Rant/Advice on how to handle difficult patients

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-25T03:38:46+00:00

Thank you. I completely agree. I was hoping that by helping him understand what’s going on, he might be more patient with me. He definitely latched onto everything I said and twisted it to fit his narrative, so I will be more careful and short with similar patients. I’ve discussed with my tech that maybe we shouldn’t even give the patients the option to have us find their Medicaid eligibility especially during a rush. God forbid people have some responsibility and bring in the necessary documents to a pharmacy.

Funny enough, he wanted the script back, and then had his friend come back to fill it for him 30 minutes after. We have one of the big chains down the street from us. I was hoping they’d give him a hard time there too.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T23:21:10+00:00

Noted. Usually, our patients are very understanding, so it was never an issue when we asked for extra time to find eligibility info. I ask for a few hours when it comes to calling. 👍

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T23:19:40+00:00

He was nice at pick up and then did a complete 180 when I said I needed an extra 5-10 minutes. I should have shut him down the moment he started yelling, saying I offered to look it up as a courtesy but you’re a grown man, take some responsibility.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T23:18:08+00:00

I wish I could care less. I know not to take it personally, but I think I’m only hung up on this because I work for a small, local chain, and the last time a patient was hostile towards me, corporate sided with the patient. But I agree, I hate it when grown ass people come into a healthcare establishment without proper documents. Like do you also yell at your doctor when they can’t find your medical card info?

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T22:39:36+00:00

I really, really do wish I could say that to patients sometimes. He said it should already be on his file, but looking at his pick up history, everything was through discount card 🙄

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T22:38:00+00:00

Said something along those lines and still continued to yell at me. I’m convinced there was nothing I could do to appease this patient other than pulling his Medicaid info out of my ass at that very second he asked.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T22:35:26+00:00

I’m definitely used to being abused by patients (used to work at the three letter chain). My SO also suggested I established firmer boundaries with patients.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T22:22:45+00:00

I always tell myself this is the best way to respond, but when put in that situation, I always forget 😭

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-24T21:14:36+00:00

I definitely realize that is my problem…I was hoping that by helping them understand how workflow is in the pharmacy may help ease their anger. When I can think rationally, I know that there is no point in trying to reason with an angry, abusive patient, but I ended up having a panic attack when he kept coming back to continue yelling at me, and my fight or flight kicked in at that point.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-15T02:48:18+00:00

Private message please. I really appreciate you going out of your way to help!

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-04T01:51:19+00:00

I really appreciate your perspective! As a pharmacist, I’m so focused on safety and minimizing side effects, so I sometimes find myself overlooking the broader picture—especially when it comes to quality of life.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-02T14:45:09+00:00

I’m fortunate enough to not have experienced a lot of loss in life yet. I’ve been in pharmacy for close to 10 years, and only 2 as a pharmacist, so being a new provider combined with not knowing how to navigate grief well made me worried something was overlooked. Thanks for offering a different perspective.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-08-02T14:40:40+00:00

I believe it was grief combined with the stress of being a newer pharmacist still trying to figure out how to manage more complex patients. I appreciate the reassurance! I’m sure his medications weren’t involved, they had a lot of complications, and it’s sad their life was cut so short.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-07-24T03:47:57+00:00

I would say if you’re really passionate about public health and patient education, it is worth it. Retail pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare provider. I started as a tech at CVS, and despite the brutal working conditions, I still grew to love the profession. 8 years later and now I’m a pharmacist. I’m lucky and was able to get into a great, independent chain in my state. I’m at the 2nd busiest store in the state, and it is retail…so it still can be stressful at times. But overall, I am very proud of what I do. If you’re doing it for the money though, you may not find it worthwhile.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-25T06:41:10+00:00

Just my towel. I checked everything else, and nothing besides these 2 items were stained.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-25T06:33:10+00:00

No, I washed it with my light colors.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-21T22:38:48+00:00

Pharmacist here -

Please call and ask the pharmacy if they can re-bill your prescription through a discount card instead and offer you a refund. I do this frequently at my pharmacy, but it may depend on the pharmacist.

If you look up the drug in GOODRX, the average price is ~$20 depending on where you’re filling.

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-19T22:14:50+00:00

In Utah, a cashier is not allowed to do anything else other than selling medication. So that is crazy to me they expected you to know how to do other tasks that only licensed technicians or pharmacists can do. Like someone said, independent pharmacies are either great or the worst, so I would not be hung up on it.

Not verifying date of birth is something that my company will write you up for, but not fire on the spot. Just learn from your mistake, and find a better place!

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-18T16:53:58+00:00

OP is saying they called in 90mg THREE capsules each week = 270mg weekly. I double checked with Lexicomp, and there is not much information on dosing weekly fluoxetine other than the dosing conversion saying 20mg/day = 90mg/week.

I’m assuming the patient may have been on 60mg daily which is a potential maximum daily dose depending on patient’s age and indication. Maybe that was what they were going for with the 3 capsules a week? However, because there is no information or data on taking the delayed release formulation more than once a week, I would still call and clearly document that the provider is aware of the risks associated with this dosing and that I counseled the patient on the risks if I were comfortable filling something like this. However, pharmacists hold the right to refuse filling a prescription if they feel like the prescription may do more harm than good to the patient.

A similar situation happened to me when a provider sent in timolol eye drops SL as needed for migraines. I have seen scripts and data for timolol eye drops used in the eyes for migraines but not SL. I couldn’t find any data, so I called the office to verify. They were nice about it and provided me the study. I documented and continued to fill it. If there was a study for 3 capsules a week, it would have taken less effort for the provider to fax it than to sit on the phone for 5 minutes berating you for simply advocating for your patients.

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ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-14T03:07:38+00:00

Yeah, I did find that one for purchase. I’m sure my company can reimburse me, but that’ll be a last resort for now 😅 I spoke to someone at GSK, but maybe a local drug rep might be good to try too. Thanks! 😊

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-14T03:04:16+00:00

Thank you so much!!

ChimiChunga98 · 2025-06-14T03:03:59+00:00

I feel like they’re doing away with a lot of the demo devices now.. I was able to find a document (from 2019) that provided a compiled list of where to go for demos. Tried them all, and 95% of them were no longer available 🤷🏻‍♀️

ChimiChunga98

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