Which Retail/Community Pharmacy has the least amount corporate bureaucracy????

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WhYMee

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Hey guys new here. Just a lil background. I’ve been working for CVS for 10 yrs (4yrs-intern 6 yrs-RpH). Over the years their corporate beauracracy has been getting worse and worse.

I understand that the goal of any company is to maximize profits and minimize costs, but the way CVS works these days it severely impedes our “real job “ as pharmacists.

Their focus is all about numbers and pushing there initiatives. I’m sure a lot of you are aware of some of there practices. They want you to be telemarketers and solicit rx’s from customers complete with a scripted pitch. They force us to get patients to enroll in automatic refills and threaten you with write ups and termination. All the while cutting tech help. They also discourage and down right reject hiring techs at above minimum wage and don’t put thru their raises easily. All adding to terrible morale.

I somewhat like retail (not sure how jaded I am) and at one point enjoyed it a lot.. I’m interested if you guys can give me suggestions on where to look?

I want a company that can encourage our real duties as pharmacists (verifying rx’s accurately and efficiently, counseling, customer service, etc.) all of which will drive business anyway and scoop em more $$$

Which companies would you recommend? I would assume that companies that don’t specialize in pharmacies (ie. department stores and supermarkets) would be better.

Sorry for the long post, but fig I’d give you background so I can explain my question.

Thanks in advance guys

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I think all retail pharmacy chains probably operate as businesses. That is, they are operating to make a profit. They are employing you to make themselves a profit like any business. Maybe look at small grocery store chain jobs?
 
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I want a company that can encourage our real duties as pharmacists (verifying rx’s accurately and efficiently, counseling, customer service, etc.)

This is not RETAIL PHARMACY. In retail, you are basically forced to do as many scripts as you can, while your tech hours get cut. When you get more scripts, help doesn't come until you don't need them anymore. This is what you get in retail....more money, but generally less job satisfaction. However, there are companies that are a little better, but not by much. Generally, you may have an easier time in a grocery chain, since they don't do nearly as many scripts per day and people can walk around a little longer to do their shopping. I have heard that HEB treats their employees really well. I work for Walgreens myself. They operate the same way as any other retail chain, but they are fair.
 
Forgot a few points.

You get to do all the things you mentioned above at any retail pharmacy, but not to the level that you want. I would love to counsel more and take care of the customers to the best of my abilities, but sometimes it's just not possible with 10 people in line and 5 cars in each drive thru. The Walgreens POWER program is very good in giving pharmacists time to counsel, but some customers are not happy since they can't reach the store's employees no matter what putton they push on the phone. Anyway, hope POWER comes to Texas soon.
 
This is not RETAIL PHARMACY. In retail, you are basically forced to do as many scripts as you can, while your tech hours get cut. When you get more scripts, help doesn't come until you don't need them anymore. This is what you get in retail....more money, but generally less job satisfaction. However, there are companies that are a little better, but not by much. Generally, you may have an easier time in a grocery chain, since they don't do nearly as many scripts per day and people can walk around a little longer to do their shopping. I have heard that HEB treats their employees really well. I work for Walgreens myself. They operate the same way as any other retail chain, but they are fair.


Sorry but who's HEB? Thought about Walgreens, but just afraid it would be more of the same. But come to think of it the Rph's I know that left CVS for walgreens tend to be happier.
 
Hey guys new here. Just a lil background. I've been working for CVS for 10 yrs (4yrs-intern 6 yrs-RpH). Over the years their corporate beauracracy has been getting worse and worse.

I understand that the goal of any company is to maximize profits and minimize costs, but the way CVS works these days it severely impedes our "real job " as pharmacists.

Their focus is all about numbers and pushing there initiatives. I'm sure a lot of you are aware of some of there practices. They want you to be telemarketers and solicit rx's from customers complete with a scripted pitch. They force us to get patients to enroll in automatic refills and threaten you with write ups and termination. All the while cutting tech help. They also discourage and down right reject hiring techs at above minimum wage and don't put thru their raises easily. All adding to terrible morale.

I somewhat like retail (not sure how jaded I am) and at one point enjoyed it a lot.. I'm interested if you guys can give me suggestions on where to look?

I want a company that can encourage our real duties as pharmacists (verifying rx's accurately and efficiently, counseling, customer service, etc.) all of which will drive business anyway and scoop em more $$$

Which companies would you recommend? I would assume that companies that don't specialize in pharmacies (ie. department stores and supermarkets) would be better.

Sorry for the long post, but fig I'd give you background so I can explain my question.

Thanks in advance guys

First, CVS does not "force" you to enroll people in automatic refill. Second, most of the rollouts are for technicians. All you have to do is work on your new fill calls. Although I find these programs annoying, I rather have my technicians be focused and know that they have a busy day instead of "yapping" away or texting away.

Do not attack the program, attack the attitude! Where in the initiative's writing do they ask the rph to ask people about readyfill? or solicit rx from patients? These are all the responsibilities of your technicians. The only thing you have to do is call people up on NEW prescriptions that THEY dropped off but did NOT pick up yet.

Are your technicians asking patients if they want to be enrolled? If your patients do not want it, are your technicians DECLINING it? Everytime they decline a prescription, it decreases the "readyfill elgible" list making your enrollment that much higher. A 35 percent pick up rate should be achievable if your technicians are asking and only enrolling people who WANTS it. When you fill refills, do you look into their profile or refill status? If they refill the prescription every month, staple a readyfill note to the bag and have your techs explain to them that its a free program, they are not obligated to pick up the refill, etc. Also be sure to do a readyfill check after filling each prescriptions by accessing their profile. You will be surprised on how many previous refills are elgible dated from way back. Decline all of them.

