Medicare Part D – 1 year later

If you’re a pharmacist, and reading this, you’re probably drunk (or hung over). I just had about 5 shots and a bottle of wine with a dentist friend of mine, so this might not make too much sense (im pretty hammered). But you’ll understand why (if you’re not a pharmacist) if you read this entry.
Needless to say, today was chaos, hell, and a bit of clusterfuck all rolled into one. Words cannot describe it. All I can say is that if you were working in pharmacy 1 year ago (when Medicare part D shit hit the fan) it was like Deja Vu.
Prescription Solutions was down for a good majority of the day. In fact, it was down the entire day. I must of gotten less than 50 prescriptions transmitted through them, and god only knows how big my switching bill is going to be from all the failed transactions and retransmissions that I did today. I got error messages from ‘Server Busy’ to ‘Non Contracted Pharmacy’ to ‘Please process with 2007 card if in 2007, 2006 card if claim is in 2006’ to getting paid.
To make matters worse, some Medicare Part D programs decided it would be a good idea to issue 2007 cards that have a different ID number than the current 2006 cards. Way to go! Lets really drive the pharmacists crazy!
This combined with the 1+ hour wait time on hold makes for a really really drunk pharmacist.
Seriously, the PBM seriously need to get their shit together. I mean lets take Prescriptions Solutions (RxSoln) for an example. As of 1/1/07 they took over processing for the AARP Medicare Part D program. Common sense would tell you; “Hey! As of the first we’re going to have a fuckload more traffic! Lets put more servers in place, and hire more staff, etc to take the increased load!”. Did they do this? FUCK NO! So as a result they were down all fucking day. They must of learned from Argus how to be a shitty PBM. So in my drunken haze, I have written them a letter:
Dear Prescription Solutions,
This is The Angry Pharmacist. Most of my patients use you for their Rx Processing. Unfortunately today (since your systems were offline) they could not get their medications. As your CEO’s are sleeping soundly in their beds, most of your customers are in the ER without medication because of your lack of server scaling and planning for the increased load of the AARP customers you took over (like hell i’m giving them any medication, you’ve fucked us over last year on the first, what makes us think you’re not going to fuck us over this year on the first). I hope you sleep well knowing that you have just fucked over a good majority of patients, and pissed off a ton of pharmacists who took the brunt of your ignorance and lack of planning. The same pharmacists who are going to suggest that their patients move off of plans administered by you and your shitfuck cronies. But of course you are making record high profits, so obviously you dont need our business to afford your sailboat, RV and your house in Maui. I pray that your own family does not use your processing company for their prescriptions.
Love,
The Angry Pharmacist
PS: Fix your fucking shit.
Oh, and if you havent already; Drop Humana. Seriously, they pay cost + 1.50 for all of their prescriptions. If you work for a corpo-chain, talk to your district manager about it. If we keep on accepting shitty plans, the other PBM’s are just going to walk all over us.
Im too drunk to type any more. I hope you all have a good first week of the new year; and remember, when slitting your wrists its ‘down the road not across the street’ (and if you do it under hot water, you wont feel it) 🙂
I <3 scotch. Mad props to my homies in Ohio. You read this blog, you know who you are.

Comments #

Comment by Bench on 2007-01-03 10:38:12 -0800 #

Joy.
They are still down on day 2. Try calling them. Haahaaahaaaaa! Like a human will answer. They planned far enough ahead to put a bunch of drones in place to answer the phones. Fuckers.
We are now telling people to go to the ER. Why should we be the only ones being pissed off ? Let’s share the fun with the hospital staff too.
And after you get back from the ER, if you are lucky, call your HR person or insurance agent. Piss them off to. Hell, call the newspapers, your State Reps, Congress, and the Governor’s office, also. Lets get everyone in on the joy.
Just to make things worse, our state run freebies are offering an additional bazillion drugs on their plan this year. I thought the goal was to get people OFF welfare, not give them more free choices to get hooked on/deal. Shitheads.

