Manipulating CVS metrics under one's control

[Sine Cura]

Soon I will have been working for CVS for 10 months, sacrificial lamb/PIC for 6 months, and this is what I've managed to figure out during my tenure from trial and error, reading the stuff on RxNet and Googling for tips. Ideally this will spur discussion about what I'm doing wrong and maybe help out people who want to do the "least" amount of work possible to manipulate metrics that are out of customer control, while avoiding finishing last in anything.

1. myStore Health (formerly Stores Own Sales)

a) Manager-Controlled Profit (MCP): if you don't hire anyone (I do not have access to StarSource, the hiring system), you can't go over hours. Problem solved! /s

b) Days of supply above TIL for brand overstock (DOS > TIL): zero out all brand drugs in the RF unit for the OV order (negative adjustments). Can order off the OV web site as needed

c) "Community responsibility": for Rx validation, re-scan "non-compliant" phone scripts; re-flag and re-scan "non-compliant" hard copies or faxes as phone-ins, and print those out for Rx validation. (Reasoning: I kept losing points for controls not being on temper-resistant paper even though it's not a requirement in my state.) Keep at least one hard copy script to avoid arousing suspicion. We still pull hard copies so tamper-resistant features can be inspected even though tamper-resistant paper is not required for controls in this state (AZ). Write out addresses on controls for hard copies (rescan these) to avoid losing points for that.

2. myPatientCare Outcomes (a.k.a. KPM)

a) % of New Scripts Picked Up (NSPU): cull waiting bin of any scripts that are first-fill (00) before they hit day 8 (run a cash loss report from M2 > 2. Daily Log menu). I've seen some stores get up to 88-90% and even 100% (are they ringing everything up that's 00 and RTS day 14??) because everyone in this district has been told to do this. Get rid of acutes, one-offs, cashed out, too expensive, 90-day scripts filled too early, leaving the ones "likely" to be picked up (stuff people have been on for years). This is definitely tedious though. I did this consistently in April and managed to have 100 fewer eligible scripts compared to March.

NSPU calls themselves don't count but only matter to remind people on day 8 to pick up their crap. I can see maxing this out in the beginning of the year and stop giving a crap the rest of the year as an option since only the YTD result should matter.

Edit: after playing around with putting on hold NSPU scripts after making a call, apparently if you put on hold a script ***without*** logging the result of the call, that call might actually be removed from the "eligible script" list (the number of opportunities goes down by one), so I decided just to make the calls without doing cash loss reports but put on hold anything where I don't talk to a patient (but leave a voicemail to let them know it can be refilled upon request) or the patient doesn't want at all. Increases success rate on the dashboard and should translate to better kpm on paper. Tl;dr log the result for only stuff people want to pick up and put on hold the rest to improve success rate

b) % of Past Due Scripts Picked Up (Adherence Outreach): I am having trouble with this. Does inactivating scripts before completing the PCQ opportunity actually decrease the number of past due scripts (decrease the denominator)? I don't work weekends so I haven't really played around with this. I want to get the denominator lower but patient profiles at this store are horrible (lots of pointless dupe scripts sent in but filled one time so you have multiple Rx for the same drug/strength). I don't really want to inactivate unilaterally lest a script be transferred out later or the patient wants it filled. Could I actually just fill stuff they are likely to pick up anyway without even making a call (i.e., results count, not calls). FFC calls don't count for NSPU.

Edit: apparently inactivating BEFORE logging the call result (status "action required") reduces the number of opportunities, which should make successes "count more". Inactivating AFTER attempts are logged ("patient not reached") doesn't reduce the number of opportunities. Only "past due" scripts count. "Due" scripts are just included if the system detects something should be refilled at the same time the adherence calls are made. So logging attempts is pointless if you know your people are harassing customers repeatedly on the weekend since it removes the ability to inactivate scripts that people definitely don't want once you finally get in touch with someone. You can also inactivate "no refills" scripts as well to reduce the denominator.

c) ReadyFill Success Rate: does declining ReadyFill scripts in QV for duplicate therapy (same drug, same dose) actually help with this? This is still a work in progress.

