ASHP represents hospital pharmacists.  NCPA represents community pharmacists.

I thought APhA represented pharmacists.  Period.

Why aren’t they taking a stand on this Medco/ESI merger?

As a step-father, and as a step-son, I’ve really come to appreciate Father’s Day.  As a kid, I don’t know that I ever really showed my step-dad how much I appreciated what he did for my family.  Father’s Day is one of those holidays that some say was created as a Hallmark card promotion, but I really do like the reflection that comes on such a day.  After this last week, I’ve especially seen how grateful I should be for having parents who cared about me.

I’ve spent the last week interning in a pediatric hematology/oncology unit.  The spectrum of parental love I’ve seen during this time runs from the ever-present, well-informed, and constantly-praising, to the barely-there and down right dangerous.  If you were raised by a mom or dad who has shouldered the load of trying to give you a good childhood while also trying to keep the lights on, then either Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, as appropriate, is a good reminder to thank him or her, despite your differences.

Happy Father’s Day everyone.  Raise a glass.

Is that even possible?  I guess anything is if you set your mind to it.
I only found out today that Lortab has been discontinued.  What a shame.  Today’s techs will miss out on all of the junkie adventures we all saw related to this drug.  I guess Norco will have to do!

I’m going to do a comic on these stupid cards and deals that some of the big chains have as promotions.  If you transfer in your prescription, get a $15 gift card, etc.  All you’re doing at that point is getting customers to go where the best deal is, and any chance at establishing lasting relationships with your patients goes out the window.  They aren’t there because you can help them figure out that maybe they don’t need to be on 3 different blood pressure meds from 3 different docs.  They’re there because you’re the deal of the week.

Sigh.

In good news, the Angry Pharmacist continues his appearance in the Dose!  Bob needs someone to show him what it takes to be a good retail pharmacist, and TAP might be just the man.

The Angry Pharmacist! I told you he’d be here, and what a hell of a way to pick an entrance.  Bob needs some self-confidence, and I think we just found the perfect lifestyle coach with liver problems.

A Phi Delta Chi brother recently expressed her frustration upon receiving her diploma from her college of pharmacy.  Not only was her name misspelled, but apparently there were also numerous grammatical errors.  I can only imagine how mad I’d be if I were in the same scenario, as that piece of paper comes with a high price in both dollars and years!

For some reason, I couldn’t post a comic without double-posting it, so here’s a brand new post with last week’s comic attached!

Thanks everyone for spreading the word! We’ve had over 500 unique visitors. Let’s go for 9000.

To celebrate, I’ve gone ahead and uploaded the next comic in the Lost Hydrocodone saga.  Poor Bob was inherently trusting of the patient, and he’s discovering how the rest of us react when faced with some of the fantastic stories that normally accompany an early narcotic refill request.

Bob needs a pep talk from a senior pharmacist.  Maybe even an angry one.  Like, a pharmacist that’s angry.

An angry pharmacist.  Hmm…

Where do I find one of those?  Tune in tomorrow!

If you’ve worked retail pharmacy, you know exactly what’s going on here.  The general public tends to be ignorant of the mechanics behind pharmacy operation.  “You know I picked up my last refill only two days ago?  Oh $#&@!”

How many of us have heard the story  that goes like this:

Pt: Someone broke into my house and stole my meds!

Pharmacy: Oh no!  We can get an emergency fill of your blood pressure and asthma meds ready right away!

Pt: Oh, they didn’t take those.  They just took my Xanax.  The ones that look like bars.  The name brand ones.  I need those emergency filled.  Make sure they’re the bars.  Can you give me some extra, too?  Just in case they break in again.  My doctor said he’s cool with it.

The confusion continues!  The worst part is: this could easily happen in real life.  Thank God for automated check-in!

I can only feel that this comic was a subliminal suggestion that’s been nagging me since I saw the first Hangover.  One of the great recurring questions that PharmD’s face is “Do we call ourselves doctors?  In which scenarios would you use the title or avoid it?”  Since so many people assume Doctor = Physician, doctors of all kinds have to watch out.  If anyone asks if there’s a doctor in the house, the last thing you need is an Engineering PhD standing up to help.

What do you think about the thicker pen lines?  Like it, hate it?