why your prescription takes so damn long to fill...

Why your Pharmacist hates you so much....
The question of why it took 2 hours for you to get 20 Vicodin has remained unanswered. I offer the following prescription scenario:
You come to the counter. I am on the phone with a drunk dude who wants the phone number to the grocery store next door. After I instruct him on the virtues of 411, you tell me your doctor was to phone in your prescription to me. Your doctor hasn't, and you're unwilling to wait until he does. Being in a generous mood, I call your doctor's office and am put on hold for 5 minutes, then informed that your prescription was phoned in to my competitor on the other side of town. Phoning the competitor, I am immediately put on hold for 5 minutes before speaking to a clerk, who puts me back on hold to wait for the pharmacist. Your prescription is then transferred to me, and now I have to get the 2 phone calls that have been put on hold while this was being done. Now I return to the counter to ask if we've ever filled prescriptions for you before. For some reason, you think that "for you" means "for your cousin" and you answer my question with a "yes", whereupon I go the computer and see you are not on file.

..........

......
The phone rings.
You have left to do something very important, such as browse through the monster truck magazines, and do not hear the three PA announcements requesting that you return to the pharmacy. You return eventually, expecting to pick up the finished prescription.....
The phone rings.
.......only to find out that I need to ask your address, phone number, date of birth, if you have any allergies and insurance coverage. You tell me you're allergic to codeine. Since the prescription is for Vicodin I ask you what exactly codeine did to you when you took it. You say it made your stomach hurt and I roll my eyes and write down "no known allergies" You tell me......
The phone rings.
......you have insurance and spend the next 5 minutes looking for your card. You give up and expect me to be able to file your claim anyway. I call my competitor and am immediately put on hold. Upon reaching a human, I ask them what insurance they have on file for you. I get the information and file your claim, which is rejected because you changed jobs 6 months ago. An asshole barges his way to the counter to ask where the bread is.

.........
The phone rings.
I inform you that the insurance the other pharmacy has on file for you isn't working. You produce a card in under 10 seconds that you seemed to be unable to find before. What you were really doing was hoping your old insurance would still work because it had a lower copay. Your new card prominently displays the logo of Nebraska Blue Cross, and although Nebraska Blue cross does in fact handle millions of prescription claims every day, for the group you belong to, the claim should go to a company called Caremark, whose logo is nowhere on the card.
The phone rings.
A lady comes to the counter wanting to know why the cherry flavored antacid works better than the lemon cream flavored antacid. What probably happened is that she had a milder case of heartburn when she took the cherry flavored brand, as they both use the exact same ingredient in the same strength. She will not be satisfied though until I confirm her belief that the cherry flavored brand is the superior product. I file your claim with Caremark, who rejects it because you had a 30 day supply of Vicodin filled 15 days ago at another pharmacy. You swear to me on your mother's'....
The phone rings.
........life that you did not have a Vicodin prescription filled recently. I call Caremark and am immediately placed on hold.
The most beautiful woman on the planet walks by and notices not a thing. She has never talked to a pharmacist and never will.
Upon reaching a human at Caremark, I am informed that the Vicodin prescription was indeed filled at another of my competitors. When I tell you this, you say you got hydrocodone there, not Vicodin. Another little part of me dies.
The phone rings.
It turns out that a few days after your doctor wrote your last prescription, he told you to take it more frequently, meaning that what Caremark thought was a 30-day supply is indeed a 15 day supply with the new instructions. I call your doctor's office to confirm this and am immediately placed on hold. I call Caremark to get an override and am immediately placed on hold. My laser printer has a paper jam. It's time for my tech to go to lunch. Caremark issues the override and your claim goes though. Your insurance saves you 85 cents off the regular price of the prescription.
The phone rings.
At the cash register you sign....
The phone rings.
.......the acknowledgement that you received a copy of my HIPAA policy and that I offered the required OBRA counseling for new prescriptions. You remark that you're glad that your last pharmacist told you you shouldn't take over the counter Tylenol along with the Vicodin, and that the acetaminophen you're taking instead seems to be working pretty well. I break the news to you that Tylenol is simply a brand name for acetaminophen and you don't believe me. You fumble around for 2 minutes looking for your checkbook and spend another 2 minutes making out a check for four dollars and sixty seven cents. You ask why the tablets look different than those you got at the other pharmacy. I explain that they are from a different manufacturer. Tomorrow you'll be back to tell me they don't work as well.
Now imagine this wasn't you at all, but the person who dropped off their prescription three people ahead of you, and you'll start to have an idea why.....your prescription takes so damn long to fill.

