Numbers Don't LIE!!!!!!

[Rxnupe]

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Ok Forbe's Fortune 500 list just came out http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2013/full_list/ and no secret of what Pharmacy chain ranked the highest- Yes it's CVS at #13. Now Wal-Mart was # 1 overall but majority of Wal-Mart's sales are not from pharmacy. In fact, #13, is the highest rank ever by a Pharmacy Chain.

Now I know CVS has been a target of some bashing in this forum, but guys numbers don't LIE- say what you like about CVS/Caremark as a company and you can say that CVS is awful horrible company, too much focus on metrics etc, but apparently to be on top 13 in Forbes someone in corporate is apparently making some smart business decisions. Keep in mind- majority of CVS across the nation have competitors and for the most part people have the freedom to fill prescriptions anywhere.
The next ranked Pharmacy chain was WAGS which was 37- it actually fell 3 spots down from last year- yes Express scripts hurt them but I can only speak for myself- I have personally retained about 90% or better of my Express Script WAG's customers in spite of WAGS deceptive practices to re-gain the lost customers.

As much as you guys love to hate CVS- you must admit it's actually doing something right- now if only CVS could transfer those profits into tech hours.

 

[gtpederson]

Can I have my dollar?

 

[hcp]

Is it only in my area or is it nationwide that anytime you call CVS for a transfer, they claim that they have to speak to the patient first before they transfer the prescription?

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

This ranking does not increase my desire to waste my education working there though...

 

[Ackj]

Not sure if that's a fair apples to apples comparison. The listing includes Caremark, which adds quite a bit to their revenue. Pharmacy vs. pharmacy its hard to see that big of a difference between CVS and WAG.

Cardinal and McKesson also placed in the teens, and they do operate retail pharmacies as some part of their business too, although clearly not their main focus.

 

[owlegrad]

Is it only in my area or is it nationwide that anytime you call CVS for a transfer, they claim that they have to speak to the patient first before they transfer the prescription?

That is the policy nationwide, yes. It is not universally followed though. For example, I don't do it.

 

[88888888]

That is the policy nationwide, yes. It is not universally followed though. For example, I don't do it.

Yea the pharmacists at my pharmacy do that

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[crossurfingers]

Is it only in my area or is it nationwide that anytime you call CVS for a transfer, they claim that they have to speak to the patient first before they transfer the prescription?

Yes! Not sure if it's nationwide but they put me on hold forever trying to call the patient. I once had to get a transfer from them because they didn't have an antibiotic in stock. Patient did not have their insurance card, told me to call CVS and get it from them. I've done it before so I figured no big deal, but they absolutely refused to give the info to me. Guess their customer service ends when the patient no longer fills their script with them. Someone told me they are being monitored by how many prescriptions get transferred out during their shift and the pharmacist is held responsible if they have too many.

 

[BenJammin]

Forbes also said that Tim Tebow is the most influential athlete in America so you know what I think about your post...

 

[DedicationNSU11]

Forbes also said that Tim Tebow is the most influential athlete in America so you know what I think about your post...

👍👍👍

 

[hcp]

That is the policy nationwide, yes. It is not universally followed though. For example, I don't do it.

Nice 👍

 

[Doctor M]

Not sure if that's a fair apples to apples comparison. The listing includes Caremark, which adds quite a bit to their revenue. Pharmacy vs. pharmacy its hard to see that big of a difference between CVS and WAG.

Cardinal and McKesson also placed in the teens, and they do operate retail pharmacies as some part of their business too, although clearly not their main focus.

I would say this is not an apples to apples comparison...and who gives a crap if they are number 13. The fact that they are on that list says nothing about the fact they suck as an employer. So i do not know what the OP is trying to point out.

 

[hcp]

Yes! Not sure if it's nationwide but they put me on hold forever trying to call the patient. I once had to get a transfer from them because they didn't have an antibiotic in stock. Patient did not have their insurance card, told me to call CVS and get it from them. I've done it before so I figured no big deal, but they absolutely refused to give the info to me. Guess their customer service ends when the patient no longer fills their script with them. Someone told me they are being monitored by how many prescriptions get transferred out during their shift and the pharmacist is held responsible if they have too many.

