During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
Bay Area, California, Crazy Requests, Jerk, Pharmacy, USA | Right | March 6, 2018
(I just started working at a small, independent pharmacy. It’s located in the downtown area of a small town that is predominantly upper-middle-class families. And with that population, we get patients in that ask for a bit more specific requests than what I’m used to. I have just started and am being trained when I overhear this conversation with my technician. Note: since we are small pharmacy, profit margins are tight, so for expensive medications, we don’t open the bottles and fill them until the patient has come to pick up and paid. We pride ourselves on customer service, doing almost anything for the customer.)
Customer: “I’m here to pick up for [Customer].”
Tech: “All right, just give me a few moments to pour these bottles into the vial.”
(She is getting over 400 tablets of the medication.)
Customer: “Let me see what you’re putting it in.”
Tech: *shows the vial* “Will this one be good for you?”
Customer: “No! That one is too tall; I’m going to spill it.
Tech: *shows different vial* “What about this one?”
Customer: “No! It’s too short; I’m going to lose it.”
Tech: *shows another vial* “This one? I can fit it in two of them.”
Customer: “I don’t want to; that’s too much!”
(This repeats for a couple minutes, going over various vials, usually the same one, multiple times, the customer making up some random excuse.)
Tech: *showing her the first vial* “What about this one?”
Customer: “Yes! That one is perfect!”
(The tech finishes up putting her medications together and the patient leaves.)
Me: “How did you handle that without freaking out?”
Tech: “I was about to punch her in her face if she said no to another one of these stupid bottles.”
(I work at a call centre for a German online pharmacy. Unlike other pharmacies, we allow customers to pre-order medicines which requires prescriptions. It should go without saying, but we’re not allowed to ship orders that contain a prescription, until the original is sent to us by a postal service. There are also no shipping costs for our customer, if there is a prescription.)
Me: “Your [Pharmacy]. You are speaking with [My Name].”
Customer: “I placed an order last week at your store and it still hasn’t arrived. Where is it?”
Me: “Oh, that doesn’t sound so good. Could you please tell me your order number?”
(The customer doesn’t have it, so I search for her by name. It takes me a while to find her, as she has a very common name and doesn’t want to give me her postal code.)
Me: “Ah, there we have you. I’m afraid your prescription for [Medicine] hasn’t arrived yet.”
Customer: “This is outrageous! I do not need a prescription for that order! Send them to me at once!”
(I try to stay cool.)
Me: “Ma’am, [Medicine] requires a prescription, by law. We cannot deliver this order until we have the original prescription.”
Customer: “Then you should at least have told me so!”
Me: “Our online store has classified this item as one that requires a prescription. You have also received an order confirmation that asks you for your prescription.”
Customer: “No, I never received a confirmation, so don’t dare lie to me!”
Me: “Uh… Ma’am, I do not understand; you received the confirmation on [date and time].”
Customer: “No, I never did; I’ll show you!”
(I can hear her typing and the sound of a mail program opening. She waits for a moment, and then she starts mumbling to herself.)
Customer: “’Dear Mrs. [Name], thank you for your order. Please send us your your original prescription by mail, so we can continue with that order.’”
(The customer wheezes angrily.)
Customer: “This is way too complicated with your store! Other pharmacies will send them to me immediately!”
Me: “Ma’am, even other pharmacies have to wait for your prescription, as [Medicine] requires one.”
Customer: “I will never order at your store ever again! I’ve never been insulted this badly in my entire life!”
(The customer called the next day. She made a new order without the prescription and asked if that was all right.)
Bosses & Owners, Canada, Employees, Ignoring & Inattentive, Jerk, Ontario, Pharmacy, Whitby | Working | February 21, 2018
(I get a job at a small pharmacy as a cashier. The job involves a lot more than just simple cashiering, but I catch on quite quickly, and within a month the possibility of increasing my hours is discussed. The store then goes under new owners, but all the cashiers are kept on staff, and assured that their jobs are secure. Fast forward to my next shift. This takes place in July.)
Owner: “[My Name], can you come into the office for a minute? I just want to have a quick word.”
Me: “Sure!” *thinking the uniforms he ordered for us had come in*
Owner: “I’ve been thinking it over, and this really isn’t a job that can be done part-time. In order to stay up to date on all the policies and information, everyone really has to be here full-time. With all the students leaving soon to go back to school, I’ve decided that it would be easiest to let all the students go now.”