Oh my gosh, you need to write a book just for the humor. I have laughed silly over this. I can visualize every moment and have also seem to have the same similar scenarios with customers of mine, different profession but totally know how you felt during it all. At the time though, I don't find it funny. But after reading this, it helps a little to know there are others that have to deal with dumbasses out there. Why can't people just have everything ready when they come to the counter. And stop being so lazy and stupid....

thereyago wrote:

.........
The phone rings.
I inform you that the insurance the other pharmacy has on file for you isn't working. You produce a card in under 10 seconds that you seemed to be unable to find before. What you were really doing was hoping your old insurance would still work because it had a lower copay. Your new card prominently displays the logo of Nebraska Blue Cross, and although Nebraska Blue cross does in fact handle millions of prescription claims every day, for the group you belong to, the claim should go to a company called Caremark, whose logo is nowhere on the card.
The phone rings.
A lady comes to the counter wanting to know why the cherry flavored antacid works better than the lemon cream flavored antacid. What probably happened is that she had a milder case of heartburn when she took the cherry flavored brand, as they both use the exact same ingredient in the same strength. She will not be satisfied though until I confirm her belief that the cherry flavored brand is the superior product. I file your claim with Caremark, who rejects it because you had a 30 day supply of Vicodin filled 15 days ago at another pharmacy. You swear to me on your mother's'....
The phone rings.
........life that you did not have a Vicodin prescription filled recently. I call Caremark and am immediately placed on hold.
The most beautiful woman on the planet walks by and notices not a thing. She has never talked to a pharmacist and never will.
Upon reaching a human at Caremark, I am informed that the Vicodin prescription was indeed filled at another of my competitors. When I tell you this, you say you got hydrocodone there, not Vicodin. Another little part of me dies.
The phone rings.
It turns out that a few days after your doctor wrote your last prescription, he told you to take it more frequently, meaning that what Caremark thought was a 30-day supply is indeed a 15 day supply with the new instructions. I call your doctor's office to confirm this and am immediately placed on hold. I call Caremark to get an override and am immediately placed on hold. My laser printer has a paper jam. It's time for my tech to go to lunch. Caremark issues the override and your claim goes though. Your insurance saves you 85 cents off the regular price of the prescription.
The phone rings.
At the cash register you sign....
The phone rings.
.......the acknowledgement that you received a copy of my HIPAA policy and that I offered the required OBRA counseling for new prescriptions. You remark that you're glad that your last pharmacist told you you shouldn't take over the counter Tylenol along with the Vicodin, and that the acetaminophen you're taking instead seems to be working pretty well. I break the news to you that Tylenol is simply a brand name for acetaminophen and you don't believe me. You fumble around for 2 minutes looking for your checkbook and spend another 2 minutes making out a check for four dollars and sixty seven cents. You ask why the tablets look different than those you got at the other pharmacy. I explain that they are from a different manufacturer. Tomorrow you'll be back to tell me they don't work as well.
Now imagine this wasn't you at all, but the person who dropped off their prescription three people ahead of you, and you'll start to have an idea why.....your prescription takes so damn long to fill.

Are you sure you don't work for the post office?Sounds like you don't need to be near a gun any way soon.

Nothing but quality entertainment after a hard day's work. Thank you, and may the force be with you.

thereyago wrote:

Why your Pharmacist hates you so much....
The question of why it took 2 hours for you to get 20 Vicodin has remained unanswered. I offer the following prescription scenario:
You come to the counter. I am on the phone with a drunk dude who wants the phone number to the grocery store next door. After I instruct him on the virtues of 411, you tell me your doctor was to phone in your prescription to me. Your doctor hasn't, and you're unwilling to wait until he does. Being in a generous mood, I call your doctor's office and am put on hold for 5 minutes, then informed that your prescription was phoned in to my competitor on the other side of town. Phoning the competitor, I am immediately put on hold for 5 minutes before speaking to a clerk, who puts me back on hold to wait for the pharmacist. Your prescription is then transferred to me, and now I have to get the 2 phone calls that have been put on hold while this was being done. Now I return to the counter to ask if we've ever filled prescriptions for you before. For some reason, you think that "for you" means "for your cousin" and you answer my question with a "yes", whereupon I go the computer and see you are not on file.
..........

