Calling CVS Ethics hotline

[DrVader]

I work for CVS at a moderate volume store in the city, we used to have 150 tech hours at the beginning of this year. Now we are down to 80-90 hours, during Thanksgiving week it was in the 60s. I know other stores in the district have less volume than us but 50 + more tech hours.

The current DM didn't like the previous PIC, although the new PIC is fantastic. The techs range from very good to mediocre.

The store has become an absolute mess, we have 10 plus pages in the red. At one point it was 30, the warehouse doesn't get up. RTS isn't being done. We have 200 plus cycle counts.

The PIC and I are considering calling the CVS ethics hotline and reporting the DM. The place is an accident waiting to happen and people could get hurt. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any other ideas? It seems the DM is undercutting the city stores while giving the nice suburb stores plenty of hours.

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[Mambo#5]

I work for CVS at a moderate volume store in the city, we used to have 150 tech hours at the beginning of this year. Now we are down to 80-90 hours, during Thanksgiving week it was in the 60s. I know other stores in the district have less volume than us but 50 + more tech hours.

The current DM didn't like the previous PIC, although the new PIC is fantastic. The techs range from very good to mediocre.

The store has become an absolute mess, we have 10 plus pages in the red. At one point it was 30, the warehouse doesn't get up. RTS isn't being done. We have 200 plus cycle counts.

The PIC and I are considering calling the CVS ethics hotline and reporting the DM. The place is an accident waiting to happen and people could get hurt. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any other ideas? It seems the DM is undercutting the city stores while giving the nice suburb stores plenty of hours.

Quit

 

[Pharmacy is a Scam]

Quit

Pharmacists are risk-averse, they won’t do that. That’s why we’re all on SDN or starting anonymous petitions online to vent about the state of things.

 

[rxkrafted]

Why don't you and the PIC discuss the situation with DM first and how this is impacting scores and patient care? I wouldn't escalate this to Ethics department unless you already tried coming to an agreement on possible solutions for this because it just looks like you guys are going behind his back to report him without discussing your issues. Then you will definitely have a target on your back for replacement.

 

[Rxgirl87]

Ethics line is not anonymous by any means and they will clearly know it was you guys that called. I’d have pic reach out to dm and if not then their boss. If nothing gets resolved then call ethics so it’s at least documented. Or write emails need everything documented. DMs will retaliate if you try to make them look bad in my past experiences.

 

[DrVader]

Why don't you and the PIC discuss the situation with DM first and how this is impacting scores and patient care? I wouldn't escalate this to Ethics department unless you already tried coming to an agreement on possible solutions for this because it just looks like you guys are going behind his back to report him without discussing your issues. Then you will definitely have a target on your back for replacement.

We have discussed this with the DM numerous times. The DM often ignores the situation or suggests that we used cashiers from the front to ring people up. We will often get to 20+ pages and then she will approve overtime which will allow us to clean the place up.

 

[DrVader]

Quit

The other staff pharmacist did quit, Honestly, the PIC is ready to quit.

 

[rxkrafted]

We have discussed this with the DM numerous times. The DM often ignores the situation or suggests that we used cashiers from the front to ring people up. We will often get to 20+ pages and then she will approve overtime which will allow us to clean the place up.

Yeah then light his/her a** up through ethics department. Does the DM know it hurts the company more if they can't hold onto their customer base at the store vs paying for extra tech help lol? The DM's supervisor is then gonna breathe down his neck once he/she gets flooded with complaints to corporate.

 

[JustFillIt]

Hint: if involving human resource - always end the conversation with, “I fear that my disclosure of this information may result in retaliation in the form of threatening my job and livelihood”

Document that you said this and forward a letter of concern to a lawyer that is assisting you in the matter.

This would be a very smart move.

Every corporation has a “non-retaliation” policy. It would be in our best interest as workers to use it. A breach in a non-retaliation policy is illegal.

