Best customer complaint by far

[Pharmanaut]

Originally Posted by Tony Schofield

Fraud is fraud. It has always been the case. It isn't our fault that the drug tariff blacklists drugs and appliances. There is no element of "jobsworth" in what should happen, it is allowable or it isn't and if the patient wants the blacklisted item they should be prepared to pay for them. (And I don't mean the difference in price between the allowable item and the blacklisted item).

Just imagine what you would say in court to defend yourself and how you seriously expect it to be received. The judge may not accept that jobsworth is an accurate description of a pharmacist who sticks to the law.

As to the question of what an employee pharmacist would gain from such a situation, do you want to spend the time building a case for the defence?

Tony,
I agree with you entirely about the matter; my statement of "Jobsworth" is my opinion of how I think we look, and how I certainly feel, to the public when we have to refuse to dispense an NHS prescription. Imagine being in a lot of discomfort for whatever reason, waiting days for an appointment to see the doctor, getting the prescription, taking it to the pharmacy, then being told, sorry this isn't allowed on the NHS.

[Titch]

Originally Posted by Linnear

Hi there!


Anyone out there want to argue that case with the old we should look out for the customers and they'll look out for us?

Not really!

Had a customer make a complaint about me 'cause I wouldn't do emergency supply for her. She was going on holiday the next day (for 10 days) and would run out the day after she returned. I offered to organise a script in her absence and have it delivered on the day she returned but that was not good enough - she wanted it now!
For once, company backed me up - actually looking at it now they couldn't really not as they would have been asking me to break the law to have complied with her wishes.

[drh785]

Titch i can't stand customers like that who think that can just borrow tablets!!
It is my number one gripe when locuming.
If i had my way there would be no loaning or silly borrowing at all - only absolutely essential items like ventolin.
In some shops that i locum in it has got out of hand! It's as though the manager is frightened of upsetting the customers!
A lot of customers i feel take the P***!!
What are other pharmacists views on this?
There is NO excuse to run out of tablets the patient can see when he/she is running out!!

[johnep]

If a pt is running out of tabs, make an MUR condition of supplying as obviously cannot manage her meds.
johnep

[Zoggite]

Originally Posted by drh785

There is NO excuse to run out of tablets the patient can see when he/she is running out!!

It's not always the patient's fault: I've had to deal with some rather sloppy, disorganised surgeries, who would regularly loose scripts down the back of the filing cabinet etc... I once witnessed a cup of tea falling onto the prescription printer and thus annihilating all the morning's work: needless to say the surgery staff didn't manage to remember every single Rx they'd printed, nor did they know how to retrieve a list from the computer...
Then there's all the ones that got sent to the wrong Pharmacy... I could go on and on!

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by drh785

There is NO excuse to run out of tablets the patient can see when he/she is running out!!

Human beings with human frailties.

There's a lot more involved in the treatment of patients than the supply of medicines or the issuing of scripts. Look at the wastage - why are so many items requested, prescribed supplied and then left untouched in their original containers?

Some are lonely and need someone (anyone) to see them, some need to feel special, some need to go through the motions so that they have someone keeping an eye on their condition until such time as they feel that they need treatment.

If you believe that community pharmacy is about prescriptions you're missing out on most of rewards of the job.

Jeff