Walgreens | Express Scripts Debacle

Remember years ago when these same type of "third-party" reimbursement issues were in the news, except that it was the independent pharmacists mainly complaining about it?

At that time, the chains didn't make such a fuss about lower reimbursement rates because they had economies of scale and saw those lower reimbursements as a way to reduce competition from independent pharmacies. They knew that it was only a matter of time before independents couldn't afford to remain in business with someone else dictating their pricing, so they opened their doors to these third-parties.

Now it seems that strategy has paid-off for the chains, and independent pharmacists are becoming extinct. But, the PBMs and other third-parties are still dictating reimbursement rates, and guess who's next on their list. That's right, the chains. Now that chain pharmacists have opened those doors and helped remove their independent colleagues from the picture, the chains are left competing amongst themselves to see who will get paid the least.

I wonder how will all of this affect individual chain pharmacists?

Let's take a look into my crystal ball and see what's possibly in store for us in the future - Just like their independent predecessors, the chains will be forced to accept lower reimbursement rates, consolidate even more, or eventually go out of business.

As recent history has shown, more and more responsibilities will be shifted onto lower-paid pharmacy technicians. As history has also shown, BOPs and legislators will submit to their corporate masters and change the rules to allow technicians to do what were previously "pharmacist-only" duties. Technicians will come to rule the roost.

Chain pharmacists positions and hours will be cut, and they will be expected to do much more work, and for increasingly lower pay. Because there will be less reimbursable responsibilities left for pharmacists now that technicians are doing their job, pharmacists will be moved out of the pharmacy and be expected to accept roles previously attributed to nurses and doctors. Of course, this will require more education and skills on behalf of the pharmacist, who will be expected to spend the extra time and money for school in order to become certified to provide those services.

But, now that the chains have expanded into "hands-on" healthcare services by creating their own clinics, those pharmacists will be competing with those clinic nurse-practitioners for providing services which cannot be reimbursed. Who do you think is going to win that competition?

Luckily, we pharmacists stick together and belong to one powerful single association that speaks on behalf of all pharmacists, and protects us from those greedy third-party corporate executives, right? Oh yeah, wait a minute. Damn, talk about a lack of foresight and karma, huh?

So, I wonder how will those PBM/third-party middlemen might be affected by all of this?

For some reason, the phrase "laughing all the way to the bank" keeps popping into my head. It looks as though they are in the driver's seat. They can blame the chains for any increased costs, and then shift those costs onto their clients without recourse. With chain pharmacy competition out of the way, they can create and expand their own pharmacies, and fully dictate to their patients when and where they will get their prescriptions filled, and for how much. Pretty cool for them, huh?

I'm betting that some pharmacists long ago wished they never answered that doorbell.

Source: Phoenix ABC News Channel-15

Which Car Do Pharmacists Drive To Work?

If you work in retail pharmacy, and unless someone like me tells you, only experience will teach you that it's important not to drive your best car to work. I learned the hard way.

Right after graduating pharmacy school, I was hired as a grocery-chain pharmacist. So, like most new grads do, I went out and bought a brand new car - which I drove to work. It couldn't have been just a few days at work or so when someone intentionally rammed a shopping cart into the side of my car. After all of these years I still have that car, and I think about that dent every time I drive it.

In the ensuing years since that first incident, I've had my (other) car broken into twice, had my stereo system stolen twice, had people key my car on three or four occasions, incurred numerous dings and dents, and even had food and drinks thrown at my car. I'm pretty sure that if my car could talk he'd have some real good stories to tell.

So, if you're a new pharmacist, just starting to work for the chains and ready to go out and buy that shiny brand new sports cars that you've had your eye on since your first year in school, learn from my mistakes. Buy an old used car first, just for driving to and from work.

Either that, or learn to drive like this Fry's Food & Drugs pharmacist coming into work everyday.


MINI "Demon Carts" from AnneKatherine (Kat) Friis on Vimeo.

Listen To Your Pharmacist

What we have to say is usually very insightful. Oh yeah, and make sure to lock up your drugs too.


The Pharmacist from Jeffrey Da Silva on Vimeo.

Man Rape

Men can now be victims of rape in eye of the law. In a landmark decision that advocates say has been long overdue, the FBI has changed its definition of rape to include males. That's right, believe it or not, before this recent decision, there was no legal definition for one man raping another man.

According to a New York Daily News report, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the new definition of rape will lead to a clearer picture of sexual assault in America and rectify what advocates believe are woefully underreported statistics. I guess that's a good thing in some ways.

I think this might be video of him addressing the problem with his colleagues beforehand.


Source: Laugh Factory

The Pharmacy Chain Gang

When I first graduated pharmacy school I went for work for one of the chain gangs. I'm pretty sure that most pharmacists will agree, that once you work for the chains for any length of time, it's almost impossible to ever escape. I was lucky to escape and become a hospital pharmacist. Doing time in a hospital pharmacy is much more tolerable (for now).

But, it wasn't easy, the chains are always looking to get you back. And if you do ever manage to escape, the memories of your treatment while working for a chain gang always haunts you. As a matter of fact, that's why many experienced pharmacists remain floaters or work only part-time.

For the skeptical, here's a trailer of my personal life during my early years in the profession -



and here's a trailer of my personal life now -

Your Drugs Are My Love

Have you ever wondered why some women wouldn't give you the time of day before you became a pharmacist, but now you catch them flirting with you all of the time? What do you think happened in just a few years to make you so irresistible? Do you think that "all of a sudden" you're now attractive because of the content of your character, or is it because you've got something else they want?

U.S. Congressman, Peter King--whose district includes Seaford and Massapequa--told PIX 11 that Nassau police have noticed an upsurge in burglaries among upper-middle class teen girls, trying to get money to feed their pill addictions.

If you let your little head do the thinking for you, you're risking a lifetime of achievement for just a few minutes of pleasure. Believe me, I've personally witnessed such poor judgment on more than a few occasions, and seen pharmacists pay dearly for it. But, don't just take my word for it -

The Art Of Communication

I've worked in many different community pharmacies throughout my career, in many different cities, and in many different types of neighborhoods - especially more than a few ethnic neighborhoods. Personally, I prefer the ethnic neighborhoods because I like diversity and I find the customers much easier to work with compared to the demanding upper-crust customers. As a matter of fact, I even choose to live in an ethnic neighborhood.

But, with such diversity sometimes comes problems with communication. Some of my neighbors have limited understanding of the English language or have such thick accents that's it's often hard to understand what little English they can speak. However, all it takes to prevent misunderstandings and to get along is a little patience and the simple acts of open communication and active listening.

I think this video best describes what I mean about active listening.