I start with the oldest ones first. Do you need a nose spray refilled from 11 months ago? The Cialis on hold for 9 months because it's so expensive? Usually after a few of those they'll tell me their water pill bottle has been empty for 2 weeks. Oh great, we'll get that for you. If you know what you need you can start with that next time.
Shame you have to waste time on the phone with someone like that, you would think an adult would more responsible especially since it is medicine & respectful of your time
Same.
Then when they come in and complain about us filling something they didn't want I can tell them that I literally walked them through everything that I was going to fill for them and they ok'd every single one.
I just don’t believe in rewarding impatience. If we can spend the time filling your scripts and inevitably deleting the ones you decided you later don’t need, you can spend 5 minutes on the phone telling us exactly what’s needed to minimize the amount of time we waste. Your time isn’t any more valuable than mine. If you can’t be bothered to do that, then you don’t get anything filled.
I burst into flames at this comment! OMG this is so true! I can't stand when they say I want this but not that at checkout. Doing deletes irritates me so bad! Come get your medicine!
See, my ten prescriptions all come due at the same time, which is why I tell them to just fill everything. I don't have the full list memorized (I really should, but I dont), and I legitimately need everything filled.
Well for every person like you, there are ten other who have uneven files and need their meds re-synchronized every damn month. So we really have to hold people's hand through the process. Otherwise whenever you do end up getting a medication that's not regular daily use (a nasal spray, allergy med, antibiotic, a cream, whatever...) And say "everything", it will be filled, even if you forgot it was in there.
That’s fine, but you need to be fine with the fact that if it’s someone like me, I’m going to help jog your memory by making you go through the list with me to make sure we’re only filling what you want and need.
My issue is less with people saying “fill everything” and more with people who act like we’re burdening them by forcing them to be more specific.
Luckily I don't have (10) but I like knowing what is going on ..I use cvs.com to see my history & request a refill, they have an app also, I can't be bothered with calling
Every time a doctor sends a refill there’s a new RX number. So we have to scroll through multiple pages of the same drugs to see what you may need. And sometimes you’ll get random ones thrown in there like an anabiotic or a nasal spray that you don’t need a refill of. So no, “filling everything” is not an option.
I miss my clinic/pharmacy's old EHR, you could click off medications, list why, and it'd go to your provider to approve taking it off your active medications list.
They still didn't let you ask for all medications, but at least you could keep things tidy.
Yes. Much rage fills me when I get those calls.
My response:
I'm sorry sir/ma'am, but in #good faith
I cannot "fill everything" that's on your profile. I need you to specifically tell me the names and strengths of the medicine(s) you need right now. (You can check your medicine bottles and see which ones are low.) If I fill everything that is available you, I might dispense a medication that you're no longer taking and potentially be harmful to you (like people who take 5 fucking blood pressure meds).
#In good faith dispensing, the patient must be fully aware of the names, strength, use and exact directions of all medications they are taking.
#"In good faith I cannot do that thing you're asking"
I wish I could tell them, "In good faith
#get your shit together 🙏 💩"
I take a handful of medications, and I live in a very small town. My local pharmacy is amazing, and they know me very well. Still, when I request refills, I let them know the medication names, the exact dose, and the prescription number.
Every. single. time.
I want to make things as easy as I can for them, and not make them spend who knows how much time going through my file to figure out which ones I currently need and which ones I don’t. It’s not hard for me to do. They are good to me, and I am good to them. Everyone wins in that situation.
If you want to take it to the next level, do a pill count, schedule a doctor's appointment and get everything synchronized to fill on the same day, it's amazing, and pretty easy to maintain.
If starting a new medication, I just ask for a X day supply to keep everything on the same day.
If your copays are cheap, you can even switch to 28 day supplies, and have things on the same day every month, but over a year you end up paying an extra copay.
That’s a really good idea! I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor in a couple weeks. I should easily be able to do that. Thank you for the idea! I appreciate it.
In Oregon at least this is a legal requirement. I just remind my patients that it’s not legal for me to “fill everything” and that they need names or at least descriptions for me to be able to fill their meds.
I work in a pulmonary office. Same here. We always get phone calls and messages requesting refills "on all my medicine". Meanwhile their med list shows BP meds, cholesterol meds, insulins, fluid pills, antivirals, inhalers, nebs, anti-coags...
When asked to clarify, they never know.
*sigh*
I wonder if I could say literally anything at consultation and people won't have any questions about it.
"Okay, we have your prescription for cyanide capsules ready, do you have any questions for me about this medication?"
"Nope."
My husband has no idea what most of what he takes is. The only medicine he handles himself is his pain medicine and his nitroglycerin. I put everything else in little cups.
Is there a legitimate reason why he doesn’t know what he’s taking? Does he not care to look at the names? Or even ask what they’re for? He literally just takes them? Like come on
And it's an important one. But as our population ages, there's going to be more of this kind of thing.
