Kids in the pharmacy

Who here hates kids in their store?
You all know the type. The mother walks them in, proceeds to turn right around and shop and completely ignore them. Its like the pharmacy is their little playground. The kid is either:

• Screaming his head off because his mom wont buy him a candy bar
  • Tearing the shit off of my shelves onto the floor
    • Building a fort with the OTC cold boxes
      • All of the above
        Whats best of all, the mother just ignores them!
        It takes an act of God to keep me from walking over to the mother, giving her a whole hearted bitchslap across the face, and kick the kid in the ass so hard he does a faceplant.
        Now i’m not anti-child. There are some very well behaved children that sit patiently until their prescription is ready, then politely get a candy bar (which their mother buys for them for being good), and walks out. I love those children, and on more than one occation i’ve even let them choose a candy for free just because of how well behaved they are. Good behavior needs to be rewarded.
        Now this isnt a racial dig, just my experience, but Hispanic male children seem to be the worst of them all. I dont know if its a cultural thing, or the mother just doesnt care, but 9 out of 10 hispanic male children are totally out of control. A hispanic woman told me that its really their culture to allow the males to do what they want, because they are “keeper of the name” or “man of the family” blah blah blah.. They can do that all they want at home, but in MY store they need to play by MY rules.
        I’ve actually yelled at the mother and the children before. The mother sorta gets embarassed (even though she had no idea what I was saying) and the child just sorta looked at me. Whats great is when the Father is there, and it suddenly becomes a pissing match between myself and him. I politely tell him that if he wants his prescriptions filled, his child would either have to stand outside, or settle down. After some grumbling they usually comply or they get their Rx’s wadded up and thrown at them.
        What also bugs me are moribly obese kids. You know, the ones that cant even see their toes at age 5. They run in the pharmacy to the candy section, and whine at their mother until they buy half the damn rack. They then sit their plump ass down in a chair and proceeds to make a choclate mess all over everything as they consume the candy bar as fast as their little fat fingers can shove it in their mouth… Someone in this whole relationship needs to grow some balls, and when the child pitches a fit about not getting any candy, 5-across-the-eyes does wonders.
        If these mothers wish for me to watch over their kids, then its my rules the’ll have to play by.

Comments #

Comment by Sonicrx on 2006-07-01 05:45:22 -0700 #

My favorite is when the moms (who are children themselves) drag their infants/toddlers in at 3AM to hang out in the store for no apparent reason. The mom primps while looking at the latest hairstyles on the magazine rack while the child runs rampant throughout the store wreaking havoc. At O’dark-thirty, these kids need to be in bed…

Comment by patrice brown on 2006-07-01 06:00:55 -0700 #

i am a pharm. tech student who will soon be heading back to get my pharm.d i have already seen all the things you are talking about in stores or hospital volunteer and iternship work.
i introduced your blog to my tech. class and even the teacher loves it. everyone it seems has a story to tell about how people will wait and hour and a half for a pizza but come through the drive through 5 minutes before closing and want their coreg script filled now.
we love your outspokeness and hope it continues. if you ever write a book i will be first in line to buy it.

Comment by iwonderwhyichosethis on 2006-07-05 16:09:45 -0700 #

yeah, we have those children come in the pharmacy all day long. Once, there was this kid that was so bad, the mom actually asked ME to discipline the child!!! But what sucks even worse than all of this is: we actually have to sell candy. There is nothing more degrading to my doctorate in pharmacy degree than having to ring someone up for a candy bar. And i just love it when I am trying to counsel a patient on their meds and someone comes up behind the patient waving money for a soda. UGH!

Comment by random CPhT on 2006-07-06 19:37:35 -0700 #

“What also bugs me are moribly obese kids.”
Who says Ritalin and Adderall are over-prescribed?

Comment by Mike Guzzo on 2006-07-10 12:27:09 -0700 #

I LOVE your blog and I’m linking it to mine.
You’re doing a great job. Keep up the good work. I’m sure other pharmacists are finding it hilarious.

