r/TalesFromThePharmacy

I 100% get the purpose of the drive thru.
It’s for patient’s convenience not for speed and I can’t stress that enough. I have told multiple patients this and my coworkers.

Majority of the time my coworkers get stressed and frustrated because the line is long or patients ask 1,000 questions but I let them know to just calm down. This is for their convenience not for speed.

Unknowingly patients are agreeing to the unknown amount of time someone takes at the window.

Because yet again we want everyone to have a great experience while visiting our pharmacy so we don’t get bad reviews but they have to realize that nobody ever said (at least to me) that drive thru is for speed.

Let’s chat about this. I’d love to hear from anyone.

I work in a retail and hospital setting.

I live in Massachusetts and have been on a controlled substance medicine for about 10 years (Vyvanse.) I always had UMR (United) for insurance and filled my script at my grocery store. I would always contact my provider a couple weeks before the due date and they would send a new 30 day supply script. The pharmacy would fill it automatically on the 28th day (give or take a day) which I appreciated as it gave me a cushion of when I could get to the pharmacy. 

In January, I switched to Blue Cross Blue Shield and CVS. CVS’s app is quite annoying as it will say “Refill to soon! action required! Contact your pharmacy if you need this script!” 
I’m like- calm down, I know it’s too early, just fill when it can it be filled? 

Long story short, i had some back and forth with the pharmacy team, trying to understand the app and whether or not I needed to contact them every month etc.  (nothing contentious whatsoever,) and then two months ago, the app told me my script would be ready on the 15th (the normal 2 days early.) When I went to pick it up, they told me my insurance had blocked it from being filled until the 17th (exactly 30 days from my previous pickup). When I asked why, they told me that insurance sometimes does that when someone has picked up early on a regular basis.

I’m genuinely curious if:
a) Blue Cross is stricter than United on filling 2 days early than UMR was (or maybe there’s some kind of new law)
B) the pharmacy team red flagged me somehow (either in their own system, or gave some kind of signal to Blue Cross to limit me)

And my last question is- is this a permanent limitation where I will never be able to go back to picking up 2 days early?
Will it go back to normal with a new plan year in January? Or after a certain amount of time?
Would I still be limited to exactly a 30 day pick up if I went back to my old pharmacy?

I’m really not trying to scam the system or overextend my prescription. I simply appreciate the comfort of picking up a couple days early to compensate in the event I can’t get to the Pharmacy in future month or it there are other unforeseen circumstances.

Sorry this was so long- wanted to give details min case they matter. Appreciate any input anyone has!

Yesterday I had a really angry patient say that they'll transfer all of their stuff out and it's my fault.

She was standing near the registers on her phone talking and pacing in circles. Never addressed us at all. Pharmacist and I watched her and she said nothing. We kept working. Finally after helping at drive-thru she was giving me the eye. I said, "Ma'am, are you looking to pick up?" She gave me a duh look. I said, "We weren't sure because you're on your phone and never cameto the register. If you'd like to finish up and come to the register we can help you." Apparently that was offensive.

It is definitely starting to become more and more clear that there will never be a reason corporate will accept for not getting minimum 1 flu shot a day….they are blinded by how the public hates that we are portraying ourselves as “protecting” them…when it is only about money and reimbursement’s. its not true because if we actually were then we would actually go by the CDC recommendations and go by each states ACIP. I’m just ranting to rant and don’t expect any comments but my team and I are doing all in our power and asking everyone which is the SOP, if they come at me there is nothing they can do!

Hey all! Pharmacy Student here wanting to get a tattoo, specifically the molecule of N,N DMT preferably on the arm. Now, would getting this cause employment to be trouble and or cause unnecessary attention onto me?

Let me know what yall think :)

I hope this is the right place to ask this. If not, please let me know.

I also know misfill isn’t a real word, but it best describes the situation.

Here’s my situation: My pharmacy called me two days ago telling me they accidentally overfilled a schedule IV medication I take regularly. This was on day 25 of a 30 day prescription.

My next fill is coming up, and they want to “fill it”, but not actually dispense any medication in order to balance their books.

I asked my prescribing doctor and he was stumped. He checked the federal database, which showed it having been filled for the correct amount.

Should I go along with the pharmacy’s request? Or should I ask them to fill it as normal and not hold back any medication? At least until I meet with my doctor next.

From what I’ve found, I’m under no legal obligation to agree to their request. It’s their mistake, not mine. If they had called the same day, or the next day, that might be a different story.

Any advice would be very helpful.

EDIT: Thank you everyone for your advice, it’s much appreciated. It sounds like the best plan of action is to have an honest discussion with them in person, which I’m doing tomorrow morning.

I’m leaning toward agreeing to their request, especially if they have a picture like some of you mentioned. Whatever ends up happening, I’m going to ask for something simple in writing explaining the situation, just in case.

website: https://www.informed.fyi/salaries/pharmacist

A few years ago, I did a survey across various forums and reddit asking whether people would be interested in a healthcare-focused salary website. The overwhelming response was yes.

After two years of working on it alongside a full-time job (and getting married somewhere in the middle!), I'm excited to finally share it. The project started as a way to improve salary transparency for my wife, who's a pharmacist. As I worked on it, I realized that the lack of salary transparency extends far beyond pharmacy and affects many healthcare professions.

It's definitely still a work in progress, and I'd genuinely appreciate any feedback or suggestions for improvement. If you'd like to contribute, salary submissions are completely anonymous, your personally identifying information such as your name and email are never displayed.