Me: “Okay…” *thinking I’m about to be offered the full-time position, as I’m not a student*
Owner: “I’m sorry; I just find it easiest to terminate people before their shift starts.”
Me: “Wait. What?”
Owner: “As of right now, you’re terminated.”
Me: “But I’m not a student.”
Owner: *shocked* “What?! You’re not?”
Me: “No. I’ve been out of high school for a few years, and am holding off on going to college.”
Owner: “Oh, nobody told me that.”
Me: “So, is there any way I could be kept on, full-time?”
Owner: “I would have to think about it.”
Me: *blank look*
Owner: “You see, I already filled the full-time positions, and filed the termination paperwork. If you want to reapply, I’ll consider rehiring you if something falls through with one of the new employees, but all but one have already accepted the job, and I already offered it to the other one.”
Me: “Okay, then. When does the termination take effect?”
Owner: “Right now. I did it now because it’s easiest to do it, and get it done within the first three months.”
(I was too shocked in the moment to say anything, but once I processed what had happened, I was — and still am — livid. How incompetent must one be to skip something so basic as reading employee files BEFORE terminating them, to ensure they’re actually being fired for a legitimate reason?)
Bad Behavior, Bizarre, Massachusetts, Pharmacy, USA | Healthy | February 14, 2018
(I’m a pharmacist at a small, but very busy, chain store. I am working the register along with one of the technicians, due to us being understaffed.)
Me: “Hi! How are you doing today, ma’am?”
Customer: “Israel!”
Me: “Pardon?”
Customer: “Israel!”
(At the pharmacy register, in order to pick up a prescription, we must be provided with the first and last name, along with the date of birth.)
Me: “Is that your name, ma’am?”
Customer: “Israel!”
Me: *getting frustrated since there is a line behind her going up two aisles* “May I please have your name?”
Customer: “Israel! My name is Israel!”
Me: “Okay, thank you. May I please have your last name?”
Customer: “Israel!”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. I misunderstood. I thought your first name was Israel. Could I please have your first name, then?”
Customer: “Israel! My name is Israel! What do you not understand? This is ridiculous! I demand to speak to the pharmacist!”
Me: *trying not to scream* “I’m very sorry, ma’am. I am the pharmacist. I just need your first and last name in order to view your profile. Could you please give me your first name followed by your last?”
Customer: *she is now screaming at this point* “This is unbelievable!”
(She looks at the people in line behind her for support. They all give me a sympathetic look, instead.)
Customer: “From now on, I’m taking my business to [Other Retail Chain Pharmacy]!”
Me: “I’m very sorry for the inconvenience, ma’am. Could I please have your first and last name, in order to speed up the transaction? We are quite busy today.”
Customer: “Israel! My name is Israel! Israel [Last Name].”
(Now that I finally have her first and last name in the system, I am prompted with the screen that asks for the date of birth.)
Me: “Thank you, ma’am. And could I have your date of birth, please?”
Customer: “What kind of pharmacy is this?! What will you want next? My social security number?!”
Me: “That won’t be necessary, ma’am.”
(By this time, the technician at the register next to me has gone through about three patients, while I am still with this lady.)
Customer: “My birthday is [date]!”
Me: “All right, thank you. It looks like we have three prescriptions ready for you. Let me go get those for you.” *I fetch the prescriptions and finish the transaction fairly normally* “All right, ma’am. Before you leave, do you have any questions about the medications?”
Customer: “Yes. I would like to speak to the pharmacist!”
Me: “I am the pharmacist, ma’am.”
Customer: “No, you’re not!”
Me: “I can assure you that I am, in fact, the pharmacist, ma’am.”
Customer: *all disgruntled* “Well… Well… I want to speak to the pharmacist who was here yesterday! Where is he?!”
Me: “That was our other pharmacist.”
Customer: “Well, I demand to speak to him! Go fetch him!”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. He isn’t here today.”
Customer: “This is ridiculous! I have nothing but trouble at this store!”
Me: “I’m sorry that you feel that way, ma’am. I can answer any questions that you have about the medication, though.”
Customer: “No! I’ll just die! No one can tell me how to take this medication! You don’t even have a pharmacist here! I’m going to die because of your incompetence!”
Me: “Ma’am, as I’ve said, I am the pharmacist, and I would be more than happy to walk you through the proper way to take your medications. If you would like, you can come back tomorrow, too, and the other pharmacist will be here.”
Customer: “Fine! Show me, since you think I’m too stupid to take my own medications!”
Me: “I never said you were too stupid, ma’am.”
Customer: “Yes, you did! But whatever. Show me!”