 

[DrVader]

Yeah then light his/her a** up through ethics department. Does the DM know it hurts the company more if they can't hold onto their customer base at the store vs paying for extra tech help lol? The DM's supervisor is then gonna breathe down his neck once he/she gets flooded with complaints to corporate.

The vast majority of our patient base is on medicare and Medicaid, I suspect a lot of them are stuck at our pharmacy. Mainly because we are the closest and they don't have time or the ability to drive elsewhere.

 

[M0df]

Ethics line = HR right? Their function is to protect the company. You should only try calling them if you are willing to walk away from this job.

 

[mentos]

Ethics line is a joke. If you complain about someone, they will immediately know you did it. Then you will have a target on your back.

 

[DrVader]

Ethics line is a joke. If you complain about someone, they will immediately know you did it. Then you will have a target on your back.

Honest, I am. I have only worked for CVS for a few years, I don't have much of investment plus I am still pretty long. The PIC has worked for CVS for 20 years, honestly, I feel bad for her. She got in when the going was good, I knew what I was getting into. But if things keep going the way they are, someone will get hurt because we can't hold onto pharmacists or techs. Someday someone (possibly) a floater will make a mistake and someone will get hurt.

 

[Wickett]

Honest, I am. I have only worked for CVS for a few years, I don't have much of investment plus I am still pretty long. The PIC has worked for CVS for 20 years, honestly, I feel bad for her. She got in when the going was good, I knew what I was getting into. But if things keep going the way they are, someone will get hurt because we can't hold onto pharmacists or techs. Someday someone (possibly) a floater will make a mistake and someone will get hurt.

Written documentation is key, starting with the DM. Even if past convos have gone nowhere before with the DM, the PIC needs an official paper trail voicing specific concerns via company email to their direct superior first. If nothing changes, then the PIC needs to escalate it to the DM's direct supervisor via company email also.

Only after all those avenues are exhausted should someone then consider going to HR and/or the ethics hotline. Just be sure that you guys have clear, irrefutable arguments to present if going past the DM level. You need to demonstrate a clear lack of help compared to help in other stores in the district in relation to volume for any change to possibly occur.

If other stores are getting comparable help and are performing better than you, it will just get twisted around by corporate that there are "inefficiencies" and "poor leadership" on the part of you and the PIC. Also, avoid complaining directly about the DM, but just speak in general about the help vs workload concerns you have for patient safety and general company liability.

Just know going this route can be risky, but if you guys truly feel there is a real danger and it needs to be addressed, go about it very carefully and in a clear way in written form.

 

[Old Timer]

First, your DM has NO control of your hours. What does my schedule say?

 

[Deja]

First, your DM has NO control of your hours. What does my schedule say?

I was going to say this too... I thought the hours at CVS are all automatically assigned based on multiple factors and not a random number that the DM assigns...

Also if you guys are really 10 pages in red everyday and nothing is getting done then just schedule more people and ask for forgiveness later lol

 

[DrVader]

First, your DM has NO control of your hours. What does my schedule say?

They clearly have some because when we get really far behind she gives us extra hours.

 

[BenJammin]

I can think of a lot of uses for a company "ethics line" but this isn't one of them. Sorry OP but you should just quit. You won't do it but it's the right thing to do and we all know how some of you are just too scared to do the right thing.

 

[owlegrad]

They clearly have some because when we get really far behind she gives us extra hours.

Does the extra hours show up in my schedule or is it just a verbal “do what you have to” kind of thing?

 

[DrVader]

Does the extra hours show up in my schedule or is it just a verbal “do what you have to” kind of thing?

Verbal do what you want.

 

[maria1oh]

Your PIC sounds like an idiot. The tech hours are based on scripts. It varies between 9 to 18 scripts per hour depending on various factors (script pro, profits, 24/7, etc). Its not based on how much the district leader likes you.
If you do 1800/week then schedule 100 hours at least. The dm is not going to come there and send techs home. And if dm does write up manager for going over on hours based on 18 scripts per tech hour then escalate it to ethics line.

