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Here we go again…

·3107 words·15 mins

I posted the below comment on Dr. Dino’s blog. You can choose to
publish it or silently agree:
“Good on you Dino! Pharmacists are glorified cashiers that get a sense
of satisfaction because they feel they are ‘saving lives’ from poorly
or ineptly written scripts from MDs.
P L E A S E pharmacists, stop using this bullshit excuse that you are
saving lives!!!
YOU COUNT PILLS!!!! PERIOD!!!!
Keep on Dr. Dino. Remember, your work and status as a physician is
respected; pharmacists have cashier-level status and zero respect. (as
it should be)”

You know, you’re right. We dont save lives. When that GP writes an Rx for Viagra when his cardiologist has him on Isordil we aren’t in fact saving his life. Drug interactions are just a “made up” thing by the drug companies to sell more of the same type of drug. Glad you decided to blow the whistle, I was actually having a hard time hiding the fact that I just stand there and drink coffee while counting by 5’s all day.
I bet you think that nurses are just glorified janitors who clean up shit and piss for a living. Nurses don’t save lives either. Hell, I dont even know doctors who save lives because when lives are truly in danger people just take a ride to the local hospital.
I hope that you never have to rely on us lowly pharmacists to serve someone as smart and obviously well informed as yourself.
Obviously the person who left this comment was pissed off that he/she couldn’t get a refill of Vicodin ES 3-weeks early by the evil mean cashier pharmacist.

Comments #

Comment by CKay on 2008-06-19 15:32:10 -0700 #

Gee, I called a doctor today because the nurse called in dicyclomine 100mg po tid. Did I save a life or not?
Kay

Comment by rphwgreatrack on 2008-06-19 15:35:15 -0700 #

How often do we hear this canned recording from the doctor’s office:
“Hi, you’ve reached Dr. Dino’s office. To make a routine appointment ($$$!), dial 1. If you are a doctor calling (about drug mfr sponsored dinners and cruise trips), please dial 2. To reach the billing department (more $$$!!!), dial 3. If this is a medical emergency (f*ck off), please hang up and dial 911.”
Ergo, 911 saves lives. Doctors make and save money by screening out emergencies.

Comment by Steph on 2008-06-19 16:56:09 -0700 #

Me, I’ve been called a “pill jockey” by a patient who complained that I wouldn’t fill 10 Darvocet a day plus 6 to 8 Vicodin a day. The poor guy just fell hook, line, and sinker for my inquiry into how many tablets per day he took, which he apparently believed would justify the timing of his refills. It’s possible he embellished the number of tabs per day, then, so I wouldn’t get all suspicious. When I refused to fill the Rx’s that I was certain he was diverting, he fired off a letter to my boss and our administration, requesting that they remind me that my job was to just count the pills and hand them over. Period. Pronto. Well, I didn’t save his life, but maybe a lawsuit. MAYBE his liver. Why don’t they just put the candy in vending machines if all we do is count it? Some docs will just write for anything, anyway, right?

Comment by Christine on 2008-06-20 20:01:00 -0700 #

Who does a doctor call when he has no clue how to dose a drug? Pharmacist.
Who do nurses call when we have no clue on IV compatibility? Pharmacist.
Pharmacists not only save lives, but doctors and nurses asses as well.

Comment by 4th yr pharm student on 2008-06-20 20:59:51 -0700 #

I don’t know if you have seen this, but this is a copy of the AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Resolution: 303
(A-08)
Introduced by: Illinois Delegation
Subject: Protection of the Titles “Doctor,” “Resident” and “Residency”
Whereas, Certain specialty societies recognize that many allied health care professions have improved their educational standards and incorporated doctorate designations in their training programs; and
Whereas, Many nursing schools have re-titled their training program as a Residency and their students as Residents, despite the traditional attribution of these titles to medical doctors and their training programs; and
Whereas, The growing trend of this title encroachment is of concern because patients will be confused when the titles of Doctor, Resident and Residency are applied to non-physicians who hold non-medical doctorates or to non-physicians in training; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association adopt that the title

Comment by nodrugs4u on 2008-06-22 00:13:57 -0700 #

Regarding the AMA resolution:
Seems a bit petty, but then again, so are some of our colleague out there who insist on being called “doctor.” as if that title bestow upon them power and confidence they otherwise would not have. Anyway, I wonder if APhA, ASHP, and rest of the alphabet soups are going to band together and fight this. This is such a slap on the face (or as I see it, a dose of reality) of those who convinced themselves that they work side by side with md’s as equals in providing healthcare. Well, to those people, WAKE UP!