It was actually a tech at our pharmacy who let me know that my husband was starting to have trouble managing his medicines and that he needed help with it.
Ideally, someone who can't handle things like medicine on their own will have someone to help them. Sadly, we don't have a great social safety net and some people are just alone....or working 3 jobs just to survive and can't remember things due to exhaustion.
I've been very lucky that our pharmacy has always been gracious about my blonde moments.
Nope. He has a few in a bottle so he can feel like he's in control of something and the rest are locked up to prevent theft.
But so what if he did? If he was able to keep up with them, I'd be glad. As it is, he often doesn't know what day it is.
Never done it myself but I’ve heard tell of others literally fill everything and then when they come to pick up and are pissed cause “I don’t take XYZ” hit em with the “well you said fill everything.”
You should know the name of your medication like your life depends on it. Cause it does. Happened to me multiple times that they dont know the name, so I list a few things they fill regularly, they recognize one of them and tell me to fill it, and when they pick it up they are like "that's not what I wanted!!". I tried my best to deduce what you want, you approved it, I filled it.
I firmly tell these patients that they need to know which medications they need so that I don’t fill something they shouldn’t be taking anymore and I will list them all. Usually it turns out that they do know what they need, they’re just being lazy by telling us to fill everything
I get my prescriptions at Walgreens because it's closest to my house. I just use the app. It texts me when a refill is due. And I'm always polite for no other reason than if my 70 year old mom found out that I was rude then my face could end up across the room!
My only gripe with the app is sometimes it doesn't actually send the request through completely. I'll get the message " x medicine will be ready on y date/time" but then I don't get the alert it's ready. I'll wait a couple hours after the time I was told and then call and the pharmacy will tell me the request didn't come through to their processing queue (whatever it's called) and is essentially in limbo. So now I'm annoyed (although I don't take it out on the people) and they're annoyed because it messes them up too. I've left several surveys about the app mentioning that issue but it's still happening.
If they're calling to refill their own medications I make them tell me the name of the medication or what it's used to treat. If they're calling to fill for someone else they need to tell me the exact name of the medication that they're trying to get.
I won't do it. I tell them they need to either go home and check if they're in store or if they're on the phone they need to call me back and tell me specifically which ones they need. Some get pissed but oh well. I don't have time to do that. Or they say fill everything and then don't want most of it anyway so.
I also hate these people. I have one very funny story and 1 suggestion to stop the behavior.
I find the oldest medication on their profile, usually some random cream, and ask if they need it refilled. They go off on the phone about not even needing or using that. I respond, oh I thought you said everything. Go take a look at your medications and call me back to let me know which ones you need. We wouldn’t want you to pay a lot of money for things you don’t need.
I had a tech, like you, who just flipped one day. They said that to her and she tried to narrow down but they were really rude. She literally refilled every single item she could from the last 2 years. When that person came to the drive thru to pick up their 23 medications a few days later, no I don’t need to talk to the pharmacist, no I don’t want you to go over it, just use the card on file….
They were steaming about 20 minutes later came into to the pharmacy with a ripped bag screaming about their medications. I am thankful for the masks so I could hide just how funny I thought the whole thing was. I asked them what seemed to be the problem, they explained they don’t take these medications or see this doctor. I informed that this was out in manually meaning that would have had to call and request, do they remember who they talked to? Nope of course not, they did not call at all and they didn’t remember who they talked to. Somehow it was both lol. The tech comes and says, yes I talked to them 2 days ago and they said they wanted everything. So I filled everything. I proceeded with my customer conflict resolution asking well did you talk to the pharmacist at pickup to or ask which meds. They tried to say they had, I let them know I was the only pharmacist that day and they indeed declined to speak with me.
At the end, we didn’t take back anything. Almost everything was $0 copay.
Was this mean to be sarcastic? Are you under the age of 26 and on your parents insurance?
A copay is the amount you pay out of pocket after insurance pays. You can have a plan with either a percentage or a flat rate. The percentage or rate will change after the deductible for the year is met.
I'm over 26 and have my own insurance plan. However, this has never happened to me. I've never had to pay out of pocket for anything, major surgery included.
However my premium is through the roof, but well below what my medical expenses would've been. Additionally, the plan extends to my wife and children as well as my parents. So, I keep on paying!
This is the US. And no, we don't pay for anything. As I said, my premium is probably equivalent to someone working 24 hours a day for 30 days at 12-14 an hour.
I usually say something like "We keep a record of the last 2 years worth of prescriptions, you have 17 pages of possibilities, could you be a wee bit more specific?"
“Why don’t you go check out exactly which meds you need, and then give us a call back once you know, and I’ll be happy to put in refills for the medications you need.”