(I instructed the lady on how to take her medications, and she finally walked away. Shortly after, the store manager came down to the pharmacy asking what happened. I asked what he was referring to and he stated that a lady was complaining that I “verbally and mentally abused her.”)
(In Australia, purchasing certain medications requires the cashier, by law, to ascertain for whom the medication is intended and whether or not they’ve used the medication before. It’s about half an hour before closing time and it’s been a busy day, so I’m running on autopilot, when a man comes up to the counter.)
Male Customer: “Can I have some [period pain medication], please?”
Me: “Sure. That’s just for yourself, and you’ve used it before
Jerk, Money, Pharmacy, USA | Right | January 31, 2018
(I work in a regional pharmacy and convenience store chain. One of the services we offer is check cashing, but with a hefty fee, since we are not a bank. The minimum fee is $3, and it shifts to 2% of the check for any amount over $150. The fee is automatically deducted from the check total, and we give the customer the difference. A woman comes in on a Sunday afternoon, demanding we cash her check. Instead of going to customer service, she heads to the pharmacy counter and tries to give them her check. The head pharmacist calls down to me that I will have a customer soon.)
Me: “Hello! You want a check cashed?”
(The customer, an elderly woman, pushes the check at me with a humph.)
Customer: “Yes, that one. My daughter is in town from DC, and I have to take her out to dinner.”
Me: *punching in the check total to get the fee amount* “All right, the fee for check cashing is 2% of the check, so for $259.50, it’s going to be a $5.19 fee.”
Customer: “You’re kidding! Well! This is the last time I do this; I’m pulling out all my prescriptions!”
Me: *thinking that’s a weird knee-jerk reaction* “Okay. Did you still want to cash this check?”
Customer: “Well, yes! I have to take my daughter out to dinner! She came up here from DC! This is ridiculous; I want to talk to a manager! You don’t do this to loyal customers. I’m going to pull out all my prescriptions, and I have a lot!”
(I page the manager while she fumes, repeatedly going back to her prescriptions and how she is going to take them all out first thing tomorrow morning. The manager walks in, and she starts berating him, too.)
Customer: “I have been a customer here for years. You don’t charge loyal customers $5 for cashing checks! I’m going to pull out my prescriptions!”
Manager: “That’s not our fee; the check cashing company sets that. It’s the fee they charge for using their services.”
(The customer humphs for a bit while the manager goes through the procedure, which is tedious and done on a separate machine. She goes silent for a moment before perking back up, turning to me while pointing at the manager.)
Customer: “No! Who’s above him? Who’s the highest manager?!”
Manager: “The store manager.”
Customer: “And who is that?”
Me: “[Store Manager].”
Customer: “Is he here?”
Me: “No.”
Customer: “Is he here tomorrow?!”
Manager: “Yes, [Store Manager] will be in tomorrow.”
Customer: “Good! I’m going to get my money back and pull out all my prescriptions!”
(We hand her the keypad to put in her social security number, and she acts like it’s the most complex device she’s ever used. It’s a nine-digit keypad with a green button and a red button. All you have to do is type the number, hit the green button, type the number again for confirmation, and hit the green button again. It takes a lot of prodding, interspersed with, “What do I do now?!” We also have to key in her driver’s license, the confirmation code from the receipt, the state, the day of the transaction, and so forth.)
Customer: “Why is this taking so long?!“
Me: “It’s a process. We have to go through extra steps and security, since we aren’t a bank.”
Customer: “Well, who do I talk to about pulling out my prescriptions?”
Me: “The pharmacy.”
(She goes strangely quiet after that, letting us complete the transaction with minor grumbling. I count out the amount of the check, minus the fee, making sure I am on camera as I do. I proceed to lay it flat on the counter to show her while I count it again, but she snatches it from me.)
Customer: “No! I’ll count it! I can’t wait to come in tomorrow and talk to your manager! I’m going to pull out all my prescriptions!”
(She finally takes her money and storms off. The head pharmacist pokes his head in.)
Pharmacist: “So, how’d that go?”
(I relay the whole story and he just laughs, shaking his head. He goes on to tell me how she’s been a chronic pain in the pharmacy’s neck for years.)
Pharmacist: “She always says that. If I had a dollar for every time she threatened to pull out her prescriptions, I’d be a lot closer to retirement.”
