Dispensing Error - What to say exactly

[crazybob]

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Sparda isn't an idiot... misguided and immature - maybe. I've got a feeling he is pretty good at what he does. I would rather have an intellectual with misguided beliefs then one to slow / dimwitted to be able to cope with the profession.

Sparda may be an occasional trainwreck. But he has guts, and guts is enough.

Aren't we all like that sometimes?

 

[tungsten87]

This is about the time Sparda posts one of his gifs

 

[psychoandy]

Aren't we all like that sometimes?

Idk...saying "i rarely apologize for my errors" is pretty bad. not apologizing for another person's f-up is kinda acceptable i guess, but i think if you asked any retail manager, they'd make you bend over. maybe this should be a question retail should ask people when interviewing.

I just hope he's not the kind of person who, if an error was made and it slipped by the RPh, would then say it's the RPh's fault for not catching it...

for the record i apologize even if it's not my fault, but it's more like "sorry this got screwed up lemme fix it". but that's because for me, patient care is generally more important than pride/keeping it real.

 

[naseuy]

Idk...saying "i rarely apologize for my errors" is pretty bad. not apologizing for another person's f-up is kinda acceptable i guess, but i think if you asked any retail manager, they'd make you bend over. maybe this should be a question retail should ask people when interviewing.

I just hope he's not the kind of person who, if an error was made and it slipped by the RPh, would then say it's the RPh's fault for not catching it...

for the record i apologize even if it's not my fault, but it's more like "sorry this got screwed up lemme fix it". but that's because for me, patient care is generally more important than pride/keeping it real.

Would the patient be more or less likely to sue if they receive an apology?

 

[tungsten87]

Would the patient be more or less likely to sue if they receive an apology?

that's definitely subjective. being apologetic certainly would not hurt.

 

[Sparda29]

I agree. Most of Sparda's posts add much needed levity w/o the unnecessary amount of nastiness that can sometimes be found on these forums. Most of the time he cracks me up. I don't believe for one second he is as bad in real life as he portrays himself here. I hope not for his sake!

Ask Transformer and Aznfarmerboi, and Optimistic828, they have met me in real life. My personality is a little bit like Dr. House from House MD or Sawyer from Lost.

This is about the time Sparda posts one of his gifs

Gif incoming.

I have been on this site long enough to witness your stupidity. It has forced me to go through the registration process just to respond.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

How does a complaint with the board of pharmacy affect you if the error wasn't yours? I'm pretty sure they can't complain to the board of pharmacy about bad customer service. (Maybe to consumer affairs, but they are pretty weak.)

I watch my partner's back and he watches mines...

 

[FruitFly]

Sparda isn't an idiot... misguided and immature - maybe. I've got a feeling he is pretty good at what he does. I would rather have an intellectual with misguided beliefs then one to slow / dimwitted to be able to cope with the profession.

Sparda may be an occasional trainwreck. But he has guts, and guts is enough.

Definitely seems to be a bit of pathology there, (like repressed Mets fan syndrome), but it's obviously his coping mechanism.

 

[Sparda29]

Definitely seems to be a bit of pathology there, (like repressed Mets fan syndrome), but it's obviously his coping mechanism.

You can add Jets fan and Knicks fan and Rangers fan to that syndrome. My favorite teams have won a total of ONE championship in the time that I've been alive.

Jets came close in 1998 and 2009.
Knicks came close a lot in the 90s.
You all know about the Mets in recent years.

Rangers won in 1994. >_<

 

[FruitFly]

You can add Jets fan and Knicks fan and Rangers fan to that syndrome. My favorite teams have won a total of ONE championship in the time that I've been alive.

Jets came close in 1998 and 2009.
Knicks came close a lot in the 90s.
You all know about the Mets in recent years.

Rangers won in 1994. >_<

I'm a Jets, and Knicks fan. 😀 Been very rough.

But Yanks for baseball.

 

[SHC1984]

Customer service = something I don't believe in when it comes to the healthcare setting. For example today, a patient asked me if I could ring up some sodas along with their script. I smiled and said no, knowing that there is a 150 person long line they are going to have to deal with in the front.

Can't blame you, I hate customer service/dealing with people myself. Most people do, however we are the only ones that admit to it.

 

[FruitFly]

Can't blame you, I hate customer service/dealing with people myself. Most people do, however we are the only ones that admit to it.

I LOOOOOOOOVE customer service.

 

[crazybob]

Can't blame you, I hate customer service/dealing with people myself. Most people do, however we are the only ones that admit to it.