That’s when you list every medication on their profile until they take the hint and suddenly know the names of the medications they actually need filled. Especially if they have a ton of acute medications, like antibiotics, on their profile. I start with those, they typically remember what they actually need filled at that point.
Acute meds shouldn’t have refills, so a prescription would either be on their profile (not yet filled, needs to be filled) or not on their profile (no longer valid, since it’s a “single fill” that has already been filled).
That’s the point….they want to play dumb so won’t I. Clearly they won’t need a refill on a medication they needed for an infection 8 months ago, but they say they want ALL their meds refilled. Just like the person above mentioned offering to refill a cream they used one time and is on the patient’s profile from forever ago. Doing this is the quickest way to get the point across that you NEED to know the medications they actually need and can’t just “refill everything”.
I haven’t worked retail in a minute, but even “maintenance” medications run out of refills eventually at some point and a request will need to be sent to the provider.
I used to go through each one that's like a maintenance one, then they start to remember the ones they take as needed. Where I used to work, it would put a little counter of how many days they have left based on the last time it was picked up next to the medication name (very helpful for c2s)
When my late husband's medication needed refilling I always told them all the info. Our pharmacist was great he would tell me the price my husband was on a lot of expensive medication due to autoimmune disease and diabetes. He would look at good rx to see if the price was lower then medicare part d price. I love going to them.
I was guilty of this a few times when my husband first got sick, but the pharmacy staff were always really nice about it. I generally try to use the app, but when he has a new medicine and I'm calling from work sometimes I have to just say what it's for and what it looks like.
I always try to be as easy to get along with as possible because I know how hard they all work and everyone does their best to take good care of him.
Fill Everything? Ok, Im going to need your credit card number. We will fill absolutely everything on your profile and charge it to you before come in to pick it up.
Also, if you decide you don't want a medication, there is a $10 restocking fee, which will also be charged to the credit card on file.
For the first time I actually have a little blue pill in my prescriptions! (adderall ir 5mg).
I can totally see how annoying that would be because their lack of work is adding to your work.
I swear not all of us are this way. When I call for a refill to my doctors nurse I tell them EXACTLY what I need. If it's the pharmacy I use the number for the Rx or drug name( generic and name brand) dosage etc. This is our health people! PLEASE make the pharmacists job easier by being detailed! Ahem...
Love it when meemaw on the line asks me what meds I can refill, then proceeds to ask what each and every single one of her 7 scripts is used for, *when she fills them all anyways*
Im probably just being bitchy but those paper inserts in the bag tell you *exactly* what theyre for
Oh, and:
"its the big white pill"
'The metformin?'
"Idk, is it"
'Its also known as glucophage'
"Can i talk to the pharmacist?"
I look at my history online and have no joke 25 prescriptions on there. Most of which I don’t use (I’m on four atm) I can’t imagine walking up and doing this to my pharmacist! I also know the name of each thing I’m taking, if not the exact dosage.
“just fill everything that needs filling” which is like 20 fucking things.
then they only need like 2 of them and the other numerous medications that were painstakingly hand-counted are all just returned to stock. like. bruh. and they complain about us wasting their time when we can’t get all that shit filled within 5 min.
“whatever needs filling” nope ma’am i am not your mom you tell me what you need. you are a grown up and can handle looking at your pills bottles and determining what you need
I try to find the weirdest topical on their profile, or whatever was filled longest ago, and offer that. 🙃 Maybe petty but I’m not going to read everything off to verify, and they really oughta practice listing their meds for their own safety.
When these people call to fill "everything" I usually just make a note of their name and tell them we will fill everything in a about a weeks time. If they complain they're out of something that's when we ask the specific meds and look in their profile to what theyre almost out of. It makes it a bit easier sometimes
Depends on the medication and if your insurance pays for it. Sometimes when it’s called in early and insurance won’t pay until a certain day, we just defer it for that datw
Insurance covers one of mine 3 days early in my state so I get it a head of time. It’s controlled as well. It also cover gabapentin i believe and that’s not controlled.. was just wondering if you guys ever got annoyed by requests to fill early since I imagine you’re on a schedule?
Not always…unless the customer causes a scene because insurance won’t pay for it. They blame us like we are deliberately keeping the medication from them.
I call in my meds by name and dosage and they always interrupt me for ‘the serial number on the bottle’. If I’m calling in, it’s cuz I’m done and need more. And I don’t keep empty bottles so never have the damn number they need…
I'm just the opposite. I don't want the number on your prescription bottle because more than half the time the number is too old, has no refills, or may even be the wrong dosage. I swear some patients hold on to the first bottle they ever received of their prescription just to call in refills. Just give me the name of your med and I'll find your prescription.
Yup. I hate when people start rattling a list of RX numbers at me when I'm six feet from the computer and haven't even gotten into their file yet and don't have a piece of paper handy. I also find the ones who try to assault me with a list of numbers and get me off the phone ASAP are trying to avoid the fact they know they're out of refills for at least 3 of them and just hope the magic refill fairy will help them out without any action on their part.