You could use some meds!!!!

PATIENCE wrote:

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE....WHAT IF SOME ONE TOLD YOU IT WAS TO LONG TO HAVE TO WAIT ON YOU.

I work for a pharmacy...this story sums up what we go through daily.

LMAO wrote:

Oh my gosh, you need to write a book just for the humor. I have laughed silly over this. I can visualize every moment and have also seem to have the same similar scenarios with customers of mine, different profession but totally know how you felt during it all. At the time though, I don't find it funny. But after reading this, it helps a little to know there are others that have to deal with dumbasses out there. Why can't people just have everything ready when they come to the counter. And stop being so lazy and stupid....

You have got to be kidding? There are no lazy, stupid people in Kentucky. Oh wait, I'm dreaming again...lmfao !!!

thereyago wrote:

Why your Pharmacist hates you so much....
The question of why it took 2 hours for you to get 20 Vicodin has remained unanswered. I offer the following prescription scenario:
You come to the counter. I am on the phone with a drunk dude who wants the phone number to the grocery store next door. After I instruct him on the virtues of 411, you tell me your doctor was to phone in your prescription to me. Your doctor hasn't, and you're unwilling to wait until he does. Being in a generous mood, I call your doctor's office and am put on hold for 5 minutes, then informed that your prescription was phoned in to my competitor on the other side of town. Phoning the competitor, I am immediately put on hold for 5 minutes before speaking to a clerk, who puts me back on hold to wait for the pharmacist. Your prescription is then transferred to me, and now I have to get the 2 phone calls that have been put on hold while this was being done. Now I return to the counter to ask if we've ever filled prescriptions for you before. For some reason, you think that "for you" means "for your cousin" and you answer my question with a "yes", whereupon I go the computer and see you are not on file.
..........

When you deal with ignorant people on drugs what do you expect?

This is absolutely hilarious and yet so true! I used to work in a customer service environment and I know exactly what you are going through. People drive me crazy with this stupidity. Everyone should be required to work one day in customer service and they would change the way they act.

willow wrote:

This is absolutely hilarious and yet so true! I used to work in a customer service environment and I know exactly what you are going through. People drive me crazy with this stupidity. Everyone should be required to work one day in customer service and they would change the way they act.

I wish one day would change how they act....but I really don't think so. So many are just so lazy to do anything! They have had so much done for them by the government, they feel like we all owe them. Then there are those that (sorry to be so blunt) but just born, raised and bleed STUPID! Until I actually worked with the public on a daily basis, I would have never believed that they were honestly that stupid. I have actually had GROWN people come up to me to write a check and YES they honestly thought as long as they still had checks, that must mean they still have money in the bank. I have seen their children as young as 8 take the money from their hands and figure out how much to give me to pay for their bill. Their 8 year old was actually doing the transaction. It's sad but true. And for the most part, the ones that have nothing else to do but sit around and draw a check each month, are never in a hurry to get their business done so you can get through the line. They have all the time in the world. And no matter who or how many is in line, they seem to find the need to tell you about the diarrhea they had all night long or even more personal health issues. After working with the public for many years, I am beginning to think that nothing, absolutely nothing can surprise me anymore......

This was hilarious! Everyone should know how much crap a pharmacy goes throught to fill one prescription! You hit it on the nose!

thereyago wrote:

