Avoiding Internal pharmacy theft

[ohd3232]

Hello, my name is Will..... this is just a quick question but I've been told that for pharmacies that operate within a grocery store or department store they have multiple inventories done a year, some quarterly and some twice a year, who does these inventories? do they hire a company to do it? or do the pharmacists themselves do them? and also...whether it is an outside inventory company or a pharmacy employee who does the inventory how does that keep the person who is actually physically doing the counting of bottles and pills on the shelf from stealing and not getting caught? after all it is their numbers that are going to be examined to determine the value of the medicine in the pharmacy, correct? so who is to stop them from pocketing 3 bottles of medicine and just not adding those into the figures. I'm sure there is a recount procedure done but I am guessing that every pharmacy is required to have several security cameras throughout the pharmacy, one to watch the customer but also several to watch the shelves? Thanks for allowing me to ask this, a friend of mine brought this up as we were discussing the incredible amount of theft that apparently goes on from the employees of pharmacies more so than a robbery or something like that. so I just am wondering what the process of inventory is like and how it is assured that the people doing the actual inventory aren't just loading up their pockets....any answers would be helpful.....thanks.

-Will

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[ajh88]

For the annual inventory, it is an outside company that comes in. However, we go through and count/double check all controls ourselves prior to inventory day and put stickers on them to indicate inventory. Also, they do not open bottles and count individual pills - if a bottle is open, they credit it as a half-bottle (or something like that) and obviously if it is sealed, its a whole bottle. There is also the "real time" computer system that tracks inventory - it isn't perfect but it's rarely off by 2-3 bottles, especially on a control or an expensive drug. The "outsiders" don't have access to the computer and only a pharmacist can manually update controlled drug inventory anyway.

Yes, there are a boatload of cameras in the pharmacy - as there are throughout most retail establishments. A former boss once told me there were only 2 spots in the entire store where you couldn't be seen on some video camera (and no, I have no idea where those are).

You can't ever completely stop employee theft from a pharmacy - pills are so small and sometimes they get away on accident (I made it home one day with a metformin in my pocket - I didn't even know it was there until I went to wash my jacket). However, there is an element of trust involved and I think if you're on top of things, you will notice a pattern emerge if in fact there is a problem. I would not be very inclined to believe that a large amount of theft occurs during inventory, regardless of who is conducting it.

 

[type b pharmD]

we always did our own inventory. Not everyone steals - some pharmacies employees trust each other.

 

[ohd3232]

ohhh ok, so the controlled stuff is not counted by outside people, thank god, that could be a disaster....... but when i was walmart the other day filling a prescription it seemed like there were definitely cameras that could see me (i guess thats to gain visual information if there was a hold up type of robbery) but as far as above the bays where i guess the non narcotic medications are kept i did not see anything except the sprinkler system in case of a fire.... the thing that bothers me about the inventory crews is that if they take a bottle of something and then it never gets scanned into the inventory...then when the pharmacist checks back over what the crew counted it would look as if that bottle never existed and from previous stores i worked in when i was younger, the quality and distance from the actual shelves the cameras are it does not seem to be possible to catch anything and have any conclusive evidence of it.....but i guess most people doing inventory dont know much about pharmacies and they probably just assume there are cameras above, around and beside everything in that pharmacy....any non crazy person would have to assume as much which hopefully deters stealing, but some day i hope to be a pharmacist at one of these places and i sure hope they have more ceiling cameras than i saw the other day because a lot of the medicine shelves are hidden from view of the store.... probably alsothe auditor is in the pharmacy with the pharmacist and at least one other employee so theyd have to be reluctant to steal based on the proximity to the employees at all times....anways the point of this post was that from what ive observed there does not appear to be hardly any cameras inside the grocery store pharmacyy itself and thats a little disconcerting. and as far as patterns go, if the crew only comes every 6 months, itd be hard to notice a pattern if the person just grabbed a bottle or two of pain pills or whatever meds are of value to people if it occured only once or twice a year and if the same individual was doin the inventory; ahhhh worries worries..... oh well, i guess you just hope ppl arent scumbags, i just googled "grocery store pharmacy security cameras" and it shows images from cameras that are placed right in the grocery store ceiling looking in on the pharmacy and its shelves but i still think an inventory person could get away it since they are at a different pharmacy everyday whereas an employee would leave a daily pattern at the pharm they worked at .... im probably just worrying about nothing tho, i guess if only a bottle or two were taken per year from a pharmacy and that was all the theft that took place the pharmacy would consider that a good year. appreciate your insights folks.

