A Pharmacist's Perspective

A pharmacist was gracious enough to sit down with me during his little free time and answer a few questions about what he thinks about retail pharmacy. The pharmacist asked that I only record an audio file for privacy purposes. He answers questions from how the retail field has changed to his personal frustrations in the field. The audio is transcribed below.

Me: All right, I’ve gotten the chance here to sit down with a pharmacist in a retail store. I just wanted to begin by thanking you for coming out and spending some time with me. I know you have a busy work schedule and all.

Pharmacist: Oh it’s my pleasure.

Me: Let’s just get right down to business. Just to begin, how long have you been a pharmacist?

Pharmacist: I’ve been a pharmacist for fourteen years.

Me: Fourteen years and retail the entire time?

Pharmacist: Yes

Me: How do you feel over the fourteen years has it remained relatively the same, the environment? Or do you feel the retail has definitely changed?

Pharmacist: Oh most definitely it has changed a lot. Obviously, the technology has changed. The way how the pharmacy will run and the customer. For instance, when I first came out from pharmacy school as far as insurance base, maybe forty to sixty percent. Let’s say about forty percent are insurance and the other sixty percent are cash. But now, as far as pretty much eighty to ninety percent are insurance and the remainder are cash customers.

Now as far as technology wise, when we got out of pharmacy school we still had the typewriter as a backup, obviously. We had the dot matrix printer where we had to line the label correctly otherwise it would print out and it’s not correct and you would have to redo it.

Me: Now do you feel, I know technology has helped as well, but do you think technology has also kind of hindered? Now how do you feel, say, when the system goes down. Before, were you able the fill a prescription without any kind of computer if you were using the typewriters as back up? But now do you feel you have as secure a back up system as you had before? Or is it at a kind of a stand still?

Pharmacist: I think it’s both. I mean obviously with the technology that we have now we can do a lot more prescriptions in a given time compared to back then. But obviously, with technologies you base on that and if it goes down you’re pretty much hopeless now.

Me: Now how do you feel about the customer base overall? Do you feel they are well educated in the way pharmacy works? Or do you feel that a lot of customers may be unaware or simply want their drugs?

Pharmacist: I think as far as medicine wise people are more knowledgeable now than back then. Obviously, back then we didn’t have the Internet. You couldn’t Google a disease state or medication. We have a real big, big, big book where we look up everything from drugs to dosage to interaction. Patients could buy a book and refer to that. But now as far as knowledge of medicine patients definitely have an advantage now as compared to back then.

Me: How about in terms of healthcare? How do you feel about patients knowledgeable about their insurance? Do you feel there’s any kind of frustration between common knowledge, or feel the customer should be more aware of their coverage before walking in to the pharmacy? Do you feel that they rely on the pharmacy a little too much to take care of their health coverage?

Pharmacist: Yes. I would like the patient to be more responsible basically about their own insurance. But I think that most the time that because of the deductible the health care companies are setting there is frustration. I mean, obviously they know what their deductibles are. But obviously when they come to you and you tell them their prescription is $145 for eye drops or something like that, it’s just shocking to them. I think it’s basically a reaction to that. I think because of the Internet and the way the insurance is structured they are informed about their health care, yes.

Me: Moving along is there any kind of frustration or main problem that you see on a daily basis? If you could just have a sign out to change a couple things in the pharmacy, is there anything that just irks you?

Pharmacist: Probably time and more help. You know, in a retail setting, you do a lot more prescriptions, at my store anyway.  And you wish you had more time to give to patients on a more individual basis - consultations or talk to them in general about their well-being.

Me: You mentioned consultations. How do you feel about consultations? Do you feel like customers are utilizing the option? Do feel like it should be there or do you feel like it is taking away from your job? Are you too busy for consultations?

Pharmacist: Yes. I think consultations are great when you have the time, but obviously as far as accessibility as being the pharmacist where you are accessible to the customer 24/7. You can become a little more frustrated because there are other things you want to do at the same time you want speak to them and that can be a conflict of interest.

Me: You said with the frustration of time and with the pure quantity that you are filling prescriptions, do you feel the corporations are putting too much pressure on the pharmacists to put out for sheer numbers and you’re losing a lot of quality one on one time with the customers?

Pharmacist: Yes, most definitely. You would like to fill about 20 prescriptions per hour, but that is not the case. You are doing about 50 to 60 at least an hour and it’s not just filling prescriptions. There are other things as a pharmacist in the retail setting you definitely have to multitask.

You have to check the voicemail. You have to take time to counsel the patient, even answer a simple question on the phone, or when a customer walks in about over the counter products, or insurance. They will call you and ask you about the insurance, the copay, things like that.

Me: Just to finish up I have to ask: Are you still loving it? Do you recommend it? Are you still everything about it?

Pharmacist: I think to work in a retail setting you have to be a special animal. You know, not everyone is born to be a retail pharmacist. But as for me, I love it and I think that’s what I’m going to continue to do.

Me: Okay, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.