The patient's guide to pharmacy: things not to be done

[Rafael]

Hey guys, i would like to share the patient's guide with everyone, feel free to add on them.
p.s copied and pasted from a facebook group.

1. Be sure to stare at the pharmacist wile your prescriptions are being filled. Staring at the pharmacist makes him or her work faster.

2. Never remember the name of the medications you want refilled. By calling it "the little white pill," you are sure to receive the correct medication.

3. When calling in eight prescriptions or more, always arrive at the pharmacy to pick them up within 10 minutes. It is OK to hurry pharmacists; if they make a mistake, it won't kill you or anything.

4. Call the pharmacy and ask them to call your doctor for a prescription, and when asked which doctor to call and what medication you need reply "how should I know?" to both questions.

5. If your prescription is for something in a box or tube and you are in a hurry, be sure to yell loudly to just slap a label on it... it doesn't matter if it isn't the same thing that is on the prescription, all creams and ointments work the same.

6. ask why the nurse that came for an urgent drug got their prescription filled before you when you are waiting for some amlodipine tablets

7. complain when you have to pay a prescription charge pf £7.10 because the health authority is paying £2,000 for your treatment

8. ask for the brand of a medication because it works better than the generic instead.

9. Don't read any stickers on the bottles applied by your pharmacist. What could be so important about your medication anyway

10. Think of the pharmacy as a bank. If you have no £ til pay day they will loan you a few pills.

[jaymags]

How true they all are.

11. If in doubt do all the above.

12. Ignore any advise you've asked for and stick with your salt water gargle for that sore throat that's been bugging you for days.

[Pharmanaut]

OK couldn't resist this, even though its way past my bedtime...

Always blame the pharmacy if they have not received a faxed prescription. There must be something wrong with their machine. Make sure they apologise.

Always test-fire your inhaler at random intervals (or during the adverts on TV) to make sure it is still working.

Anything with maximum strength advertised on television is always better than what the pharmacist recommends.

Go to the pharmacy at the busiest possible time with a 10+ item script and then say can you hurry up, I've got a taxi waiting outside.

Always keep a prescription in your pocket until the last possible opportunity to have it dispensed so that it becomes urgent and should be done before everyone elses.

Start an argument over everything and anything, such as why folk in Wales have free prescriptions and you don't.

Have a prescription dispensed at one pharmacy and ring another to query it. Watch the fun while they try to find your prescription.

If you are given liquid medicines for a child, hand them to the child to carry who will promptly drop them just before they leave the pharmacy. Carry the bag dripping Calpol all the way down the shop. Then hold it over the counter and say 'get me another this one's got broken', see how the calpol drips all over counter displays.

Anything that says 'Natural' on it must be good for you.

Phone the pharmacy at closing time asking for a quote on antimalarials for a party of 10 ranging from adult to children of all different ages. Then say its cheaper at xyz pharmacy.

Take your children into the pharmacy wearing 'healies' (roller skate things in the heel) and let them collide with one of the displays.

How about that lot!

[Scamp]

Loved the one about the dripping Calpol! - so true

A couple more:

- share your stunning wit with the Pharmacy staff - "this one's a shipping order", "I'll be rattling after I've taken this lot" - you will really brighten up their day

- come to the counter when the assistant shouts 'Jones', even though your name is 'Smith' - then blame the assistant for your mistake - she was probably mumbling anyway

- let the phamacy staff spend several minutes giving you their advice, then ignore it and request 'that new one what was advertised after Corrie last night'

- Phone up the pharmacy and launch into an in depth query without bothering to mention who you are or ask if you are speaking to the correct person

[Nik]

Go up to the counter and ask to see the pharmacist whilst 5 people are waiting for their meds - when s/he comes out start an in depth discussion about the pros and cons of using echinacea for cold relief, and whether you should be using bach flower remedies instead, because the witch doctor next door said so.

Go to the counter and ask to see the pharmacist. Complain about the wrong price of the shampoo you just bought. Once you see the pharmacist begin to get irritated, start shouting out loudly for a refund, complain about the ineptitude of counter staff and promise never to come back in the shop again.

Upon receiving your prescription, ask the pharmacist whether everything has been dispensed. Regardless of the answer sit down at the nearest chair and rip open the pack, checking all your meds are still there, just in case the silly pharmacist made a mistake.

[Jeff]

Upon receiving your prescription, ask the pharmacist whether everything has been dispensed. Regardless of the answer sit down at the nearest chair and rip open the pack, checking all your meds are still there, just in case the silly pharmacist made a mistake.

Personally I prefer it when mistakes are rectified before the patient leaves the shop - I pack with the named sided of the boxes upward where possible to make patient checking easier.

Jeff

[JonF]

Run out of your baby's special formula milk. Then order your Rx. Then come to pharmacy wanting to borrow and then go mad when we don't have it in.


Run out of your 'Special' which takes 1-2 days to get delivered, has a 14 day expiry and costs about £400, then come into pharmacy expecting it there and then.


Ring up and complain we haven't dispensed item, after searching through 1000 Rx's find out surgery haven't put on rx. Then go mad at us for something the surgery haven't done. AAAAAAAAAAAArgh!!! Why don't people check the Rx's before they hand them in

[Rafael]

seriously guys, don't you think we need such a guide printed and distributed to patients?
how about gathering all the good your input, filtering the idea and someone publish a 10 pages booklet for ' to do' and ' not to do' lists?

keep going, let's gather more points to be covered in the new book ' patient's guide to pharmacy'

[JonF]

We tried putting a leaflet in all deliveries asking people to give 24 hrs notice. The amount of people that phoned and moaned about it was unbelievable!

I would love to see their reaction when your '10 commandments' was handed to them.

[Rafael]

i was thinking about ' 100 commandments' not not 10