CVS Walkout

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"It’s like running a McDonald’s with just one person.”

Expect with dangerous drugs that can kill or make someone seriously ill if dispensed inapproriately.

We've been talking about striking for the longest time. Finally glad to see it actually happen.
 
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CVS has cut pharmacy hours at several Target locations. “I used to be open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” the pharmacist said. “Now, we’re open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on the weekends
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Basically, it's all the Target pharmacists walking out. Which are generally the easiest CVS jobs in the company. I guess they are being asked to do hours of their stores to chip in at other stores. I think it's the boiling frog thing. Your typical CVS pharmacist has been slowly broken mentally to the point where they just accept the madness. The Target pharmacists see the hell the other people deal with and would rather go on strike than be expected to do what they do at the real CVSs.

Wait until they see what awaits them when Air Support goes nationwide. If they are upset that they have to help the regular CVSs out now, shew boy, just wait until they see what is coming.
 
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libra08 said:
What is air support?
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The entire district shares the same queue. Once a script is typed in, it goes to the cloud to be verified against the original Rx. Then it gets counted. A picture is taken of what was counted by the tech. It goes to the cloud to be visually verified against the photo the tech took. So it is possible that the RPh in the store might never look at the script that you fill at your local CVS.

It's going to eliminate overlap completely, I imagine
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
The entire district shares the same queue. Once a script is typed in, it goes to the cloud to be verified against the original Rx. Then it gets counted. A picture is taken of what was counted by the tech. It goes to the cloud to be visually verified against the photo the tech took. So it is possible that the RPh in the store might never look at the script that you fill at your local CVS.

It's going to eliminate overlap completely, I imagine
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Didn’t Walgreens try something similar and it didn’t work?
 
The only pharmacist walk out I can support is CVS so this story warms my heart. If this was Rite Aid or Fred Meyer I'd be laughing my ass off but this should spark waves across CVS in this country.
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
The entire district shares the same queue. Once a script is typed in, it goes to the cloud to be verified against the original Rx. Then it gets counted. A picture is taken of what was counted by the tech. It goes to the cloud to be visually verified against the photo the tech took. So it is possible that the RPh in the store might never look at the script that you fill at your local CVS.

It's going to eliminate overlap completely, I imagine
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So a pharmacist working from home in the middle of the country can verify the Rx? CVS can pay less for these pharmacists. You can even have a work from home tech type the RX. If the patients don’t need it right away, medications can be shipped next day to their house
 
libra08 said:
So a pharmacist working from home in the middle of the country can verify the Rx? CVS can pay less for these pharmacists. You can even have a work from home tech type the RX. If the patients don’t need it right away, medications can be shipped next day to their house
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I am sure there are countless CVS pharmacists that would be delighted by that arrangement. I probably would have been myself when I worked for them.
 
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owlegrad said:
I am sure there are countless CVS pharmacists that would be delighted by that arrangement. I probably would have been myself when I worked for them.
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Yeah, I can see that but that also means less job security especially if you live in a HCOL
 
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libra08 said:
So a pharmacist working from home in the middle of the country can verify the Rx? CVS can pay less for these pharmacists. You can even have a work from home tech type the RX. If the patients don’t need it right away, medications can be shipped next day to their house
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You have to be located in the state as you are verifying. We are a pilot "area" and from I understand, people licensed in both NJ and PA won't be able to do both at the same time.

But I could see this being a thing eventually. Once I get my mortgage paid off, I might be interested in that, lol.
 
Can they be reprimanded by the board for patient abandonment??

I at least know three people who had mental breakdown/ severe health issues that prompted them to look for different jobs overnight from working at CVS within last year alone..
 
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Chrish said:
Can they be reprimanded by the board for patient abandonment??

I at least know three people who had mental breakdown/ severe health issues that prompted them to look for different jobs overnight from working at CVS within last year alone..
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This would be good for a worker's comp or disability claim.

