Crazy RxMan: 5 Things Your Pharmacist WON’T Do

Dedicated to the hard-working pharmacists out there.

5 Things Your Pharmacist WON’T Do

     1. We will not give you medication without a prescription. Seems pretty straight forward, right? But you’d be surprised how many people come in and ask, “Hey, I’m from out of town and I forgot my Lisinopril. Can you just give me two tablets?”
The answer is NO. Imagine going on vacation and leaving something behind… perhaps your toothpaste? Do you go to the local grocery store and ask them to give you some toothpaste because you forgot yours?
I am simply amazed how many people come up to the pharmacy window and ask us to just give them a prescription medication. The most common I hear is, “Hey buddy, can you give me a 100mg Viagra? No, no, no. Now go away!

     2. We will not fill a prescription that looks fake or can’t be verified. All too often people come in on the weekend with a prescription that appears more than a little sketchy. And no, asking us to just go ahead and fill it and “verify it later” isn’t going to fly either.
And I’m really sorry “grandma” has to be without her pain meds. Maybe YOU should be taking care of grandma’s pain meds (if that’s what’s really going on) on the day you saw the doctor when the Rx could be verified.

3. We will not break the law for you. The prescription is written for you. We’re not going to pretend it is written for your wife who has better insurance. We’re not going to add refills when the doctor wrote a zero. We’re not going to anything that even hints of breaking the law. No. Don’t ask. It’s not going to happen.

4. We will not fill a narcotic early. The doctor has written a new prescription for Norco for you. The problem is, the same doctor wrote the same prescription, a 30 day supply, three weeks ago. You have another week’s worth of medication. No, we’re not going to fill the new one a week early.
Do you ask your employer to give you your paycheck early? If you did ask, what do you think would be the answer? No, you’re not going to get your paycheck ahead of time and you’re not going to get your narcotic ahead of time either.

5. We will not give you your medication for free. I’m sorry if you don’t have prescription drug insurance or if your co-pay is expensive. I can’t just give you the medication. I’m not going to give you “just two tablets” or ignore the co-pay.
Imagine going into the bank and telling them your paycheck isn’t large enough and asking them when they cash your check if they could just give you an extra $200. Do you think that’s going to happen? Same here. We’re not going to give you your medication for free. No, no, no. Go away!