It's really irritating when they do that... Our district manager sent us an email stating "as per state law, statue #, transfer requests should be done immediately". For any incident, they want us to get the date, cvs store#, delay time, rph and pic name so they can report it to the board. I don't like to play games or be a snitch, but I've done it only once because the rph was an idiot and she really pissed me off with her nasty attitude and claimed that I also play that stupid game when transferring prescriptions... In the end, it didn't make any difference because now she puts me on hold forever before I could get the transfer. If they tell me they have to speak to the patient, I tell them fine but I have to call them back because they won't call me back. Luckily, this rarely happens but it's truly annoying when it does...

 

[Stilltrying1288]

Is it only in my area or is it nationwide that anytime you call CVS for a transfer, they claim that they have to speak to the patient first before they transfer the prescription?

It's not only your area, I was told the same thing and that I would only get a fax later on.

 

[Rxnupe]

I would say this is not an apples to apples comparison...and who gives a crap if they are number 13. The fact that they are on that list says nothing about the fact they suck as an employer. So i do not know what the OP is trying to point out.

Last time I checked I believe Pharmacies main goal is to make profit- doesn't matter if you are a juggernaut like WAGS or CVS or an Independent Mom & Pop's pharmacy- are you saying a company that ranked oh let's say 500th wouldn't wish to switch places with a company that ranks 13th?
Again these pharmacies are not non-profit organization that exist like any other company to make money and if your company is the top 20 in the world someone is darn well doing something right- bottom line- nuff said!!!!

 

[Tonyg89]

I currently work as a tech at a CVS and i have never been told by the pharmacists or corporate to have the patient call first about a transfer. We often have Wal-mart, Walgreens, etc.. call for patient transfers and we don't give them a hassle, as well we call them per request by a patient to have a script transferred to us with no hassle at all. I guess it all depends on the area you are and the relation ship you have with the other stores pharmacists. We sometimes send them to the other stores because we don't carry as much medical supplies as they do and they send people to us since we are a 24 hour pharmacy.

 

[Rxnupe]

I currently work as a tech at a CVS and i have never been told by the pharmacists or corporate to have the patient call first about a transfer. We often have Wal-mart, Walgreens, etc.. call for patient transfers and we don't give them a hassle, as well we call them per request by a patient to have a script transferred to us with no hassle at all. I guess it all depends on the area you are and the relation ship you have with the other stores pharmacists. We sometimes send them to the other stores because we don't carry as much medical supplies as they do and they send people to us since we are a 24 hour pharmacy.

I believe this was going on with WAGS and the ESI scripts. There were sources stating that WAGS was calling ESI customers and telling them that CVS no longer accepts their prescriptions and/or offering Gift cards to return to WAGS- in a way to counter act WAGS some districts were telling CVS pharmacist to contact the ESI WAGS customers to see the reason why they are transferring. There were customers who told CVS: oh we were told yo guys no longer accept our prescription or WAGS is offering me a $34.00 Gifit card- I personally think it's childish for both sides to engage in those games.

 

[Unchained]

I have to admit they have a good propaganda campaign at CVS. Those commercials showing a well rested pharmacist with time to help you are a real joke. Perception is reality however. They do spend their money wisely. Buying contracts to force customers there to accept their crappy service is a great way to spend it. Reading a customers name off a bag to make it look like you know them is another one. I don't like where they are taking pharmacy but I own their stock. They are a money making machine.

 

[Rxnupe]

I have to admit they have a good propaganda campaign at CVS. Those commercials showing a well rested pharmacist with time to help you are a real joke. Perception is reality however. They do spend their money wisely. Buying contracts to force customers there to accept their crappy service is a great way to spend it. Reading a customers name off a bag to make it look like you know them is another one. I don't like where they are taking pharmacy but I own their stock. They are a money making machine.