Next thing you know, you get reprimanded by the state board for patient abandonment after you get killed in a truck collision.
 
PharmtoCS said:
This would be good for a worker's comp or disability claim.

Next thing you know, you get reprimanded by the state board for patient abandonment after you get killed in a truck collision.
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Purposely walking out which can hinder someone from getting their meds can be considered an abandonment.
 
Chrish said:
Purposely walking out which can hinder someone from getting their meds can be considered an abandonment.
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I would argue that walking off the job intentionally due to mental issues would be not much different than walking off the job due to a heart attack. Both are medical issues that can incapacitate or kill you.
 
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PharFromNormal said:
www.cnbc.com

More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers threaten strike if labor agreement not reached

Kaiser Permanente is the largest nonprofit health-care organization in the U.S. serving nearly 13 million patients.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com

If this happens I’m not sure if it will make the cvs story look like nothing. Or if it will be a further catalyst for more.
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Aren't these pharmacists the highest paid in the country? I remember them getting 75/hr back when I was making low 50s at a ghetto CVS. How bad can it be at Kaiser?
 
mentos said:
Aren't these pharmacists the highest paid in the country? I remember them getting 75/hr back when I was making low 50s at a ghetto CVS. How bad can it be at Kaiser?
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Isn’t that a typical anti-union talking point? “Why are they striking, that have it pretty good already” yeah they have it good BECAUSE of the strike. More power to them.
 
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Chrish said:
Can they be reprimanded by the board for patient abandonment??

I at least know three people who had mental breakdown/ severe health issues that prompted them to look for different jobs overnight from working at CVS within last year alone..
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There's other pharmacies in KC
 
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owlegrad said:
Isn’t that a typical anti-union talking point? “Why are they striking, that have it pretty good already” yeah they have it good BECAUSE of the strike. More power to them.
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More power to them but couldn't they easily be replaced by pharmacists making < $60/hr? I'm sure many at CVS and Wags would love to trade positions.
 
Chrish said:
Yes but other pharmacies can’t transfer a prescription from that cvs location if pharmacy is closed.
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Why not?

It can be transferred to another CVS, then transferred wherever. I do it all the time overnight with my collegues at 24hr Wags and Rite Aid locations.
 
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mentos said:
More power to them but couldn't they easily be replaced by pharmacists making < $60/hr? I'm sure many at CVS and Wags would love to trade positions.
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In that case why don’t all employers firing every striking employee and replace them with someone cheaper? I don’t know, maybe it’s illegal or maybe it’s impractical. Or some combination of multiple factors.
 
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mentos said:
More power to them but couldn't they easily be replaced by pharmacists making < $60/hr? I'm sure many at CVS and Wags would love to trade positions.
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Essentially the entire goal of collective bargaining is to make that scenario difficult and unprofitable for a company to actually follow through with. Routinely replacing higher paid employees with lower paid new hires is relatively easy; replacing an entire staff is difficult. Doing so while fighting a PR battle even more so.
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
Why not?

It can be transferred to another CVS, then transferred wherever. I do it all the time overnight with my collegues at 24hr Wags and Rite Aid locations.
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What if rx is already ready over there and has no other refill left? I don’t know about cvs but our system doesn’t allow transfer unless other store reverses it.

And also, does store to store work every time? It’s quite common at my chain not to be able to pull someone via central record and having to manually call other store to transfer it, especially those truck drivers with multiple different profile.
 
Also what about something like Vimpat for seizures that is a controlled substance ? Can it be pulled without talking to other rph ?
 
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Chrish said:
What if rx is already ready over there and has no other refill left? I don’t know about cvs but our system doesn’t allow transfer unless other store reverses it.

And also, does store to store work every time? It’s quite common at my chain not to be able to pull someone via central record and having to manually call other store to transfer it, especially those truck drivers with multiple different profile.
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I can reverse another store's Rx from my store. If I transfer it, it automatically reverses at the other store. If it is stuck in progress, we can also remote into any store we want to and manually put it on hold, log back out, then transfer it over. Walgreens can do that, too.
 
