The Scene Of The Crime

California is often the first domino to fall. This could be very big.

This is an excerpt of the 7/6/09 post by “The Drug Monkey”.

Bill Monning is chair of the California State Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment, which held an informational hearing back in April entitled “Working Conditions of Retail Pharmacists: Are Workers and Consumers Being Harmed?”

 One retail pharmacist testified anonymously to protect his identity. He stated that he had been employed as a PIC for 20 by CVS.

 He expressed his concerns, including. Staffing levels. Some company policies discourage breaks, rest periods or bathroom .

 Second, he testified that there is simply not enough time to provide proper counseling and there is a lack of proper space for patient confidentiality.

 Finally, he expressed concern about certain prescription quotas that were linked to employee bonuses and created pressure on pharmacists to work faster.

California Assemblyman, Bill Monning. He cares more about you and the safety of your patients than your employe does.

 Funny thing is, Bill Monning probably isn’t your State Assemblyman. But again, he’s doing more for you than your employer ever will.

 Your state board doesn’t seem to care. Probably because there is a good chance the boards are run by your employer. We have been telling them that a tired pharmacist is a dangerous pharmacist for decades.

 So the only player in all this who’s on your side if you dispense or receive a prescription is a member of the California State Legislature. I want you to think about that as the health care reform debate unfolds over these next few months.

 It might not be a bad idea for all of us to thank Bill Monning. Get the word out. Pass this around or are pharmacists truly disinterested and apathetic.

2-25-2009, From Pharmacy Slave 2000.  Too important to bury in Comments.  This smells of desperation to me.  Use the Club, Slave.  Counsel according to the law.  Document, Document, Document any reistance you get.  Take names and write it down

This is a very timely post as my employer, RAD, is preparing to launch a new business growth initiative company wide in March, the “15 minute Guarantee”. Basically, anyone dropping off up to 3 rx’s, transfers included, is “guaranteed” to receive those prescriptions in 15 mins. or they will receive a $5 gift card for store use. I don’t think I have to discuss the variety of reasons that this is wrong and an absolute slap in the face to the pharmacists who take on all the responsibility and liability everyday.
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I don’t take up many causes but this is something we ALL need to fight against. We work in a “me too” profession. The other chains will most certaintly be watching to see if this works and, if it shows even a small amount of success, they will be right on board with a program of their own. This is something I’ve been fearing for a long time. I don’t think I’m being melodramatic when I say that this could be a death-blow for pharmacists. Think your working conitions are bad now?
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I implore you to support RAD pharmacists and notify your State Board that this program is dangerous. Let them know that a rushed and tired pharmacist is a danger to the public. Let them know that is unfair and irresponsible for a company to force pharmacists to work under a time limit. Finally, we need to hit these corporations where it hurts most, at their paying customer base. Let your customers know what is going on. Tell them they should be terrified of the direction of pharmacy. It is a good outlet for us to vent here but it will do nothing to change our position. We need to get the public on our side.
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It has been shown in the last couple weeks that the internet is a powerful tool to instigate change. We need to get the message out to the State Boards, the public and each other that we will not be forced to jeapordize our licenses or the public well-being because of programs designed by nonpharmacist businessmen. This is something worth fighting against.

I know you worked 12 straight hours, Baby, but I have my manly needs and you have a duty as my wife.

For years, I have suspected that there are plenty of husbands of pharmacists who want only three things.   When their pharmacist spouse gets home after the late shift, they expect her to feed them, f**k them and fill the checking account.  Period.  Finally, there is evidence.  I received this e-mail yesterday.

As a woman and a pharmacist, it really amused me to read the whine about the spouse not cooking dinner. So you think she likes the money but doens’t want to dance the dance? I think I can speak for a lot of women pharmacists who would be perfectly satisfied to get a peanut butter sandwich and collapse on to the sofa, just grateful that the kids had been fed. I get home to a house of hungry children and a husband in the recliner, drinking a whiskey and water, and the question “what’s for supper?”  I’ll trade any day

 Let me hear from you.  Remember, you are anonymous, so tell the truth.  It will be good, get it off your chest.

I was referring to HIM, not her, in the original essay.

The Men's Room at CVS # 3214 in East Gladhand Missouri

Quality of Life! Quality of Life! Quality of Life!

 Practitioners of almost every profession are chasing QUALITY OF LIFE. Once they have appropriate shelter, good food, safety and love (for some just companionship) they start cranking it up for Quality of Life.

 Oh, I can hear you and the employers, “Stop with this, Plagakis. Don’t go there.”

 The employers are saying, “You get enough, Miss Pharmacist. We are not giving you more. You have a nice house (shelter). Your family eats well, your neighborhood is gated and your husband is supportive.” What more do you want?

Of course, they can’t give more in a system where the money comes from the selling of a commodity. They have all screwed the goose when they let the PBMs set the rules for reimbursement. Weak-spined pharmacists and middle managers signed the insulting contracts. They all need to be re-programmed by a weekend at a Holiday Inn.