At Least It’s Still Just A Penny For Your Thoughts
Money, Overheard, Pennsylvania, Pharmacy, USA | Healthy | January 24, 2018
(I am in line waiting to pick up a prescription. The customer at the register is taking longer than usual. The worker tells him to step to the side while they try to sort out the problem. I overhear this between the man who is picking up the prescription and his friend.)
Friend: “It’s only three dollars.”
Man: “I ain’t got that kind of money. Do you know anybody with that kind of money? These is crazy times we live in.”
Fredericksburg, Pharmacy, USA, Virginia | Healthy | January 11, 2018
(I work in a popular chain pharmacy/convenience store as a pharmacy technician. It is a week before Christmas and patients are swarming in to get medications refilled before they depart for the holidays. I’m currently working at a prescription filling station that is directly across from where the pharmacist verifies them, allowing us to talk as we work. Another technician takes in a couple of prescriptions and preps them for data entry; however, when the pharmacist spots them, he immediately sees a problem.)
Pharmacist: “Whoa, I am not filling this.”
Other Technician: “Why, what’s up?”
Pharmacist: “This drug combo, carisoprodol, benzo, and an opiate…”
Me: “Bad combo?”
Pharmacist: “It’s outright lethal. I need to speak with the patient.”
(We try to page the patient back to the pharmacy via the store intercom, but it appears that they’ve already left. The pharmacist decides to contact the doctor who prescribed the drug trio to alert them to the potentially fatal consequences. He immediately identifies this doctor as being a sketchy one that he has dealt with in the past. Nonetheless, he steels himself for the call and gets him on the line.)
Pharmacist: “Hi, I’m calling because of a couple of prescriptions that you’ve prescribed for [Patient]. When taken together these drugs are a potentially lethal combo. I wanted to see if perhaps we could if we could get the carisoprodol switched to, say Flexeril.”
Doctor: “There’s been no issues in the past.”
Pharmacist: “Right… but you are aware that is THE Unholy Trinity of drugs, correct? If nothing has happened previously then great, but all it takes is a single time or misstep and the patient is going to die. I highly suggest a switch here.”
Doctor: “I don’t want to do that.”
Pharmacist: *blinks* “So, just so we’re on the same page, you want to knowingly prescribe this potentially deadly combo to the patient, rather than switching?”
Doctor: “I’ve already discussed it with the patient. It’s fine.”
Pharmacist: “Okay, well, I’m going to notify the patient of your decision and make them aware of what’s going on here. I need to cover my bases.”
Doctor: “All right, sure.”
(The pharmacist was shocked by the nonchalant nature of the doctor, but decided to follow his gut instinct and not fill all three scripts. While there are noted instances of patients taking these drugs together, they are few and far between, and the benefits do not outweigh the risks; finally, the sketchy nature of the doctor meant that the pharmacist was less than comfortable doing so. He notified the patient of the situation (who seemed more disappointed with the fact that we wouldn’t fill all three drugs than with the fact that the combo was lethal) and wrote a note on the prescription stating that it was denied as well as our contact number should the patient try to have it filled elsewhere.)
England, Pharmacy, Reading, UK | Healthy | January 4, 2018
(We have a new member of staff at the pharmacy and we’ve got a number of regulars who come in to get their weekly medications, often quite a few items. This employee somehow gets it into her head that anyone with a weekly prescription is a drug abuser. One of our regulars is on a lot of different pain medications.)
Regular: “Good morning! I’m here to pick up my prescriptions. My name is [Regular].”
(The new staff member goes out to the back of the store and comes back out a few minutes later.)
New Staff: “No, there isn’t anything.”
Regular: “I pick this up every week, and I know I have at least three months’ worth of repeats for all these from the doctor.”
New Staff: “No. No, we have nothing.”
Regular: *spotting our pharmacist who knows her very well* “Hi, [Pharmacist]! Got my weekly meds?”
Pharmacist: “Oh, yeah. I did them yesterday—”
New Staff: “No! No, you didn’t. We have nothing!” *to Regular* “You need to leave; we have nothing for you!”
Pharmacist: “Don’t be daft. I’ll go fetch them.” *heads to the back and comes out with a large bag* “Can I just check your address and date of birth?”
Regular: *gives details*
Pharmacist: “Yup, here you go. See you next week!”
New Staff: “I told her we had nothing! Why did you make me look like a liar?!”
Pharmacist: “Because you were lying? [Regular] comes in every week and I always have her meds done.”
New Staff: “I saw what she’s on. She’s a f****** druggie. You shouldn’t enable these people.”
Regular: “I beg your pardon?”
Pharmacist: “Okay, we do not treat customers like that. Whatever personal views you have on certain medications, you leave those views at home.”
