Working in a pharmacy.....

Okay so I don't know if everyone knows this who hasn't worked in a pharmacy but it isn't as simple as just 'throwing pills in a bottle'. (Quote from a customer today)

Actually, it is much more complex & if we are busy, it is most certain your prescription WILL be delayed. So sorry, nothing we can do about it!!! Our pharmacy takes at least 400 scripts a day & up to 600, depending on the day. Sundays are horridly boring.

Lemme fly through a little scenario....

You come to the window of the pharmacy & drop off a prescription, she takes your info & such & tells you it will be about 20 minutes. This is the minimum, might I add, sometimes it might actually take longer.

After you drop it off, it is scanned into our system & then inputted (directions, dosing, etc) by a technician.

It is then moved to the "Four point" queue. This is only able to be done by a Pharmacist, NO techs. The pharmacist basically checks over the inputting to make sure it is correct.

Next, it is sent to Fill. Depending on how many people are in front of you....it could take awhile before you are up for a fill & also depends on how many techs are filling.

After it is all filled, it is then sent to "Visual Verify" queue. This again, is the final step & is only able to be done by a pharmacist. The pharmacist then bags it up & hands it over to ME, the cashier.

Now...while all this is going on, people are glaring at me, wondering why it is taking so darn long to "throw pills in a bottle." Seriously??

If only one pharmacist is on duty (which is pretty often) & he/she is busy consulting with another patient, on the phone, or doing 100 other things....the last step may take awhile to be finished. This is completely understandable in my own little opinion.

Today was a bad day. People are angry for one reason after another & I thought my head might explode on several of them while I held back terrible words from escaping my lips.

One very common customer who is always really nice to me, I know him by name & know that he pays up front & not at my register. I never see his wife, he picks up all their medicine. He's quiet, 85 years old, and polite.

Not today.

His prescription dosage changed & we had to call the insurance company to get an override or they wouldn't pay for it yet. Well, he just simply did not understand why he had to wait. I tried to explain.

He said, 'Well, are the pharmacists working on it right now?"

Me- "Yes, but it takes some time."

Him- "Can't you check with them to be sure?"

Me- "I can see on my computer."

Him- "Well why are you saying I have to wait?"

Me- "I can't hurry it up any more than I have (I set the priority to "Critical" on my screen), so it will still take a few minutes."

Him,- "It takes that long to throw some pills in a bottle???"

Me- "Sir, it's not that simple, there are many steps that have to be taken to ensure that everything runs smoothly."

*oh sigh* This was the first of many rude interesting customers I had today. Not that it isn't an everyday thing. People just don't GET IT.

So if you're one of those rude people at the pharmacy, please keep this in mind next time you wonder why it isn't done in 10 minutes! :)