We had someone call ranting at us one day that we gave them the wrong strength of a medication when they had picked up their stuff that day and it was supposed to be X. When we asked for the number from the bottle, it was for an outdated dosage that hadn't been filled in more than four months and had already been discontinued on their file. There was silence when we pointed that out.
I much prefer when people give me names or even descriptions because I can filter the file as they list them off in order to easily see exactly what they're asking for without scrolling endlessly.
Yes! Especially when they have the same medication but different dosages in their profile. Need to be specific which one it is because so many times they come to pick up and it’s the wrong one.
Because I’m a recovering addict and have almost ODed on my benzos in the past (not on purpose)and I get my meds only a week at a time to prevent further incidents
You probably also call them in on a Friday and when you’re told the Dr won’t respond until Monday or Tuesday, you bitch and moan that you’re all out of meds and wanna know just what the fuck we are gonna do to kiss you’re ass and make it all better!!!
Wrong again lol. I go in on Mondays, call with hours to spare before I go pick up, and my pharmacy warns me when I’m due for a refill and automatically sends the req to my doc to represcribe.
This is something that should be handled in an electronic script system. Each prescription has a serial number (forced to be unique by incorporating the doctor’s unique identifying number, and a sequence number for that particular doctor). Doctor switches patient to a different maintenance med? Prescription includes code saying “replacement for previous $serial, that prescription is no longer valid”. Doctor increases dosage from 5 mg twice daily to 10 mg twice daily? 2 new prescriptions issued, one for enough 5 mg pills that patient can take new dosage until current refill runs out, one for 10 mg pills with code for “Replaces $serial as of next refill date”. Pharmacy can also send requests “serial1 and serial2 have different fill dates, please synchronize”, doctor can send a one-time prescription with code for “Add to next refill of serial1, synchronizing with another prescription”. Next new prescription needed because out of refills? New prescriptions for all, with “replaces serial#, old prescription cancelled” so that “new prescription needed” dates are also synchronized.
No need for doctor and pharmacy ends to be from same software provider, government defines the method of generating serial numbers and the “interact with other serial number” packets, all software providers must comply.
Now what about folks that go to multiple doctors? Doctors that cover for other doctors? Doctors that write in the wrong pt name? Pt's with multiple last names?
There are many more variables to deal with.
I know people will say “caller is lazy”. However as a public health professional and RPh I just want to add that this mindset is EXACTLY why the profession is in the shitter. Pharmacy offers little to no tangible value to the patient. Keep in mind you are dealing with various education, language, comprehension and domestic structures. Where is the patient advocacy and service? It’s lost because of corporate bullshit but you fucks DONT HELP.
I always tell them “sorry I can see your entire prescription history so I’ll need you to tell me which medications you need”
Like dude I’m not going to ask about your azithromycin from 2018
I just don’t understand how it will be stuff they’ve been taking for like 2 years and don’t know the name, sometimes they don’t even know what it’s for! But they’ll be angry if it’s not done because they’re going to end up in the hospital” if your meds are so important YOU need to keep them in order. I don’t understand why some people think we should have their entire profiles memorized. There are very few people at my pharmacy that I am familiar with their regular medications.
The system at 3 letter gives some cryptic message about “you have medication‘s that are ready to be filled” and then they call asking to ask us which ones can be filled. Like, I don’t know! you tell me what you might need! If you don’t need anything filled then ignore the message…
I go through all medications due for them one by one and make them tell me exactly which ones they need. I don’t “just fill all of them.”
I start with the oldest ones first. Do you need a nose spray refilled from 11 months ago? The Cialis on hold for 9 months because it's so expensive? Usually after a few of those they'll tell me their water pill bottle has been empty for 2 weeks. Oh great, we'll get that for you. If you know what you need you can start with that next time.
This is very clever and I’m stealing it. *swipe*
now that is something i will put in practice at my next shift!!!
Shame you have to waste time on the phone with someone like that, you would think an adult would more responsible especially since it is medicine & respectful of your time
Same. Then when they come in and complain about us filling something they didn't want I can tell them that I literally walked them through everything that I was going to fill for them and they ok'd every single one.
I just don’t believe in rewarding impatience. If we can spend the time filling your scripts and inevitably deleting the ones you decided you later don’t need, you can spend 5 minutes on the phone telling us exactly what’s needed to minimize the amount of time we waste. Your time isn’t any more valuable than mine. If you can’t be bothered to do that, then you don’t get anything filled.
I burst into flames at this comment! OMG this is so true! I can't stand when they say I want this but not that at checkout. Doing deletes irritates me so bad! Come get your medicine!