Comment by chemoqueenrph on 2008-06-22 20:08:58 -0700 #

Oh, whew!! I’m so glad I am absolved of any responsibility for when a doc prescribes a 10-fold overdose for that little kid at the counter. My job is to just count out the pills!!
If doc prescribes 19 mg when said pill comes in 20 mg increments? I’ll just shave a little bit off the edge of each 20 mg pill and send the patient on his way! After all, I can’t bother the allmighty doctor with this silly nonsense. I am just supposed to count out 30 of those 19 mg pills. Do you think he was thinking of another drug altogether?? Who gives a fuck! All I am supposed to do is count out the pills. Those pesky doctors & nurses from other practices keep calling me and asking me how to dose this, and what to recommend for Mrs. Smith who is allergic to PCN. I don’t know. Go look in your PDR!! I’m just here to count pills. 5…10….15….20
Dammmit!!! Mr Jones doesn’t know how to use that inhaler & he’s asking me to explain it. How the fuck do I know Mr Jones??? Call your doctor’s office. I’m only supposed to count pills!!
5…10….15….20 Geez this is easy!!

Comment by dorkyrph on 2008-06-23 04:25:24 -0700 #

I work in a small country hospital, not far from a major city. The pharmacists here make a LOT of “executive decisions” about meds based on patient history/previous admits, the MD’s prescribing habits, fomulary subs, rational doses, etc. I know the MDs appreciate us fixing shit and not waking them up at 3:00am. But the hospital staff still treats the MDs like GODS, even when it means sweeping a major fuckup under the rug or diverting the blame to an RN or RPh and hanging US out to dry.
So the other night a patient comes into the ED presenting with a bilateral pulmonary embolism; a “saddle” embolus – bad news. Dr .Lord God King Shit, MD, pulmonologist calls ahead on his cell and asks the ED to call me (nope, call PHARMACY, because apparently that’s my name) and see if we have 200 mg of t-PA. I say “Sure, no problem, but you want 200 mg for one patient?” Response: THAT’S WHAT DR. SHIT SAID!”
Now, I’m no pulmonologist (sure don’t get paid like one, either), but I do know a little something about t-PA. Like the maximum dose is 100 mg (because doses above 100 mg increase the risk of a slight problem called INTRACRANIAL BLEEDING). But who is the stupid pill counter to argue with Dr. Shit? Hell, maybe it’s some new data published in a hardcore lung journal, I don’t know.
So Dr. Shit arrives in the ED, they call again to get the ball rolling on the t-PA, I check one more time “Are you sure you want 200 mg?” and why I have a problem with that. So they ask him, and I hear him in the background, obviously irritated, say YES I WANT 200 MG.
So I get under the laminar-flow hood and, using aseptic technique, start preparing the t-PA (and all you thought I could do was count.) . When I’m finished, I look at the order they sent, and Dr. Shit has crossed out 200 mg and now wants 100 mg!! The dumbshit pharmacist was right. I guess I made him double-check.
When I get to the ED, I lose it. Dr. Shit is sitting there writing orders but won’t look up at me. Pussy. Now I have to waste ~$3000 worth of t-PA. The RN says Dr. Shit is sorry about that, but of course he doesn’t have the nuts to look up and talk to me. Christ. I wish we could bill HIM.
So nope, I didn’t save a life, didn’t prevent an iatrogenic (yes, us retards learn big weird words in school too) catastrophe or anything, riiight. I shudder to think what might have happened had the patient received 200 mg of alteplase. And the ED wants to carry the shit on floor stock, HAHAHAHAAAAAH!! These are the prople who call to see if Mylicon comes in an IV formulation……………

Comment by kmsmaverick on 2008-06-23 08:09:38 -0700 #

And the dumb doctor who sent the patient home with discharge papers indicating 0.125 digoxin and a script with 0.25 digoxin. Blessedly the Patient called the pharmacist to tear them a new asshole, but there was the hard copy clearly written for 0.25. The MD certainly did well by that patient.