I like dealing with customers. You would hate it if you don't talk to them enough to make them understand why you can't do certain things for them.

Most people understand if you show them the reasoning behind why you can't do everything they ask.

 

[FruitFly]

I like dealing with customers. You would hate it if you don't talk to them enough to make them understand why you can't do certain things for them.

Most people understand if you show them the reasoning behind why you can't do everything they ask.

The pharmacy process is definitely a little steep of a learning curve for some laymen though. To an outsider, even practitioners, it seems like all you have to do is take the drug off the shelf and give it out. No idea about insurance policies, drug interactions, incomplete prescriptions, etc

 

[Sparda29]

The pharmacy process is definitely a little steep of a learning curve for some laymen though. To an outsider, even practitioners, it seems like all you have to do is take the drug off the shelf and give it out. No idea about insurance policies, drug interactions, incomplete prescriptions, etc

Perhaps when a pharmacy is on the news, they should have more video footage other than some random person counting pills on a tray.

 

[owlegrad]

Can't blame you, I hate customer service/dealing with people myself. Most people do, however we are the only ones that admit to it.

I know countless people who "admit" that they hate dealing with the public (more like they brag about it), I only know a handful of people who claim to actually enjoy working with the public.

It takes a very particular personality/mindset to enjoy helping people, imo.

 

[owlegrad]

Perhaps when a pharmacy is on the news, they should have more video footage other than some random person counting pills on a tray.

This is so true. Anytime you see a pharmacist on tv or in print all they are doing is counting pills on a tray. I bet if one was on the radio you could hear pills being scraped across the tray. I guess we should just be thankful that it's not a shot of them staring at a computer screen or answering the phone.

 

[Sparda29]

This is so true. Anytime you see a pharmacist on tv or in print all they are doing is counting pills on a tray. I bet if one was on the radio you could hear pills being scraped across the tray. I guess we should just be thankful that it's not a shot of them staring at a computer screen or answering the phone.

They should be showing footage of counseling and whatnot, but that probably opens up a whole new can of worms about patient privacy.

 

[owlegrad]

They should be showing footage of counseling and whatnot, but that probably opens up a whole new can of worms about patient privacy.

Agreed, I guess they could do a "mock" counseling type thing, but really that's probably not worth the effort for the cameramen. "Can someone get this guy a counting tray, I need to get 30 seconds of footage."

 

[rxlea]

A shot of a pharmacist in the diaper aisle? 😎

 

[FruitFly]

How about a 'shot' of pharmacists immunizing. Shows the expanded scope of practice. 👍

 

[rxlea]

How about a 'shot' of pharmacists immunizing. Shows the expanded scope of practice. 👍

I really like this one....or teaching a patient how to use their diabetic supplies.

 

[Ackj]

Here's what NOT to say for a dispensing error (happened to my grandmother a little while ago):

rph "Oh, you got 30 instead of 90.... Most patients only get 30 so we were used to that."
g "Well I'm not 'most patients'."
rph "We can put a note on your profile to double count your rx next time."
g "Don't worry about next time"

Between her and my grandfather, they take somewhere between 20-30 rx, so that's a lot of business involved. Somebody who's giving you that kind of volume can't just get brushed off. They've had dispensing errors before, but usually the rph is apologetic and willing to resolve the issue rather than making excuses. That's the bottom line for them.

 

[Sparda29]

Here's what NOT to say for a dispensing error (happened to my grandmother a little while ago):

rph "Oh, you got 30 instead of 90.... Most patients only get 30 so we were used to that."
g "Well I'm not 'most patients'."
rph "We can put a note on your profile to double count your rx next time."
g "Don't worry about next time"

Between her and my grandfather, they take somewhere between 20-30 rx, so that's a lot of business involved. Somebody who's giving you that kind of volume can't just get brushed off. They've had dispensing errors before, but usually the rph is apologetic and willing to resolve the issue rather than making excuses. That's the bottom line for them.

Was that a case of them filling it for 90 and giving 30, or a script written for 90, edited to 30 and giving 30.

 

[charfdorn]

Was that a case of them filling it for 90 and giving 30, or a script written for 90, edited to 30 and giving 30.

That's immaterial to how the pharmacist handled it. If it was the latter, he should have said, "I apologize. We changed the quantity to 30 because that makes more sense with your benefits. If you'd like, we can change it back and I'll fill it right away." If it was the former, he should have said, "I'm sorry. That's clearly our mistake. Let me get you the rest of these right now." And probably give a refund in the second case, too.