New Staff: “She’s a druggie. Why would anyone else need [strong pain medication]?”
Regular: “Because half my lower spine was smashed in an accident and I live in constant, agonising pain?”
New Staff: “Shut up, druggie.”
Pharmacist: “Right. That’s it. Go home.”
(She was fired that day, and officially cautioned by the police when for two weeks afterward she kept hanging around the pharmacy entrance waiting for our regular customer so she could yell at them some more. We know this because she told EVERY other customer entering our store. Luckily, our regular has a good sense of humour and just laughed off the whole episode.)
Finland, Health & Body, Pharmacy | Healthy | January 3, 2018
(The men in my family tend to start suffering from hair loss in their mid-20s, and mine seems to have started, so I go to a nearby pharmacy to buy certain shampoo recommended by my stepfather. Note that I have grown my hair for a few years and it’s currently some 18 to 20 inches long.)
Employee: “Hello, can I help you with anything?”
Me: “Yes, I was looking for certain shampoo but don’t remember the name of the product.”
Employee: “What kind of shampoo? For dry hair, or–”
Me: “For hair loss.”
Employee: *goes silent and stares at my long hair, then grabs a bottle off a shelf* “Well, we have this one.”
Me: “That’s the product; thank you!”
(I only realized what had happened after I got back home.)
Jerk, Money, Pharmacy, USA | Right | January 31, 2018
(I work in a regional pharmacy and convenience store chain. One of the services we offer is check cashing, but with a hefty fee, since we are not a bank. The minimum fee is $3, and it shifts to 2% of the check for any amount over $150. The fee is automatically deducted from the check total, and we give the customer the difference. A woman comes in on a Sunday afternoon, demanding we cash her check. Instead of going to customer service, she heads to the pharmacy counter and tries to give them her check. The head pharmacist calls down to me that I will have a customer soon.)
Me: “Hello! You want a check cashed?”
(The customer, an elderly woman, pushes the check at me with a humph.)
Customer: “Yes, that one. My daughter is in town from DC, and I have to take her out to dinner.”
Me: *punching in the check total to get the fee amount* “All right, the fee for check cashing is 2% of the check, so for $259.50, it’s going to be a $5.19 fee.”
Customer: “You’re kidding! Well! This is the last time I do this; I’m pulling out all my prescriptions!”
Me: *thinking that’s a weird knee-jerk reaction* “Okay. Did you still want to cash this check?”
Customer: “Well, yes! I have to take my daughter out to dinner! She came up here from DC! This is ridiculous; I want to talk to a manager! You don’t do this to loyal customers. I’m going to pull out all my prescriptions, and I have a lot!”
(I page the manager while she fumes, repeatedly going back to her prescriptions and how she is going to take them all out first thing tomorrow morning. The manager walks in, and she starts berating him, too.)
Customer: “I have been a customer here for years. You don’t charge loyal customers $5 for cashing checks! I’m going to pull out my prescriptions!”
Manager: “That’s not our fee; the check cashing company sets that. It’s the fee they charge for using their services.”
(The customer humphs for a bit while the manager goes through the procedure, which is tedious and done on a separate machine. She goes silent for a moment before perking back up, turning to me while pointing at the manager.)
Customer: “No! Who’s above him? Who’s the highest manager?!”
Manager: “The store manager.”
Customer: “And who is that?”
Me: “[Store Manager].”
Customer: “Is he here?”
Me: “No.”
Customer: “Is he here tomorrow?!”
Manager: “Yes, [Store Manager] will be in tomorrow.”
Customer: “Good! I’m going to get my money back and pull out all my prescriptions!”
(We hand her the keypad to put in her social security number, and she acts like it’s the most complex device she’s ever used. It’s a nine-digit keypad with a green button and a red button. All you have to do is type the number, hit the green button, type the number again for confirmation, and hit the green button again. It takes a lot of prodding, interspersed with, “What do I do now?!” We also have to key in her driver’s license, the confirmation code from the receipt, the state, the day of the transaction, and so forth.)
Customer: “Why is this taking so long?!“
Me: “It’s a process. We have to go through extra steps and security, since we aren’t a bank.”
Customer: “Well, who do I talk to about pulling out my prescriptions?”
Me: “The pharmacy.”
(She goes strangely quiet after that, letting us complete the transaction with minor grumbling. I count out the amount of the check, minus the fee, making sure I am on camera as I do. I proceed to lay it flat on the counter to show her while I count it again, but she snatches it from me.)
