My Pharmacy is at war with another pharmacy.

Started by Sparda29
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Sparda29

Sparda29

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So before my boss left for vacation, he specifically told me not to reverse prescriptions when other pharmacies call to try and take from us.

We have some ******* on the line right now who wants me to reverse like 14 prescriptions. Patient's daughter told us to fill the prescriptions for her about 2 weeks ago, but hasn't gotten around to pick them up yet and does not want them filled at the other pharmacy. Guy is literally calling our pharmacy every 2 minutes and does not get the hint that we're not gonna budge on this and wants my name and license # even though I keep telling him I'm only covering for the day and this is what I was told to do/not to do by the owner.
 
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SpirivaSunrise said:
I'm confused about what the **patient** really wants???
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Patient really wants to come to our pharmacy to fill it since their pediatrician is like right next door to us. I called the patient's daughter who was pretty adamant that she wants the scripts filled at our pharmacy. However the patient's teenage son mistakenly went to the other pharmacy looking for the meds, and now the pharmacist at the other store is like calling every 2 mins to get us to reverse it. (I keep ignoring the call since we got caller ID, lmao).
 
Pharmacy is too childish sometimes. Just tell the pharmacist that another relative says it should be at your pharmacy, and to fax a written request signed by a relative for the RXs, or have them call.
 
FruitFly said:
These sorts of issues make me glad I don't do conventional pharmacy anymore.
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What kind of pharmacy is it that you're doing? Just out of curiosity sake seeing as how there are so many subfields.

Sent from my PC36100 using SDN Mobile
 
Sounds like a miscommunication, as others have said, tell the pharmacist that the daughter is telling you she will be in to pick up the prescriptions and that you can not reverse them until the daughter tells you otherwise.

OTH, in your state, can you legally keep prescriptions "ready" for 2 weeks? After a certain point, the insurance company can come back on you for insurance fraud for charging prescriptions that were never picked up.....not to mention, the refills dates will be totally screwed up.

Regardless of what your boss wants, pharmacy law trumps it. When did you last talk with the daughter? I would call her, and see if she still wants the prescriptions, if she doesn't....reverse them. If she does, then implore her to swiftly come in and pick them up.
 
How is this a war...looks like the patient's family couldn't decide who was supposed to fill the meds. The other pharmacist was just trying to do his job...

DRAMA!
 
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KARM12 said:
How is this a war...looks like the patient's family couldn't decide who was supposed to fill the meds. The other pharmacist was just trying to do his job...

DRAMA!
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The patient is an old lady. Her daughter is the caregiver. However, she sends her brother to pick up the meds. The doctor had accidentally called in the meds to the other pharmacy in July since the other pharmacy is right across from the hospital. Patient calls us and tells us to fill it on the next due date in August.

We do that, which was about 17 days ago. So yesterday, the patient's son accidentally goes to the other pharmacy. Other pharmacy tries to refill all the meds, but gets rejected since they were already filled at our place and are sitting on the shelf waiting to be picked up. They want us to reverse the prescriptions. We call patient's daughter to confirm this and she tells us not to reverse and that she wants scripts filled at our pharmacy.

In the time that it takes her to tell this to her brother, which is like 2 hours, we probably get like 30 calls from the other pharmacy. Now I'm having the techs screen the calls because the first time I talked to the guy I was nice and I told him we weren't gonna reverse it and that this is what the owner told me to do and that's what the patients daughter told me to do. Yet, he wanted my full name and license #.

Guy was threatening action about RTS, Day 14s, and illegal relationships with prescribers (meaning a lot of prescribers send prescriptions our way). It's probably most likely due to ethnicity/religion of the owner being the same as the ethnicity/religion of the prescribers. Most patients are also same ethnicity/religion.

Anyway, patient's son shows up like 20 minutes before closing and picks up the meds.
 
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KARM12 said:
Probably because you were acting like an a-hole.
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LOL! I was calm the entire time I was talking to him. Guy sounded like he was nervous and started yelling. He even called back one time pretending to be the son of the patient. We asked him what his date of birth was and he was like "uhhhhhhhh hold on one second, uhhhhhh". We knew it was the pharmacist because caller ID showed his pharmacy number. He probably thought by calling us 30 times, we'd just be hearing something like "1 pharmacy call, 1 pharmacy call, 3 pharmacy calls". Nope, phone just rings and shows the name and # of the person calling. God, I love caller ID.
 
I cant stand ******* pharmacies that wont transfer prescriptions until they get a hold of the patient. And when they call me to transfer, they expect me to give it to them right there and then, the very same pharmacy that wouldnt transfer when i called. What a bunch of dicks. Pisses me off. I think your boss is a freaking idiot and if a patient wants to transfer there is always a reason, so just transfer the freaking script, just as i do. Pisses me off reading this crap.
 
His store probably had some kind of transfer goal or incentive. He saw 14 prescription transfers as something that would benefit him more than just the business most likely. Regardless though, he was acting out of line in my opinion (the pharmacist from the other store that is).
 