and to clear up, im specifically talking about the pharmacies that are located inside of department/grocery stores. seems like they are slacking on their security as opposed to a CVS etc;
-Will

 

[Zekecb]

ohhh ok, so the controlled stuff is not counted by outside people, thank god, that could be a disaster....... but when i was walmart the other day filling a prescription it seemed like there were definitely cameras that could see me (i guess thats to gain visual information if there was a hold up type of robbery) but as far as above the bays where i guess the non narcotic medications are kept i did not see anything except the sprinkler system in case of a fire.... the thing that bothers me about the inventory crews is that if they take a bottle of something and then it never gets scanned into the inventory...then when the pharmacist checks back over what the crew counted it would look as if that bottle never existed and from previous stores i worked in when i was younger, the quality and distance from the actual shelves the cameras are it does not seem to be possible to catch anything and have any conclusive evidence of it.....but i guess most people doing inventory dont know much about pharmacies and they probably just assume there are cameras above, around and beside everything in that pharmacy....any non crazy person would have to assume as much which hopefully deters stealing, but some day i hope to be a pharmacist at one of these places and i sure hope they have more ceiling cameras than i saw the other day because a lot of the medicine shelves are hidden from view of the store.... probably alsothe auditor is in the pharmacy with the pharmacist and at least one other employee so theyd have to be reluctant to steal based on the proximity to the employees at all times....anways the point of this post was that from what ive observed there does not appear to be hardly any cameras inside the grocery store pharmacyy itself and thats a little disconcerting. and as far as patterns go, if the crew only comes every 6 months, itd be hard to notice a pattern if the person just grabbed a bottle or two of pain pills or whatever meds are of value to people if it occured only once or twice a year and if the same individual was doin the inventory; ahhhh worries worries..... oh well, i guess you just hope ppl arent scumbags, i just googled "grocery store pharmacy security cameras" and it shows images from cameras that are placed right in the grocery store ceiling looking in on the pharmacy and its shelves but i still think an inventory person could get away it since they are at a different pharmacy everyday whereas an employee would leave a daily pattern at the pharm they worked at .... im probably just worrying about nothing tho, i guess if only a bottle or two were taken per year from a pharmacy and that was all the theft that took place the pharmacy would consider that a good year. appreciate your insights folks.

and to clear up, im specifically talking about the pharmacies that are located inside of department/grocery stores. seems like they are slacking on their security as opposed to a CVS etc;
-Will

I work in a Walmart pharmacy, and we have cameras down every aisle of prescription drugs.

 

[ohd3232]

thats what i like to hear, i knew that had to be the case i just wondered...thanks for the info.

i wonder if they check it daily or just when something suspicious turns up...... like i was mentioning before, someone taking a bottle of a contrrolled drug that is inexpensive would probably only be caught by the security camera as proof but they probably only consult the cameras when something of great/quantity or value comes up missing..... by the way sorry if im being a bother im in my the beginning stages of my pre pharmacy education and am writing a paper on thefts other than robberies because its a misunderstood thing that most thhings are not stolen in a robbery, usually its employees or other people allowed behind the counter...... you all have given me some good information, i still wonder if they all have these cameras or if its done on certain standard like the area the store is located in (high crime) or if its a law that all pharmacies must have cameras to cover the entire area of medications, because as i mentioned before i saw on a police report online that the best pictures they had of the pharmacy in a grocery store were from a camera that was about 20-30 feet in front of the pharmacy desk and while you could definitely see the pharmacy, you'd never catch be able to catch someone just reaching out and slipping something in their pocket, at least from that camera...it was terrible! but I guess like most businesses, the more and more somethiong starts to cost you money, the more and more you enhance and upgrade your efforts to catch it. most people don't get hardcore home security systems until an incident occurs. Makes sense business - wise but again, I guess it comes down to trusting people and no matter what, there will always be theft. it's just surprising to me that inventory isn't done by the pharmacist themselves at all pharmacies....seems like bringing in outsiders is asking for trouble....i don't know, just my opinion. I've known a few inventory auditors and they were stand up guys so its not a knock on them, just the fact that people who seem trustworthy can often be the most deceiftul...... Have a good day folks.