A Few Random Do's and Don'ts

A pretty routine work week, but a few things kept repeating themselves... which leads me to offer this short reminder in the form of "do's and don'ts"......

For you prescribers out there:

DO pick up the phone and call me if you fax a prescription for your patient for antibiotic #1 and then change your mind and fax another one for antibiotic #2. It would be very courteous of you to inform me of your change of heart before the patient is out the door, requiring me to run out into the rain in a vain attempt to corral our patient back into the pharmacy. I'm sure you expected me to call YOU for clarification because I've got so much time on my hands, but in this case that's a non-starter.

DO take just a moment to proof-read the medication order you are about to bestow on your patient, and on me. A month's supply of medication X at one tablet per day is generally a quantity of 30 tablets --- not 15, and not 20. I don't have time to call you, even though I have to. The patient's not gonna be happy paying a full co-pay for a 1/2 month supply, and c'mon, this is the easy stuff!! Similarly, Augmentin 875mg BID for 10 days would be 20 tablets. If you write it for 28 tablets, did you mean 14 days? These are the eternal questions we all face, and legally I can't make the decision for you. When I call your office, please DO have someone pick up the phone.

For our valued customers:

DON'T toss your insurance card at me as I am ringing you up at the cash register. It is not a credit card. It needs to be processed as the prescription is being filled.

DO avoid conversations with me such as:
"Do you have your insurance card?"--- No.
"Have you filled prescriptions here before?"---- I 'm not sure.
"What kind of insurance do you have ?" ---- It's through my wife's work.

DO meet me halfway. Help me out here, and I'll be glad to get you on your way as quickly as possible.

This week was deja vu all over again!