Pharmacists - why so slow?

stefanovich

Rarely have to visit the chemists as I am generally never sick enough to require medication. When filling a prescription for my wife for penicillin both times the pharmacist took a very long time. What are they doing? Are they just lazy? What's so complicated about putting a few pills in a container? Are their computer systems slow? Are they slow? What gives?

Raging_Ninja

stefanovich wrote: »

Rarely have to visit the chemists as I am generally never sick enough to require medication. When filling a prescription for my wife for penicillin both times the pharmacist took a very long time. What are they doing? Are they just lazy? What's so complicated about putting a few pills in a container? Are their computer systems slow? Are they slow? What gives?

Legislation and regulations regarding the sale of prescription drugs and the bureaucratic requirements that need to be met.

stefanovich

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

Legislation and regulations regarding the sale of prescription drugs.

They are filling out forms?

Raging_Ninja

stefanovich wrote: »

They are filling out forms?

Amongst other things. It's a heavily regulated industry. They might also need to make up the drugs themselves if they are compounded.

SEPT 23 1989

They need to decode the doctors handwriting

Pink Fairy

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

They need to decode the doctors handwriting

Genuinely, this is a problem, many phone calls have had to be made to speak to doctors to sort out doseage amounts

Miaireland

Also if your wife is on other medication they have to check there is no interaction etc. Also they are probably working on other prescriptions not just yours.

Calibos

Pink Fairy wrote: »

Genuinely, this is a problem, many phone calls have had to be made to speak to doctors to sort out doseage amounts

It's amazing that one of the few professions where illegible handwriting can cost lives, is the profession most renowned for poor handwriting.

byhookorbycrook

I'd prefer them to be slow rather than to make a mistake. I am on quite a lot of medication and would always cross heck, but many people don't.

sheesh

to quote Jerry Seinfield 'I gotta take these tablets out of this big bottle and put them in a little bottle ,,,, and type out on this little piece of paper.'

stefanovich

Miaireland wrote: »

Also if your wife is on other medication they have to check there is no interaction etc. Also they are probably working on other prescriptions not just yours.

It was fairly empty today in fairness. There was one other person who may have been waiting. There were 3 people working there.

Dravokivich

I think its annoying that one I encountered on black Friday decided to prioritise selling shampoo instead of giving me an inhaler that was clearly stated to be for a child on the script. I'll only go to them now if I needed to.

maudgonner

Dravokivich wrote: »

I think its annoying that one I encountered on black Friday decided to prioritise selling shampoo instead of giving me an inhaler that was clearly stated to be for a child on the script. I'll only go to them now if I needed to.

Was the child having an asthma attack there and then? If the inhaler wasn't needed urgently, why should you get to skip the queue?

Senna

Calibos wrote: »

It's amazing that one of the few professions where illegible handwriting can cost lives, is the profession most renowned for poor handwriting.

It's one of the only professions where you regularly see handwriting. The bad handwriting being more common in doctors is just a myth.

suicide_circus

Senna wrote: »

It's one of the only professions where you regularly see handwriting. The bad handwriting being more common in doctors is just a myth.

Ha never thought of that!/good point

MrPudding

I think there are a couple of reason for this. The first, as someone pointed out, is that there may be some preparation involved. Not all the medication is in blister packs ready to go, sometime pills will need to be counted into bottles or some other medicines are actually mixed or otherwise prepared.

The other side is the checks that need to be carried out. My mum works as a dispenser in a pharmacy. She will prepare the prescriptions, but then a pharmacist will have to check it, she will then check it again before it is handed over. If the pharmacist has popped out for a pee then nothing goes out.

Even when there is no apparent queue they may actually be quite busy. In the one my mum work in they typically have to prepare around 200 repeat prescriptions each day, on top of walk in prescriptions, people looking for advice or people simply buying stuff. So even when it doesn't looks busy there does tend to be quite a bit going on. It isn't simply a case of chucking something in a bag and handing it over.

Also, some pharmacists are really lazy.

MrP

rubadub

If the system and themselves were fast & efficient you would be complaining about the high dispensing fees. Like a dodgy plumber scratching his arse for a good hour after he changed a washer in 2mins.

Is handwritten prescriptions a legal thing? you would think they should be typed out for clarity and to more easily have a record. In my work I send out loads of emails so I have a written clear record of what was said/requested.

Stheno

rubadub wrote: »

If the system and themselves were fast & efficient you would be complaining about the high dispensing fees. Like a dodgy plumber scratching his arse for a good hour after he changed a washer in 2mins.

