Hey Jim, What is the pharmacist glut looking like and how do you think it will develop with added rxs from baby boomers, added rxs from healthcare reform, and loss of Pharmacists due to boomers retiring? I offered to take a wage cut at my independent because I want job security. Are wages falling? for pharmacists?
PLEASE ANSWER
I don’t know. I never “know”, but, because I write JP at Large, I have been “watching not just looking” and “hearing not just listening” for 25 years. First, read my column in the July, 2012 Drug Topics. There is a link here. If you haven’t, you can subscribe to the digital edition of the magazine. Very cool, delivered right to your e-mail in-box.
It looks to me that there is now two categories of pharmacists. ”Pharmacist Merchants” who know how to run the business (both PIC and Staff) and “Dispensing Robots”. The companies that gleefully go after the “Robots” will lose in the end because the companies that see the value of good “Merchant Pharmacists” will cream them. Be a good “Merchant Pharmacist”
When Americans go to the doctor, they think they are getting cheated if they leave without one or more prescriptions. The implications.. Again read my July column.
The avalanche of prescriptions coming. You ain’t seen anything yet. 10,000 Americans turn 65 every single day. We won’t even hit the peak until 2023. You think that Pharma has developed expensive drugs for mature people now. Watch what happens in the next 25 years.
No, wages aren’t falling. If they try that, they are doomed to only employing the “Dispensing Robots”.
Please don’t worry. You are a good pharmacist. You went to U Dub. A great school that actually has good old-fashioned compounding labs. You will always have a job. Your choice of places to live may restrict your job opportunities, but that is a lifestyle choice, not a job choice.
PS: How can we, as a profession, allow people who cannot compound, who went to schools that do not teach compounding, to call themselves “Pharmacists”. Compounding is our quintessential skill. No one else can do it. It is worth big money. This is an ongoing mystery.
I don’t think that we will see much increase in volume in Rx count… IMO.. the primary reason for the large volume increase was the mandatory 30 days supply that was SOP for most of late 90′s and 2000′s. We are now going back to 90 day supplies .. the number of Rxs will remain the same or decrease because of this… especially when robot are involved.. it doesn’t take anymore time to fill a Rx for a 90 days supply than a 30 day supply. So if the chains can blunt the Rx volume growth with this tactic.. they can help staffing at the same level or less.
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here is what I wrote about April
http://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=1060
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What do you do when increases on drug expenditures are at a 18 yr low?
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We all know that most of the generics have contributed to this.. but .. when you initially get a 10%-15% decrease in price when they go off patent… they are not a huge impact.
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With the estimate of 4000 more graduates a year by 2017-2018 than anticipated need… go back to your Economic 101 .. of supply & demand.
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unless Obamacare and/or ACO’s create a new venue for our education/experience.. you do the math about salaries.
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IMO.. the chains will move from “if you can’t do the job.. we will find someone else who will “… to … a “shirt” walking in one day and telling the RPH’s – particularly the staff RPH.. “..I have a newly licensed RPH that is willing to take your job for $xx,xxx.xx less per year… you have 24 hrs to decide if you want to keep your job at the same – OR LESS – salary of your replacement that I have lined up…
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After all you have done such a good job training the tech staff in all the basic functions of operating the pharmacy.. all we need is a warm body c a license… the techs can “carry him/her” until – or if – they can catch on.
Good point about the 90 days. We better be able to effectively and professionally provide all of the Rxs to come or turn out the lights. They will take it away from retail. Think dispensaries. That is basically what the Mail Order outfits are. Dispensaries.
Here is a email that I just received.
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4 days of Relief work near Hamilton, IN. Infusion experience is required. Pay would be $57 per hour. There are no mileage or expense reimbursements for these relief days, only straight hourly wage.
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HAMILTON, INDIANA.. is in the MIDDLE OF NO WHERE
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Per diem coverage at the Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute, IN. This is roughly 750 hours per year on a per diem basis. Contract could last up to 5 years. Pharmacist would need to be able to cover scheduled vacation times as well as fill in days. Shifts are typically 8a-5p. These shifts are also straight pay and would not include per diems or mileage
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Terre Haute is not much better than NO WHERE..
NO MILEAGE… NO OTHER EXPENSES provided… this is now common for temp services…
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two years ago.. I would get port to port time PLUS mileage and if overnight was involved… room & board…
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does this suggest the direction that wages are going… Companies wanting temp help… paying typical hourly rate for a full time employee and NO BENEFITS
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I routinely get requests to drive 2+ hrs each way to work a 5-6 hrs shift..