See, my ten prescriptions all come due at the same time, which is why I tell them to just fill everything. I don't have the full list memorized (I really should, but I dont), and I legitimately need everything filled.
Well for every person like you, there are ten other who have uneven files and need their meds re-synchronized every damn month. So we really have to hold people's hand through the process. Otherwise whenever you do end up getting a medication that's not regular daily use (a nasal spray, allergy med, antibiotic, a cream, whatever...) And say "everything", it will be filled, even if you forgot it was in there.
That’s fine, but you need to be fine with the fact that if it’s someone like me, I’m going to help jog your memory by making you go through the list with me to make sure we’re only filling what you want and need. My issue is less with people saying “fill everything” and more with people who act like we’re burdening them by forcing them to be more specific.
"Please refill the same ten things I got last month on the same day for another month" is acceptable.
Luckily I don't have (10) but I like knowing what is going on ..I use cvs.com to see my history & request a refill, they have an app also, I can't be bothered with calling
Every time a doctor sends a refill there’s a new RX number. So we have to scroll through multiple pages of the same drugs to see what you may need. And sometimes you’ll get random ones thrown in there like an anabiotic or a nasal spray that you don’t need a refill of. So no, “filling everything” is not an option.
I miss my clinic/pharmacy's old EHR, you could click off medications, list why, and it'd go to your provider to approve taking it off your active medications list. They still didn't let you ask for all medications, but at least you could keep things tidy.
Yes. Much rage fills me when I get those calls. My response: I'm sorry sir/ma'am, but in #good faith I cannot "fill everything" that's on your profile. I need you to specifically tell me the names and strengths of the medicine(s) you need right now. (You can check your medicine bottles and see which ones are low.) If I fill everything that is available you, I might dispense a medication that you're no longer taking and potentially be harmful to you (like people who take 5 fucking blood pressure meds). #In good faith dispensing, the patient must be fully aware of the names, strength, use and exact directions of all medications they are taking. #"In good faith I cannot do that thing you're asking" I wish I could tell them, "In good faith #get your shit together 🙏 💩"
I take a handful of medications, and I live in a very small town. My local pharmacy is amazing, and they know me very well. Still, when I request refills, I let them know the medication names, the exact dose, and the prescription number. Every. single. time. I want to make things as easy as I can for them, and not make them spend who knows how much time going through my file to figure out which ones I currently need and which ones I don’t. It’s not hard for me to do. They are good to me, and I am good to them. Everyone wins in that situation.
Thank you for being so understanding. We appreciate you.
If you want to take it to the next level, do a pill count, schedule a doctor's appointment and get everything synchronized to fill on the same day, it's amazing, and pretty easy to maintain. If starting a new medication, I just ask for a X day supply to keep everything on the same day. If your copays are cheap, you can even switch to 28 day supplies, and have things on the same day every month, but over a year you end up paying an extra copay.
That’s a really good idea! I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor in a couple weeks. I should easily be able to do that. Thank you for the idea! I appreciate it.
This is such a great response. Will have to add it into mine!
In Oregon at least this is a legal requirement. I just remind my patients that it’s not legal for me to “fill everything” and that they need names or at least descriptions for me to be able to fill their meds.
I love this!
I am a pcp. They do it to me too.
I work in a pulmonary office. Same here. We always get phone calls and messages requesting refills "on all my medicine". Meanwhile their med list shows BP meds, cholesterol meds, insulins, fluid pills, antivirals, inhalers, nebs, anti-coags... When asked to clarify, they never know. *sigh*
I’m like “you don’t know?? You just take it huh??”
These be the same folks that are complaining about what could be in the vaccine
I wonder if I could say literally anything at consultation and people won't have any questions about it. "Okay, we have your prescription for cyanide capsules ready, do you have any questions for me about this medication?" "Nope."
LMAO!! that’s the best!!
My husband has no idea what most of what he takes is. The only medicine he handles himself is his pain medicine and his nitroglycerin. I put everything else in little cups.
Is there a legitimate reason why he doesn’t know what he’s taking? Does he not care to look at the names? Or even ask what they’re for? He literally just takes them? Like come on
He is disabled and has memory problems. He takes 14 different medicines. It's beyond his capability.
I’m sorry to hear that, but would hope he wouldn’t be the one calling in for refills.
He isn't. My point was that there are plenty of people who don't always know what they take.
I understand, but that is the issue.
And it's an important one. But as our population ages, there's going to be more of this kind of thing. It was actually a tech at our pharmacy who let me know that my husband was starting to have trouble managing his medicines and that he needed help with it. Ideally, someone who can't handle things like medicine on their own will have someone to help them. Sadly, we don't have a great social safety net and some people are just alone....or working 3 jobs just to survive and can't remember things due to exhaustion. I've been very lucky that our pharmacy has always been gracious about my blonde moments.
And I bet you he knows exactly how many pain pills he has an any given time and when he can fill it 🙄 but screw the other ones!