I agree- I don't agree with all of their policies and with as much profit they made you would expect at minimum better tech staffing and pay to as well. Obviously something is working.

 

[BenJammin]

Why would you guys expect them to change? If I'm running the top retail chain in the nation with a soaring stock price then why would I listen to a whiny pharmacist wanting more tech hours? If it ain't broke don't fix it and "understaffing" techs is working out fine.

And I say that as a hospital pharmacist!

 

[Trent Steele]

Nice try, CVS regional manager.

 

[BenJammin]

Nice try, CVS regional manager.

one pharmacy call

 

[DAW2]

one pharmacy call

ok who didn't have that voice in their head when they read that

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

We are suppose to call the customer to make sure that they absolutely want the script transfer out to Walgreens. The reason why is because there have been many reports where Wags tell the customer that they can only fill their prescriptions at their store now. I actually experienced it myself. I do not follow the practice though because it is a waste of my time.

There has been also been many cases where I was put on hold for a long time, or where the Walgreen would tell me they dont have any refills and then tell me that the customer is going to fill it at their pharmacy a minute later so I do not have to call the MD for the refill.


About tech hours... one of my experience is that a lot of pharmacies are short staffed because their techs are incompetant, the PIC does not schedule according to the skeleton schedule, or the PIC did not hire enough people. I have floated at stores where there would be 3-4 techs in the morning filling nothing, and then only 1-2 techs during rush hour at night. Just my 2 cents... I mean, the formula is 10 scripts for every tech hour. That is more than fair because any less, and I dont see how we can make money. Insurance only reemburse a few bucks for amoxicillin and pennies for scripts like aspirin.

 

[Rxnupe]

We are suppose to call the customer to make sure that they absolutely want the script transfer out to Walgreens. The reason why is because there have been many reports where Wags tell the customer that they can only fill their prescriptions at their store now. I actually experienced it myself. I do not follow the practice though because it is a waste of my time.

There has been also been many cases where I was put on hold for a long time, or where the Walgreen would tell me they dont have any refills and then tell me that the customer is going to fill it at their pharmacy a minute later so I do not have to call the MD for the refill.


About tech hours... one of my experience is that a lot of pharmacies are short staffed because their techs are incompetant, the PIC does not schedule according to the skeleton schedule, or the PIC did not hire enough people. I have floated at stores where there would be 3-4 techs in the morning filling nothing, and then only 1-2 techs during rush hour at night. Just my 2 cents... I mean, the formula is 10 scripts for every tech hour. That is more than fair because any less, and I dont see how we can make money. Insurance only reemburse a few bucks for amoxicillin and pennies for scripts like aspirin.

I respectively disagree- my store currently is running about 4200 scripts a week and I have 340 hours. Keep in mind that WeCare requires manpower to work smoothly. My busiest hours are from 4 to 8 where I would say at any one given time there are minimum 10 customers in line and that's not counting drive thru. Don't forget that PCQ calls needs to be made. If CVS wants customers in and out it's not working base on 340 hours. My main complaints from customers have been lines are too long and again with escribe prescriptions popping up every minute you technically need 2 to people typing just to keep up.
Also, the skeleton schedule is misleading because their are two dynamics going- you have a 3 to 4 hour gap where you have a lot of people picking up prescriptions- so if you shift your tech hours to the hours where people are mainly picking up their meds- 3 to 8pm- what about the time frame when those prescriptions are be dropped off or entering QT? As you know QT is very unpredictable - I have had on many days 4 to 5 pages of QT pop up in a 30 minute time span early in the morning.
I am pretty sure CVS has it share of incompetent techs like any other pharmacy but WAGS and CVS are perhaps the worst paying tech companies in the business. Honestly if I am doing 4200 in the Spring time- what tech wants to bust their ass for 10 dollars in hour when you have target or Kroger doing 1/4 the volume and paying much better?

