More Pharm

So I guess this blog is turning into a "What Happened at the Pharmacy Today" blog. It won't always be like this, but I've had some good times at the pharmacy this week. Before I get to today's favorite story, I need to share a thought. In order to be eligible for Medicaid, I think people should have to pass an English language test. Now, I realize a lot of non-hispanic people probably wouldn't be able to pass it either, but that's a risk we should be willing to take. Ok, now on to today's story. This nice man came in and said as he and his friend were driving around in his car, his friend decided to flick his cigarette out the window. Well, the wind blew the cigarette back into the car, and it landed on his little stack of 5 prescriptions. Here's one example of what they all looked like.

Another one from the pharm...

I get "fake" prescriptions called into my pharmacy on a regular basis. At least once a week, I encounter altered prescriptions, entirely fake prescriptions, or phoned fraud. Well, last night I received a call from someone posing to be a doctor's nurse. To maintain anonymity, we'll call him Nick Jonas. Nick called in a prescription for a patient by the name of...let's say...Patrick Duffy. Anway, Nick said the doctor asked him to call in a prescription of Xanax 2mg #90 with 2 refills for Patrick. I knew it was fake immediately for reasons I won't list at this time. Anyway, after Nick gave me the info for the Rx, he said he wanted to call Patrick and tell him when it would be ready. I said, "Oh, I'll call the patient and tell him when it's ready." Nick asked, "Are you sure?" I said, "Yeah, no problem. I'd be happy to call him." So, today Patrick called and asked if his prescription was ready. I told him Nick had forgotten to give me the the doctor's DEA number, and that's all I needed to process the prescription. I also told Patrick that I'd called the doctor's office to tell them I needed this information, but I had to leave a message because they were out to lunch. Well, 20 minutes later I received a call from Nick, who said, "Hi, this is Nick Jonas. I got your message and am returning your call about Patrick Duffy's prescription." Here comes the fun part. I hadn't really left the doctor's office a message. So, I said to Nick, "Oh, I never left you a message. How about that? You read my mind and returned a call I didn't even make." Then Nick said, "Oh, I thought I had the number right here. I'll have to call you back later." He never called back. Here's the funniest part about the whole thing: Nick and Patrick are the same person. I mean, if you're going to call my pharmacy sounding either stoned or drunk, don't pretend to be two different people. Also funny is the fact that "Nick" called in a prescription for "Patrick" last month, and I didn't fill that one either. Now, I realize I lied to the man about having left a message with the doctor, but can't a girl have a little fun?

The Real Blog

I asked myself today (again): Why do I have two blogs? Well, the short and simple answer would be that it's because I had started this one before I met Preston, and I wanted us to have our own separate, wonderful space in blogworld. Then I got thinking, that page with Presto isn't really a blog, or is it? By definition, a blog is "a website that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer". All I've done on the other site is post an abundance of photos. So, I'm calling that other page a "Photo Journal". So, I have a photo journal and a blog. How about that? Wait! If I call it a photo journal, isn't a blog by definition a personal journal of sorts? Ok, so I'm back to having two blogs.

Nutty Pharm

People ask me a lot of silly questions at work. I'm not going to call them "dumb" questions because someone will probably tell me that "there's no such thing as a dumb question." Every day at work brings me great entertainment, and though the following stories aren't my best, it's what happened yesterday, so that's what you're stuck with.

1. "Does Medicaid cover Viagra?"

Why would Medicaid pay for something that would facilitate a person having MORE children who would subsequently need Medicaid coverage? If anything, Medicaid would cover a hysterectomy or a vasectomy (which I believe they currently do not). I mean, they should, but they don't.

2. "Do you have any Arnica Montana?"

Maybe that's not the dumb, er I mean, silly part. It's a fair question. My response was, "No, I do not have it, and I can't even order it anymore." Here comes the silliness. He then says, "That's what you told me last month." Ok, so if I told you that last month, tell me why you're coming back and asking me the SAME question. I can guarantee I'm going to tell you the same thing next month too.

3. "Will you just give me a few Lortab until I can get in to see my doctor?"

No!

There's also a lovely experience I had with a totally rude person who was trying to defraud the state of Washington's Worker's Compensation program, and who I nearly had to kick out of the pharmacy, but it's going to take too much energy to give the details. The fun part is that I had two other pharmacies call me after he left to get the Worker's Comp info we had on file, which leads me to believe he was having the same problem at the other places. I really wish I had it in me to give the whole story, but just know that it's unbelievably nuts. Ok, I'm done.