Comment by Chris on 2006-08-08 15:19:21 -0700 #

I have been concerned about the fact that hospitals, doctors and pharmacists (apparently) only get a percentage of their billed amount paid by the insurance companies. This encourages the healthcare industry to overcharge for everything, which in turn allows the insurance companies to raise their rates to keep their profits in the billions of dollars a year range. This scam has spiraled out of control and the people who need but can’t afford healthcare suffer the most. This payment percentage seems to range from 10% to 80% of the amount billed from what I have learned.
To make matters worse on the patient side of things there is the milking of the system where people go to the doctor or emergency room when they really didn’t need to in the first place or take antibiotics for every common cold they get and become weaker and weaker as time goes by. They don’t have to worry, the insurance company will pay the bill, so why not go.
You stated in an entry you are only being reimbursed for a small percentage of your cost of one particular drug and the insurance company weakly tried to defend the practice saying you were overpaid for other drugs. Is this true? At the end of the year how does this all add up? Are you always operating in the red when dealing with the insurance companies or does it actually work out in the end?
An idea I would like to propose is to offer a “real” discount to those who pay up front. Not 10% that only covers sales tax but a percentage based on what you would get from an insurance company plus a percentage to give you some profit. Say the drug lists for $100 and the insurance company on average is only going to give you $50 then charge the customer $70 if they pay up front. The benefits to you are that you don’t have to worry if you are going to be paid. You save a ton on office work and headache. You get paid what you want rather than what the insurance companies feel like paying you. You save the patient money. And maybe most importantly you help fight against a corrupted system. Seems like a win win situation for everyone except the insurance companies. Doctors, hospitals and clinics should follow suit as well. If this was practiced in enough areas maybe people would stop carrying the all inclusive coverage that has become almost unaffordable and pay for their medical expenses out of pocket with the money they save on insurance. They could still carry catastrophic insurance to cover the big stuff and after a while maybe insurance companies would get the idea that they can’t keep raping everyone for ever and the system would readjust.
What do you think?

Comment by Mark on 2006-08-18 16:42:24 -0700 #

Dude, you are one funny motherfucker! you need to keep writing cause it makes my day reading your rants! fuckin priceless material only pharmacists can understand!

Comment by Rick Crocker on 2006-08-19 15:17:47 -0700 #

I’m a pharmacist and I’d like to say I despise pharmacists (other than myself of course).
You could see all this crap coming back in 1991. Pharmacists willingly handed control of their profession over to the scum of the earth when they started accepting payments directly from insurance companies rather than cash from the customer.
It’s the old “frog in the water” syndrome. I knew they would slowly tighten the screws over the years …… I knew that would be their modis operandi.
I wanted to nip this shit in the bud. I used to talk to my fellow pharmacists by going to association meetings and when I was making an Rx transfer.
Nobody wanted to listen when I tried to warn them of what was to come. I recommended forming a guild. I recommended a sick-out. When the public couldn’t get their prescriptions filled, they would want to know why and the public debate would have come out.
But noooooo .. ! The females who worked for the chains basically told me that as long as they were getting a check they didn’t give a damn about the profession.
The independents were willing to shut down for a week because they might lose a few dollars.
Well guess what? Back then, it would have costs pharmacists a couple of weeks pay to have stopped this thing …… now its costing them hundreds of millions in reduced profits.
Pharmacists are selfish cowardly little weasels who show no comaraderie and will stab their fellow pharmacists in the back for a buck.
They do not act like professionals, so they are not treated like professionals.
When I first went into pharmacy, I couldn’t believe when people would come in and say so-and so at so-and-so pharmacy told me he would fill my prescription for a dollar less than you (or maybe two dollars) and expect me to meet the price.
What kind of so called professionals play this kind of game and sell their souls for a few bucks. They disgust me.
Can you imagine dentists or doctors acting like this ……. hell no, they’re not going to willingly demean themselves.
Or how about going to Target and telling the manager that you can buy this item for a dollar less at Kmart? You know what he’d say!
By not standing up to the insurance companies 15 years ago, they sabotaged their future and show themselves to the insurance companies to be cowards.
The insurance companies are simply bullies like you knew in school. They will keep pushing you harder until you push back.
Pharmacists have played the whore and now they are reaping the consequences. They have sown the wind and now they are reaping the whirl-wind.
Now, as an aside, I can only say that anybody who voted for George Bush is getting what they deserve.
The Republican party serves the interests of the mega-rich. We now live in a corporocracy …… not a democracy.
The Medicare D program was designed with insurance company and pharmaceutical company imput (well, duh, could that be because they are two of the richest industries in the country ?). It was designed by them to maximize their profits at the expense of everyone else. I didn’t notice the Bush administration inviting any working class or professional folk like pharmacists to be involved (but then they don’t have enough money to buy votes and special consideration).
The very fact that the program was not allowed to negotiate drug prices when every other country in the world and the VA at home does, shows you whose interests this plan serves.
Pharmacists will lick anybody ass and balls for $4.00 (they used to do it for 15 or 20 but the reinbursement rates have rightfully so been cut).
I can hear the insurance companies now …… “these assholes will put up with any kind of shit and anything you throw at them”.
Pharmacists should open their counseling rooms to giving blowjobs ……. they could make more money that way than taking it in the ass from unknown strangers called 3rd parties.