3. WeCare

a) Action by Triage Time: print all faxes before going red (just kidding; this is a complete waste of time unless your store is that slow that you can re-scan faxes unnecessarily)

b) Ready When Promised: delete everything from QT that is already late (just kidding; better to stay on top of QT)

c) Properly Set Waiter Expectations: this should be easy to get 100% (according to the WeCare guide it's calculated as the % of waiters at 15 minutes or less) but no one in my district ever gets 100%, so I'm guessing it's really just entering W and let the wait time calculator set the time?

d) Prescriber Follow-up: whenever I have free time, I hit the mute option, dial the number, wait 30 seconds, hang up and pick "will call back." Do the action note if doctor's office actually responds to requests, do not call if patient goes to doc that doesn't accept pharmacy refill requests

e) Action Note Follow Through: chose not to call for things there is no reason to call for (prescriber update if wrong profile chosen, ReadyFill, OTC not covered by insurance, etc.)

f) Prescriber Voicemail Retrieval Rate: if I'm really busy, I access voicemail on speaker, let messages play, hang up, get back to it later.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[M0df]

MCP is front plus pharmacy combined. You can't manipulate that.

TIL/DOS idea will most likely hurt your OOS numbers.

Careful with rescan of validation hard copies. I am sure they can track who scans what and when. Would look suspicious if you do too much of that on scripts that you are self auditing.

NSPU idea is valid if you are filling too many scripts that have no chance of being picked up.

I just don't have the energy to fake all this. It would actually take more effort than necessary.

 

[owlegrad]

For "Community Responsibility"/prescription validation, just make sure the 10 scripts picked each month are 100% perfect. Literally you have to do the self audit anyway, just make sure everything is correct (fixed) when you do the audit. Easy 100%. I did this every month since the programs inception. If it is being "tracked" I never received any feedback about it.

NSPU. This one drives me nuts. You will have so many people pissed that their scripts were put back, not to mention all the extra work of refilling those scripts. My opinion, just do the phone calls that drop into the queue. Anything else is a waste of time/effort.

PCQ. Yes, inactivating decreases the denominator. Yes, you will have people pissed you inactivated scripts when they decide later that they do in fact want them.

You are mostly on point with the mechanics of how to manipulate the system and as usual for a CVS PIC are completely missing the point of the metrics. You would rather be out of stock than just following the inventory program and letting it decide what to order? You want to fix days of supply above till, just make sure you are doing your OV and warehouse returns and that your BOH is correct. Zeroing out your OV order is asinine and will only hurt your OOS%. Let the system operate the way it is meant to.

 

[Sine Cura]

Unfortunately all of this is exactly what my sup wants everyone to do (even mentioned doing cash loss reports for NSPU in an email) aside from WeCare.

Rescanning scripts does not require a credential. The only issue is when you recategorize hard copy scripts as phone-ins to duck the tamper-resistant question.

If a store has an NSPU pick up rate of 100%, that is indisputable manipulation.

OOS% isn't on SOS anymore so negative adjustments galore.

Believe me, I hate having my techs doing all this crap but when everyone else in the district seems to be doing it (people do the calls for AO but again not getting "easy" points because too many dupe scripts filled one time and never filled again, etc.), not doing it means being at the bottom

 

[owlegrad]

OOS is still part of MCE, which is still part of SOS. Not mention...don't you want to have stuff in stock?

 

[BMBiology]

Man, how pathetic. 4 years of undergrad and another 4 years of pharmacy school. Now you are a "doctor" and this is what you do for a living? For the next 30 years? I know we all have to eat but damn!

 

[Rouelle]

At some point it almost seems easier just to do what they want than it is to put so much effort into manipulating the system.

Of course, you alone are in your shoes.

 

[dblock05]

There really isn't that much effort in manipulating the system. If you took out the jokes of his post, it would be very short.

 

[Rouelle]

1c and 2a seem like a bit of a time drain.

 

[dblock05]

1c is based on training your staff what you need on your prescriptions so there is less work needed on these. If your staff knows whats required on a control rx then you hardly have to waste much time doing this. Also, this task is only done like once a month so its not even that much of a big deal. I think they have you check 10 prescriptions and you audit them......

2a is a little bit of a time drain but you can make room for it.

 

[farmadiazepine]

Seems like way too much work to do. What a long a** checklist of ridiculous things to do. What's even worse is half these metrics change in 6 to 12 months so just when you think you are the smartest CVS pharmacist for figuring it all out, it no longer exists. How much time do you spend doing these activities? It seems like way too much energy and work for nothing.

