar dreams to this day. Ack!!! I think I need therapy. 😱
 
I see the placing of patient care over profit by some corporate pharmacies as a major ethical dilemma/challenge facing our profession. :meanie:


Good luck VafCarrot!
 
bananaface said:
Solution? :meanie:
Click to expand...

Yes..solution

Definition of Solution: The act of solving, or the state of being solved; the disentanglement of any intricate problem or difficult question; explanation; clearing up; -- used especially in mathematics, either of the process of solving an equation or problem, or the result of the process.


Yup, thats me!
 
Is it not cold now? I also fixed a certain plumbing problem while I was there too! Amazing what non-invasive surgery can do 😉
 
South2006 said:
Is it not cold now? I also fixed a certain plumbing problem while I was there too! Amazing what non-invasive surgery can do 😉
Click to expand...

South, the title of this thread is "A Dream." That doesn't mean that you have to live in one at the moment. 😛 :meanie:
 
Alas, I have several people obsess and/or stalk me in my premartial state (horrible stories... they would give you nightmares, not dreams), but no one as of yet since I've been married. South, you flatter me but sadly I am obsessed with my hubby. I'm seeking treatment for my addiction, but I don't see any cure for it in the immediate future.
 
It was rude of me to not answer your question but hijack your thread to complain about my recurring dream. I think the biggest problem in pharmacy is the shifting of pharmacy ownership from independents to big business.
 
GravyRPH said:
It was rude of me to not answer your question but hijack your thread to complain about my recurring dream. I think the biggest problem in pharmacy is the shifting of pharmacy ownership from independents to big business.
Click to expand...
I agree
 
GravyRPH said:
It was rude of me to not answer your question but hijack your thread to complain about my recurring dream. I think the biggest problem in pharmacy is the shifting of pharmacy ownership from independents to big business.
Click to expand...

How rude! 😛

What's the reason for big business taking ownership away from independents though?
 
It has to tie into what bananaface said at the begining of the thread. Corporations like Wags, Rite Aid and Eckerd putting profit before patient care. With most independent pharmacies, they have a guinuine interest in patient care over profit. Profit is important to them and most independents look at it like if they have excellent patient care, they will make profit and everything takes care of it's self.
 
I was going to go all into how insurance reimbursements push indies out of business allowing for the corporate pharmacies to grow, but I decided to keep it short and sweet. That is on the money, though. It's all part of one related group of issues that we have to face. Another aspect of the problem that irks me that corporations get involved in regulating what we do as professionals.

On a side note... I had the wierdest dream this morning. I have to say morning since I didn't go to sleep until 3am......So in my dream I was sitting at my computer, much as I am now. I had gotten up about 30-40 minutes ago and was posting something on SDN. But, it was also 4:30 in the afternoon. And, my husband was all pissed off that had slept in so late. I was super annoyed with him, as usual, because he does not understand why I visit this site alot. So then the phone rang and it was my mother. My husband reminded me that we were supposed to go over to my mom's for dinner at 5. Since my mom lives 30 minutes away and I was still in my pajamas, there was no way we were going to make it by 5. And on top of that I was supposed to bring veggies and hadn't cut them up yet. And then I woke up.

So, what does my dream mean? :laugh:

annasig.JPG
 
I agree with the big problem of profits vs. patient care. Big companies put a lot of emphasis on volume, keeping a close eye on inventory, and lots of little stupid details that detract from time that could be spent on patient care.

I think another major problem is the lack of time dr's spend with patients explaining what they have prescribed and pharmacists need to fill in that role - which is both an opportunity and a problem. As an opportunity, it's created "brown bag" days in which people (usually the elderly on several meds) jhave the chance to bring in all their meds to go over them with the pharmacist. As a problem, pharmacists often lack the time and thus patients are receiving sub-par therapy.

Another problem that would be interesting to think about is the lack of organization/unionization of pharmacists to protest difficult working situations. A person simply cannot be at their best after 12 hours with a measly 30 min break puncuated by pressing needs and after checking 300+ scripts.

Some food for thought....
 
Big corporations only goal nowadays seems to be to increase the price of their stock. Whatever will meet that end is the policy that will be put into place. Of course, killing patients would most likely cause your stock value to take a dive, so they can't completely get rid of patient care, but they get as darn close as they possibly can. They say all the right things, but in reality, the motivation is pure and simple greed.

It's difficult to place money first when, as an owner, you see half your clientele at church on Sunday, or the little league game on Wednesday night. It's just different working for an independent. I like it a lot, but they can't compete with the salary of their big brother neighbor (and I still like inpatient better). Plus, It's a lot of stress to run your own pharmacy. The competition is huge, the insurance companies are big bad bears, and you're the last line for whatever problems arise. You can make a lot of money if you do it right, but is it worth it?
 
I do agree that most corporations don't allow for the same patient focus that indies do. But, I hate to say that ALL corporations are greedy to the extent that patient care suffers. For example, Bartell Drugs has 50ish stores in Seattle and is family owned (not publicly traded). Their niche is to charge more but offer superior service. This includes excellent staffing levels, higher paid staff, good quality control throughout the chain. They also encourage pharmacists who want to to do programs like flu shots, osteoporosis screening, etc. Interestingly, every single key corporate management person at Bartells is either a family member, pharmacist, or pharmacy technician.

South, you are the worst fortune teller ever! 😛
 
I think that the biggest problem with pharmacy right now is that so many people still carry the stereotype that pharmacists are nothing but pill counters/providers that work for their high and mighty doctor.

They don't realize that pharmacists are actually a huge part of the health care system and they could find out alot of info from them if they asked. I don't know many people that call their pharmacist when they have a bad reaction to medication or when choosing which over the counter drug to use, instead they wait a few days to get in to see their doctor, and 99% of the time they could've just called/visited their pharmacist and found out the same info (or better... 😉 ) in a fraction of the time.

Many people miss out on the expertise and down right GENIUS of their pharmacist by believing the hype the Doctor is the all knowing god of health.

That's just wrong! 🙁
 
I would also agree that companies care about profit more than patient's health. Many cannot afford their drugs, and I for one, without my family's insurance plan, wouldn't be able to afford some of the basic medication I use (Flonase went from $75 to $20 with my insurance).

I also believe that corporations look at efficiency over patient care. For example, the drive through option at some large pharmacies were built for "quick and convenience" but what about counseling and personal interaction?

Although many pharmacist truly care about their job and helping others, the corporations that hire and pay them only care about profits. After all, it is a business 1st and anything else (including patient care and healthcare) come after that.
 
All of the past posters have pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as problems. Couldn't really add more!

Good luck to you, vafcarrot 😉
 
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