POWER is almost here

[Thoughtfulsinner]

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Should be in most states in a couple months!

 

[Got Em]

Should be in most states in a couple months!

Where did you get this information from? I had some info last year that it was coming in a few months, but they delayed this yet again. I'm in Texas and I've heard that they were having a central location in both Dallas and Houston. This would be very interesting if it was really coming, but I doubt that it would be so soon.

 

[Somatic]

I doubt they would roll it out in all states in just a matter of months... I know Vegas will be getting POWER very soon but haven't heard of any other states. However I thought Texas was supposed to have it by now? 😕

 

[type b pharmD]

lololol, ty for the laugh

 

[SkiPharmer]

I just talked to a friend of mine who is pretty high up in WAG and she said POWER is working in some states....Arizona and FL I think......I guess half the RPh's got laid off. I live in Minnesota and I am not sure our Board would allow something like this, I guess they tried it in Colorado and their Board stopped it..........if it goes through in every state, our "profession" will be done with.

 

[owlegrad]

I just talked to a friend of mine who is pretty high up in WAG and she said POWER is working in some states....Arizona and FL I think......I guess half the RPh's got laid off. I live in Minnesota and I am not sure our Board would allow something like this, I guess they tried it in Colorado and their Board stopped it..........if it goes through in every state, our "profession" will be done with.

🙄

I doubt even half the techs were laid off, let alone pharmacists.

 

[Qwerty Man]

If Power is coming, I would find another job.
Many Many techs were indeed laid off.
At my store, 160-200 avg weekdays and 80-100 avg. on weekends
We are open 87 hours with 40 tech hours. So more than half the time, I am alone to handle script filling, drive thru, and pickup/dropoff. Add to this we are only a partial power store. We get Data entry provided for us. So we must fill all scripts in house and verify all rx's and do all DURs. It sucks for sure, and I would not recommend it to anyone.

 

[R2pharmD2]

I don't know the specifics of POWER, but it basically just moves part of the workflow off site, correct? Either way, the same amount of work is getting done. If techs/pharmacists actually are being laid off (and I'm not buying the "half the pharmacists were laid off" fear-mongering unless somebody has some proof anyway) then wouldn't many of these lost jobs have to be replaced at the off site location?

 

[Qwerty Man]

Tell your tech that he/she has to move to another city across the state to staff central facility or be let go. Do you want to move your whole family for $15/hr job? Also, no middle shift pharmacists anymore. where did those pharmacists go? When power hits many pharmacists quit due to working conditons. That equals less rph's and nobody is hired to replace since less pharmacists are needed.

I used to talk to patients and even show them were products were. Now, if I do I get backed up since I'm alone with no one to help out. Yeah and good luck getting your manager to help out. So basically I tell people to find it themselves and don't initiate any conversation.

 

[R2pharmD2]

Tell your tech that he/she has to move to another city across the state to staff central facility or be let go. Do you want to move your whole family for $15/hr job? Also, no middle shift pharmacists anymore. where did those pharmacists go? When power hits many pharmacists quit due to working conditons. That equals less rph's and nobody is hired to replace since less pharmacists are needed.

I used to talk to patients and even show them were products were. Now, if I do I get backed up since I'm alone with no one to help out. Yeah and good luck getting your manager to help out. So basically I tell people to find it themselves and don't initiate any conversation.

My point wasn't that POWER doesn't negatively impact those who work under the system. I'd probably be pissed too if I worked at a store where it was being instituted or I was forced to relocate to keep my job. But my point was the suggestion that it's going to result in a massive net loss of jobs doesn't sound accurate to me. Again, like I already mentioned, I don't know the specifics, but that just doesn't make sense logically.

The lack of time to interact with patients isn't a problem unique to POWER stores either, I assure you. Cuts to tech hours especially are the norm these days across most, if not all, of the chains. I'd like to see whatever cost savings are achieved through a system like POWER reinvested in pharmacy staffing, but that's probably a fantasy.

 

[PharmD RPh]

Should be in most states in a couple months!

Source? Remote data entry and verification is not legal in my state. So unless there is emergency legislation enacted, I don't expect to see it anytime soon.

 

[p-rog]

I don't know the specifics of POWER, but it basically just moves part of the workflow off site, correct? Either way, the same amount of work is getting done. If techs/pharmacists actually are being laid off (and I'm not buying the "half the pharmacists were laid off" fear-mongering unless somebody has some proof anyway) then wouldn't many of these lost jobs have to be replaced at the off site location?