 

[Unchained]

We are suppose to call the customer to make sure that they absolutely want the script transfer out to Walgreens. The reason why is because there have been many reports where Wags tell the customer that they can only fill their prescriptions at their store now. I actually experienced it myself. I do not follow the practice though because it is a waste of my time.

There has been also been many cases where I was put on hold for a long time, or where the Walgreen would tell me they dont have any refills and then tell me that the customer is going to fill it at their pharmacy a minute later so I do not have to call the MD for the refill.


About tech hours... one of my experience is that a lot of pharmacies are short staffed because their techs are incompetant, the PIC does not schedule according to the skeleton schedule, or the PIC did not hire enough people. I have floated at stores where there would be 3-4 techs in the morning filling nothing, and then only 1-2 techs during rush hour at night. Just my 2 cents... I mean, the formula is 10 scripts for every tech hour. That is more than fair because any less, and I dont see how we can make money. Insurance only reemburse a few bucks for amoxicillin and pennies for scripts like aspirin.

I am starting to suspect you work in a CVS union in DC or California. The 10:1 ratio at CVS disappeared about 5 years ago. I've managed stores of 1000 and 4000 scripts per week. I received 80 and 320 tech hours.

CVS generally floats their worst pharmacists to prevent them from ruining a single store. They also do this hoping they will quit.

CVS is making more per script than most. Their minute clinic writes the script that is taken to their pharmacy and billed to Caremark.

 

[Rxnupe]

I am starting to suspect you work in a CVS union in DC or California. The 10:1 ratio at CVS disappeared about 5 years ago. I've managed stores of 1000 and 4000 scripts per week. I received 80 and 320 tech hours.

CVS generally floats their worst pharmacists to prevent them from ruining a single store. They also do this hoping they will quit.

CVS is making more per script than most. Their minute clinic writes the script that is taken to their pharmacy and billed to Caremark.

Yes you are right I don't know of any CVS that has 10 to 1 ration- if that were the case I would have 420 hours right now and I only have 340 hours. Unchain you do agree that running a 4000 script store with 320 hours creates gaps somewhere on some days?

 

[Sparda29]

I am starting to suspect you work in a CVS union in DC or California. The 10:1 ratio at CVS disappeared about 5 years ago. I've managed stores of 1000 and 4000 scripts per week. I received 80 and 320 tech hours.

CVS generally floats their worst pharmacists to prevent them from ruining a single store. They also do this hoping they will quit.

CVS is making more per script than most. Their minute clinic writes the script that is taken to their pharmacy and billed to Caremark.

Nope, he's in NY. I've met him before when he floated at my store back when I was a lowly P1 or P2.

 

[Unchained]

Yes you are right I don't know of any CVS that has 10 to 1 ration- if that were the case I would have 420 hours right now and I only have 40 hours. Unchain you do agree that running a 4000 script store with 320 hours creates gaps somewhere on some days?

Lots of gaps my friend. Instead of pharmaceutical care it was more like pharmaceutical carelessness. It's not just pharmacy it's happening in all of healthcare. All businesses for that matter. I'm fortunate in that I was in a position financially to walk away from that brand of pharmacy. Let the young ones with the massive debt load slave for them. They are just happy to have a job.

 

[Skrumpy]

CEO just got a yearly bonus of $24 million.. so he must be doing something "right." Of course what is right for the shareholders isn't always right for the patients. Either way I'm sure he's sleeping well tonight.

 

[chuckle beast]

Yes you are right I don't know of any CVS that has 10 to 1 ration- if that were the case I would have 420 hours right now and I only have 340 hours. Unchain you do agree that running a 4000 script store with 320 hours creates gaps somewhere on some days?

Tech hour clarification.
You have a given tech hour base (reduced by 10% from last year in my area). Every 11 scripts over your budgeted number grants you 1 tech hour.

 

[clachan3]

numbers can be manipulated 😏 Sorry, that's just what came to my mind when I saw your Numbers Don't Lie!!!