A customer came in today and dropped off a prescription. Immediately after looking at it, I realized the doctor had made a mistake (the prescription simply didn't make any sense as he wrote it). I told her that we'd have to call the doctor's office to clarify the prescription, and I told her to check back with us in about 20 minutes to see if we'd gotten the clarification. She agreed and walked away to do some shopping.
I went to call the doctor's office, but of course, I couldn't actually speak to a human being. Therefore, I had to leave a message. Twenty minutes later, the woman came back looking to pick up her prescription. I told her I couldn't get in touch with the doctor and had to leave a message. Then, she flipped out. She demanded her prescription back saying that she needs it right away and will take it to another pharmacy. I tried to explain to her that no other pharmacy would be able to fill the prescription because it was written incorrectly. She didn't care. She stormed out literally stomping her feet like a 4-year old.
What is wrong with people?????? I tell her that the doctor made a mistake, and she gets pissed off at us? Sure, I could have taken a guess as to what the doctor actually wanted, but it would have been just a guess? Would she have been happy if I simply guessed at it? What if I guessed wrong? I guess it doesn't matter to her though. Apparently her time was more important to her than her personal safety.
At times like that, I wish I could whip out a contract that would absolve us from any wrong doing if we filled the prescription incorrectly and have the patient sign it before dispensing. Then after she signed, I could hand her whatever I felt like and say with a smile, "Have a nice day. I hope you don't die!"
Actually... I kind of hope people like that do die.
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4 comments:
Its because these patients see us as a necessary evil, and their dr is the all-knowing, walks-on-water-in-his-spare-time, couldn't-make-a-mistake-if-his-life-depended-in-it kind of guy. We are obviously the one who couldn't figure out what his majesty wanted, like the two rx's I blogged about last night.
Better a stomp of the customer's foot than the bang of the judge's gavel!
OLE' APOTHEACARY is right, however, have you ever thought of it from an independant pharmacy owners perspective. Think of it this way, yesterday I had a patient demand generic Effexor XR because "the dr wrote generic right on there...look at the rx and see for yourself." I already knew this, I informed him, but it doesn't exsist. He stormed out to get it "somewhere else" they told him the same thing and picked up there what I would have given him. Now though he is going to Big Chain pharmacy and quite possibly taking his entire family with him, 10-15 rxs a month becase I had the nerve to say something didn't exsist that actually didn't exsist.
A sorta similar story to your last lines (sorta off topic but not really):
A few days, a pizza delivery guy got belligerent at us at our register
because he wanted a spray to cauterize a deep cut he got. I told him
that a spray didn't exist, and told him that there were syptic pencils
and a dauber syptic pencil I could give him. He told me that a spray
was most definitely a basic first aid item and even poured over our
first aid kits. I pulled the pencil and dauber and showed them to him.
He started to walk off then went back down first aid and came to my
register with a Lanacaine first aid spray. He said, pointing to the
deep wound on his nose, that it had almost cauterized itself and he
would just use that. When I saw it was his NOSE, I rang him up and told
my pharmacist and fellow tech that for all the rudeness and belligerency
he subjected us to, I hope he sprayed it in his eyes and that if he did
and came back to ask what to do, I'd smile and tell him maybe he
shouldn't have been so quick to discount my syptic pencils.
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