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Chrish said:
Also what about something like Vimpat for seizures that is a controlled substance ? Can it be pulled without talking to other rph ?
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If it's a refill, yes. If it's the original fill, no. But that just reflects DEA law stating that original fills are not transferrable.
 
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mentos said:
More power to them but couldn't they easily be replaced by pharmacists making < $60/hr? I'm sure many at CVS and Wags would love to trade positions.
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Once you pass your probation period and are protected by union, it is not easy to fire an union employee (compared to "fire at will" as at retails). For every "meeting " with your boss, you have a right to request a union rep (like "I want my lawyer"). So unless you do something grossly illegal, they can't replace you with a lower paid RPh. If you see Kaiser RPh at the picket line, it is usually not because their job is horrible. They strike for all the lower paid workers.
 
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RN2RPh said:
Once you pass your probation period and are protected by union, it is not easy to fire an union employee (compared to "fire at will" as at retails). For every "meeting " with your boss, you have a right to request a union rep (like "I want my lawyer"). So unless you do something grossly illegal, they can't replace you with a lower paid RPh. If you see Kaiser RPh at the picket line, it is usually not because their job is horrible. They strike for all the lower paid workers.
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Oh, that sounds good for the employee. What's in it for the employer?
 
mentos said:
Oh, that sounds good for the employee. What's in it for the employer?
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There's a reason most employers have incredibly strong anti union stances. It's not because they benefit from unions.
 
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Chrish said:
Purposely walking out which can hinder someone from getting their meds can be considered an abandonment.
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Walking out of the pharmacy instead of filling someone's nitroglycerin while they're having chest pain in front of you is patient abandonment. Not opening the pharmacy because some hypothetical patient might need their blood pressure meds at some time in the next two days is not patient abandonment. That's something the chains tell you to keep you working while they're mistreating you.

Any Billy Bragg fans here? I've surprised at how in tune he is to American social issues.

 
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WorthlessOxygen said:
There's a reason most employers have incredibly strong anti union stances. It's not because they benefit from unions.
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I've been on the management side of union prevention/union busting meetings. I can confirm, they are terrified of you unionizing...at least at the higher levels. From my low-level/midlevel management perspective, there are some plusses: Performance evaluation is almost unnecessary. Wages and bonuses are decided by the contract. Shift preference is decided by seniority.
 
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mentos said:
Aren't these pharmacists the highest paid in the country? I remember them getting 75/hr back when I was making low 50s at a ghetto CVS. How bad can it be at Kaiser?
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Starting wages for a pharmacist are $93 and hour in Northern California. There's spill over to some harder to recruit non-kaiser facilities that are also paying that much or more. Southern California doesn't seem to have the same benefit at non-kaiser pharmcies. Too many pharmacy schools, or something.

Kaiser works you to death for that $93 an hour, particularly outpatient.

But as already stated, the reason they're making so much is the constant threat of striking.
 
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WVUPharm2007 said:
Why not?

It can be transferred to another CVS, then transferred wherever. I do it all the time overnight with my collegues at 24hr Wags and Rite Aid locations.
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exactly. claims can be reversed by the insurance, doctors/prescribers can send in new scripts.... etc. Although maybe an argument can be made for delay of care.
 
WVUPharm2007 said:
I can reverse another store's Rx from my store. If I transfer it, it automatically reverses at the other store. If it is stuck in progress, we can also remote into any store we want to and manually put it on hold, log back out, then transfer it over. Walgreens can do that, too.
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WVUPharm2007 said:
If it's a refill, yes. If it's the original fill, no. But that just reflects DEA law stating that original fills are not transferrable.
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That has changed recently. Federal Register :: Request Access
 
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sunnyandseventytwo said:
Walking out of the pharmacy instead of filling someone's nitroglycerin while they're having chest pain in front of you is patient abandonment. Not opening the pharmacy because some hypothetical patient might need their blood pressure meds at some time in the next two days is not patient abandonment. That's something the chains tell you to keep you working while they're mistreating you.