 

[ancienbon]

I work for CVS at a moderate volume store in the city, we used to have 150 tech hours at the beginning of this year. Now we are down to 80-90 hours, during Thanksgiving week it was in the 60s. I know other stores in the district have less volume than us but 50 + more tech hours.

The current DM didn't like the previous PIC, although the new PIC is fantastic. The techs range from very good to mediocre.

The store has become an absolute mess, we have 10 plus pages in the red. At one point it was 30, the warehouse doesn't get up. RTS isn't being done. We have 200 plus cycle counts.

The PIC and I are considering calling the CVS ethics hotline and reporting the DM. The place is an accident waiting to happen and people could get hurt. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any other ideas? It seems the DM is undercutting the city stores while giving the nice suburb stores plenty of hours.

Reporting the Dm for what? The dm has no control over the hours!

 

[Chrish]

Retail pharmacies have been understaffed for many years now.

They would have been sued million times already if it was that easy to prove mistake occurred because store was understaffed.

Don’t worry though.. Salary would keep dropping so they would “afford” to provide you more help at the expense of your hourly rate in future.

 

[BidingMyTime]

The vast majority of our patient base is on medicare and Medicaid, I suspect a lot of them are stuck at our pharmacy. Mainly because we are the closest and they don't have time or the ability to drive elsewhere.

This is probably the problem. Corporations don't really care about prescription number, they care about prescription profitability. You may be doing more prescriptions than some of the others stores, but if your patients are all Medicaid/Medicare, than your store is making less profit. That is how they would justify giving you less hours and not caring about the customer satisfaction (when they know the customers aren't going anywhere else anyway.)

 

[RxPreceptor]

This is probably the problem. Corporations don't really care about prescription number, they care about prescription profitability. You may be doing more prescriptions than some of the others stores, but if your patients are all Medicaid/Medicare, than your store is making less profit. That is how they would justify giving you less hours and not caring about the customer satisfaction (when they know the customers aren't going anywhere else anyway.)

This is absolutely destroying one of the stores in my area right now...shift essentially consists of 1 RPh + 1 tech running around in circles all day between pick up, drive-through, product review, phone calls, and expedites. Meanwhile production, data entry review, and triage are bottle necking turning the store into a non-sustainable hot-mess logistically (consistently 50+ pages behind in production despite numerous bail out attempts).

 

[Old Timer]

You people think this only happening in "welfare" stores. This happening everywhere. Upper management is starving every store of labor. The idea only "welfare" stores are being starved is silly.

 

[greenteapanacea]

Pharmacists are risk-averse, they won’t do that. That’s why we’re all on SDN or starting anonymous petitions online to vent about the state of things.

This is the most true thing I've ever read on here haha

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

Own your store, then you won't have to ask for approval.

All the justification you need is on your P&L and 6-12 month trend (green sheets). If you really want to gain some credibility, tie it back to the MCP/Contra A (short term profit) and the ROI for mSH (long term).

Green sheets will show you your payroll budget on paper, MySchedule will show you your projected budget based off 6 week trends, and its up to you and PIC to show that you know your business better than a computer and a guy upstairs crunching numbers.

There's probably a lot more to the story, so if you have access to the district flash sales report, you can also see how the whole district is performing overall. If your store is comping, but everyone else is negative, you may be taking one for the team.

I'm surprised your DM is so focused on payroll right now. End of the year is usually less strict unless your whole district is underperforming and not meeting any profitability benchmarks.

Sorry you're going through this. It's an uphill battle, but there's a way out if you get serious about learning the business. The best leaders are the people on the front lines. Don't let your boss do your job, and sometimes that means not listening to them (aka "respectfully pushing boundaries" in corporate speak).

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[BidingMyTime]

You people think this only happening in "welfare" stores. This happening everywhere. Upper management is starving every store of labor. The idea only "welfare" stores are being starved is silly.

DrVader specifically said that he is getting less tech hours, than stores in his district doing more prescription volume. What you say may be true in general, but it's clear in his case there is something else factoring, and that is most likely his store being less profitable.