In terms of PCI, it is a game. Have your technicians call and make sure that even if it is a voicemail, have them stay on the line for more than 20 seconds. Be sure you are printing out the necessary paperwork before 12pm. Make your new calls!!! (I have never had trouble reaching that metric). The fact that it is a new prescription that havent been picked up yet means that there is a rejection, a cost barrier (where I either call the MD for an alternative or cancel it), or the patient/home aide forget about it (75 percent of the time).

Lastly, I question you about why they are cutting your tech hours. Is it because your pharmacy is runned poorly and you are not meeting your prescription goals? I say this because you are complaining about readyfill and PCI. Remember for every 10 prescriptions that you do, you get 1 tech hour in addition to your budgeted hours. This is pretty fair and even better than some independents that I moonlight at. Just keep in mind that pharmacy is a business... and the profit margin is 3 percent for most chains.

With that said, cutting tech hours is everywhere and I blame most pharmacists for not lobbying to their congressman, state senators, etc whenever they want to cut prescription reembursements. NY cut medicaid twice this year and I am pretty sure they are getting ready for another cut. Probably nobody here e-mail their representives making sure they know that prescriptions saves costs by preventing more expensive surgery procedures.
 
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Sorry but who's HEB? Thought about Walgreens, but just afraid it would be more of the same. But come to think of it the Rph's I know that left CVS for walgreens tend to be happier.

HEB is the #1 grocery chain in Texas. They manage this without one single store in the Dallas/Ft.Worth metroplex.

They have a central fill facility. I have only talked to one former HEB pharmacy employee. He said it was an awesome company to work for.
 
I want a company that can encourage our real duties as pharmacists (verifying rx’s accurately and efficiently, counseling, customer service, etc.) all of which will drive business anyway and scoop em more $$$


Not going to happen in chain or independant retail pharmacy.
 
HEB is the #1 grocery chain in Texas. They manage this without one single store in the Dallas/Ft.Worth metroplex.

They have a central fill facility. I have only talked to one former HEB pharmacy employee. He said it was an awesome company to work for.

That sounds similar to Wegman's up in the WNY area. They have a central fill capacity, but because of their business model (they open 1-2 new stores per year), they're not completely bastardizing retail the way that larger retail chains are. The Wegman's around the corner from my house has 6 employed pharmacists, has areas for counseling (which I see in use every time I am there), and is overall very well staffed. Also, a friend of mine said that at the Wegman's he interns at, during peak hours they can have up to 9 people all working in the pharmacy.

Of all the retail chains in the US, Wegman's is the one I would most readily work for.
 
That sounds similar to Wegman's up in the WNY area. They have a central fill capacity, but because of their business model (they open 1-2 new stores per year), they're not completely bastardizing retail the way that larger retail chains are. The Wegman's around the corner from my house has 6 employed pharmacists, has areas for counseling (which I see in use every time I am there), and is overall very well staffed. Also, a friend of mine said that at the Wegman's he interns at, during peak hours they can have up to 9 people all working in the pharmacy.

Of all the retail chains in the US, Wegman's is the one I would most readily work for.

Good luck getting a job there. Wegman's hired 5 pharmacists this year. Once people start there, no one leaves.
 
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Further evidence that its a good place to work, amirite?

Not saying it isn't. If I planned on heading to retail, I'd love to work for Wegmans.

Unfortunately, they operate in pretty saturated markets and no one wants to leave once they start. I think a lot of people who went to Fisher thinking it would be a shoe-in for Wegmans are going to end up pretty upset.
 
Not saying it isn't. If I planned on heading to retail, I'd love to work for Wegmans.

Unfortunately, they operate in pretty saturated markets and no one wants to leave once they start. I think a lot of people who went to Fisher thinking it would be a shoe-in for Wegmans are going to end up pretty upset.

I think it's more the store itself than the market that draws so many people.

I'm not sure how many students here have their heart set on Wegman's.
Several people signed up for the interviews on career day simply because they were open interviews. The friend I mentioned in my previous post has a second job in a toxicology lab; the PharmD is all that's preventing him from several promotions. Personally, if I end up in retail somewhere outside of my hometown, the leading candidate for where I'd like to work at is Shopper's Drug Mart. I really have yet to see anybody who really has their heart set on working somewhere in particular, aside from one guy who really wants to do hospital and one guy who seems pretty excited about Rite-Aid at the moment.
 
wegmans is great to work for

but retail is retail, everything you said, is true at wags too....their rip off savings club (useless unless one is on metformin), cut tech hours, etc

honestly, i look at retail as a holdover, work it, pay your loans, and see where you want to go in the future
 
...In terms of PCI, it is a game....

And that quote exactly sums up what I don't like about the whole issue - you do have to play it like a game. Stores can (and I have personally seen this) have their own employees pull off the bottom part of the receipt with the telephone response number, and then "encourage" their own employees to make calls so the numbers are high. I don't personally want to be involved in outright lying like that just to keep the DM off my back.
 
I want a company that can encourage our real duties as pharmacists (verifying rx’s accurately and efficiently, counseling, customer service, etc.) all of which will drive business anyway and scoop em more $$$

Which companies would you recommend?
Thanks in advance guys

The Medicine Shoppe is nice (personal experience), but every job has whatever you want to bring to it.
 
Cardinal Health, GE Healthcare, Covidien
 
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Try independent pharmacies.

Independents have to be more careful with their money...We are always looking for ways to maximize profits and minimize costs....Although my life is 100% better, there is lots of stress to deal with...Now we have to come up with programs, put them into place, and execute it ourselves...At the chains, someone is coming up with the programs...all u gotta do is execute...
 
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