Comment by LonelyMaxx on 2006-12-10 13:46:39 -0800 #

Hello. Prompt how to get acquainted with the girl it to me to like. But does not know about it
I have read through one history
Each of you has your personal story; it is your history. Keeping a diary or writing your feelings in a special notebook is a wonderful way to learn how to think and write about who you are — to develop your own identity and voice.
People of all ages are able to do this. Your own history is special because of your circumstances: your cultural, racial, religious or ethnic background. Your story is also part of human history, a part of the story of the dignity and worth of all human beings. By putting opinions and thoughts into words, you, too, can give voice to your inner self and strivings.
A long entry by Anne Frank on April 5, 1944, written after more than a year and a half of hiding from the Nazis, describes the range of emotions 14-year-old Anne is experiencing:
“. . . but the moment I was alone I knew I was going to cry my eyes out. I slid to the floor in my nightgown and began by saying my prayers, very fervently. Then I drew my knees to my chest, lay my head on my arms and cried, all huddled up on the bare floor. A loud sob brought me back down to earth, and I choked back my tears, since I didn’t want anyone next door to hear me . . .
“And now it’s really over. I finally realized that I must do my school work to keep from being ignorant, to get on in life, to become a journalist, because that’s what I want! I know I can write. A few of my stories are good, my descriptions of the Secret Annex are humorous, much of my diary is vivid and alive, but . . . it remains to be seen whether I really have talent . . .
“When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, because writing allows me to record everything, all my thoughts, ideals and fantasies.
“I haven’t worked on Cady’s Life for ages. In my mind I’ve worked out exactly what happens next, but the story doesn’t seem to be coming along very well. I might never finish it, and it’ll wind up in the wastepaper basket or the stove. That’s a horrible thought, but then I say to myself, “At the age of 14 and with so little experience, you can’t write about philosophy.’ So onward and upward, with renewed spirits. It’ll all work out, because I’m determined to write! Yours, Anne M. Frank
For those of you interested in reading some of Anne Frank’s first stories and essays, including a version of Cady’s Life, see Tales From the Secret Annex (Doubleday, 1996). Next: Reviewing and revising your writing

Comment by TomTom on 2006-12-17 20:44:19 -0800 #

listen here you fucking dush bag fuck you! It’s more of the white children who make a scene when there mother doesn’t purchase an item;when ever little “Johnny” throws a fit and her white ass replies by saying nothing, so get your shit straight