What grade level are they shooting for ?

This is CVS’ most recent TV ad.. offering double “reward bucks”.. first of all the promotion period starts the day after the ESI/Walgreens agreement took effect and lasts for 90 days. What I find humor in is that they spend most of the commercial trying to make the point that “DOUBLE” and “TWICE” are the […]

1000 things that can go wrong at the drug store

Someone – a Pharmacist – has finally took the time to give examples – just 1000 – of how pharmacy can harm people… and this is just the “tip of the iceberg”…  a airplane can slip off the runway & no one harmed – half a world away – and it is all over the […]

The Common Denominators ?

I have written before about the “THREAT MASTER” https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=1459 In communicating with RPH’s in various work environment.. there seems to be three common denominators – INTIMIDATION – FEAR – MONEY.. and it doesn’t seem to matter at what level you are at in the “pecking order”… from CEO… to  the janitor…  the same management style […]

JP POWER Rx customer satisfaction survey released

Independents come in first AGAIN and mail order slipped even lower than last year…. J.D. Power news release: “Satisfaction among customers using mail order pharmacies to fill their prescriptions continues to decline, falling significantly below customer satisfaction with brick-and-mortar pharmacies… “Overall satisfaction with mail order pharmacies averages 792 (on a 1,000-point scale) in 2012, which […]

Has the NABP’s disconnect with the profession getting wider?

http://www.ok.gov/OSBP/documents/Press%20Release.pdf State Board of Pharmacy Receives National Honor The Oklahoma  State Board of Pharmacy (OSBP) was awarded the Fred T. Mahaffe by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) in recent ceremonies in Philadelphia. The Mahaffey Award honored the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy this year for its outstanding contributions to the protection of […]

Something that came my way !

http://www.cvscaremarkfyi.com/blogs/enhancing-prescription-accuracy-safety-and-effectiveness Here is a quote from this one webpage… “The role of our 25,000 pharmacists is to dispense medicines safely, accurately and efficiently, provide counseling to patients, and oversee pharmacy technicians.” “Under the direct supervision of pharmacists, technicians perform the non-professional aspects of the prescription-filling process, such as clerical duties, data entry, inventory management and […]

New drug QSYMIA available only by mail order via CVS & Walgreens

This is from the package insert as published on their website… Store at controlled room temperature, 15 to 25°C (59 to 77°F). Keep container tightly closed and protect from moisture. This drug has been placed in Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) FDA program… the problem – according to the literature – is the same […]

When a BOP will “interfere” with a work environment

We are often find ourselves discussing the lack of rest/meal breaks… long (14 hr) work days .. and being discouraged to take time to go to the restroom… BOP often state that they won’t interfere with/how with an employer’s means of doing their business… HOWEVER… many states have RPH/tech ratios that are imposed by the […]

Could there be a “hook” under that financial bait ?

When it comes to Medicare/Medicaid payments… Congress has played “games” for years… for those of us old enough ..we remember Medicare HMO… initially get more money/pt than normal Medicare expenditures/pt… after a few years… Congress started pulling back the money… and/or not giving any increases… the HMO’s responded with reducing patient benefits, increases deductibles and […]

Who are our friends and who are our foes?

I just attended a state pharmacy association annual meeting… one of the presentations was from the three current deans from the three college of pharmacies – one just accepted its first class. One Dean stated that they were suppose to pull back from 130 graduates a year to ~ 100 …BUT… thanks to a large […]