 

[Sine Cura]

You (collectively) seemed to miss the part where I said that my sup expects these things to be done ('easier to do what you are supposed to do, like just doing the calls or doing returns like you are supposed to rather than gaming the system'). Stores get called out (in emails sent to everyone) on not doing negative adjustments to the OV order (OOS% is not directly measured in SOS, only customer perception as measured by MCE counts), for not getting to 30% adherence outreach (despite 2+ multiple attempts made on calls), for bad WeCare despite loss of staff at certain stores (now whose fault is it that these stores can't be staffed adequately), blah blah blah.

Are there any real consequences (like write-ups or demotion) to failing to game the system like getting fired or demoted, probably not at my store (if I get booted, which I wouldn't mind anyway, it would take months to get someone new "up to speed" and turn a store around on paper), but since SOS/myStore Health score determines your raise, I can see how this motivates other people to do enough to get above 3 at least.

 

[SpartanLaser]

What a load of bull. This isn't even pharmacy anymore. At least my employer only cares about keeping the customers happy and script count up.

 

[mgarph]

for pcq if you are getting over 30% success on the weekend you should be ok, by inactivating the (no refills) calls that are not reached or invalid # or declined it will raise it a few %

 

[Old Timer]

You (collectively) seemed to miss the part where I said that my sup expects these things to be done ('easier to do what you are supposed to do, like just doing the calls or doing returns like you are supposed to rather than gaming the system'). Stores get called out (in emails sent to everyone) on not doing negative adjustments to the OV order (OOS% is not directly measured in SOS, only customer perception as measured by MCE counts), for not getting to 30% adherence outreach (despite 2+ multiple attempts made on calls), for bad WeCare despite loss of staff at certain stores (now whose fault is it that these stores can't be staffed adequately), blah blah blah.

Are there any real consequences (like write-ups or demotion) to failing to game the system like getting fired or demoted, probably not at my store (if I get booted, which I wouldn't mind anyway, it would take months to get someone new "up to speed" and turn a store around on paper), but since SOS/myStore Health score determines your raise, I can see how this motivates other people to do enough to get above 3 at least.

Your supe is a *****. Probably young and green. If he has the time to track if you are doing negative adjustments on your OV order he is without a clue and he is not doing his job.

 

[SClENCE]

Your supe is a *****. Probably young and green. If he has the time to track if you are doing negative adjustments on your OV order he is without a clue and he is not doing his job.

Considering that these metrics are the main tool that the DM uses to evaluate an individual store he probably is doing his job by monitoring them...

 

[Sine Cura]

Your supe is a *****. Probably young and green. If he has the time to track if you are doing negative adjustments on your OV order he is without a clue and he is not doing his job.

Call me naive, but the #1 priority is making sure the pharmacies are adequately staffed so that the #1 metric, selling scripts, can actually be met efficiently. The last few days I've verified 500+ scripts on 40 tech hours a day (sold 500+ as well) since a tech quit (I don't come in early just to crank out 60 scripts - eff that). The store I hope to leave soon hasn't had a second staff pharmacist (partner) since late 2013 and has seen a parade of floaters since then. Given all the pharmacists apparently quitting in this district, is is reasonable to hire only 4 FT staff pharmacists in the last 8 months and rely on (terrible) floaters from other districts?

 

[Old Timer]

Considering that these metrics are the main tool that the DM uses to evaluate an individual store he probably is doing his job by monitoring them...

Monitoring if you you make negative adjustments on your daily OV is not the job of a pharmacy supervisor. He monitors your numbers and calls you out when they are out of whack. The Supe's job is to make sure you have an adequate staff and appropriate training and understanding of the metrics that are under your control. If you cycle count accurately and appropriately, perform OOS scans at the appropriate time and perform all AIM activities properly, inventory will take care of itself, metric wise. To waste time on this metric which is such a small part of SOS, which itself is the least important thing the company care about right now.

 

[LiveLoveFartRepeat]

So I was doing the day7 NSPU, it worked for a while and suddenly stopped working. We call and RTS on day 7 to decrease the pool of rx for NSPU but out of the blue it's no longer helping us reach target. Anyone has experience that? I am trying to figure out what the team is doing wrong.

 

[Leper Messiah]

I get that CVS is a joke anyway, but fudging numbers is the reason why the targets are so unrealistic in the first place. The same way it hurts everyone when techs work off clock and don't take their breaks. Corporate sees all of the work is getting done in, say, 280 tech hours, and nothing changes. Doing all this extra work only begets more metrics and fewer hours.

