Venting

I think I’ve kind of avoided sharing some details of my personal life before today.  I’m ready to come clean.  So who am I?  I’m a pharmacy student, planning on graduating this coming June.  I think that’s my main identifier at this point since it’s what I spend the majority of my time on.

At this point in my schooling (my last year of pharmacy school), I’m on “rotations”, which means I spend 6 weeks at various sites (different floors of the hospitals, retail sites, etc.), each site having different expectations/time commitments.  Last rotation was a time suck, which is why I avoided blogging all together.  I just didn’t have the time or energy. 

Now that you know a little more about me, I feel ok complaining to you a little bit.  I get asked (a lot) why it takes so long to fill a prescription.  I guess it’s totally understandable to wonder this, as I did too until I spent time in a pharmacy.  It’s hard to comprehend all of the work that goes into filling a prescription.  Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just about counting pills, slapping on a label, and handing it over to you.  So what’s the problem?  I think the fact that I’m trained (will be a doctor of pharmacy) as a healthcare provider, but treated like an employee of McDonald’s and expected to hand over important medications within someone’s ridiculous time constraints is the problem. Since when did people start seeing their prescriptions an unimportant part of the healthcare system?  I don’t really think people do, but think about what you’re asking when you go to the pharmacy and demand that your prescription for Viagra be filled immediately because you don’t have the time to wait around.   Wouldn’t you rather wait an extra 10 minutes to make sure that your pharmacist is making sure that your prescription isn’t interacting with new medications, or that you’ve gotten the right prescription from the doctor?  Believe it or not, doctors make mistakes all the time.  We catch them and tell you it will be another few minutes as we try to get a hold of your doctor to fix the error—but we’re the bad guys.  Your insurance won’t approve the payment of your medications so we call them and are shuffled around to 3 different service representatives so you don’t have to worry about the expense—but we’re the bad guys. 

I could go on and on, but I think the problem lies in our society’s views of what a pharmacy is, and the lack of accountability most patients have or feel in their health.   If you’re tired of waiting for your prescription to be filled, here are some steps to save you some time:

Source

1.   Call in your prescription ahead of time.  Don’t wait until you are completely out of your prescription.  I recommend calling a week before you run out, especially if you are out of refills (see #2).  The number of the pharmacy is on the bottle, as well as the prescription number.  Pretty much all pharmacies now have automated services that allow you to reorder your prescription 24 hours a day. Take advantage of it!
2. Check your prescription to see if you have any refills left.  It says right on the bottle.  If you don’t know where to look, call the pharmacy, and they can tell you.  If it says “0”, definitely call the pharmacy ahead of time (see #1).  Sometimes it takes several days to get a hold of the prescriber for a refill—and sometimes they won’t issue a refill until you see them again. 
3. Be diligent about ordering your prescription ahead of time—set a reminder in your calendar, phone, wherever you usually put those.  I recommend setting a monthly alarm on your phone or in Google calendars. 
4. Call ahead.  If you have concerns that your prescription may not be ready to be picked up when you get there, call the pharmacy and ask.  I’m sure they’d be happy to let you know the status of your prescription before you make the trip into the store.
5. Be prepared.  Bring new insurance information/cards with you.  While most pharmacy technicians are wizards at billing insurance, they can’t pull your member ID out of thin air.  Calling the insurance company for overrides (filling multiple months of a prescription because of travel reasons, not having current insurance cards, etc.) can be a long process, so be prepared to wait.
6. Find a pharmacy you like, and stick with them.  Establish a relationship with your pharmacist(s).  I know those coupons that incentivize using a different pharmacy are tempting, but ultimately, you’re wasting your time filling out new patient information for that pharmacy, and the pharmacist won’t have an updated record of your medications, health history, etc.
7. Know your medications.  Carry around a list of your medications, the strengths, doses, etc. with you.  This can be especially important when seeing new physicians, going to the hospital, etc.  Pharmacists can also use this information to check drug interactions, duplicates in therapy, etc.  This can be a great thing to do for your older family members as well.  HERE is a great form to use.
8. Ask questions.  If something doesn’t seem right at the doctor’s office, ask.  Yes, they’re busy, but so are you!  Wouldn’t it be better to leave with the correct prescription, rather than go all the way back to get it fixed?

I think the biggest thing is to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN HEALTHCARE!  I don’t think a lot of people do this, partly because some healthcare providers don’t feel that their patients CAN do this, but I’m always pleasantly surprised when I see patients who know their drug regimen better than me.  There’s nothing better than that!  Ultimately, your healthcare is your responsibility.