Comment by Steph on 2008-06-23 17:23:58 -0700 #

Wait, Dorky. You sure it’s not 100mg PER LUNG!?
gaaahahahah! (Bets on whether this is what he thought?)

Comment by Matt on 2008-06-23 18:19:55 -0700 #

Obviously you shouldnt be called doctor because you arent a doctor. If you were, you would be able to locate the point where the AMA’s mouth starts and their anus ends. And you would have to go to school for another 6 years to figure that one out.
Seriously, I would never expect people to call me doctor, but how would that compromise patient care? If you stay in your realm of practice, you are probably just as qualified as an MD (if not more) to give that advice anyway.

Comment by Jen on 2008-07-09 20:59:19 -0700 #

“Christine said:
Who does a doctor call when he has no clue how to dose a drug? Pharmacist.
Who do nurses call when we have no clue on IV compatibility? Pharmacist.
Pharmacists not only save lives, but doctors and nurses asses as well.”
Wrong. Wrong. And, shock and horror….WRONG again.
You are living in la-la land honey.
Whomever this “Dr. Dino” is, is totally right and i am sure it irk’s you all to the core. But if the pretend labcoat fits.
I will give you one thing, ya’ll are good at making stickers that don’t peel off easily.

Comment by dorkyrph on 2008-07-10 10:52:28 -0700 #

Jen said:
Wrong. Wrong. And, shock and horror….WRONG again.
You are living in la-la land honey.
Whomever this “Dr. Dino” is, is totally right and i am sure it irk’s you all to the core. But if the pretend labcoat fits.
I will give you one thing, ya’ll are good at making stickers that don’t peel off easily.
———————————————–
God, what an idiot. Do you spend a lot of time peeling off prescription labels, HONEY? There’s a reason why they don’t peel off easily. Like when you take a handful of Coumadin thinking it was your Percocet, and then blame me because you end up in the hospital.
Yep, it “irk’s” me very much that people fling insults when they can’t even write. Irk’s, indeed, LOL…

Comment by dorkyrph on 2008-07-10 12:06:32 -0700 #

Jen said:
Wrong. Wrong. And, shock and horror….WRONG again.
You are living in la-la land honey.
Whomever this “Dr. Dino” is, is totally right and i am sure it irk’s you all to the core. But if the pretend labcoat fits.
I will give you one thing, ya’ll are good at making stickers that don’t peel off easily.
——————————————–
Well, my pretend labcoat is very handy. With the big pockets and all, it’s very useful for me to carry my pretend calculator, my pretend cordless phone, and my pretend pharmaceuticals around the hospital when my FREAKING HANDS ARE ALREADY FULL with all the other crap I need to do my job.
Get a clue before opening your ignorant mouth. Sheesh, some people.

Comment by Jen on 2008-07-11 11:38:59 -0700 #

dorkyrph…take your own advice.
I would bet anything that you’re all mostly a bunch of vile-filled venomous wanna-be doctors who are pissed off because you couldn’t make the cut in the REAL medical profession, so had to take the meager job of counting pills and sadly even that has gone to your head(s).
I read another post on another entry that said all of you who are so gung ho to spit venom should post your REAL NAMES and which pharmacy you work for. A lot of of you would lose your license. Which is obviously why you hide behind a screen whining about unruly patients. You’re pathetic and so are your brothers and sisters in erm, arms.
Pharmacists indeed.