 

[Old Timer]

DrVader specifically said that he is getting less tech hours, than stores in his district doing more prescription volume. What you say may be true in general, but it's clear in his case there is something else factoring, and that is most likely his store being less profitable.

He is not. MySchedule takes in multiple factors when giving hours and I can tell you with 100% certainty it does not work that way.

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

MySchedule only flexes up/down off the original budget using the 6 week script trends. If OP's store suffered extreme negatives last year, that will set his baseline budget lower. If on top of that his recent trends have slowed, that could really affect his budget even more (despite what his true volume and workload demands are).

Only way to know is if OP looks at all his reports and cross references data. All his talk about weekly volume and operational deficiencies is mostly subjective.

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[DrVader]

You people think this only happening in "welfare" stores. This happening everywhere. Upper management is starving every store of labor. The idea only "welfare" stores are being starved is silly.

I float at the stores they get much more hours. We had a guy complain that he was on hold for 15 minutes. I told him that he was lucky I picked up the phone at all. People in the nice neighborhood have good private insurance, that let's them go anywhere. Not ****ty Carmack or Aetna. I really think it comes down to profitability and not volume.

 

[Old Timer]

I float at the stores they get much more hours. We had a guy complain that he was on hold for 15 minutes. I told him that he was lucky I picked up the phone at all. People in the nice neighborhood have good private insurance, that let's them go anywhere. Not ****ty Carmack or Aetna. I really think it comes down to profitability and not volume.

You know the volume and the trends in all the stores you go to? You are just dead wrong

 

[DrVader]

You know the volume and the trends in all the stores you go to? You are just dead wrong

I float at one of the nice stores on a regular basis to get more hours. I don't know the volume and trends in all the stores. But I was looking at an old schedule from 2016. We had 160 tech hours, now we have 89 this week. Our script count has remained consistent and increased a little after CVS bought Marsh and Target. But we are nearly running at half the tech hours! I think it comes down to the fact that most of the people at our store have medicare, Medicaid and Caremark. They are stuck at our store, properly stuck at our location because their transportation is limited.

Our lane two doesn't work and is literally being held up by duck tape, I **** you not. The little pen at our register is being broken over a year, CVS doesn't even bother to replace it. Everything at our store is old and run down. The front store mainly sells alcohol, adult diapers, and vitamins. There is simply something we are not being told.

 

[RxPreceptor]

You know the volume and the trends in all the stores you go to? You are just dead wrong

Would have to agree, as a floater, it's damn near impossible to know the ins and outs of various stores; your perception seems biased/you only get a snapshot of what each store appears to be like as a floater (unlikely to have intelligence of long term trends).

 

[Old Timer]

I float at tons of stores. Can confirm that most of the pens at the registers are broken at most stores. Probably by design by the company that makes them to force their customers to buy new ones lol (the classic tech business model). Every day there's a new glitch with the computer system that slows everything down and the company never fixes it.

Do you think CVS knows the pen is broken? There is an onder number and your order it on Poll day and get it on truck day. Bad store management.

 

[DrVader]

Do you think CVS knows the pen is broken? There is an onder number and your order it on Poll day and get it on truck day. Bad store management.

What is the order number? Or can you tell me which section it is in supplies? I was under the impression that only IT could fix it but if I can order a pen I will.

 

[Old Timer]

What is the order number? Or can you tell me which section it is in supplies? I was under the impression that only IT could fix it but if I can order a pen I will.

It depends on the model of the terminal. Call the helpless desk today. Also, only can order one per week.

 

[RxPreceptor]

It depends on the model of the terminal. Call the helpless desk today. Also, only can order one per week.

I've replaced tons of these...look up item # in store supply section on poll day...yes the limit is one pen per poll day (><). *Control F "stylus" is your friend here

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

Would have to agree, as a floated, it's damn near impossible to know the ins and outs of various stores; your perception seems biased/you only get a snapshot of what each store appears to be like as a floater (unlikely to have intelligence of long term trends).