 

[Sine Cura]

So I was doing the day7 NSPU, it worked for a while and suddenly stopped working. We call and RTS on day 7 to decrease the pool of rx for NSPU but out of the blue it's no longer helping us reach target. Anyone has experience that? I am trying to figure out what the team is doing wrong.

I noticed that some scripts don't pop up for a call opportunity even though 1) they are 00, and 2) they were filled the same date as the other scripts that are being called on. This has led me to stop doing day 7 calls and just manage NSPU calls as follows:

• If they don't want it, I put the script on hold and back out of the call. The number of opportunities decreases by one.
• If I don't get a response and the patient seems likely to pick it up (been on it before, gets stuff every month), I leave a message saying it's ready and choose SP > 2 - Other. Hope they actually pick it up
• If I don't get a response and the patient is not likely to pick it up (cashed out, hasn't been at the pharmacy for months, too expensive, or some idiot didn't put it on the RTS report), I leave a message saying we have to return to stock these scripts, put them on hold, and back out of the call. The number of opportunities decreases by one.

Unfortunately, it is only by doing this that I barely cleared 65% (due to snowbirds and whatnot, plus no one managing calls when I'm not there.) The next thing I will compare is the PCQ dashboard versus the supervisor reports (PCI connect and NSPU reports) to see if the attempt # are the same or close at the end of the reporting period

My guess is if you put on hold everything that showed up as a NSPU call without logging the result of the call, you'd probably end up with 0 eligible scripts since no calls were technically logged because they all disappeared. (Well, there are the FFC follow-up calls but they are pharmacist calls and not NSPU calls)

I never allow techs to work off the clock and never deny breaks. If the numbers are bad, they can always write me up or fire me

 

[SClENCE]

Call me naive, but the #1 priority is making sure the pharmacies are adequately staffed so that the #1 metric, selling scripts, can actually be met efficiently. The last few days I've verified 500+ scripts on 40 tech hours a day (sold 500+ as well) since a tech quit (I don't come in early just to crank out 60 scripts - eff that). The store I hope to leave soon hasn't had a second staff pharmacist (partner) since late 2013 and has seen a parade of floaters since then. Given all the pharmacists apparently quitting in this district, is is reasonable to hire only 4 FT staff pharmacists in the last 8 months and rely on (terrible) floaters from other districts?

We have been doing 400-650 a day for the past year with anywhere from 30-40 tech hours. We have also went through 1 PIC, 3 Staffs, and 5 Techs. So now we are doing the same number of scripts with only 1 tech other than myself even capable of handling drop off and they are upset with our metrics. Not to mention that the new staff pharmacist sucks ass and the floaters are even worse. And when I say they suck ass I'm not saying that they don't know what they are doing but they work very inefficiently and in many cases make more work for themselves... calling doctors to ask if Amoxil 500 is tabs or capsules... entertaining the idea of filling Suboxone 3 weeks early and calling 2 doctors and insurance before deciding not to fill it... spending 20 minutes figuring out which of the 8 doctors on a profile to call to ask for a refill on a script not filled in 3 years... offering to call urgent care on new scripts that we never received despite the fact that the patient left the office 5 minutes ago...

 

[Sine Cura]

entertaining the idea of filling Suboxone 3 weeks early and calling 2 doctors and insurance before deciding not to fill it

The only reason I would call is to convince the prescriber to fire the patient and cancel the script, then watch the crackhead flip their **** when I tell them before I tell them to GTFO

 

[Old Timer]

1. myStore Health (formerly Stores Own Sales)

a) Manager-Controlled Profit (MCP): if you don't hire anyone (I do not have access to StarSource, the hiring system), you can't go over hours. Problem solved! /s.

Really, that's the way you want to run your store?

[b) Days of supply above TIL for brand overstock (DOS > TIL): zero out all brand drugs in the RF unit for the OV order (negative adjustments). Can order off the OV web site as needed

Really, it's takes less time to return the stuff they want you to return than it does to do what you suggest.

c) "Community responsibility": for Rx validation, re-scan "non-compliant" phone scripts; re-flag and re-scan "non-compliant" hard copies or faxes as phone-ins, and print those out for Rx validation. (Reasoning: I kept losing points for controls not being on temper-resistant paper even though it's not a requirement in my state.) Keep at least one hard copy script to avoid arousing suspicion. We still pull hard copies so tamper-resistant features can be inspected even though tamper-resistant paper is not required for controls in this state (AZ). Write out addresses on controls for hard copies (rescan these) to avoid losing points for that.

