Dear Abby

[R xxx]

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/mans-affair-ended-marriage-remains-limbo-050115448.htmlhtml

Read the second one in the middle. A tech is now writing to Abby lol

 

[maria1oh]

Drive-thru windows are for convenience, not speed. We are not handing out hamburgers. But if you have new insurance, questions for a pharmacist, a large order or anything out of the ordinary, please come into the store. To do otherwise is rude to the people in line behind you who will blame us because they had to wait.

You take a new insurance card to your doctor, and you should do the same at the pharmacy. We're not psychic and we don't automatically know your insurance has changed. Entering new data correctly is time-consuming, and you are not the only one who "forgot" -- so refrain from directing your impatience at us.

Don't hang onto a new prescription for weeks and present it to us in a hurry. Bring it to the pharmacy to be placed in your file, then call a day ahead to say you want it filled. Call in advance for maintenance drugs, too. That way, you won't have to wait for your medication.

Do not panic about holidays, weekends or weather. WE ARE OPEN. We will need the prescription number or name to fill it correctly.

Pay close attention to the number of refills and the expiration dates on each vial. If you are out of refills, obviously we can't fill it without a new prescription from your doctor.

Abby, we start early, stay late and skip breaks to help the sick. Common sense and accountability are needed. We are here to help patients efficiently and courteously. Please remind your readers that pharmacy employees deserve the same in return. -- STRESSED TECH IN PENNSYLVANIA

DEAR STRESSED TECH: My hat is off to you and I'm glad to help. Your suggestions are sensible. Customer service is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and working with people who are sick, hungry or stressed can make it even more difficult.

Readers, losing one's temper and being rude will not improve service, and may impede it. I have found that the process of picking up and dropping off prescriptions goes more smoothly if it's done at other than peak hours.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

The tech's error is expecting rational, dignified behavior from the general public.

 

[sosoo]

can we have all members here go to that article and flood it with comments?

 

[BidingMyTime]

Too bad the people who most need to read that letter, are the people who probably never read the newspaper or Dear Abby

 

[trailerpark]

Of course a pain patient responds:

For the Pharmacy Tech, I do all those things and more. As a customer here are my pet peeves. I have a chronic pain condition. My doctor has offered a range of narcotic medications. I chose a schedule III pain reliever because it is more convenient to have refills (schedule II require written prescriptions with no refills). I have a single doctor and have used a single chain of stores. The prescription is "as needed" and nowhere near the PDR limit and I never refill before insurance says it's time. The frustration I have is the randomness of the pharmacist. Some fill when insurance say it's covered (75-80% of medication consumed), some won't fill until the 29th day of a 30 day prescription (97%). It's a #$%$ shoot depending on who's filling scripts that day. Managing consumption and pain while pharmacists interfere with Dr/Patient relationship is an unnecessary burden. It's ridiculous only because on whatever day they choose, they dispense 30 days worth. If they did that with higher doses and stronger drugs, that method would kill the patient if their tolerance has gone down. Literally, to take the guesswork out, I had to have my doctor increase the number of tablets per day and changed stores (not chain, just the store). That totally defeats the purpose of managing prescriptions and pain and the problems of abuse. Pharmacists, doctors and insurance companies need to get together and create rules that they will all abide by so disease management isn't such a #$%$shoot and tolerance and weaning is controllable. (P.S. I always fill electronically and never use the drive through except for a pickup when I've been notified that it's ready. I have been told that it's ready only to have pharmacist say they didn't want to dispense it even though insurance and their reminder service said it was ready. I never call my Dr for early fills and the pharmacy makes the refill request through their system so I never have paper. I've had the same condition, medication and doctor for 10 years and the same dose except for when one or two pharmacists decided to have their own policy so instead of dispensing smaller number of tablets at the insurance refill time, they had no problem filling double the amount of medication on the 29th day. Not a good approach to patient care management and controlling dependancy.)

 

[BidingMyTime]

Yeah, I am quite sympathetic to pain patients, but if one picks up their RX after using 80% of it one month, then can't pick it up until using 99% the next month....well, they should still have plenty of medication left over. Nobody dies by having to wait until the 29th or 30th day to pick up their medication, because they will never run out of medicine! Of course, people hoarding their medicine, selling it, or taking extra doses don't like that reasoning.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Let's be completely honest. What percentage of pain management patients do you think are faking or embellishing pain for the narcotics? Honestly, what percentage do you guys think?

I'd say...60%? To be completely honest.

 

[zelman]

Let's be completely honest. What percentage of pain management patients do you think are faking or embellishing pain for the narcotics? Honestly, what percentage do you guys think?

I'd say...60%? To be completely honest.

In some areas, 95%. In others, probably 20%. The national value could be anywhere in between.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Let's be completely honest. What percentage of pain management patients do you think are faking or embellishing pain for the narcotics? Honestly, what percentage do you guys think?
I'd say...60%? To be completely honest.

I think it depends on the physician, from what I've seen. There are physicians who either through naivety or greed have a high percentage of faker's in their practice, and physicians who do their job thoroughly and have a low number of fakers. And people driving around from ER to ER to ER have a high percentage of fakeiness. I do think many people have unreasonable expectations for pain relief, they expect to go to the doctor and feel like they did when they were 18, and if they don't, they think they need more narcotics. Doctors need to be better at explaining to people with chronic pain, that they aren't going to feel like they did at 18, and that pain can't be completely eliminated, that the goal is not being pain-free, but to maximize daily functioning while minimizing pain.

 

[owlegrad]

Some days I think it is about 40% and other days I think it is about 80%.