Comment by dorkyrph on 2008-07-11 15:02:03 -0700 #

Jen said:
dorkyrph…take your own advice.
I would bet anything that you’re all mostly a bunch of vile-filled venomous wanna-be doctors who are pissed off because you couldn’t make the cut in the REAL medical profession, so had to take the meager job of counting pills and sadly even that has gone to your head(s).
I read another post on another entry that said all of you who are so gung ho to spit venom should post your REAL NAMES and which pharmacy you work for. A lot of of you would lose your license. Which is obviously why you hide behind a screen whining about unruly patients. You’re pathetic and so are your brothers and sisters in erm, arms.
Pharmacists indeed.
————————————-
Venom? Hmmm.
Fine, no problem. Just remember, if you want your Dilaudid and Xanax for the weekend nod party, you still have to come through me. Whether or not you do, someone else will. Makes no difference to me. And I’ll still be making $100k + per year. Ha ha ha……

Comment by dorkyrph on 2008-07-12 10:20:11 -0700 #

Jen said:
dorkyrph…take your own advice.
I would bet anything that you’re all mostly a bunch of vile-filled venomous wanna-be doctors who are pissed off because you couldn’t make the cut in the REAL medical profession, so had to take the meager job of counting pills and sadly even that has gone to your head(s).
I read another post on another entry that said all of you who are so gung ho to spit venom should post your REAL NAMES and which pharmacy you work for. A lot of of you would lose your license. Which is obviously why you hide behind a screen whining about unruly patients. You’re pathetic and so are your brothers and sisters in erm, arms.
Pharmacists indeed.
—————————————–
BTW, if you think we’re such worthless pieces of pond scum, you sure spend a lot of time ragging about it here. Could it be YOU had some “issues” getting into pharmacy school?
If I thought you had the slightest idea what we do or what training is involved – or the slightest comprehension of the English language – which I do NOT – I might be inclined to take you seriously. Folks like you are exactly the people I’d be more than happy to send down the road to a competitor.
dorky has no further comment on this matter.

Comment by Google Account on 2008-07-14 23:38:43 -0700 #

Last month I had a temp of 103 and apparently didn’t communicate very well with my doctor because he prescribed Zithromax. I have had a very severe allergic reaction to erythromycin. Apparently the two are chemically very similar. The allergy is posted on the front of my chart and I may or may not have reminded the doc — temp of 103, I’m not capable of taking any personal responsibility.
Pharmacy tech asked me about allergies when I went to pick up said prescription. She then declined to hand it over until she’d consulted the pharmacist, who called the physician and eventually handed over a totally different antibiotic.
Life saved? Maybe. Maybe not. I’d rather not find out, all things considered.

Comment by lisa on 2008-07-15 21:42:16 -0700 #

Well I would just like to say that I believe pharmacists do catch some major mistakes. And some they don’t. Who can read doctor’s writing half the time anyway? I know there are some that write very nice, and we thank you for that, but most are quite hard to read by the end of the day.
My question is, to those doctors who think that pharmacists and their team do nothing but count pills… if it’s so easy then why the hell don’t you do it in your office instead of passing it off to someone else? I mean, how long does it take?
I find that doctors may know a lot of stuff but they don’t know much about how the health system works. I get this a lot… “but my doctor said it was on the drug plan” or “my doctor applied for it to be on the drug plan” being from Saskatchewan it doesn’t matter if the drug is now on the drug plan if you haven’t applied to have a lower deductible!
I’m not here to bash either side, because as naive as it may seem, I believe that we all should be working together as a TEAM to help the patient. The pharmacist is just the last person that the patient sees and the last one to catch any mistakes that otherwise might go on to cause problems. And also, in my experience, at least where I live, the one who is willing to take a little bit more time with the patient to make sure they are getting the care that they need.

Comment by Mary Yap RN on 2008-08-04 13:32:26 -0700 #

I am a Registered Nurse for a teaching hospital in NJ. Pharmacists are essential memebers of the interdisciplinary team. We rely on their expertise a hundred encounters a day. They save lives. Whoever says otherwise is ignorant and uneducated.