Comment by madatlpharmd on 2007-01-03 15:52:28 -0800 #

where are all of the pharmacists’ lobbyists????

Comment by Jory on 2007-01-03 17:25:59 -0800 #

I’m still pissed off at Humana for last years 2 hour waits. I tried to get info on a patients new ins card from UHC and was given 8, yes 8 different numbers to call. Still haven’t gotten a damned thing yet.
and for whatever reason our E2 screen doesn’t work for shit here. And some of the papers people have brought in don’t even have ids on them, just saying blah blah blah u’re accepted, blah blah blah. and when you have nursing home patients, you can’t fuck around with that stuff, u have to do it and do it now. luckily i’ve learned a few tricks with some of the switcheovers so its not as bad

Comment by R&K on 2007-01-03 18:35:29 -0800 #

Ahh, my thoughts EXACTLY. And of course all of us that were trying to run stuff thru all day tried again today and NOTHING! You think if you pick up somewhere in the ballpark of 30-40% of the Medicare Population you might get a BIT busier. I talked to POS solutions they had over 1200 calls in their phone system, and the woman on the phone was pissed that I kept asking stupid questions (she keeps me on hold for a half hour, I am going to get my money’s worth!)
I gave one patient enough to get them to tomorrow, and when she was pissed that she had to come back and I would not just give her all of it, I informed her to call her insurance company when she gets home this afternoon and complain to them. She later called me to send her condolences as she was on hold for close to an hour. She did not complain when she came in today 🙂
Now I will send her to your blog LOL

Comment by psychotic rph on 2007-01-03 22:27:05 -0800 #

It would be interesting to see some numbers from 1/2/07. I filled 415 rxs…1 rph in 12 hr shift (actually put in 15 hrs though to catch everything up). Only ate 1/2 sandwich and pissed twice during that hellish shift. Is my chain the worst? Lets hear how many stinkin rxs everyone put out.

Comment by rxsux on 2007-01-04 09:38:26 -0800 #

It was a horrible day for rph’s everywhere. PA Medicaid was down, leaving many from the ER without their Vicodin, very sad day indeed. Between all the beer I drink, and all of the cortisol flowing through my body I am now not only disgruntled, but a bloated, fat, and sad pharmacy whore. Not a pretty picture. No pain under the hot water eh? Thanks for the tip, to bad I’m too tired. Maybe tommorow. Good luck out there everyone-just when you think it can’t get any worse some motherfucker will come up with something else to ruin your day like $4 generics or somesuch nonsense to really fuck with your already weak psyche. FUCK ME HARD

Comment by Rena on 2007-01-09 15:11:18 -0800 #

I am dying laughing..thanks for the laughs. I have been a pharmacy technician for over 11 yrs so know what you are going through. People don’t realize that its like a battlezone mentally behind the pharmacy counter…each day you dream of driving off a bridge after work and hoping that you don’t get rescued. Also, you dream of smashing equipment when stressed out. If only our jobs would just consist of “putting pills in a bottle” like everyone thinks!!!!

Comment by Jerri Lynn Ward on 2007-01-19 15:34:53 -0800 #

I’m doing a presentation on Medicare Part D next Monday for pharmacists. Besides using some clips from Saturday Night Live, Monty Python and I Love Lucy, I will be reading some quotes from your website and giving you attribution.
After all, a program as wonderful as Medicare Part D deserves no less. 🙂

Comment by Jerri Lynn Ward, J.D. on 2007-01-25 17:47:03 -0800 #

I read parts of your blog during my presentation, as promised. The crowd roared with laughter and could relate. Maybe you will get some more readers.
I love your blog! AND, the new look.

Comment by Robert Montgomery on 2007-03-18 14:48:31 -0700 #

This shit would be funny if it were not sad.Try being a humana agent on Jan.1 2006 and watching all your customers doing the dying cockroach in a Wal-Mart parking lot because thir card does’nt work.