Here's what I would do if I was a floater visiting poorly managed stores.

The day before your shift, call the pharmacy/front store manager and introduce yourself. Ask them for the P&L (PM can't print this unless you're in Target). If you don't know the PM or if they won't send you the report, go in early (yes that sucks, but you need to equip yourself with business knowledge to make business decisions).

Warning: It's about to get heavy with business terms

Look at the MTD and YTD MCP and ContraA lines. If the store is surpassing budgets for both, you have an opportunity to flex payroll (might want to compare as %of sales). If not surpassing budget, forget it and don't read any further. The store is in the hole.

Then look at the RxOperating costs (payroll used for operations) line MTD and YTD. Compare the colums that say %of sales Actual vs %of sales Budget. If actual is less than budget, you have wiggle room to spend payroll, especially if your YTD actual is less than budget.

Lastly, print out the stores Green Sheets (Rx Scripts trends) and daily flash report (daily script counts/budgets).

If your script trends are OVER budget, use simple ratios to justify tech payroll spend. Any pharmacist can do this math. You'll probably need to use a scripts/hour ratio. This will be arbitrary (I would say 11-14 rxs/hr and to lean conservatively).

Then, based off the day's performance (you can use M2-1-5 (dispensing time report) to see how many rxs being processed real time), and flex up and down on tech payroll. I would shoot the PM a message notifying them of the business justification. Make sure the team isn't just doing busy work, but that dollars are flowing thru the registers and claims are being billed profitably. Immunizations are a great ROI.

If you do this right, the only questions that will be asked is, "Why aren't you a Pharmacy Manager?"

If your DM doesn't like this, ask him/her to teach you why. Once you learn the business language, you'll be able to cut through corporate red tape and have real conversations.

If you can't stomach the thought of doing any of this, then you'll have to continue wondering if anyone is actually managing your pharmacy properly.

If more Pharmacists learned the business, maybe we could be even better clinicians in community pharmacy.

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[Sine Cura]

Then, based off the day's performance (you can use M2-1-5 (dispensing time report) to see how many rxs being processed real time), and flex up and down on tech payroll. I would shoot the PM a message notifying them of the business justification. Make sure the team isn't just doing busy work, but that dollars are flowing thru the registers and claims are being billed profitably. Immunizations are a great ROI.

How do schedule more hours on short notice? Do you call other stores for help (who are probably in the same boat of minimum hrs)? Do you call techs who are not scheduled (who putatively have lives and will not come to work on short notice)? Do you keep people over their scheduled shift (OT)?

The assumption of short notice is based on looking at P&L "the day before your shift"

 

[Old Timer]

This how you get written up or fired. ALL that matters is being optimized according to my schedule.

 

[Deja]

This how you get written up or fired. ALL that matters is being optimized according to my schedule.

are you responding to mr corporate

 

[Old Timer]

are you responding to mr corporate

UMMMMM,,,,,, Yep

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

How do schedule more hours on short notice? Do you call other stores for help (who are probably in the same boat of minimum hrs)? Do you call techs who are not scheduled (who putatively have lives and will not come to work on short notice)? Do you keep people over their scheduled shift (OT)?

The assumption of short notice is based on looking at P&L "the day before your shift"

Flex happens however you want it to. Best case scenario is flexing the team you are working with (call in early or stay later). If you are good at networking, you could have some techs who can come in, but unless they're A players, it's better to use the techs who know the store.

Overtime is a no go unless the P&L is stellar. I've made the decision to flex a newer tech rather than a seasoned one due to pay variance. But the ROI is very iffy. Some DMs understand that OT is a short term business solution, but continued OT is just poor planning.

Like I said, tread carefully when doing any of this. You need to understand the business and learn the language. If your DM does not budge, learn to influence and push some boundaries. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is influence.

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[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

This how you get written up or fired. ALL that matters is being optimized according to my schedule.

Sure, there is a wrong way to do this. That's by spending someone else's money without knowing what you're doing.

It's not easy, but anyone can learn business ownership.