Customer: “No! I’ll count it! I can’t wait to come in tomorrow and talk to your manager! I’m going to pull out all my prescriptions!”
(She finally takes her money and storms off. The head pharmacist pokes his head in.)
Pharmacist: “So, how’d that go?”
(I relay the whole story and he just laughs, shaking his head. He goes on to tell me how she’s been a chronic pain in the pharmacy’s neck for years.)
Pharmacist: “She always says that. If I had a dollar for every time she threatened to pull out her prescriptions, I’d be a lot closer to retirement.”
At Least It’s Still Just A Penny For Your Thoughts
Money, Overheard, Pennsylvania, Pharmacy, USA | Healthy | January 24, 2018
(I am in line waiting to pick up a prescription. The customer at the register is taking longer than usual. The worker tells him to step to the side while they try to sort out the problem. I overhear this between the man who is picking up the prescription and his friend.)
Friend: “It’s only three dollars.”
Man: “I ain’t got that kind of money. Do you know anybody with that kind of money? These is crazy times we live in.”
Fredericksburg, Pharmacy, USA, Virginia | Healthy | January 11, 2018
(I work in a popular chain pharmacy/convenience store as a pharmacy technician. It is a week before Christmas and patients are swarming in to get medications refilled before they depart for the holidays. I’m currently working at a prescription filling station that is directly across from where the pharmacist verifies them, allowing us to talk as we work. Another technician takes in a couple of prescriptions and preps them for data entry; however, when the pharmacist spots them, he immediately sees a problem.)
Pharmacist: “Whoa, I am not filling this.”
Other Technician: “Why, what’s up?”
Pharmacist: “This drug combo, carisoprodol, benzo, and an opiate…”
Me: “Bad combo?”
Pharmacist: “It’s outright lethal. I need to speak with the patient.”
(We try to page the patient back to the pharmacy via the store intercom, but it appears that they’ve already left. The pharmacist decides to contact the doctor who prescribed the drug trio to alert them to the potentially fatal consequences. He immediately identifies this doctor as being a sketchy one that he has dealt with in the past. Nonetheless, he steels himself for the call and gets him on the line.)
Pharmacist: “Hi, I’m calling because of a couple of prescriptions that you’ve prescribed for [Patient]. When taken together these drugs are a potentially lethal combo. I wanted to see if perhaps we could if we could get the carisoprodol switched to, say Flexeril.”
Doctor: “There’s been no issues in the past.”
Pharmacist: “Right… but you are aware that is THE Unholy Trinity of drugs, correct? If nothing has happened previously then great, but all it takes is a single time or misstep and the patient is going to die. I highly suggest a switch here.”
Doctor: “I don’t want to do that.”
Pharmacist: *blinks* “So, just so we’re on the same page, you want to knowingly prescribe this potentially deadly combo to the patient, rather than switching?”
Doctor: “I’ve already discussed it with the patient. It’s fine.”
Pharmacist: “Okay, well, I’m going to notify the patient of your decision and make them aware of what’s going on here. I need to cover my bases.”
Doctor: “All right, sure.”
(The pharmacist was shocked by the nonchalant nature of the doctor, but decided to follow his gut instinct and not fill all three scripts. While there are noted instances of patients taking these drugs together, they are few and far between, and the benefits do not outweigh the risks; finally, the sketchy nature of the doctor meant that the pharmacist was less than comfortable doing so. He notified the patient of the situation (who seemed more disappointed with the fact that we wouldn’t fill all three drugs than with the fact that the combo was lethal) and wrote a note on the prescription stating that it was denied as well as our contact number should the patient try to have it filled elsewhere.)
Diễn Đàn Người Việt Hải Ngoại. Tự do ngôn luận, an toàn và uy tín. V́ một tương lai tươi đẹp cho các thế hệ Việt Nam hăy ghé thăm chúng tôi, hăy tâm sự với chúng tôi mỗi ngày, mỗi giờ và mỗi giây phút có thể. VietBF.Com Xin cám ơn các bạn, chúc tất cả các bạn vui vẻ và gặp nhiều may mắn.
Welcome to Vietnamese American Community, Vietnamese European, Canadian, Australian Forum, Vietnamese Overseas Forum. Freedom of speech, safety and prestige. For a beautiful future for Vietnamese generations, please visit us, talk to us every day, every hour and every moment possible. VietBF.Com Thank you all and good luck.
News
Library
Technology
Giải Trí
Portals
Tin Sốt
Home
