Diary of a Neighborhood Pharmacist, Entry #4

Stuff I have learned in a very short time:

Tuesday morning, Mr. Saverino* came in for a refill on his prescription – which he could have had for $83.59. Trouble was, his insurance company thought it was too soon for a refill. They normally won't pay for refills more than a week in advance of the time when the last supply should have been used up. I tried to explain the rules to him, and also suggested that there's no way to get hold of an insurance company at 6am – try after 9am when the insurance companies are at work. He walked away scowling. (No, this was not a medication that would cause a problem if he missed a dose, or even two or three.)

The next morning he was back, making the same demand. Apparently it was my fault for not dragging his insurance company out of bed at 3am to explain that for some reason he'd run out of meds too soon. This time around he stormed off, insisting on speaking to the manager. I presume he wants me fired.

*   *   *   *   *

The next morning, I'm off. I have visions of Mr. Saverino approaching the pharmacy, seeing it closed and gated, running to the manager yet again, this time because he was promised 24-hour service. I don't know for sure, but I grin and hit the snooze alarm button.

*   *   *   *   *

I've been in this business for over three decades, and I've always been about as sympathetic towards everyone as is humanly possible, but in less than a week on this job I've developed as hard a carapace as I've ever seen.

Tuesday night, I dispensed an inhaler to Mrs. Rosales**, who remarked that the inhaler didn't seem to be doing her any good. As we spoke, I realized that nobody had taken the trouble to show her how to use the device – not her physician, not the pharmacist who dispensed it originally. Everybody had been in too much of a hurry. It took about half an hour to show her how to use the inhaler, and to work on coordinating activation and inhalation.

It strikes me that just as the company had given me a cash register without adequate instructions for using it, they had given Mrs. Rosales a life-saving device without adequate training. In my case, all it meant was a bunch of ticked off patients who would swear to go someplace else with their next prescription. In her case, it could have been a lot worse.

*not his real name

**not her real name

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