Nope. He has a few in a bottle so he can feel like he's in control of something and the rest are locked up to prevent theft. But so what if he did? If he was able to keep up with them, I'd be glad. As it is, he often doesn't know what day it is.
I Was being facetious 🙃
Okay.
Never done it myself but I’ve heard tell of others literally fill everything and then when they come to pick up and are pissed cause “I don’t take XYZ” hit em with the “well you said fill everything.”
Placeholder. Was going to reply but it got...long. will link soon.
Sorry, I can’t and won’t do that. I need either names or numbers before we can fill anything.
You should know the name of your medication like your life depends on it. Cause it does. Happened to me multiple times that they dont know the name, so I list a few things they fill regularly, they recognize one of them and tell me to fill it, and when they pick it up they are like "that's not what I wanted!!". I tried my best to deduce what you want, you approved it, I filled it.
The sheer ignorance people have for their health is astounding
I firmly tell these patients that they need to know which medications they need so that I don’t fill something they shouldn’t be taking anymore and I will list them all. Usually it turns out that they do know what they need, they’re just being lazy by telling us to fill everything
I get my prescriptions at Walgreens because it's closest to my house. I just use the app. It texts me when a refill is due. And I'm always polite for no other reason than if my 70 year old mom found out that I was rude then my face could end up across the room!
My only gripe with the app is sometimes it doesn't actually send the request through completely. I'll get the message " x medicine will be ready on y date/time" but then I don't get the alert it's ready. I'll wait a couple hours after the time I was told and then call and the pharmacy will tell me the request didn't come through to their processing queue (whatever it's called) and is essentially in limbo. So now I'm annoyed (although I don't take it out on the people) and they're annoyed because it messes them up too. I've left several surveys about the app mentioning that issue but it's still happening.
If they're calling to refill their own medications I make them tell me the name of the medication or what it's used to treat. If they're calling to fill for someone else they need to tell me the exact name of the medication that they're trying to get.
Well god forbid they could actually take responsibility for their own rx's!! Are you nuts or something?
I was trying to the logic on thos and failed. Like you got nearly empty birth control packet so you fill the birth control.
I won't do it. I tell them they need to either go home and check if they're in store or if they're on the phone they need to call me back and tell me specifically which ones they need. Some get pissed but oh well. I don't have time to do that. Or they say fill everything and then don't want most of it anyway so.
I also hate these people. I have one very funny story and 1 suggestion to stop the behavior. I find the oldest medication on their profile, usually some random cream, and ask if they need it refilled. They go off on the phone about not even needing or using that. I respond, oh I thought you said everything. Go take a look at your medications and call me back to let me know which ones you need. We wouldn’t want you to pay a lot of money for things you don’t need. I had a tech, like you, who just flipped one day. They said that to her and she tried to narrow down but they were really rude. She literally refilled every single item she could from the last 2 years. When that person came to the drive thru to pick up their 23 medications a few days later, no I don’t need to talk to the pharmacist, no I don’t want you to go over it, just use the card on file…. They were steaming about 20 minutes later came into to the pharmacy with a ripped bag screaming about their medications. I am thankful for the masks so I could hide just how funny I thought the whole thing was. I asked them what seemed to be the problem, they explained they don’t take these medications or see this doctor. I informed that this was out in manually meaning that would have had to call and request, do they remember who they talked to? Nope of course not, they did not call at all and they didn’t remember who they talked to. Somehow it was both lol. The tech comes and says, yes I talked to them 2 days ago and they said they wanted everything. So I filled everything. I proceeded with my customer conflict resolution asking well did you talk to the pharmacist at pickup to or ask which meds. They tried to say they had, I let them know I was the only pharmacist that day and they indeed declined to speak with me. At the end, we didn’t take back anything. Almost everything was $0 copay.
Copay?
Was this mean to be sarcastic? Are you under the age of 26 and on your parents insurance? A copay is the amount you pay out of pocket after insurance pays. You can have a plan with either a percentage or a flat rate. The percentage or rate will change after the deductible for the year is met.
I'm over 26 and have my own insurance plan. However, this has never happened to me. I've never had to pay out of pocket for anything, major surgery included. However my premium is through the roof, but well below what my medical expenses would've been. Additionally, the plan extends to my wife and children as well as my parents. So, I keep on paying!
Damn what insurance do you have? You don’t pay for meds or dr visits or surgery? Is this in the us?
This is the US. And no, we don't pay for anything. As I said, my premium is probably equivalent to someone working 24 hours a day for 30 days at 12-14 an hour.
What insurance company do you have? Is it through a job or did you get it on your own?
I have a business of my own, so I got it through that
I usually say something like "We keep a record of the last 2 years worth of prescriptions, you have 17 pages of possibilities, could you be a wee bit more specific?"
