URxProbablyRxight
Meds & Counsel without Patience for Patients
Ever heard of Dick’s Last Resort? Never been to the restaurant myself, but I love the concept. It’s like the court jester in medieval times being able to tell the King the harsh truth since everything he said was in—you guessed it—jest. Why has no pharmacy taken up this business practice? If patients expect harsh but fair truth from the pharmacy team, they’ll accept it readily.
Welcome to URxProbablyRxight. The pharmacy of the future where we provide “Meds & Counsel without Patience for Patients.”
Out-of-Body Counseling
[Rph]: “Thanks for holding. This is Roger, I’m a pharmacist. You had a question about your methylprednisolone.”
[Patient]: “Yeah. Hi. These directions say ‘Take as directed on package,’ but I—I don’t see any directions.”
[Rph]: “Have you opened the box?”
[Pt]: “Umm, no . . . ohh, okay, there we go. Sorry.”
[Rph]: “You’re not the first person to call without doing the obvious. And won’t be the last.”
[Pt]: “Hold up. This says to start in the morning. Do I have to wait until tomorrow to start this?”
[Rph]: “Common question. You don’t have to follow those exact directions . . . all at once . . . morning . . . food . . .”
[Pt]: “Sounds good. That answers all my questions. I’ll start tomorrow morning. Thanks.”
[Rph]: “Sleep well. ‘Cause you probably won’t tomorrow.” — “Hey, Marianne. You ever counsel someone, and by the time you’re done, have no idea what you’ve just said?”
[Rph 2]: “Ohh my god, all the time. Especially with, like, antibiotics or prednisone or something I’ve been over a thousand times.”
[Rph]: “Exactly. Just happened with that Medrol I counseled on.”
[Rph 2]: “You ever have it where you’re actually, like, having an out-of-body experience? It’s like you’re listening as a 3rd party to what you’re saying as you’re saying it?”
[Rph]: “I don’t think so.”
[Rph 2]: “Then it’s almost as if you realize there’s this 3rd person—which is really your subconscious—listening in, so you start focusing on them. Then you’re no longer even thinking about what you’re saying and become like a 4th person watching the 3rd person watch the real you. That’s when it really gets weird!”
[Rph]: “Wow, okay . . . and here I thought I was the one starting to lose it.”
[Rph 2]: “Yeah. I think it’s probably time I used a few of those PTO days I’ve been saving up.”