Is handwritten prescriptions a legal thing? you would think they should be typed out for clarity and to more easily have a record. In my work I send out loads of emails so I have a written clear record of what was said/requested.

My doctor does printed prescriptions

artanevilla

EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE.

Water John

Well from disclosed recently with the average pharmacy clearing 1/4M a year, its better than owning a bookies.

Very few prescription medication is actually made up and they all have pill counting machines.

Samaris

maudgonner wrote: »

Was the child having an asthma attack there and then? If the inhaler wasn't needed urgently, why should you get to skip the queue?

I'm curious as to this point too. Queue's a queue. Unless the child was having an asthma attack right then and there (emergencies are, ofc, outside normal rules), a customer having to wait an extra few minutes in a queue (on Black Friday!) for another legit customer is...yeah, pretty par for the course.

Dr Turk Turkelton

Samaris wrote: »

I'm curious as to this point too. Queue's a queue. Unless the child was having an asthma attack right then and there (emergencies are, ofc, outside normal rules), a customer having to wait an extra few minutes in a queue (on Black Friday!) for another legit customer is...yeah, pretty par for the course.

WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Lucyfur

I personally think they should meet you at the door with big giant bags of drugs.

Korat

Some pharmacies are just weird. I went to get Nurofen for a friend and the nearest pharmacy was one of those old style ones that has been there for years. After waiting what seemed like an eternity, a woman in her 40s served me and I asked her for Nurofen. She asked me what it was for (a question I really wasn't expecting for Nurofen) and I said I didn't know because I was just getting it for a friend.

She then goes into the back and eventually another woman comes out and asks me where I live. At that point I just said forget it I'm not trying to buy morphine and walked out.

I went to another pharmacy not much further up the road, a more modern one, and a girl in her 20s handed over the Nurofen no questions asked.

Dravokivich

maudgonner wrote: »

Was the child having an asthma attack there and then? If the inhaler wasn't needed urgently, why should you get to skip the queue?

There was no queue. I went straight to the pharmicists counter and all they'd talk about to me was black friday. I wasn't going to wait around for 45 minutes for them to sell cosmetics then pull a couple of boxes off the shelf.

Samaris

Dravokivich wrote: »

There was no queue. I went straight to the pharmicists counter and all they'd talk about to me was black friday. I wasn't going to wait around for 45 minutes for them to sell cosmetics then pull a couple of boxes off the shelf.

If there was no-one else there, why were they selling someone else shampoo? Were they selling it to each other?

Ronaldinho

Calibos wrote: »

It's amazing that one of the few professions where illegible handwriting can cost lives, is the profession most renowned for poor handwriting.

I always thought the reason that doctors' handwriting was so messy was to make is more difficult for someone to forge a prescription!

Dravokivich

Samaris wrote: »

If there was no-one else there, why were they selling someone else shampoo? Were they selling it to each other?

I said shampoo to indicate how ridiculous it was that they as a pharmacy weren't focused on dispensing prescriptions. I handed the script over, the assistant came back and said I'd have to wait 45 minutes because of Black Friday. There was 3 other people in the shop and they were looking at the shelves.

Anita Blow

Korat wrote: »

Some pharmacies are just weird. I went to get Nurofen for a friend and the nearest pharmacy was one of those old style ones that has been there for years. After waiting what seemed like an eternity, a woman in her 40s served me and I asked her for Nurofen. She asked me what it was for (a question I really wasn't expecting for Nurofen) and I said I didn't know because I was just getting it for a friend.

She then goes into the back and eventually another woman comes out and asks me where I live. At that point I just said forget it I'm not trying to buy morphine and walked out.

I went to another pharmacy not much further up the road, a more modern one, and a girl in her 20s handed over the Nurofen no questions asked.

She's doing her job because NSAIDs like Nurofen don't come without certain risks. A few background questions are asked to make sure it doesn't do you any harm and if there are any contraindications she can offer you another similar drug without the same risks. And of course if it's Nurofen Plus then she is obliged to ask because it contains codeine (converted to Morphine when you take it).

biko

I find that asking the chemist directly is usually faster than asking the internet.

mirrorwall14

My pharmacy takes orders for monthly scripts over the phone so the pharmacist could be doing them. I ring in the morning and say can I pick up my prescription later. They do it up at some stage and I collect a few hours later. Win win

MacauDragon

Pharmacists are OK in my book.

They know how to prioritize. Like one time I was having a hair attack and there was some yoke behind me going on about an inhaler and thinking of the children.

Girl behind the counter gave me the emergency shampoo and I was fine. Close call though.

palmcut

What happens to a prescription when the pharmacy receives it?