I expect to see FULL TIME to end up being 32 hrs/wk and limited benefits.
Question:
What are the legalities of cutting someones pay? The reason I ask is I can’t figure out why my morally bankrupt company hasn’t already done this. I almost suspect the horrid working conditions that have came to be the standard for the last couple of years is a way to “thin the heard”, make people make decisions to leave so the next guy can be hired on for less.
@wrong aid… unless you personally have a contract and/or a union contract… supply & demand and cost of training is the only thing that prohibits an employer from cutting your pay..
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As the surplus grows.. over the next 4-5 yrs.. when it suppose to peak at 4000 extra bodies/yr than needed..
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It will happen.. as they accept lower and lower reimbursements from the PBM’s
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States are raising their allowed RPH/tech ratios… robots are becoming more and more affordable… there are only so many variables they can play with that will affect the bottom line…
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with the attitude of the chains that volume is king… and you can hire 4-5 techs for the cost of one RPH… if you can get RPH’s to oversee and be responsible – ie PIC – for a three ring circus.. as long as the collateral damage costs less than the profits.. our reality will not change.
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The questions has to be asked is which is going to be the first chain to promote that all their Pharmacists are PharmD’s…???
I just got a raise to $57.55 per hour, chain pharmacy, Oregon. We also have no glut here right now in our districts nearby. We are having trouble supplying floater Rph shifts.
Oregon, if not everywhere (I truly don’t know), is PharmD only these days. I don’t see replacing them with a barely licensed shirt being very likely… but if so, I am one… just a B.S.
@RalPh… As of Jan 1, 2003… all RPH graduates had to have a PharmD degree.. I think that most schools had converted their programs so that all graduates as of 2000 were PharmD’s.
There are now 129 pharmacy schools… even though the number have grown.. if we presumed since 2000.. there have been 12,000 RPH’s added annually and today there are 250K-300K RPH’s in the work pool.. 40%-50% of the RPH pool has a PharmD
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and with the anticipated 4000 excessive graduates than need within 5 yrs.. means that we are going to have a 1.5% +/- of pool surplus growth each year.
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as I remember.. at the worse of the RPH shortage.. there was 6000 +/- shortage… we know what those numbers did to wages… one can just imagine what a surplus many times that .. is going to do..
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Look at WAGS stats for 2011 for every two stores they opened/acquired… they CLOSED ONE ! for a net gain of 164 stores.. and acquired stores… don’t necessarily mean more RPH’s hired.
http://temecula.patch.com/articles/rite-aid-workers-vote-to-strike
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Rite Aid Workers Vote To Strike
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The proposals include, among other takeaways:
• effective elimination of health care for workers’ spouses and children
• out-of-pocket costs for health care benefits of up to $10,000 a year
• virtual elimination of all accumulated sick leave pay
• reduction of the number of hours workers are allowed to work
• elimination of the 40-hour workweek and 24-hour guarantee for part-time employees
Got the following in an email from my state pharmacy association:
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Rite Aid is touting its vaccinating pharmacists as the back-to-school season begins.
The retail pharmacy chain said its pharmacists were ready to provide vaccinations against pertussis, meningitis, hepatitis B, human papillomavirus and other diseases, in addition to providing advice on oral health, nutritional supplements, cough-cold supplies and first-aid kits.
“Whether they’re bound for kindergarten or college, it’s no secret that kids do better in school if they’re in good health,” Rite Aid EVP pharmacy Robert Thompson said. “Rite Aid pharmacists are here to help with expert advice on a wide range of topics, including immunizations, cough and cold medicines, vitamins and supplements, oral health care and even tips on how to build a basic first-aid kit for dorms. Staying current on the recommended vaccination schedules is especially important this year since the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] predicts high levels of whooping cough not seen since the ’50s.” (Drugstorenews.com)
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Looks like pharmacists are going to be nurses since they will be doing all these vaccinations. So, why doesn’t Rite-Aid just stop filling rx’s and give vaccinations? The IDIOTS!!!
@Peon… there was a recent announcement from WAGS & CVS that they were going to expand their “nurse-in-a-box” concept to get ready for the onslaught of patients with the implementation of Obamacare and the early retirement of many primary physicians… because of Obamacare.
Maybe Rite Aid can train their Wellness Ambassadors to walk up and down the aisle giving out shots…. or follow WAGS program of RPH out front.. and the RPH can be reviewing Rxs filled via a IPAD while they are giving shots in an adjacent room.
When all the chains start going after legally allowing us to be practitioners and billing insurances for services… is when mutli-tasking will go to the next level…