Why would WAGS invest into POWER if it required the same amount of labor costs?

 

[R2pharmD2]

Why would WAGS invest into POWER if it required the same amount of labor costs?

I never said labor costs would be the same. It probably will cost some jobs, which is why I said many and not all. My point was that I find it hard to believe that "half of the pharmacists" would be laid off though. I also made the point later that if they're going to use POWER, I'd like to see the cost savings reinvested into staffing in stores. Improved staffing levels would improve employee morale and patient satisfaction, which I think they should be interested in. But they're probably just aiming to save money. They are a business, after all, so I don't entirely blame them.

 

[PharmD RPh]

Why would WAGS invest into POWER if it required the same amount of labor costs?

The idea is that the same amount of work is getting done, but it's being done more efficiently. Labor costs are cut from around $5/rx to around $2/rx supposedly. Think about it this way. In the course of your day your store may do 300 rxs over 14 hours. Put 300 rxs in a central fill where they can do it and it maybe takes an hour or two because they are constantly working with no down time. They are centralizing the work so it can be done more efficiently.

 

[R2pharmD2]

^ That too.

 

[PharmD RPh]

I never said labor costs would be the same. It probably will cost some jobs, which is why I said many and not all. My point was that I find it hard to believe that "half of the pharmacists" would be laid off though. I also made the point later that if they're going to use POWER, I'd like to see the cost savings reinvested into staffing in stores. Improved staffing levels would improve employee morale and patient satisfaction, which I think they should be interested in. But they're probably just aiming to save money. They are a business, after all, so I don't entirely blame them.

I agree, half the pharmacists seems high. I could see them Eli sting only tech hours at a store like mine. However the 3 pharmacist overlap would be a thing of the past.

 

[owlegrad]

Why would WAGS invest into POWER if it required the same amount of labor costs?

I really don't think it panned out the way they hoped it would. If it really reduced costs they way they hoped it would, I am sure it would have spead further by now. Like others have pointed out, you still have to have staff at the store plus the staff at the central fill facility...it just doesn't seem cost effective. Then again, what do I know.

That said, I have never worked in a power store or for walgreens at all. I would like to though, just to see what it is like.

 

[PharmD RPh]

I really don't think it panned out the way they hoped it would. If it really reduced costs they way they hoped it would, I am sure it would have spead further by now. Like others have pointed out, you still have to have staff at the store plus the staff at the central fill facility...it just doesn't seem cost effective. Then again, what do I know.

That said, I have never worked in a power store or for walgreens at all. I would like to though, just to see what it is like.

Yeah it didn't pan out liked they hoped. Concept seems good in theory, but not as practical in practice. Like I said before I was under the impression it's on hold and per the press release, they call Las Vegas central fill. To me,
Central fill = just filling maintenance refills under 1 roof for a lot of stores and delivering out to the store. POWER = central fill + phone calls + data entry + data review + who knows what else.

They would still have to pay rent for a central fill facility and all the costs associated with it like utilities, staffing etc. Add in the customer and employee dissatisfaction of the program and it seems like a disaster waiting to happen. I would be interested in financial and script #s pre and post POWER, but I know well never see them. As someone else pointed out, the guy that spearheaded POWER is no longer with the company. I would say had it been a success his services would still be needed.

 

[genesis09]

In POWER areas, they are having issues with the CPO not being properly staffed. Parts of it, will make it into other areas. I doubt we will see a new full scale POWER area any time soon. In my market, they are pushing MTM services. Apparently, my district is one of the best when it comes to using Outcomes.
From what I have heard through the grapevine, script count is down in POWER areas. People really, really don't like the central call portion.
At my Wags, we have someone who called in and said she was receiving phone calls from another Wags stating her rx was ready. We looked into her profile, and it came from a FL POWER store. Now, how they approved a FL script for someone living in WI is beyond me. We called the other Wags, and we got stuck in the central call. It took forever to find someone who could fix this.

 

[Somatic]

I wouldn't worry about POWER too much. At this rate it's expanding to a new state every 2 years so it WOULD take quite a while for it to expand to every state...(assuming it would ever eventually be expanded to every state). It would be suicide for the company to expand it to MOST states in a matter of months like the OP said.

Just keep your stats up and be the best pharmacist you can be in the event that they ever try to expand it to your area.

 

[Somatic]

Oh I forgot to mention -go to Walgreens career website for pharmacists and look at all the "opportunities" they have for pharmacists in Arizona and Florida. For people who actually work in these areas, how is the market really?