Digsbe said:
His store probably had some kind of transfer goal or incentive. He saw 14 prescription transfers as something that would benefit him more than just the business most likely. Regardless though, he was acting out of line in my opinion (the pharmacist from the other store that is).
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Id like to hear the other guys side before i make any judgment. It has been my experience that many independents i have dealt with will NOT transfer the rxs out. My partner and I both give the transfers and then call the patient. Although we dont have many transfer outs. I just find it absolutely asinine that any pharmacist will withhold a transfer for any reason. If you lose the business, try to win it back. Not be a complete dick and tell your staff under no circumstances are you to NOT back out prescriptions and NOT give transfers. Your boss is a complete a--hole.
 
Doctor M said:
Id like to hear the other guys side before i make any judgment. It has been my experience that many independents i have dealt with will NOT transfer the rxs out. My partner and I both give the transfers and then call the patient. Although we dont have many transfer outs. I just find it absolutely asinine that any pharmacist will withhold a transfer for any reason. If you lose the business, try to win it back. Not be a complete dick and tell your staff under no circumstances are you to NOT back out prescriptions and NOT give transfers. Your boss is a complete a--hole.
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It is a pain in the ass to transfer prescriptions here in New York.

#1 - Prescriptions are ready to pick up. Patient's 14 year old son son was simply told to go to the pharmacy to pick up the meds by the patients 25 year old daughter. He looked at the bottles from the July fill and saw the other pharmacy's name on the label and assumed that's the pharmacy he was supposed to go to. However, last month the patient's daughter told us to acquire new prescriptions from the doctor and fill them on the due date, which we did.

When we called the daughter, she told us that she wanted the prescriptions filled at our store, and not at the other store. Something about not liking the pharmacist there or whatever reason.

#2 - Patient has been coming to our pharmacy since 2001 (or longer if computer records don't go further back than that).

If the daughter had said she wanted the scripts filled at the other pharmacy, then yeah I'd have reversed the prescriptions and let the other pharmacy take it. Why would I reverse them right then, RTS the prescriptions, and then call the daughter only to find out she wants them filled at our place.

Now what the other pharmacist probably didn't like is that back in July, patient had called us and said that she wanted scripts filled at our place. So we ran a claim, found out that we could fill them on a specific date in mid-august and that it would go through, and we left a note in our calendar to refill all their meds on that date. We actually have a calendar filled with stuff to refill on specific dates. So basically, this blocked the other pharmacist from being able to refill their meds.
 
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Sparda29 said:
It is a pain in the ass to transfer prescriptions here in New York.

#1 - Prescriptions are ready to pick up. Patient's 14 year old son son was simply told to go to the pharmacy to pick up the meds by the patients 25 year old daughter. He looked at the bottles from the July fill and saw the other pharmacy's name on the label and assumed that's the pharmacy he was supposed to go to. However, last month the patient's daughter told us to acquire new prescriptions from the doctor and fill them on the due date, which we did.

When we called the daughter, she told us that she wanted the prescriptions filled at our store, and not at the other store. Something about not liking the pharmacist there or whatever reason.

#2 - Patient has been coming to our pharmacy since 2001 (or longer if computer records don't go further back than that).

If the daughter had said she wanted the scripts filled at the other pharmacy, then yeah I'd have reversed the prescriptions and let the other pharmacy take it. Why would I reverse them right then, RTS the prescriptions, and then call the daughter only to find out she wants them filled at our place.

Now what the other pharmacist probably didn't like is that back in July, patient had called us and said that she wanted scripts filled at our place. So we ran a claim, found out that we could fill them on a specific date in mid-august and that it would go through, and we left a note in our calendar to refill all their meds on that date. We actually have a calendar filled with stuff to refill on specific dates. So basically, this blocked the other pharmacist from being able to refill their meds.
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I use to work in NY. I dont think the Board cares if it is a pain in the ass to do transfers.
 
Sparda29 said:
Still, why would I/should I let the other pharmacy take it when we were told by the caregiver last month that they want to fill scripts with us? The person picking up the meds simply went to the wrong pharmacy.
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Im really talking about your boss who told u not to back out any rxs and give any transfers under any circumstances.
 
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We've had some patients that will not allow certain individuals to pick up their meds or will specify that only they can pick up their own meds. I would say the patient/primary care giver (in this case the daughter) have a higher word when it comes to decisions than the son sent on an errand. If the patient or caregiver has said not to transfer their prescriptions then their wishes are higher than that of someone picking up that happened to go to the wrong pharmacy.