 You are saying, “I am afraid that I’ll lose my good thing if I ask for more.” That’s too bad. Go ahead and work 12 hours straight with a Big Grab of Fritos and a Mountain Dew gobbled between prescriptions.

 Quality of life is, of course, a real vacation and all of the “high touch” you get from working as a pharmacist. For most professionals, Quality of life is, indeed, the prize they are chasing.

You can get more money to pay for Quality of Life if you provide specialized services, bill with your own NPI and put the money in your own bank. Basically, what you do is pay CVS a percentage for “rent”. After all, you are using their space and they bring in your patients. A good deal for both.

Jay Pee Back In The Day, San Francisco Bay Area circa 1979

To Satisfy Popular Demand

Available Now by: Jim Plagakis, R.Ph.

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The Prisoners of Comfort

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“Prisoners”

            Drawing on his four decades of experience as a retail pharmacist, Jim Plagakis has written an examination of the institutionalization of the pharmacist.  He examines the soul-crushing nature of working in conditions that are not as good as those of a factory worker.  He claims that there is a way out.

            “How can you know where you are going until you know where you are and  where you have been?

“The Dangerous Book”

            Pharmacists have seemingly forgotten that they are highly trained medical professionals.  Perhaps they were never properly trained.  Pharmacists don’t have the swagger that the experts on drugs should display.  They do not show pride or even a touch of arrogance.  90% of medical treatments entail drug therapy.    Pharmacists run that engine.  What about that POWER is hard to understand? This book  shows how to get your swag back.

As Usual, there really is no interest in actually taking a shot at making a difference.  What is it, you guys, that makes you feel so helpless. 2-17-11

Those of you who have followed me know that I, like Don Quixote, have a propensity to joust with windmills.  I am like a guerilla fighter.  I don’t really expect to bring down the huge forces in our industry, but I count on winning some small battles on occasion.

 I have tried to recruit you in ventures over the years and have been generally disappointed at your response.  You like to whine and complain.  But you aren’t willing to put up a few dollars (For Membership in The Pharmacy Alliance.. $60.00) or a few hours. 

 You sometimes act as if your dollars and, especially, your time is in such small supply that you could overdraw on either of them.

 We Americans for some reason believe that we personally lose if we support anything that may not hit the jackpot.

 I don’t want your money.  This time, just some ideas.

 This can be fun.  We can go after the hated drive-through. 

 The State Boards of Pharmacy are mandated to protect the citizens from us.  If we are not properly educated, we don’t get a license.  They also regulate our practices for the protection of the public.  Yada, yada, yada.

 It is my contention that the drive through represents a danger to the public.

 Let us pick out one state that is progressive and send them a formal complaint.  We will use The Pharmacy Alliance as the spring board.  You do not have to be a member to contribute.

 I’ll start it off and you add.  Let’s see if you are so beaten down you can’t even do this.

 You are not dead yet.

 1.The drive through represents a danger to the public because counseling is difficult.  We cannot open the bottle and show them the pills.  If  the Rx is for an MDI, we cannot adequately show the first time user how to use the MDI.

 Your turn.  This is not the United Nations, you guys.  Nobody is going to rip out your love handles if you say something stupid.  The drive through started when one guy in a meeting said something stupid, “Hey, let’s have drive through windows, like McDonalds.”

We have received thoughtful comments.  PLEASE do no get impatient.  We need a lot more pharmacist comments explaining why the drive-through PUTS THE AVERAGE PATIENT IN DANGER.  Plus, we need patient comments explaining why they come in the store rather than using the drive through.  Let’s hope that we get some comments we can use.  We want the patient to say, “I come in the store because the pharmacist never says a word about my medicine when I use the drive through”. 

One of these days, you guys are going to get the message that  “Counseling in all its forms” will be our ticket to ride in the 21st Century.  The law requires that we counsel.  What more could you want?  This is a huge club that you carry.  If anyone even suggests that you counsel too much or that you should not counsel, document, document, document.  You could own the fuckin’ store.  A far-reaching metaphor, but you get it.

My colleagues at work leave their barcodes by the register so the tech can scan them without them having counseled.  The technicians don’t realize it, but they are engaging in fraud.  The pharmacist is complicit, but it is the tech who can get nailed legally.

Back to the topic.  Proper counseling at the drive-through is not possible.  We need to establish this with documentation, personal testimonies from pharmacists, techs and patients. 

I agree with Jeanette (SOSP) that the Washington Board of Pharmacy may be the place to start with copies of everything to Washington Legislators and the Governor. 

If you guys really want to play this game, The Pharmacy Alliance has some money that we can dedicate to funding this project.

I wear my barcode around my neck.  I will walk back and forth between the Mill and the Register all day long.  That’s my job.  It is what I do.  I get a lot of satisfaction.  My counseling rarely goes beyond 30 seconds.  With most prescriptions, you go longer than 30 seconds and their eyes roll and they start licking their lips.

 A note: Counseling is what will get you $10,000 a month in the 21st Century.  Why would anyone want to pay anyone that much for doing work that a Specialized/Advanced tech can do?  I suggest you be proactive about this.