GETTING IN & OUT OF THE PHARMACY FASTER

By Trevor Shewfelt, Pharmacist at the Dauphin Clinic Pharmacy

We now have this and most other articles published in the Parkland Shopper on our Website. Please visit us at www.dcp.ca

The information in this article is intended as a helpful guide only. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. If you have any questions about your medications and what is right for you see your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional.

I am a lazy parent. I have been known to complain about helping my daughter with homework assignments. I go to work all day, then to meetings, then I try to scoff down some supper and then the teacher wants me to read with my kid before bedtime. A few times a year the teacher wants me to rearrange my schedule to come meet with them and talk about my kid. Why can't they just do this teaching stuff without me? Why do I have to go to parent teacher interviews? Why do I have to be involved in my child's education at all? I don’t really want to put in the effort. As I said, I am lazy.

The answer is that the more effort I put in, the more my child will learn. So if I get my butt off the couch, it will take less time and aggravation to stuff knowledge into my kid's head. How does this apply to my life in the pharmacy? I am going to give you three tips that will take a little effort on your part, but will save you time and aggravation in the pharmacy. Give the pharmacist your name. Know the names and prescription numbers of your medications. Call your medications in ahead of time.

Everyday in the pharmacy, someone walks up to me and says, "Fill my medicines. Its in the computer” even before they say hello. Even if you have been coming to the pharmacy for years, please start by giving me your name. I know the pharmacists and staff are familiar to you, but we see hundreds of faces in the store everyday. Do you ever get that feeling that you know someone’s face, but can’t place their name? That is an everyday occurrence at the pharmacy for me. It really will speed up your service if you start by telling me your name.

It is also very helpful if you give me a list of your medications, instead of saying, “It’s in the computer.” It will help you to know the names of your medications, so you will be better able to talk to your doctor. It will help me because although your file is “In the computer” I don’t always know what medications you are actually taking. Are you still taking that pain pill the doctor gave you 3 months ago? What about that inhaler you got last summer? Are you still taking it or not? I don’t really know unless you tell me. I know prescription medication names can be long and complicated. However, please feel free to ask us at the pharmacy to write you out a card with all the names on it. While I am writing out the card, you can tell me if you are still taking those medications. That way we both will have a better idea what you are taking.

All pharmacies will print a prescription number on your medications. It is the number with the largest print on the top of the label. This number is very helpful to you and me. If you phone in the prescription number, I can find out who you are and which medication you want. There are a couple of common misconceptions with prescription numbers, though. If you give me just a prescription number from a pharmacy in Winnipeg, it doesn’t help me at all. Prescription numbers are store specific. Prescription numbers also don’t help doctors. If you tell your doctor the prescription number on your bottle, you will get a blank stare. Doctor’s can’t look up your pharmacy files from their office. So knowing the prescription numbers and the names of your medications is very important.

Doctors and pharmacists don’t like the guess “my small yellow pill” game. The doctors will know what a few prescription medications look like, but not all of them. I know what more of the pills look like because I look at pills all day long. However, you will stump me every time with the guess “my round white pill” game. Do you know how many round white pills there are out there? So bring you doctor or pharmacist a written list of you medications or the original pill bottles.

Call a list of your medications into the pharmacy before you come down. Of course we can and do fill prescriptions when you are waiting in the store. But instead of waiting for me to figure out who you are, which medications you want and then filling them, wouldn’t it be nice if you could just walk into the store, pick up your already filled prescriptions and leave? I’ll do you one better. If you call in your list of medications, I can deliver them to you in Dauphin. If you live on our rural courier route, I can get them to your town. You don’t have to come to the store at all if you don’t want.

I know I am asking for some effort on your part. And if you don’t want to learn the names of your drugs, or what a prescription number is, that is okay too. I am getting pretty good at “Fill my prescriptions. They’re in the computer” and at figuring out which one is that “Round white pill.” Just like the teachers will still teach my kid even if I never lift my butt cheeks off the couch to help her. However, if I put in some effort and help my child with her homework and assignments, she will get knowledge stuffed in her head with less time and aggravation. If you get a pharmacist to make a list of your medication names, know your prescriptions by name and number, and call your order in ahead of time we can help you get in and out of the pharmacy with less time and aggravation.

As always if you have any questions or concerns about these or other products, ask your pharmacist.