 

[endurorider]

few years ago, Wags tried to pass 2 things in Florida:

1. One pharmacist per 20 techs (something outrageous like that)

and

2. To have one pharmacy manager be the manager for multiple stores

Neither of the above 2 resolutions passed......Thank God!

But I live in a backward state....one of state senators here believe that pharmacists are nothing more then glorified technicians and should be paid the same salary they are..and oh yea, one of them was running around saying how pharmacists aren't healthcare professionals.

It's crazy down here

 

[crossurfingers]

few years ago, Wags tried to pass 2 things in Florida:

1. One pharmacist per 20 techs (something outrageous like that)

and

2. To have one pharmacy manager be the manager for multiple stores

Neither of the above 2 resolutions passed......Thank God!

They passed #2 here in Illinois. Wonder how it will pan out in the near future.

 

[PharmD RPh]

They passed #2 here in Illinois. Wonder how it will pan out in the near future.

I must be missing something here. How would it be adventagous to have 1 pharmacy manager to cover multiple stores? You can only be in one place at a time and lack of immediate oversight in the pharmacy would lead to poor results in those types of pharmacies IMO.

 

[PharmDstudent]

In POWER areas, they are having issues with the CPO not being properly staffed. Parts of it, will make it into other areas. I doubt we will see a new full scale POWER area any time soon. In my market, they are pushing MTM services. Apparently, my district is one of the best when it comes to using Outcomes.
From what I have heard through the grapevine, script count is down in POWER areas. People really, really don't like the central call portion.
At my Wags, we have someone who called in and said she was receiving phone calls from another Wags stating her rx was ready. We looked into her profile, and it came from a FL POWER store. Now, how they approved a FL script for someone living in WI is beyond me. We called the other Wags, and we got stuck in the central call. It took forever to find someone who could fix this.

The man who called this morning wouldn't like POWER either if he couldn't call and speak to me personally again. He said he was ready to marry me on voice alone... Lol!

 

[All4MyDaughter]

I must be missing something here. How would it be adventagous to have 1 pharmacy manager to cover multiple stores? You can only be in one place at a time and lack of immediate oversight in the pharmacy would lead to poor results in those types of pharmacies IMO.

You can be PIC in more than one pharmacy in this state. I believe you have to spend 10 hours/week at each pharmacy. Or maybe our law just permits a part time PIC. I'm sure of the part time PIC thing and have worked at a Kroger that had a part time PIC. It sucked. I'm sure I'll get this clarified for me nicely at law review in two weeks though.

 

[owlegrad]

You can be PIC in more than one pharmacy in this state. I believe you have to spend 10 hours/week at each pharmacy. Or maybe our law just permits a part time PIC. I'm sure of the part time PIC thing and have worked at a Kroger that had a part time PIC. It sucked. I'm sure I'll get this clarified for me nicely at law review in two weeks though.

 

[PharmD RPh]

You can be PIC in more than one pharmacy in this state. I believe you have to spend 10 hours/week at each pharmacy. Or maybe our law just permits a part time PIC. I'm sure of the part time PIC thing and have worked at a Kroger that had a part time PIC. It sucked. I'm sure I'll get this clarified for me nicely at law review in two weeks though.

If you wish to be PIC of more than one pharmacy you are required to submit a written request to the board and must have written board approval to do so. The 10 hours per week is correct. But I still wonder what advantage is to the pharmacy to have a part-time PIC and why a chain would want this? I know at most stores if the PIC is just gone for a week, things can get crazy.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

If you wish to be PIC of more than one pharmacy you are required to submit a written request to the board and must have written board approval to do so. The 10 hours per week is correct. But I still wonder what advantage is to the pharmacy to have a part-time PIC and why a chain would want this? I know at most stores if the PIC is just gone for a week, things can get crazy.

How much more does the PIC get paid? I suppose they could be trying to save on labor costs. But I agree that outcomes would probably suffer.

 

[PharmD RPh]

How much more does the PIC get paid? I suppose they could be trying to save on labor costs. But I agree that outcomes would probably suffer.