.........
The phone rings.
I inform you that the insurance the other pharmacy has on file for you isn't working. You produce a card in under 10 seconds that you seemed to be unable to find before. What you were really doing was hoping your old insurance would still work because it had a lower copay. Your new card prominently displays the logo of Nebraska Blue Cross, and although Nebraska Blue cross does in fact handle millions of prescription claims every day, for the group you belong to, the claim should go to a company called Caremark, whose logo is nowhere on the card.
The phone rings.
A lady comes to the counter wanting to know why the cherry flavored antacid works better than the lemon cream flavored antacid. What probably happened is that she had a milder case of heartburn when she took the cherry flavored brand, as they both use the exact same ingredient in the same strength. She will not be satisfied though until I confirm her belief that the cherry flavored brand is the superior product. I file your claim with Caremark, who rejects it because you had a 30 day supply of Vicodin filled 15 days ago at another pharmacy. You swear to me on your mother's'....
The phone rings.
........life that you did not have a Vicodin prescription filled recently. I call Caremark and am immediately placed on hold.
The most beautiful woman on the planet walks by and notices not a thing. She has never talked to a pharmacist and never will.
Upon reaching a human at Caremark, I am informed that the Vicodin prescription was indeed filled at another of my competitors. When I tell you this, you say you got hydrocodone there, not Vicodin. Another little part of me dies.
The phone rings.
It turns out that a few days after your doctor wrote your last prescription, he told you to take it more frequently, meaning that what Caremark thought was a 30-day supply is indeed a 15 day supply with the new instructions. I call your doctor's office to confirm this and am immediately placed on hold. I call Caremark to get an override and am immediately placed on hold. My laser printer has a paper jam. It's time for my tech to go to lunch. Caremark issues the override and your claim goes though. Your insurance saves you 85 cents off the regular price of the prescription.
The phone rings.
At the cash register you sign....
The phone rings.
.......the acknowledgement that you received a copy of my HIPAA policy and that I offered the required OBRA counseling for new prescriptions. You remark that you're glad that your last pharmacist told you you shouldn't take over the counter Tylenol along with the Vicodin, and that the acetaminophen you're taking instead seems to be working pretty well. I break the news to you that Tylenol is simply a brand name for acetaminophen and you don't believe me. You fumble around for 2 minutes looking for your checkbook and spend another 2 minutes making out a check for four dollars and sixty seven cents. You ask why the tablets look different than those you got at the other pharmacy. I explain that they are from a different manufacturer. Tomorrow you'll be back to tell me they don't work as well.
Now imagine this wasn't you at all, but the person who dropped off their prescription three people ahead of you, and you'll start to have an idea why.....your prescription takes so damn long to fill.

LMAO but it's relly not funny because usually I'm the one sitting behind them at the drive thru window thru window to pick up an order I already called in

What is so funny? I hate having to wait on those lazy Pharmacists! I give them the paper and then they want some kind of inurance... so I start pulling out the things in my wallet until the yare happy with one of them... THEN they have the nerve to tell me that it is too soon to refill my "Legal" narcodics... but it's not MY fault my cousin takes three of them on a Friday night... What am I supposed to do? Then the guy gets on the phone and Chit-Chat's with his wife or boyfriend or whatever for a LONG time!!! I don't even talk to my mom that long! Then when he FINALLY gives me the goods he wants some OUTRAGEOUS amount of money... I don't have $5.00; so I write a check hoping that the welfare makes it before the check clears the bank. I also ask for a pack of smokes and the guy looks at me like I am a hipocryte or an ass-hole. Jerk tells me I have to buy the smokes at the front counter; and now I have to spend TWICE as much time at the store.
THANKS A LOT PHARMACIST!

BIG SHOT wrote:

What is so funny? I hate having to wait on those lazy Pharmacists! I give them the paper and then they want some kind of inurance... so I start pulling out the things in my wallet until the yare happy with one of them... THEN they have the nerve to tell me that it is too soon to refill my "Legal" narcodics... but it's not MY fault my cousin takes three of them on a Friday night... What am I supposed to do? Then the guy gets on the phone and Chit-Chat's with his wife or boyfriend or whatever for a LONG time!!! I don't even talk to my mom that long! Then when he FINALLY gives me the goods he wants some OUTRAGEOUS amount of money... I don't have $5.00; so I write a check hoping that the welfare makes it before the check clears the bank. I also ask for a pack of smokes and the guy looks at me like I am a hipocryte or an ass-hole. Jerk tells me I have to buy the smokes at the front counter; and now I have to spend TWICE as much time at the store.
THANKS A LOT PHARMACIST!

Poor baby.......let me call you a wham-bulance!

i am a pharmacy tech, and your story originally seemed sort of funny, except that that's exactly what i go through daily. i work at a 24hr pharmacy, the only one in a 150 mile radius to be accurate, and the guy you describe is every customer we get after 10 pm.

Thanks for the laugh! I really enjoyed this. Thankfully my prescriptions only take about 5 minutes to get filled. I do feel for everyone that works at a Pharmacy. I know it has to be stressful!

wondering wrote:

<quoted text>You could use some meds!!!!

Maybe they're already on "meds". Suppose?