Pre-Pharmacy... Old School

One of our pharmacists retired recently... wait, let me rephrase that. The best pharmacist I have worked with retired recently and is in the process of cleaning out her house so she may move far away from this cold and dreary place.

Earlier this week she brought some of us in things that she had discovered while cleaning. My gift? The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 44th Edition, 1963

I'm a science geek and I'm a history geek, so I find this utterly fascinating. To learn the material we are learning today without the internet, graphic calculators or any of our modern conveniences must have been staggering.

I've attached a few pics of the book, as I am still leafing through it, just to show off how damned cool it is. Yes, I'm a nerd, sue me.

Drug Recalls... What The Hell Is Going On?

Anyone remember the days when it was rare to get a drug recall? You know like two years ago or so?

Seriously what the hell is going on? I remember it being a very big deal, and very surprising, when Able Pharmaceuticals went under a few years back. And in the last year there has been major recalls on, what it seems like, everything in the damned pharmacy. Ethex and Actavis damn near recalled everything they make.

On top of that, and this may be related, there are multiple drug shortages right now. I mean I haven't seen a bottle of Isosorbide Mononitrate or Oxycodone IR 5mg come in an order in weeks. Metoprolol ER is another which is quite hard to come by. Hell we got a notice last week that Hydrocodone/APAP 7.5/500mg from Mallinckrodt was unavailable until early March.

Have these companies been so lax in their practices to the point where there is a questioning of their safety? I pray to God the mass media does not get wind of this, speaking of which it's surprising they haven't, because this could be a donkey punch for all involved.

I literally have filled up two folders with drug recalls in the last year. Doesn't help we use six wholesalers so we get six notices. It's like working for fuckin' Initech.

In the long run, I suppose, this is a good thing, but does anyone else think it's gotten a bit out of hand in the last year?

A Day in the Life of a Lowly Pharmacy Drone

8:54am - Open the door to the pharmacy. Notice vial bins are almost empty, drug bottles are still on the counter, garbage bins are full and dishes from last nights dinner are on the pharmacy counter.

9:10am - First round of phone calls and faxes begin. Soon there are sixty prescriptions to be processed. Still working on cleaning up the pharmacy

10:23am - Filled count hits 100, still haven't been able to fill the vial bins. Robot starts dinging letting you know it's out of a drug. You then notice that last night no one took the time to do a robot order. You will be hearing this ding many more times during the day.

10:48am - Your co-tech is with you now, helping and hindering you along. They don't really know how to process every thing which leaves you to run the scripts.

11:13am - After kicking out another fifty scripts you look over and your co-tech is nowhere to be seen. The fifty scripts you've been running for the last twenty minutes lie in a pile untouched. Yet you continue on.

11:31am - The scripts still aren't filled, so you stop to go fill them. You see your co-tech grabbing the order. It consists of one small tote and a refrigerated tote. Obviously a small order.

12:18pm - Co-tech is still checking in the order for some reason. When going to fill an Oxycontin script you notice the inventory is off by 23 tablets. You then sigh and mark off yet another page in the C-II book to look into the next time you have a free moment... whenever that may be

12:41pm - Will filling a script the RPh filled, you notice the script called for Clonazepam 2mg #90 PRN x 1 Year. You then notice the RPh gave it PRN x 1 Year refills. When you question it he responds, "Well I don't agree with that law so I'm not going to follow it."

1:30pm - You glance at the clock wondering if you have time to take a piss. Script count is at 200 and your co-tech is STILL putting away the order. The one plus is you finally found a free minute to fill the vial bins, but only because you ran out.

1:58pm - Your robot has a queue backlog of 11 prescriptions that cannot be filled because you are out of various drugs.

2:04pm - Your co-tech has finally finished the order and is helping you fill prescriptions. The counter is full however and instead of checking them the RPh is sitting on the computer reading the news.

2:56pm - You get called 'a fucking racist homo who's mother should have had an abortion' because you won't fill his Hydrocodone sixteen days early. The RPh then steps in, overrides you, and fills it anyway.

3:22pm - Co-tech is missing again, probably wondering the aisles. You then get back to back to back to back orders of fourteen refills for four different patients. You grit your teeth and continue on.

3:41pm - When scrounging for perhaps one bottle of Atenolol 50mg, you notice your co-tech only put the order away and didn't put it in the computer. Joy.

4:01pm - Your clerk decides that the alphabet is too difficult and proceeds to ask you where each patients prescription is when they come to the counter. Sadly you realize that outside of the pharmacy there are no workers with even a GED.

4:22pm - Almost time to go and you realize you haven't eaten, gone to the bathroom and you still have to do a robot order. And you can't forget the ten new C-II scripts that you've been putting off all day

5:04pm - You should be gone, but instead you stick it out in the hopes that maybe you can make a little headway

5:40pm - Your co-tech has left as they do not stay longer past their scheduled time. You watch as the RPh 'spots' someone sixty methadone 10mg tablets 'until their script comes in the mail'.

6:11pm - You are finally leaving the pharmacy when you ponder how tomorrow's tech's will have a pharmacy with fully stocked drugs and vials, empty garbage bins and a clean counter. Then you wonder why you do such a thing when they won't repay you with the same.

*SIGH*

This is a day in the life of my job. I do this at least four times a week. There was no exaggeration in this at all, this is what my day was like today. Sadly this was a pretty decent day. I think I'm starting to get burnt out on this bullshit...

What the hell is going on?

Have I missed something? Did Hell freeze over? Are we all dying? Am I dead and this is all a dream?

Why do I ask? Because work has gone smoothly for the last month. No exceedingly stupid questions, no con-jobs, no yelling, no screaming. I mean seriously, what in the hell?

They call and ask for refills on their hydrocodone, I tell them they have no refills and are early, and they respond that they'll have their doctor fax in a new script when it can be filled.

Seriously?

I'm convinced it's all part of some evil plan. That the public is planning a surprise attack on pharmacies. That's the only possible solution right?

Eight Years Ago Today...

I've had a bit of a writers block of late. Not the first time it's happened, so I will be posting more in the near future.

That being said today is a special day, although not in a good sense. Eight years ago today my sport lost its leader, its champion and by all rights its best person, Dale Earnhardt. After eight years it still kind of feels as if a family member is gone, which is rather strange. Then again those of you who did not follow the sport prior to that day will never quite understand. But if there is any of you out there who does read this blog and does understand what this day means... well then you'll understand the accompanying video as well.

Been A While Since I Posted Music...

This is the type of stuff I usually listen to on the way home to wind me down. I am partial to instrumental music, and I've posted some of their faster stuff, but this kinda music just calms the hell outta me. Usually the type of stuff I listen while I study.