Scheduled optimization is only one part of the equation. The other is worked optimization.

Fxating only on one metric does not make for better business. Hard to grow the business when following arbitrary rules without pushing boundaries.

Sometimes you need to spend more to make more.

Sent from my SM-N975U using SDN mobile

 

[Mr. Corporate Pharmacist]

Here's what I would do if I was a floater visiting poorly managed stores.

The day before your shift, call the pharmacy/front store manager and introduce yourself. Ask them for the P&L (PM can't print this unless you're in Target). If you don't know the PM or if they won't send you the report, go in early (yes that sucks, but you need to equip yourself with business knowledge to make business decisions).

Warning: It's about to get heavy with business terms

Look at the MTD and YTD MCP and ContraA lines. If the store is surpassing budgets for both, you have an opportunity to flex payroll (might want to compare as %of sales). If not surpassing budget, forget it and don't read any further. The store is in the hole.

Then look at the RxOperating costs (payroll used for operations) line MTD and YTD. Compare the colums that say %of sales Actual vs %of sales Budget. If actual is less than budget, you have wiggle room to spend payroll, especially if your YTD actual is less than budget.

Lastly, print out the stores Green Sheets (Rx Scripts trends) and daily flash report (daily script counts/budgets).

If your script trends are OVER budget, use simple ratios to justify tech payroll spend. Any pharmacist can do this math. You'll probably need to use a scripts/hour ratio. This will be arbitrary (I would say 11-14 rxs/hr and to lean conservatively).

Then, based off the day's performance (you can use M2-1-5 (dispensing time report) to see how many rxs being processed real time), and flex up and down on tech payroll. I would shoot the PM a message notifying them of the business justification. Make sure the team isn't just doing busy work, but that dollars are flowing thru the registers and claims are being billed profitably. Immunizations are a great ROI.

If you do this right, the only questions that will be asked is, "Why aren't you a Pharmacy Manager?"

If your DM doesn't like this, ask him/her to teach you why. Once you learn the business language, you'll be able to cut through corporate red tape and have real conversations.

If you can't stomach the thought of doing any of this, then you'll have to continue wondering if anyone is actually managing your pharmacy properly.

If more Pharmacists learned the business, maybe we could be even better clinicians in community pharmacy.

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Also, I made an error when typing this. The dispensing time report is M1-5.

Sorry for the inconvenience and wild goose chase for anyone looking.

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[DrVader]

I've replaced tons of these...look up item # in store supply section on poll day...yes the limit is one pen per poll day (><). *Control F "stylus" is your friend here

I found it, it is Item 927393 Payment Terminal Verifone Stylus

 

[Old Timer]

Sure, there is a wrong way to do this. That's by spending someone else's money without knowing what you're doing.

It's not easy, but anyone can learn business ownership.

Scheduled optimization is only one part of the equation. The other is worked optimization.

Fxating only on one metric does not make for better business. Hard to grow the business when following arbitrary rules without pushing boundaries.

Sometimes you need to spend more to make more.

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I don't disagree you need to spend more to make more. I don't agree with the way corporate is starving the stores of labor. I am telling you, at leasst in my neck of the woods, you had better not exceed demand hours no matter how busy you are.

 

[Dr Wario]

I don't disagree you need to spend more to make more. I don't agree with the way corporate is starving the stores of labor. I am telling you, at leasst in my neck of the woods, you had better not exceed demand hours no matter how busy you are.

Yup, but then you make one day supply mistake that gets audited and a $600-1200 chargeback for some stupid cream/insulin that could have been prevented with about 1 minute of extra labor time. I agree with corp that labor should be optimized but I guarantee you that every additional labor dollar spent in our store would save $10 in inventory, customer loyalty and/or audits.

The real truth is, however, that corp has seen the writing on the wall that retail is dying, perhaps not from the standpoint of workload but overall profitability. They have make it very clear with changes to the benefits package for 2020 that they are putting much more focus on the service and administration side of the business and forgetting merchandise sales.