The Pharmacy Chick

Flying the Coop in Retail

Weird Conversations for Wednesday

Filed under: Uncategorized — pharmacychick at 9:20 pm on Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Sometimes conversations defy explainations: we had 3 today…

Number 1.

Customer craining her neck over the pharmacy counter to Tech: “Can you tell me which window I drop off a prescription?”

Tech-pointing “At that window where by the sign that says ‘drop off prescriptions here’.

Customer: “Sorry, I’m from Seattle.”

Me thinking to myself ..what? last time I was there, they read and speak English in Washington state….but then again, all that rain might mold the mind…who knows?

Then, later in the day a woman approaches the counter and asks: ” Can you tell me where the room fresheners are? I looked by the toilet paper and its not there”

Me, again thinking to myself I suppose there could be some rationale to that reasoning..you need toilet paper while you are stinking up a room, hence the need for room freshening..

Then lastly, this lady’s daughter asks for a vaccination for her mother. Mother doesn’t have her insurance card but she says she has Medicare-D, but doesn’t know which plan. She wants to know how much. I tell her the cash price and the nightmare begins. “But she has insurance.” Bring me the card and I can tell you exactly what it will be. “Can you estimate it for us?” No, every plan is different and will depend on deductibles and copays” Can you look up somebody who has a similar plan and tell us THEIR price?” what!? um no, that would be impossible on several levels including the fact that your mother doesnt’ know what plan she has. “She has Medicare D” Medicare D is a generic term for a thousand different plans. “So you have no idea what she has to pay?” That is correct.

I have to admit that in 22 years of practice I have never had anybody ask me to look up somebody “similar” before!

I am glad I have the next two days off…

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5 Comments »

Comment by The Ole' Apothecary

June 12, 2008 @ 3:39 pm

Re: “similar”:

“It’s not covered? Well, call the doctor and tell him to prescribe something that IS covered!”

Comment by AJA

June 12, 2008 @ 9:27 pm

Universal health care could end that BS - one system - one cost for everyone. But since lobbyists run the country and no lobbyist has any interest in it, it will never happen.

Comment by CPhT

June 13, 2008 @ 4:22 am

My boss actually asked me once to run claims on someone else’s Medicare plan to see if something would be covered for another patient of ours if she chose that Medicare plan. I shook my head then told her that I wouldn’t even know if that person’s plan was the same tier. I told her to make the lazy patient call UPMC since she didn’t want to do any of her own research.

The next year, she brought me a list of 22 drugs she takes on a regular basis, and told me to run it through the system our company so helpfully provided us with, and find her a plan with 1) no deductible, and 2) no donut hole. I laughed my butt off and gave it back. There is no plan that will do that with Advair, Prevacid (BID, no less), Ritalin, and a few other pricey drugs that I can’t remember. It just gave her the plan with the cheapest prices for the donut hole, which were not any better than her current plan. Thankfully, she did not make me locate someone on that new plan to “try her meds”.

Comment by Pharmacy Student

June 13, 2008 @ 9:33 pm

I really enjoy your blog. If we have a slow Saturday or afternoon at work, we will pull up your blog. We always get a kick out of it. We always say, “That’s so true!”

I’m a pharmacy student and I enjoy reading about the good & not-so-good times.

Comment by bnm

June 13, 2008 @ 10:23 pm

Hey, I have been asked where do we keep flower seeds, and which detergent is better!!!, and had nothing else to answer but these “I am Man in the white jacked” after a pause with cow eyes staring at me, I sad “aisle seven, pick our brand, sire”, what I alway say when don’t know where - detergents, fresheners, brushes, clips, pens, water cups, and all that jazz…..aisle seven

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