Any Billy Bragg fans here? I've surprised at how in tune he is to American social issues.

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Nope. In above example, dr office has sent in a new rx for Vimpat that has been ready for five days. Pt who hasn’t taken the med for past three days because they couldn’t afford it and were making financial arrangement to pay for it, comes to pharmacy. But pharmacy now is closed unannounced because of unforeseen strike and they aren’t able to get their med since dr office wouldn’t return the call right away. Pt will now have to go forth day without the med and might end with seizures.

If they do and if they decide to complain to board, I can see them siding with the patient. Despite it was pt, who couldn’t make arrangement in a timely manner, board would look at it like a vulnerable pt was put under risk because pharmacist decided to walk out during their scheduled duty.
 
Chrish said:
Nope. In above example, dr office has sent in a new rx for Vimpat that has been ready for five days. Pt who hasn’t taken the med for past three days because they couldn’t afford it and were making financial arrangement to pay for it, comes to pharmacy. But pharmacy now is closed unannounced because of unforeseen strike and they aren’t able to get their med since dr office wouldn’t return the call right away. Pt will now have to go forth day without the med and might end with seizures.

If they do and if they decide to complain to board, I can see them siding with the patient. Despite it was pt, who couldn’t make arrangement in a timely manner, board would look at it like a vulnerable pt was put under risk because pharmacist decided to walk out during their scheduled duty.
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Find one similar non-hypothetical example...I'll accept either a board disciplinary action from any state or a successful lawsuit.
 
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If there is one category group of controls that should allow transfer, it’s controls with seizure Dx Codes (mostly C5, a few C3)…my god this is easily the most annoying in states that do not allow transfer of controlled substances/most easy to sympathize around. Ok, who here has suspicions or knows cases of people abusing lacosamide?
 
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Chrish said:
Purposely walking out which can hinder someone from getting their meds can be considered an abandonment.
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I'm no expert on MO law, but I don't see the word "abandonment" in the regs. So long as the pharmacy is secured and non-operational without an RPh on site, and patients are advised where to alternatively go for pharmaceutical needs, the BOP likely can't do much.
 
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“Michael DeAngelis, CVS’ executive director of corporate communications, said an industry-wide shortage of pharmacists has made it difficult to appropriately staff the chain’s more than 9,000 pharmacies throughout the nation.”

Let me correct that statement for you DeAngelis, there’s a shortage of pharmacists willing to work for YOU.

Also, anyone else find it hilarious that APhA changed their tune to support the pharmacists now?
 
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projektreverb said:
“Michael DeAngelis, CVS’ executive director of corporate communications, said an industry-wide shortage of pharmacists has made it difficult to appropriately staff the chain’s more than 9,000 pharmacies throughout the nation.”

Let me correct that statement for you DeAngelis, there’s a shortage of pharmacists willing to work for YOU.

Also, anyone else find it hilarious that APhA changed their tune to support the pharmacists now?
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Typical BS response from an executive and AphA.

Less talky more walky.
 
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Supposedly there's a Walgreens planned walkout on 10/9, 10/10, and 10/11. I'm starting to see rumblings that Walgreens pharmacists are going to follow the KC example.
I support it wholeheartedly.


DON'T FORGET THAT THERE'S A GOFUNDME FOR THE KC PEOPLE.
 
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CetiAlphaFive said:
Supposedly there's a Walgreens planned walkout on 10/9, 10/10, and 10/11. I'm starting to see rumblings that Walgreens pharmacists are going to follow the KC example.
I support it wholeheartedly.


DON'T FORGET THAT THERE'S A GOFUNDME FOR THE KC PEOPLE.
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That would be amazing if the entire nation did a walk out on the same day.
 
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