It's much easier to train your staff to make sure the stuff is there in the first place. When you verify ask the typer to add the info and re-scan. After a few times of rescanning, they figure out it's easier to add the info up front than hear me whine about it afterwards.

2. myPatientCare Outcomes (a.k.a. KPM)

a) % of New Scripts Picked Up (NSPU): cull waiting bin of any scripts that are first-fill (00) before they hit day 8 (run a cash loss report from M2 > 2. Daily Log menu). I've seen some stores get up to 88-90% and even 100% (are they ringing everything up that's 00 and RTS day 14??) because everyone in this district has been told to do this. Get rid of acutes, one-offs, cashed out, too expensive, 90-day scripts filled too early, leaving the ones "likely" to be picked up (stuff people have been on for years). This is definitely tedious though. I did this consistently in April and managed to have 100 fewer eligible scripts compared to March.

NSPU calls themselves don't count but only matter to remind people on day 8 to pick up their crap. I can see maxing this out in the beginning of the year and stop giving a crap the rest of the year as an option since only the YTD result should matter.

Edit: after playing around with putting on hold NSPU scripts after making a call, apparently if you put on hold a script ***without*** logging the result of the call, that call might actually be removed from the "eligible script" list (the number of opportunities goes down by one), so I decided just to make the calls without doing cash loss reports but put on hold anything where I don't talk to a patient (but leave a voicemail to let them know it can be refilled upon request) or the patient doesn't want at all. Increases success rate on the dashboard and should translate to better kpm on paper. Tl;dr log the result for only stuff people want to pick up and put on hold the rest to improve success rate.

If have no problem with running the cash loss report and removing the obvious ones. The welfare patient whose coverage was terminated will never pay $250.00 for their rx, heck they balk at the $1.00. After that, make the damn calls.

b) % of Past Due Scripts Picked Up (Adherence Outreach): I am having trouble with this. Does inactivating scripts before completing the PCQ opportunity actually decrease the number of past due scripts (decrease the denominator)? I don't work weekends so I haven't really played around with this. I want to get the denominator lower but patient profiles at this store are horrible (lots of pointless dupe scripts sent in but filled one time so you have multiple Rx for the same drug/strength). I don't really want to inactivate unilaterally lest a script be transferred out later or the patient wants it filled. Could I actually just fill stuff they are likely to pick up anyway without even making a call (i.e., results count, not calls). FFC calls don't count for NSPU.

Edit: apparently inactivating BEFORE logging the call result (status "action required") reduces the number of opportunities, which should make successes "count more". Inactivating AFTER attempts are logged ("patient not reached") doesn't reduce the number of opportunities. Only "past due" scripts count. "Due" scripts are just included if the system detects something should be refilled at the same time the adherence calls are made. So logging attempts is pointless if you know your people are harassing customers repeatedly on the weekend since it removes the ability to inactivate scripts that people definitely don't want once you finally get in touch with someone. You can also inactivate "no refills" scripts as well to reduce the denominator.

My KPM is 93 YTD. Just have your techs make the calls. If nobody is home leave the message. The message is there is a discrepancy in their profile. Please call back to address. If they haven't renewed their metformin 2 months, it's a problem.

c) ReadyFill Success Rate: does declining ReadyFill scripts in QV for duplicate therapy (same drug, same dose) actually help with this? This is still a work in progress.

Just train your techs to ask. Make sure you decline in advance any meds that should not be on readyfill, like Ventolin inhaler. When you do FFC make sure you stress the importance of compliance and suggest readyfill. Almost everyone will agree. My readyfill rate is over 60%

3. WeCare

a) Action by Triage Time: print all faxes before going red (just kidding; this is a complete waste of time unless your store is that slow that you can re-scan faxes unnecessarily)

Just stay on top of the QT. This where your drop off tech is golden. Without a strong typer, you're screwed.

b) Ready When Promised: delete everything from QT that is already late (just kidding; better to stay on top of QT)

This is the hardest. whatever you do, don't change times. It will count against you. If Joe Smith comes in and says how long and you say 15 min and put them in as waiters and then he says, never mind, I'll be back in an hour. For We care they are waiters and they must be verified before the 15 minutes to count for wecare even if you change time time for an hour.

c) Properly Set Waiter Expectations: this should be easy to get 100% (according to the WeCare guide it's calculated as the % of waiters at 15 minutes or less) but no one in my district ever gets 100%, so I'm guessing it's really just entering W and let the wait time calculator set the time?