Typically I think most chains pay about $1,000 more a month. And they usually get a larger bonus. This brings up an interesting topic though. That would mean a PIC could manage 4 stores and hence work 10 hour days at each of the 4 stores. The company could save 3 stores x $12,000 per year plus their manager bonus (but would the bonus for all 4 stores be paid to the 1 manager?). Just in payroll, you save $36,000 per year, or maybe $50,000 with bonuses. I have a hard enough time managing 1 store at times, let alone 4. There is no doubt outcomes would suffer and I think they would suffer to a greater extent than the 36-50K/year. That would be a bad business model. I once had a board member tell me that the multiple PIC allowance was mainly for independent pharmacy owners that owned more than 1 pharmacy. Was your part-time PIC just because pharmacist wanted to work part-time or because Kroger sent them to multiple stores?

 

[owlegrad]

How much more does the PIC get paid? I suppose they could be trying to save on labor costs. But I agree that outcomes would probably suffer.

From what my PIC at CVS told me, it is basically a pittance. However, his bonus potential is greater, though even that was nothing spectacular according to him. I was unclear if he meant staff pharmacists don't get bonuses or if they just get smaller bonuses. He didn't like talking about salary (it is personal after all) so I never followed up. I also thought it would be a pretty rude question to ask a staffer so I never did.

I know at WinnDixie there was a less that 2/hr difference between the PIC and staff pharmacist at my store, again the difference was in bonus potential, again nothing spectacular when compared to base salary. They both made bonuses, but the PIC's was a few hundred more dollars per quarter. It varied of course depending on what metrics were met and such. I hate to sound obnoxious, but obviously a few hundred dollars every four months is probably not going to be life-changing for many of us. I think the title of "PIC" just attracts the type of people willing to do the job, not people who are looking to significantly increase their earning potential.

If there are any actually pharmacists out there who would like to share, I am sure all us pharmacy students would be interested to learn. 😀

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Typically I think most chains pay about $1,000 more a month. And they usually get a larger bonus. This brings up an interesting topic though. That would mean a PIC could manage 4 stores and hence work 10 hour days at each of the 4 stores. The company could save 3 stores x $12,000 per year plus their manager bonus (but would the bonus for all 4 stores be paid to the 1 manager?). Just in payroll, you save $36,000 per year, or maybe $50,000 with bonuses. I have a hard enough time managing 1 store at times, let alone 4. There is no doubt outcomes would suffer and I think they would suffer to a greater extent than the 36-50K/year. That would be a bad business model. I once had a board member tell me that the multiple PIC allowance was mainly for independent pharmacy owners that owned more than 1 pharmacy. Was your part-time PIC just because pharmacist wanted to work part-time or because Kroger sent them to multiple stores?

The pharmacist wanted to work part time. I never actually worked a full shift with her. That store was a bit of a cluster.

I did my community IPPE at a small chain (2 stores) that shared a PIC. That wasn't so bad. One was much busier than the other so the 2nd store was more like a satellite. But neither was SUPER busy or as outcomes focused as corporate retail is.

 

[Ilikechemicals]

From what my PIC at CVS told me, it is basically a pittance. However, his bonus potential is greater, though even that was nothing spectacular according to him. I was unclear if he meant staff pharmacists don't get bonuses or if they just get smaller bonuses. He didn't like talking about salary (it is personal after all) so I never followed up. I also thought it would be a pretty rude question to ask a staffer so I never did.

I know at WinnDixie there was a less that 2/hr difference between the PIC and staff pharmacist at my store, again the difference was in bonus potential, again nothing spectacular when compared to base salary. They both made bonuses, but the PIC's was a few hundred more dollars per quarter. It varied of course depending on what metrics were met and such. I hate to sound obnoxious, but obviously a few hundred dollars every four months is probably not going to be life-changing for many of us. I think the title of "PIC" just attracts the type of people willing to do the job, not people who are looking to significantly increase their earning potential.

If there are any actually pharmacists out there who would like to share, I am sure all us pharmacy students would be interested to learn. 😀

I WAS PIC of a CVS in the Fort Worth area. I made a whole 1 dollar more an hour than my staff pharmacist partner. (56 vs 55)

I forget the exact bonus differences but I do remember it was pretty pathetic considering how much more work & %$^& you have to put up with. It was something like...

I had the potential to make ~4-6k more if we had excellent metrics and made script count/budget . I had the potential to make ~7-10k more if we were 10% over script count and had excellent metrics. (My store was a tier 2 store by script count)

At the highest tier (at CVS), a PIC can max out at 20k bonus if the pharmacy is 10% over script count and has excellent metrics. If you've ever worked at a top tier CVS you know its impossible.

 

[Hibiclens]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/orlando/592969-walgreens-power-26.html

I started a thread about this a few months ago that got glossed over...a little more details in the 3/31 post on here...anyone have any info on this???