A day in the life of a pharmacist

Most of the time I enjoy my job, but after days like today I wonder why I do it. I had to deal with more rude, ignorant people today in my 9 hours at work than I've had to in an entire month. I am amazed sometimes at the large number of people who don't know anything about their own insurance - that they themselves willing sign up for and pay for. . .they don't know that they have a $500 deductible before those $5 copays start showing up and so on.

Here are is a glimpse into my day . . .

Person 1) Her medicine costs $75 on her insurance, she is irate that we are charging her more than $50. We have a paid claim from her insurance, and the insurance wants her to pay $75, but she says her copay is never supposed to be more than $50. I tell that I'll be happy to call her insurance, or switch her to the generic, but she won't have that. She transfers her Rx to a competitor across the street, and I wish that pharmacist good luck. Her copay is still going to be $75.

Person 2) Man comes to drive-thru and and asks for 1/2 dozen colchine (prescription gout med). He's got no record of that med at any Walgreens in the country, so I refill a different Rx he has that is also for gout. He buys it, but he still wants 1/2 dozen colchine. I ask him if he's sure he got it filled at Walgreens, and he says "yeah, about 4 years ago." Well, I have no record of that because our records in the pharmacy only back about 2 years, and even if I did have the Rx, it would be expired! I suggest that he go to an after hours medical clinic (which we have a number of here) or the emergency room because I cannot just hand out prescription medications without a prescription. He yells at me and says "You want me to spend $300 at the ER just so I can get a prescription!!!!!!!!!!!" There is nothing I can do. He revs up his truck and speeds off.

Person 3) Female calls pharmacy and wants to know if you can get Xanax or Methadone in your system just by touching the pills. I say no. She then wants wants to know if you can get those meds in your system by kissing someone that has just taken them. I say no, you can only get a noticable about of those meds in your system if you swallow them. That's a city employee on her way into a drug test I bet.

Person 4) Walmart calls needing to transfer 3 of our prescriptions to their pharmacy. I give them the info, and hang up when finished. Walmart call me back a few minutes later and tells me that the person is mad and decided not to get their prescriptions filled there, so I have to re-activate them. About an hour later, I get a call from a different competitor, wanting the same prescriptions transferred. Make up your mind!

Person 5) A very country man comes in and says that we should've had his prescription phoned in from "the Walgreens in Mississippi for his shot he takes for his kidneys" I have no idea what he's talking about and neither do my assistants. He doesn't know that name of the medicine, but he says it starts with a "C". I search through his records for a med that starts with a "C" that could possible be for his kidneys. Nothing. I ask him if he's sure he's at the right store, because there are 15 Walgreens in town. He's not sure. He decides he better call the Walgreens in MS. Turns out that the medicine starts with a "P", and we don't even have it. So, I try to explain to him where the next closest store is and he says "Is that on the way to the FEMA yard?" FEMA yard. I guess he means a FEMA trailer park, but none the less, the store is no where near it.

In between all that I computer problems and a large warehouse delivery of meds to put away. It days like this I just want to go home, change into my pajamas and spend the evening on the porch swing sipping margaritas.