Don't put anything less than 15 minutes........ Tell them 20, but put 15 in the system....

d) Prescriber Follow-up: whenever I have free time, I hit the mute option, dial the number, wait 30 seconds, hang up and pick "will call back." Do the action note if doctor's office actually responds to requests, do not call if patient goes to doc that doesn't accept pharmacy refill requests

Just call the damn doctors.

e) Action Note Follow Through: chose not to call for things there is no reason to call for (prescriber update if wrong profile chosen, ReadyFill, OTC not covered by insurance, etc.)

Again, follow the protocol. They are looking for 50%.

f) Prescriber Voicemail Retrieval Rate: if I'm really busy, I access voicemail on speaker, let messages play, hang up, get back to it later.

This is the easiest. Set up your phone at Q/A to ring back when you have a voice mail. I am at 100% since I did that. 5 easy we care points....

 

[owlegrad]

This is the easiest. Set up your phone at Q/A to ring back when you have a voice mail. I am at 100% since I did that. 5 easy we care points....

How do you do that? Sounds helpful.

 

[owlegrad]

How excited is everyone about the newest metric about to launch? I for one cannot wait to be graded on yet another metric. People love readyfill and PCQ calls as it is, so I can only imagine how excited people are going to be about the syncing program. I am sure everyone will love that extra copay. Not to mention insurances that don't allow for odd days supply, or people who get 90 day supplies and want this. Seriously, why only 30 day supplies eligible?

Kidding! Shouldn't affect me at all. I love working the overnight shift.

 

[SClENCE]

How excited is everyone about the newest metric about to launch? I for one cannot wait to be graded on yet another metric. People love readyfill and PCQ calls as it is, so I can only imagine how excited people are going to be about the syncing program. I am sure everyone will love that extra copay. Not to mention insurances that don't allow for odd days supply, or people who get 90 day supplies and want this. Seriously, why only 30 day supplies eligible?

Kidding! Shouldn't affect me at all. I love working the overnight shift.

I can't wait until every alignment fill is rejected with "must fill 30 day supply"... even if it is covered patients will complain about the co-pay (doesn't matter if you explain it or not when they come back in they will be unable to comprehend how 12 pills and 30 pills can be the same price).

The good news is that in theory the co-pay will be the same so they will not realize that the quantity is lower until after they are out of the store.

 

[zelman]

I can't wait until every alignment fill is rejected with "must fill 30 day supply"... even if it is covered patients will complain about the co-pay (doesn't matter if you explain it or not when they come back in they will be unable to comprehend how 12 pills and 30 pills can be the same price).

The good news is that in theory the co-pay will be the same so they will not realize that the quantity is lower until after they are out of the store.

I can't wait until someone pays their full copay for #15 Crestor and then in 15 days the insurance says "MAX 30 TABLETS PER 30 DAYS" and they have to do it again...forever.

 

[SClENCE]

I can't wait until someone pays their full copay for #15 Crestor and then in 15 days the insurance says "MAX 30 TABLETS PER 30 DAYS" and they have to do it again...forever.

I'm thinking that this is going to be a nightmare. Maybe the system will only make a script eligible based on the insurance plan on file? I was thinking maybe eligibility for ScriptSync could be determined based on the parameters of the plan or possibly some kind of automated formulary check.

But then I thought about it some more and figured that this is probably unrealistic and it's unlikely that CVS has access to this info... so I guess the nightmare will be reality.

The good news is that I'v never met a customer that would pay the cash price for any amount of Crestor... lol

 

[Sine Cura]

Really, that's the way you want to run your store?

Do you have access to StarSource? I don't. Only the store manager can screen candidates and forward information to me.

As for prescription validation, I can't control whether prescribers use tamper-resistant paper, and you do lose points for having controls on plain paper regardless of state requirements. These are the ones I re-do as phone-ins but the original is already filed away and left alone. My sup has never appealed an audit on any store's behalf. And inventory management, we are supposed to do returns along with "sufficient" OV negative adjustments in our district, so it's not a matter of doing what is easier (we have to do both).