1.. Identification.
On receipt of the prescription the pharmacist must first identify that the prescription is for the patient who presents it. In the pharmacy that I work in we have 770 patients with the same surname. 35 of these have Michael as a first name and 26 have Mary as a first name. Some of those with the same first name and the same surname live at the same address. The local doctors would have the same problem. Where possible patients should provide their address and their date of birth. A mobile phone number would also be useful.

2.. Is the prescribed medication suitable for that patient?
If the prescription is for a Penicillin antibiotic; is the patient allergic to Penicillin?
Sometimes a patient will see a locum doctor or a weekend doctor. These doctors might not be fully aware of the patient’s medical history or aware of the patient’s medication. Sometimes when a patient may not remember their own medication. For example a patient on heart medication should not be prescribed Domperidone (Motilium).

3. Is the dosage of the prescribed medication correct?
For example; inadvertently the prescribing doctor may have prescribed a child’s dose for an adult.

4.. Is there an interaction between the prescribed medication or with any other medication that the patient is on?
For example a patient prescribed a Potassium sparing diuretic should not also be on a Potassium supplement.
Another example; a patient on Warfarin should not be prescribed oral Miconazole. (the combination caused a death in Ireland two years ago)
Patients on Statins (anti-choloesterol) should temporarily go off the Statins if they are prescribed an anti-biotic called Clarithromycin.
5.. Checks and balances.
Several pharmacies have two professional staff checking each prescription. Other pharmacies have strict Standard Operating Procedures for checking the accuracy of prescriptions and dispensing. Frequently a pharmacist will contact the prescriber to verify a prescription.
In a recent survey of Irish pharmacists; 96% said that they correct 3 or more prescribing errors every day. The same survey showed that 60% of Irish pharmacies correct more than 6 prescription errors every day.

6.. Legal and Legislative considerations.
A pharmacy is required to keep a record of every prescription dispensed for two years. The pharmacist has to record each dispensing of a repeat prescription. In addition the pharmacist has to sign, date and stamp each prescription. In some circumstances the pharmacist has to make an additional record of a prescription together with the name of the prescribing Doctor, doctor’ address, patient’s name and address, the name and amount of the drug and the balance of the drug remaining in the drug safe,

7.. Patient consultation.
Many prescriptions involve a discussion between the patient and the pharmacist. For example; some liquid anti-biotics need to be stored in a fridge once they have been re-constituted. Other prescriptions will require different consultations between patient and pharmacist.

8.. Adherence.
Some patients may not use their inhalers properly and may need help and advice. Other patients may neglect some of their prescribed medication or may not take their medication properly or at all; in these cases the pharmacist should ask questions and should encourage compliance.

9.. Confusing drug names.
Some drug companies place two or more drugs in the same tablet. An example of this is a tablet called Acerycal. Acerycal is a combination of two drugs called Perindopril and Amlodipine. There are four presentations of Acerycal; 5/5, 10/5. 5/10 and 10/10. Sometimes a prescriber just writes Acerycal on the prescription; in cases like this the pharmacist has to do a lot of checking.

10.. Hand writing.
Some doctors have really nice hand writing. However in some cases the prescription looks like a drunken spider has written on the page. It can take a few minutes to decipher some hand writing.

ToddyDoody

Isn't it great when the pharmacist turns out to be someone you went to school with.

maudgonner

palmcut wrote: »

What happens to a prescription when the pharmacy receives it?

That's a great post palmcut. I love getting an insight to someone else's job - you only ever get a glimpse of how complicated it is from the outside.

strandroad

I believe that it just depends on how a pharmacy is organised. Some are dreadful.

I have a repeat prescription for a topical skin treatment, it's a brand product, no need to make anything, no dosage, just hand it over. I never had to wait to get it until I moved and went to a local pharmacy. They are lovely and they know people by their names but by god do they take their time. The first time I was made wait 20 minutes; I thought they had an emergency or something so oh well. As I stupidly left my prescription with them I had to go there several more times and they made me wait every single time! Of course with the next prescription I went elsewhere and guess what, no wait.

Obviously I won't be using them again - why would they think it's okay to make a customer wait 20 minutes for something simple you have on the shelf? From the local context I can take a guess that they are used to OAPs who may have a whole day for their trip to the pharmacy but I really don't...

Water John

MHGE, you might also browse and buy some thing else in your waiting time.
The 1/4M clear profit has to be made up some way. You must contribute as much as you can.

blueser

Do what I do; drop in my prescription one evening, pick it up the next. Simple, problem sorted. No need to thank me. Glad to be of service.

