[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by Halibut

I thought it was just me! I have encountered nothing but incompetence with every single pharmacy I have used since I've been here, including Publix at Spanish Plaines, Publix at Southern Trace, CVS, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart. Prescriptions lost, not ready on time, filled with the wrong item or the wrong number of items, not received at the store after being submitted online, charged incorrectly, put on auto-fill when I haven't requested it, wrong account and/or insurance information, etc.

Sorry to slam your profession, Barry, but I honestly do not understand why it's so difficult. If I'm doing something wrong to contribute, I don't know what it is. Is it better to insist on written scripts from my doctors instead of allowing them to call things in? Is getting a 90-day supply better or worse than refilling month by month? I've tried both ways. I really don't like auto-fill because I don't trust it, but everyone wants to force that on me.

You're not slamming my profession if you are just describing what happened to you, and I would have to agree that what you describe is pretty aggravating. The profession has really become an assembly line operation. A busy drug store used to do 100 or 150 prescriptions a day. The last pharmacy I worked at did 800 a day. Some of the issues you describe may not be the fault of the pharmacy, such as prescriptions not being ready on time, prescriptions not being received by the store after being submitted online, or wrong insurance information. But any time you get the wrong medication, or the wrong dosage, or the wrong instructions, or a drug that can dangerously interact with another drug that the pharmacy has a record of, that is the fault of the pharmacist, unless the doctor wrote the prescription for the wrong drug. Even if the doctor makes an error and prescribes something dangerous, it is the job of the pharmacist to catch it. The good thing to know is that most pharmacies operate to about a 99.997% accuracy rate. That doesn't help if you are one of the .003% that get a medication error.
EDIT: I went online to try and verify the 99.997% accuracy rate, but couldn't find it. That may have been our internal quality standard when I worked for a large pharmacy services company, not a nationwide standard. What I could find point to errors being higher than I have stated. A recent study that is pretty interesting appears here: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/451962

[Bonnevie]

BarryRx is correct on all he says. I am a pharmacist as well but didn't stay long in retail pharmacy because it is a very stressful, demanding, thankless job. There are countless interruptions while doing work that is supposed to be perfect. Doctors making errors and are unable to reach, constant phone calls, techs having problems and interrupting, patients yelling at them for things out of their control, and now they have to stop everything and give flu shots! The drug stores want to keep expenses down so try to keep the number of pharmacists to a minimum so they are often working 12 hour shifts. It was bad 30 years ago and it's only worse now. Not excusing the mistakes, but it's a tough job. Most pharmacists are very concerned about doing a good job and we cringe when we hear of errors.

[lovsthosebigdogs]

I am sorry to say that since I have moved to FL several months ago there have been several mistakes in my prescriptions also at a pharmacy in Wildwood. Since I have changed to the same name pharmacy here in TV I haven't had any errors, thankfully. I always check my RX before driving away or taking my medication from the clerk. The meds have LOOKED different from what I have received up north, but they do match what the info that comes with the drug says they should look like so I figure they are the correct ones and probably just a generic brand. It is scary, though and I am sorry for those who have had issues. It does make me want to be extra vigilant about checking my prescriptions when I get them.

[Halibut]

The profession has really become an assembly line operation. A busy drug store used to do 100 or 150 prescriptions a day. The last pharmacy I worked at did 800 a day.

Thanks, Barry. The last time I was at CVS, the bins with waiting prescriptions had overflowed the shelves and were stacked in rows on the floor. Seems like that might be an indication they're over their capacity.

When my prescriptions were filled incorrectly, it was the wrong pen needles once and insulin in vials instead of pens once, so nothing dire. But I still couldn't use it. Some of the problem may be the fault of my doctor's office, because they always go back and forth with the pharmacy saying they sent something in, with the pharmacy saying they didn't receive it. (Until, oh! They did have it after all.) Honestly, I think most of it is the pharmacy clerks; they're the ones who do the intake for the prescriptions and process the paperwork.

[KeepingItReal]

Always had good luck verifying what a pill is or should look like on these sites, there are many more.

Good to verify what they are if they look different from the last ones.


Pill Identifier helps identify pills -CVS.com

Pill Identifier (Pill Finder) - Drugs.com

Pill Identifier: Identify Drugs by Picture, Shape, Color, Number

Pill Identifier | Find Medications by Shape Color Score

[kittygilchrist]

Originally Posted by Bonnevie

BarryRx is correct on all he says. I am a pharmacist as well but didn't stay long in retail pharmacy because it is a very stressful, demanding, thankless job. There are countless interruptions while doing work that is supposed to be perfect. Doctors making errors and are unable to reach, constant phone calls, techs having problems and interrupting, patients yelling at them for things out of their control, and now they have to stop everything and give flu shots! The drug stores want to keep expenses down so try to keep the number of pharmacists to a minimum so they are often working 12 hour shifts. It was bad 30 years ago and it's only worse now. Not excusing the mistakes, but it's a tough job. Most pharmacists are very concerned about doing a good job and we cringe when we hear of errors.

I think you guys do an amazingly GOOD job under pressing circumstances. Never had a wrong script.
Kitty

[DougB]

Too bad the pharmacies here aren't as good as the ones "back home".

[Bonny]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones here. We've been here 14 1/2 years and have had lots of issues and surgeries which have required lots of different medications.
I always check with the pharmacist to make sure everything is compatible and I always check the meds, dosage etc.
I have never had a problem. Mostly use CVS.
Hubby likes Express Scripts for meds we take on a regular basis. Never a problem.