 

[doublehh03]

Just do the tasks. It takes more energy to think of ways to manipulate the system rather than just do them.

If you can't, then discuss with your supervisor about why, and what ways you can.

Prioritize your tasks/metrics, which really depend on your stores.

 

[Old Timer]

Do you have access to StarSource? I don't. Only the store manager can screen candidates and forward information to me.

As for prescription validation, I can't control whether prescribers use tamper-resistant paper, and you do lose points for having controls on plain paper regardless of state requirements. These are the ones I re-do as phone-ins but the original is already filed away and left alone. My sup has never appealed an audit on any store's behalf. And inventory management, we are supposed to do returns along with "sufficient" OV negative adjustments in our district, so it's not a matter of doing what is easier (we have to do both).

There is an option for N/A and you lose no points if you use it....

 

[Leper Messiah]

I was actually looking forward to ScriptSync. I think it (basically the appointment-based model) will save alot of time spent on RTS since we can have one conversation with the patient a few days before the pickup date and figure out what they are still on and what's out of refills. We waste WAY too much time on people who come by in response to a refill reminder or who come in after 3-day RTS looking for a medication (and then want it in 10 minutes because they already wasted the gas). Yes, controls, 90 days, and acutes will still be called in, but at least we'll have a little more organization.

On the downside, I know there will be more calls to insurance, and CVS will have some BS target, as always.

 

[Sine Cura]

There is an option for N/A and you lose no points if you use it....

I lost points for 3 straight months at the beginning of the year despite using N/A for the tamper-resistant question (my sup does not appeal anything despite there being an appeal process), and I even lost points even though the auditor completely ****ed up (didn't know how to read a phone-in transcription), so now I either lose points every month without any chance to recover them or make sure it's not possible to lose points.

 

[doublehh03]

I lost points for 3 straight months at the beginning of the year despite using N/A for the tamper-resistant question (my sup does not appeal anything despite there being an appeal process), and I even lost points even though the auditor completely ****ed up (didn't know how to read a phone-in transcription), so now I either lose points every month without any chance to recover them or make sure it's not possible to lose points.

Then appeal yourself. Put disagree, then appeal to corporate.

 

[Sine Cura]

Then appeal yourself. Put disagree, then appeal to corporate.

A lot of people say "do this or do that," but how exactly do I appeal to "corporate"? Field management is corporate. Go above the Rx sup to the DM? RM? You guys must have really cooperative field management.

These are the instructions for the "Community Responsibility Scorecard Audits and Appeals Process"

"All appeals and/or questions must be submitted to Community Responsibility Scorecard Mailbox." - OK

"Only a Pharmacy Supervisor or District Manager will be able to submit a review." - OK

"Field managers should submit ONE email per store for either Front Store or Pharmacy [this means one email for Front Store, one email for Pharmacy at most]" - OK...

"A completed appeals form must be present in the body of the email." - This is accessible only to field management.

"Granted appeals will update the Community Responsibility Scorecard in the next scorecard release." - Well, now it's June, so it's far too late to appeal Jan, Feb, and Mar.

"Store teams will need to escalate any concerns in order for an appeal to be reviewed." - Yes, I disagreed with everything that was obviously wrong and I let the sup know as soon as the January result came out. Still didn't do it, claiming it "will be done automatically if you disagree with the finding after you sign acknowledging that you reviewed the results of the audit"

So either I deal with unresponsive field management (99.9% sure the DM does not care) or "game" the system because it creates these perverse incentives to "cheat"?

 

[doublehh03]

A lot of people say "do this or do that," but how exactly do I appeal to "corporate"? Field management is corporate. Go above the Rx sup to the DM? RM?

These are the instructions for the "Community Responsibility Scorecard Audits and Appeals Process"

"All appeals and/or questions must be submitted to Community Responsibility Scorecard Mailbox." - OK

"Only a Pharmacy Supervisor or District Manager will be able to submit a review." - OK

"Field managers should submit ONE email per store for either Front Store or Pharmacy [this means one email for Front Store, one email for Pharmacy at most]" - OK...

"A completed appeals form must be present in the body of the email." - This is accessible only to field management.

