I have realized by working in a pharmacy that many people don't know very much about pharmacy. That's totally understandable- where would you learn it? So I decided to write a blog about it with some information you should know about pharmacy. I've created a quiz below so you can test how much you know! Before you take the quiz though, there are a couple of things not in the quiz that I think you should know.
If you are on chronic medication, make sure you know what each one is used for. Also know at least one of the names of the drug(s) (brand or generic)you are taking. Be able to associate the color/shape of the pill with its name and use.
Read the instructions written on the bottle. REALLY read them. Many people think they've read them, but there are a lot of people who are taking their medication incorrectly. Your doctor has often written the instructions so they are tailored to you and your condition, so if you're taking them a different way than prescribed, your condition may not be controlled. I see this most often with antibiotics. A lot of people assume that they are all to be taken once a day, but many antibiotics are taken differently. If you don't take them as prescribed, you will most likely be sick for a longer period of time.
Take responsibility for your medicine. Make sure you know when you are almost of it pills, when your refills will run out, how to take them, etc. The pharmacy can usually help you with a lot of this, but you should take responsibility for your health. Before you take your medication from the pharmacy, read the labels or pamphlet and make sure you are getting the right medication and the strength you are usually on. If anything has changed, ask the pharmacist.
One more thing- many patients come in, drop their prescription off and get very angry when we tell them it will be 15 minutes. I wanted to give you a glimpse into the process that happens once you drop off your prescription so you know what to expect.
-You drop your prescription off.
-If you haven't filled at that pharmacy before, they will need to get basic information from you including any allergies to medication and your insurance card.
-Once entering you into their computer system or finding your profile, they will enter the prescription into the computer.
-Once it's entered, they check to see if insurance accepts or rejects the claim. Unlike most doctor's offices, pharmacies usually communicate electronically with insurance companies so it takes less than a minute to see this.
-Once they get the claim back from the insurance they either begin the filling process or they have to figure out why it was rejected. If they have to call insurance, you might have to add 30 minutes or so onto your wait time.
-Once the prescription is entered and is approved by your insurance, the techs will print the label for your drug. The correct drug is pulled and it is checked against the drug that it lists on the label.
-The drug is counted and put into a pill bottle. If it is a controlled drug, it is counted a second time.
-A label is put on the pill bottle and handed to the pharmacist.
-The pharmacist begins the verification procedure and makes any changes if needed.
-The prescription is ok'ed and sold to the patient.
Throughout this whole process, many other things happen- the phone rings, people are picking up prescriptions in the store and at drive thru, doctors & nurses are calling in prescriptions and responding to questions, patients are asking questions about over the counter meds, and insurance rejections are being taken care of. All of these things add to the time you have to wait for your prescription.
The important thing to remember is that we know you have been waiting at the doctor for a long time and that you don't feel well. We want you to have your prescription as fast as possible. We also hate it when you have to wait longer than you think you should. If you can, try to be as patient as possible. Waiting is easier if you aren't mad. And remember: we (the pharmacy staff) are here to help you!
Ok, enough babbling: take the quiz!! (You have to put your cursor on the question to see the whole thing)
5 comments:
YESSS! 10/13 correct! I should be a pharmacist.
bahahahaha just kidding. I have a horrible memory and would probably end up killing someone.
Good job!! I'm impressed.
woot! 12 out of 13!
Working in a health care industry where I have to produce 'rx's' to patients, I could feel these questions being written. :)
Nice job! Did you miss the "how quickly can a script be filled" one? That one was a little tricky...I probably could have worded it better. I just meant the absolute fastest it can be done.
Yup, that was the one. I wouldn't have blamed you if you used a longer time, since no matter what you usually tell people, they hear a # and that is the only thing they hear. lol :)
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