Reflections on Pharmacy: I felt really sad when I read this because I know ...

Reflections on Pharmacy: I felt really sad when I read this because I know ...: I felt really sad when I read this because I know what it is like to be in pain. When I had my wisdom teeth removed it was so painful I ha...

Blog reaction to DEA PR:

People respond to incentives. If you fine someone , it's a disincentive. If you can fire someone, it's a disincentive. At first I thought that the millions of dollars in Walgreens fines didn't matter as the company' analysis said "this will only affect share prices by a few cents." This led to many saying that the government did not fine Walgreens enough. Yet, then Walgreens roled out a plan to determine if a drug was "validly written." 

To the non-pharmacy workers of the world this was always a federal and state requirement. There are numerous times I have told patients that they are multiple days early and it couldn't be filled. One patient said to me, "I will have to come back in a day or two in order to pick it up. What's the difference between a couple days?"

The difference is whether I will lose my job. How will this happen? Will the state board feel I was reckless in dispensing? Will a federal agent come in, accuse me of aiding a drug addict? Will the police storm a store or hospital and demand to cuff myself, a subordinate, or a supervisor and take us away?

If I work for Walgreens or CVS will they fire me for dispensing this medicine? Will they say, "Sorry, this is coming out of your paycheck?"

Reaction to DEA PR [on enforcement of DEA regulations]:

People respond to incentives. If you fine someone , it's a disincentive. If you can fire someone, it's a disincentive. At first I thought that the millions of dollars in Walgreens fines didn't matter as the company stock' analysis said "this will only affect share prices by a few cents." This led to many health care workers and customers saying that the government did not fine Walgreens enough. Yet, then Walgreens roled out a plan to determine if a drug was "validly written." 

To the non-pharmacy workers of the world this was always a federal and state requirement. There are numerous times I have told patients that they are multiple days early and it couldn't be filled. One patient said to me, "I will have to come back in a day or two in order to pick it up. What's the difference between a couple days?" When I said that I would not give it to him early he got angry. 

There have been other people who ran out of their medicine early. When confronted that they were given a certain quantity and were only to take a certain amount per day it became obvious they took more than they were allowed to, but they did not appear to have any adverse effects other than fearing withdrawl symptoms.

The difference is whether I will lose my job. How will this happen? Will the state board feel I was reckless in dispensing? Will a federal agent come in, accuse me of aiding a drug addict? Will the police storm a store or hospital and demand to cuff myself, a subordinate, or a supervisor and take us away?

If I work for Walgreens or CVS will they fire me for dispensing this medicine? Will they say, "Sorry, this is coming out of your paycheck?"