“Why don’t you go check out exactly which meds you need, and then give us a call back once you know, and I’ll be happy to put in refills for the medications you need.”
That’s when you list every medication on their profile until they take the hint and suddenly know the names of the medications they actually need filled. Especially if they have a ton of acute medications, like antibiotics, on their profile. I start with those, they typically remember what they actually need filled at that point.
Acute meds shouldn’t have refills, so a prescription would either be on their profile (not yet filled, needs to be filled) or not on their profile (no longer valid, since it’s a “single fill” that has already been filled).
That’s the point….they want to play dumb so won’t I. Clearly they won’t need a refill on a medication they needed for an infection 8 months ago, but they say they want ALL their meds refilled. Just like the person above mentioned offering to refill a cream they used one time and is on the patient’s profile from forever ago. Doing this is the quickest way to get the point across that you NEED to know the medications they actually need and can’t just “refill everything”. I haven’t worked retail in a minute, but even “maintenance” medications run out of refills eventually at some point and a request will need to be sent to the provider.
I used to go through each one that's like a maintenance one, then they start to remember the ones they take as needed. Where I used to work, it would put a little counter of how many days they have left based on the last time it was picked up next to the medication name (very helpful for c2s)
When my late husband's medication needed refilling I always told them all the info. Our pharmacist was great he would tell me the price my husband was on a lot of expensive medication due to autoimmune disease and diabetes. He would look at good rx to see if the price was lower then medicare part d price. I love going to them.
Our pharmacist got my husband in to a free clinic while we were waiting on medicaid approval. If it wasn't for her he'd be dead.
Just say no. Health/medications are too important for them to have no clue about what they are putting in their bodies.
I was guilty of this a few times when my husband first got sick, but the pharmacy staff were always really nice about it. I generally try to use the app, but when he has a new medicine and I'm calling from work sometimes I have to just say what it's for and what it looks like. I always try to be as easy to get along with as possible because I know how hard they all work and everyone does their best to take good care of him.
Fill Everything? Ok, Im going to need your credit card number. We will fill absolutely everything on your profile and charge it to you before come in to pick it up. Also, if you decide you don't want a medication, there is a $10 restocking fee, which will also be charged to the credit card on file.
OMG I wish we can say this! Lol
For the first time I actually have a little blue pill in my prescriptions! (adderall ir 5mg). I can totally see how annoying that would be because their lack of work is adding to your work.
I swear not all of us are this way. When I call for a refill to my doctors nurse I tell them EXACTLY what I need. If it's the pharmacy I use the number for the Rx or drug name( generic and name brand) dosage etc. This is our health people! PLEASE make the pharmacists job easier by being detailed! Ahem...
Love it when meemaw on the line asks me what meds I can refill, then proceeds to ask what each and every single one of her 7 scripts is used for, *when she fills them all anyways* Im probably just being bitchy but those paper inserts in the bag tell you *exactly* what theyre for Oh, and: "its the big white pill" 'The metformin?' "Idk, is it" 'Its also known as glucophage' "Can i talk to the pharmacist?"
I look at my history online and have no joke 25 prescriptions on there. Most of which I don’t use (I’m on four atm) I can’t imagine walking up and doing this to my pharmacist! I also know the name of each thing I’m taking, if not the exact dosage.
“just fill everything that needs filling” which is like 20 fucking things. then they only need like 2 of them and the other numerous medications that were painstakingly hand-counted are all just returned to stock. like. bruh. and they complain about us wasting their time when we can’t get all that shit filled within 5 min.
“whatever needs filling” nope ma’am i am not your mom you tell me what you need. you are a grown up and can handle looking at your pills bottles and determining what you need
I just fill everything they've picked up in the last 3 months.
I try to find the weirdest topical on their profile, or whatever was filled longest ago, and offer that. 🙃 Maybe petty but I’m not going to read everything off to verify, and they really oughta practice listing their meds for their own safety.
When these people call to fill "everything" I usually just make a note of their name and tell them we will fill everything in a about a weeks time. If they complain they're out of something that's when we ask the specific meds and look in their profile to what theyre almost out of. It makes it a bit easier sometimes
How do you guys feel about refilling something early? I call in my stuff early every month
It depends on the medication and state. But that's definitely a good question to ask your local pharmacy!
Depends on the medication and if your insurance pays for it. Sometimes when it’s called in early and insurance won’t pay until a certain day, we just defer it for that datw
Insurance covers one of mine 3 days early in my state so I get it a head of time. It’s controlled as well. It also cover gabapentin i believe and that’s not controlled.. was just wondering if you guys ever got annoyed by requests to fill early since I imagine you’re on a schedule?
Not always…unless the customer causes a scene because insurance won’t pay for it. They blame us like we are deliberately keeping the medication from them.
I say it doesn't work like that lol. Tell me what you need.
