Pharmacy Problems

Apologies to any pharmacists ""onboard"" but I was really miffed this morning when I went to pick up my Ventolin Evohaler prescription-after keeping me waiting about 10 mins ,with no one else at the counter,the ""assistant"" then started asking why I had been given 2 refills,how often do I use them,when did I last visit the asthma clinic,how long is it between prescriptions,why do I also get 2 Seretide refills at once??-by now there was about 5 or 6 people all listening in to what I consider ""private"" details and I, afraid I ""lost it"" banging the £7 on the counter and demanded the prescription-a swear word may have been used and I felt bad about that-but there is a big difference between ""offering advice"" to a patient and lecturing/hectoring them-are they terrified thy might not be making enough money out of us because we get more than one inhaler at a time???

As Peter Griffin would say ""It really grinds my gears!!

[yaf_user681_26410]

I thought it was fairly standard procedure to get 2 salbutamol inhalers at once. and 2 of the others when you are paying for scripts. Just for a matter of interest how much do you get through in a month on prescriptions because it may be cheaper to have an annual pre-paid prescription. I think you only need 14 scripts a year to make it pay.

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Thanks to the ""doubling up"" of the Seretide,it still works out cheaper than the Annual prescription but this pharmacy has queried that from the first time my asthma nurse decided to help me out.

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Dude I was miffed the other day- usually I can just go in, flash my student card, sign my name and leave- Yesterday I passed the card to a different assistant who yells:

COOHEAN? SEVEN NINETY FIVE

Me: Cohen. I have a student card

WHAT?

Me: A student card

WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE??

Me: A student card

WHAT FOR?

Me: I'm a student. This is a student card. I don't pay prescriptions.

DO YOU HAVE A STUDENT CARD?

*supresses urge to scream but instead makes large gestures with student card*

Not as bad as when the receptionist is virtually shouting the personal details of some poor guy who needs 'Extra large incontinence pads' and a bottle of 'Turbo-Lax' *cringe*

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I have 2 steroid inhalers at once, can't see a problem with that - it's also standard practice at our surgery, I always prescribe 2 at a time - particularly if the patient pays for their scripts or gets through a lot per month.

Always remember with people like this, just tell them that you don't wish to answer their questions, or that you don't see why they need to know that, or request that if they want to discuss your medications/conditions could they take you to a private area. Pharmacies seem to be extending their roles nowadays by offering medicines reviews, ""understanding your inhalers"" sessions, that kind of things. These can be very useful, particularly because a lot of patients can feel more comfortable asking the pharmacist about things rather than asking the doctor/nurse. But that should always be done in a private area, not just ad hoc across the counter.

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I too get two inhalers everytime I order a prescription. I think it is a good idea. It means if you run out of one and you are panicking that you are out you aren't because you still have one left!

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I get that, I have inhalers in every coat and handbag as I forget them and my Gp respects this and gives me 2 every month so that I always have them, one Pharmacist accused me this month of taking advantage that I get free prescriptions so I am stocking up

Needless to say Lloyds Chemist and Asda are brilliant everytime

Kate

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Went to pick up my Seretide prescription yesterday morning,apologised for narky behaviour the other day, the pharmacist agreed that she may have been a bit ""over zealous"" as she is fairly ""new""-alls well that ends well!!