"Store teams will need to escalate any concerns in order for an appeal to be reviewed." - Yes, I disagreed with everything that was obviously wrong and I let the sup know. Still didn't do it, claiming it "will be done automatically if you disagree with the finding"

When the auditor tells you to sign, you can agree or disagree to his audit assessment. If you disagree, you will have to make a copy of the script that you disagreed with and fax it to your sup and also the appeals person (which there is a fax and email number).

You email to your sup b/c you want to track the process.

Keep track of those emails, so if your sup doesn't do anything about it, then email them to your sup and regional manager that you're losing points on compliance b/c of the ineptitude of your sup.

Sups don't know everything. Sometimes take matters into your own hands and resolve them.

 

[Sine Cura]

When the auditor tells you to sign, you can agree or disagree to his audit assessment. If you disagree, you will have to make a copy of the script that you disagreed with and fax it to your sup and also the appeals person (which there is a fax and email number).

You email to your sup b/c you want to track the process.

Keep track of those emails, so if your sup doesn't do anything about it, then email them to your sup and regional manager that you're losing points on compliance b/c of the ineptitude of your sup.

Sups don't know everything. Sometimes take matters into your own hands and resolve them.

Well if you know where I can find this contact information for the "appeals person" (on RxNet), I'll start doing that to try to recover points from earlier in the year (appeals are only supposed to be reviewed in a two-week period after SOS comes out) because the instructions I quoted were the only instructions that stores were given (AFAIK since this is a new thing for 2015), and these instructions clearly state only field management can send appeals to the "Community Responsibility Scorecard" mailbox.

 

[KidMelody]

Don't you love wasting your time on things that don't matter?

 

[Sine Cura]

I hope, if nothing else, this thread sheds light on all the hoops that people have to jump through at CVS under typically less than ideal conditions (because who the **** really wants to take over a ****ty store. No one. That's why they didn't care about putting a new grad in this cluster****). (FWIW, I do not have another staff pharmacist at this store, and techs at this store were accustomed to being 24-48 hours behind on QP so it has been interesting to teach people to do WeCare the right way.)

 

[doublehh03]

Well if you know where I can find this contact information for the "appeals person" (on RxNet), I'll start doing that to try to recover points from earlier in the year (appeals are only supposed to be reviewed in a two-week period after SOS comes out) because the instructions I quoted were the only instructions that stores were given (AFAIK since this is a new thing for 2015), and these instructions clearly state only field management can send appeals to the "Community Responsibility Scorecard" mailbox.

You can call corporate if your sup doesn't do jack on your behalf. My sup didn't protect me when MySchedule under-budgeted me so I called MySchedule and told them to fix it. Still not where I want, but better than it was before.

 

[HouTX]

quit CVS and problem solved

 

[6GodPharm]

Anyone find out what works for NSPU? Literally hitting everything but lagging in that.

 

[zelman]

Anyone find out what works for NSPU? Literally hitting everything but lagging in that.

RTS all new scripts on day 6

 

[owlegrad]

RTS all new scripts on day 6

Yup, and enjoy getting yelled at by people who wanted to pick it up on the 8th day for some reason. "What do you mean you put it back?!"

 

[6GodPharm]

Yup, and enjoy getting yelled at by people who wanted to pick it up on the 8th day for some reason. "What do you mean you put it back?!"

As sad as it sounds, if it means higher bonus and raise, i'll RTS every single thing in the waiting bin lol

 

[zelman]

Yup, and enjoy getting yelled at by people who wanted to pick it up on the 8th day for some reason. "What do you mean you put it back?!"

They don't know the corporate policy. Tell them they only have a week for new prescriptions unless they make arrangements otherwise, but since they're a valued customer you'll make sure their refills are kept for 2 weeks.

 

[owlegrad]

They don't know the corporate policy. Tell them they only have a week for new prescriptions unless they make arrangements otherwise, but since they're a valued customer you'll make sure their refills are kept for 2 weeks.

Yeah because people are so reasonable lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using SDN mobile

 

[maria1oh]

You will make more money picking up a couple extra shifts each month than you will with working like a slave for the 1-2k yearly bonus

 

[6GodPharm]

You will make more money picking up a couple extra shifts each month than you will with working like a slave for the 1-2k yearly bonus

Why not pickup extra shifts, get bonuses and pay raises? Pickup 2-3 shifts a month, get a 2-3% raise yearly until capped and a 2k or so bonus. Once I'm capped I'll see how I feel about the lump sum until then i'm going to do whatever I can to have one of the top hourly rates