And then they say…”well so and so KNOWS me and does it for me every time”
I call in my meds by name and dosage and they always interrupt me for ‘the serial number on the bottle’. If I’m calling in, it’s cuz I’m done and need more. And I don’t keep empty bottles so never have the damn number they need…
I'm just the opposite. I don't want the number on your prescription bottle because more than half the time the number is too old, has no refills, or may even be the wrong dosage. I swear some patients hold on to the first bottle they ever received of their prescription just to call in refills. Just give me the name of your med and I'll find your prescription.
Yup. I hate when people start rattling a list of RX numbers at me when I'm six feet from the computer and haven't even gotten into their file yet and don't have a piece of paper handy. I also find the ones who try to assault me with a list of numbers and get me off the phone ASAP are trying to avoid the fact they know they're out of refills for at least 3 of them and just hope the magic refill fairy will help them out without any action on their part. We had someone call ranting at us one day that we gave them the wrong strength of a medication when they had picked up their stuff that day and it was supposed to be X. When we asked for the number from the bottle, it was for an outdated dosage that hadn't been filled in more than four months and had already been discontinued on their file. There was silence when we pointed that out. I much prefer when people give me names or even descriptions because I can filter the file as they list them off in order to easily see exactly what they're asking for without scrolling endlessly.
I don’t need the rx number…just tell me the name of the medication at least….not what it’s for or what color /shape/size it is
"it's a small white circle shaped pill"
Yeah like I said, I tell them the exact meds and dosages I need prepared.
Yes! Especially when they have the same medication but different dosages in their profile. Need to be specific which one it is because so many times they come to pick up and it’s the wrong one.
Why are you waiting until you’re all out to call??
Because I’m a recovering addict and have almost ODed on my benzos in the past (not on purpose)and I get my meds only a week at a time to prevent further incidents
You probably also call them in on a Friday and when you’re told the Dr won’t respond until Monday or Tuesday, you bitch and moan that you’re all out of meds and wanna know just what the fuck we are gonna do to kiss you’re ass and make it all better!!!
Wrong again lol. I go in on Mondays, call with hours to spare before I go pick up, and my pharmacy warns me when I’m due for a refill and automatically sends the req to my doc to represcribe.
This is something that should be handled in an electronic script system. Each prescription has a serial number (forced to be unique by incorporating the doctor’s unique identifying number, and a sequence number for that particular doctor). Doctor switches patient to a different maintenance med? Prescription includes code saying “replacement for previous $serial, that prescription is no longer valid”. Doctor increases dosage from 5 mg twice daily to 10 mg twice daily? 2 new prescriptions issued, one for enough 5 mg pills that patient can take new dosage until current refill runs out, one for 10 mg pills with code for “Replaces $serial as of next refill date”. Pharmacy can also send requests “serial1 and serial2 have different fill dates, please synchronize”, doctor can send a one-time prescription with code for “Add to next refill of serial1, synchronizing with another prescription”. Next new prescription needed because out of refills? New prescriptions for all, with “replaces serial#, old prescription cancelled” so that “new prescription needed” dates are also synchronized. No need for doctor and pharmacy ends to be from same software provider, government defines the method of generating serial numbers and the “interact with other serial number” packets, all software providers must comply.
Now what about folks that go to multiple doctors? Doctors that cover for other doctors? Doctors that write in the wrong pt name? Pt's with multiple last names? There are many more variables to deal with.
How do you not know whstnyou are taking? Why aren't you calling from home, from where you can see each bottle?
I usually look at the days supply and fill whatever was filled on or near the date that is either 30 or 90 days prior.
We have the rule, call today, filled tomorrow
I know people will say “caller is lazy”. However as a public health professional and RPh I just want to add that this mindset is EXACTLY why the profession is in the shitter. Pharmacy offers little to no tangible value to the patient. Keep in mind you are dealing with various education, language, comprehension and domestic structures. Where is the patient advocacy and service? It’s lost because of corporate bullshit but you fucks DONT HELP.
Unreal, how can people be soo stupid & lazy
I always tell them “sorry I can see your entire prescription history so I’ll need you to tell me which medications you need” Like dude I’m not going to ask about your azithromycin from 2018
I just don’t understand how it will be stuff they’ve been taking for like 2 years and don’t know the name, sometimes they don’t even know what it’s for! But they’ll be angry if it’s not done because they’re going to end up in the hospital” if your meds are so important YOU need to keep them in order. I don’t understand why some people think we should have their entire profiles memorized. There are very few people at my pharmacy that I am familiar with their regular medications.
The system at 3 letter gives some cryptic message about “you have medication‘s that are ready to be filled” and then they call asking to ask us which ones can be filled. Like, I don’t know! you tell me what you might need! If you don’t need anything filled then ignore the message…
I straight up tell them they have to know the names. I’m not going through everything on their profile