Doctor M said:
Id like to hear the other guys side before i make any judgment. It has been my experience that many independents i have dealt with will NOT transfer the rxs out. My partner and I both give the transfers and then call the patient. Although we dont have many transfer outs. I just find it absolutely asinine that any pharmacist will withhold a transfer for any reason. If you lose the business, try to win it back. Not be a complete dick and tell your staff under no circumstances are you to NOT back out prescriptions and NOT give transfers. Your boss is a complete a--hole.
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I do think this is a valid point and if I'm not mistaken I think it may be illegal for a pharmacy to refuse to transfer a script at the patient's request. In this specific instance I think that Sparda and his pharmacy were in the right. However, if a patient requested that their script be transferred to another pharmacy and they refused to do so then I think the pharmacy would be in the wrong. If we don't have a drug in stock and the patient needs it that day we usually try to call some local pharmacies and transfer the Rx to whoever has the drug in stock if the patient wants us to do that. I couldn't imagine denying a patient a transfer, especially if a drug isn't in stock and telling them they will have to wait on our order because they have to fill it at my pharmacy.
 
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Digsbe said:
We've had some patients that will not allow certain individuals to pick up their meds or will specify that only they can pick up their own meds. I would say the patient/primary care giver (in this case the daughter) have a higher word when it comes to decisions than the son sent on an errand. If the patient or caregiver has said not to transfer their prescriptions then their wishes are higher than that of someone picking up that happened to go to the wrong pharmacy.



I do think this is a valid point and if I'm not mistaken I think it may be illegal for a pharmacy to refuse to transfer a script at the patient's request. In this specific instance I think that Sparda and his pharmacy were in the right. However, if a patient requested that their script be transferred to another pharmacy and they refused to do so then I think the pharmacy would be in the wrong. If we don't have a drug in stock and the patient needs it that day we usually try to call some local pharmacies and transfer the Rx to whoever has the drug in stock if the patient wants us to do that. I couldn't imagine denying a patient a transfer, especially if a drug isn't in stock and telling them they will have to wait on our order because they have to fill it at my pharmacy.
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But the OP stated "So before my boss left for vacation, he specifically told me not to reverse prescriptions when other pharmacies call to try and take from us" So his douche boss is in the wrong.
 
Sparda29 said:
So before my boss left for vacation, he specifically told me not to reverse prescriptions when other pharmacies call to try and take from us.

We have some ******* on the line right now who wants me to reverse like 14 prescriptions. Patient's daughter told us to fill the prescriptions for her about 2 weeks ago, but hasn't gotten around to pick them up yet and does not want them filled at the other pharmacy. Guy is literally calling our pharmacy every 2 minutes and does not get the hint that we're not gonna budge on this and wants my name and license # even though I keep telling him I'm only covering for the day and this is what I was told to do/not to do by the owner.
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It's not worth not reversing that script. When I worked at CVS our supervisor wanted us to call the patients. I actually did one time, it was a really awkward phone call. I can't remember what his reason was, but it was a weird conversation. He was like, "yes, I want it transferred. Why are you holding things up?" So after that I never asked any more, it's kind of a waste of time. Most of the people transfer their stuff out, they usually transfer back to us eventually. I just transfer out whatever the other pharmacies need without question, soI can get my transfers when I need it from them next time.
 
Sparda29 said:
The patient is an old lady. Her daughter is the caregiver. However, she sends her brother to pick up the meds.
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An old lady with a 14 year old son???? I suppose those things have happened thanks to modern medicine, but this seems a bit unlikely. Unless you are like SHC and think a 27 year old is an old lady.
 
BidingMyTime said:
An old lady with a 14 year old son???? I suppose those things have happened thanks to modern medicine, but this seems a bit unlikely. Unless you are like SHC and think a 27 year old is an old lady.
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The daughter is 25, son is 14. So "old lady" is at least 40 here.
 
BidingMyTime said:
An old lady with a 14 year old son???? I suppose those things have happened thanks to modern medicine, but this seems a bit unlikely. Unless you are like SHC and think a 27 year old is an old lady.
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I think she's in her mid-50s. That means her son was born in her early 40s and her daughter in her late 20s/early 30s. It's possible.
 
Sparda29 said:
I think she's in her mid-50s. That means her son was born in her early 40s and her daughter in her late 20s/early 30s. It's possible.
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:laugh::laugh::laugh: You are soundling like SHC! Mid-50's is a middle age lady, it is not an "old lady" Average life span is 80, I would say 65+ is an "old" lady.
 
BidingMyTime said:
:laugh::laugh::laugh: You are soundling like SHC! Mid-50's is a middle age lady, it is not an "old lady" Average life span is 80, I would say 65+ is an "old" lady.
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Depends on the lifestyle. A rough 40 can be worse than an active 60. Granted you don't see many of the later group in a pharmacy, considering we get the unhealthy folks most often. Many people in mid 50s can seem old (gray hair/balding, wrinkled, arthritic).
 
This sounds like something that could have been resolved with a few phone calls in the time you took to create this thread 🙄
 
sde780 said:
This sounds like something that could have been resolved with a few phone calls in the time you took to create this thread 🙄
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It should have been resolved when I told the other guy during the first call "no, we will not reverse the prescriptions and we will not transfer it to you as the patient's daughter has made it clear she wants it filled with us."
 
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