FrStone

palmcut wrote: »

2.. Is the prescribed medication suitable for that patient?
If the prescription is for a Penicillin antibiotic; is the patient allergic to Penicillin?
Sometimes a patient will see a locum doctor or a weekend doctor. These doctors might not be fully aware of the patient’s medical history or aware of the patient’s medication. Sometimes when a patient may not remember their own medication. For example a patient on heart medication should not be prescribed Domperidone (Motilium).

3. Is the dosage of the prescribed medication correct?
For example; inadvertently the prescribing doctor may have prescribed a child’s dose for an adult.

4.. Is there an interaction between the prescribed medication or with any other medication that the patient is on?
For example a patient prescribed a Potassium sparing diuretic should not also be on a Potassium supplement.
Another example; a patient on Warfarin should not be prescribed oral Miconazole. (the combination caused a death in Ireland two years ago)
Patients on Statins (anti-choloesterol) should temporarily go off the Statins if they are prescribed an anti-biotic called Clarithromycin.

How do ye know what each patient is on? I get a different prescription for each drug, and I don't go to the same pharmacy each time?

Anita Blow

FrStone wrote: »

How do ye know what each patient is on? I get a different prescription for each drug, and I don't go to the same pharmacy each time?

As far as I know, if the drug you're being prescribed has an interactions they will contact your GP and ask for any relevant medical history

Jellybaby1

My GP's handwriting is atrocious. When I collapsed in pain a couple of years ago I remembered to bring a handwritten note by the GP with me to the Emergency Department thinking it might be of some help, doubled up in agony I gave the nurse his note. She just threw it back at me saying 'I can't read that'. He wasted his, mine, and the nurse's time with the scrawl he gave me. Anyway his surgery is now updated with two receptionists and computers. His typing skills are woeful and slow but at least my prescriptions are now printed out. My pharmacist is brilliant but they do get very busy so I wouldn't rush them unless it was an emergency.

andekwarhola

Because they're solely responsible for dispensing medicine as opposed to sweets?

Anita Blow

Just on the doctor's handwriting- hospital staff (and I'm sure GPs) have very little time to write our notes. Often you have an intern SHO writing the notes while standing by the bedside with nothing to lean on while the consultant is leading rounds. This is why notes look scrawled.

gctest50

Water John wrote: »

MHGE, you might also browse and buy some thing else in your waiting time.
........

If someone was very fidgety / impatient they might spot it and suss you've developed a bit of a codeine addiction or something

http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/codeine-addiction-advice-1858873-Jan2015/

you'd be glad they picked it up before your kidneys fell out yer ass

.

Nonoperational

Depends on the circumstances. They could have had a few long prescriptions dropped in before you handed in yours. Generally if it's quiet you should have the antibiotic in under 5 minutes.

xabi

My local pharmacy gave me pills one time that were double the prescribed dose, so much for the checks they are supposed to do. I was half way through them when I realised.

strandroad

andekwarhola wrote: »

Because they're solely responsible for dispensing medicine as opposed to sweets?

How is it done in other countries though, I lived abroad and I don't remember ever having to wait unless it was something that needed to be mixed from scratch. They seemed to rely on the prescription, and only if there was something wrong with the way prescription was written (more often printed) it would stop the process. Are people dropping like flies over there or what... You wouldn't have this chain of people that seems to be the thing here either, no wonder prescriptions are so eye wateringly expensive if they are handled by so many people for so long.
Is this system unique? Is it the same in the UK for example, or Spain?

Salt001

xabi wrote: »

My local pharmacy gave me pills one time that were double the prescribed dose, so much for the checks they are supposed to do. I was half way through them when I realised.

HAPPY DAYS

Anita Blow

mhge wrote: »

How is it done in other countries though, I lived abroad and I don't remember ever having to wait unless it was something that needed to be mixed from scratch. They seemed to rely on the prescription, and only if there was something wrong with the way prescription was written (more often printed) it would stop the process. Are people dropping like flies over there or what... You wouldn't have this chain of people that seems to be the thing here either, no wonder prescriptions are so eye wateringly expensive if they are handled by so many people for so long.
Is this system unique? Is it the same in the UK for example, or Spain?

It's the same in the UK because we have roughly the same system as them in terms of prescription drugs/OTC and dispensing law. Spain probably seems quicker because more of their drugs are OTC as opposed to being prescription-only.

screamer

I find the wait times in pharmacies are longer and longer as they flap about. I think prescriptions are triple checked. I worked in a hospital pharmacy before and it's not rocket science. I think pharmacists make a meal of it TBH even OTC meds they grill you with questions. Just wasting your time and being OTT. But I suppose that justifies their ridiculous costs......