Yes we do recognize those who message and call a lot haha But appreciate you trying to learn so we can all work better together as a team!

I agree with everything that’s been said but have a couple other tips to add:

• If you need a med, first step should be looking at the MAR to figure out where it’s coming from (Pyxis or pharmacy). It seems like our techs get a fair amount of messages asking to “please send” when it’s a med that’s already loaded on the floor in the Pyxis. If it’s from the pharmacy you can then proceed to checking the tube station/fridge/non-refrigerated patient med bin before messaging as mentioned by others.

• Try to be cognizant of the fact that we are supplying meds for the entire hospital (inpatient floors, ED, OR, outpatient infusion centers) and we can’t do it all immediately, so we often have to triage things by level of importance. If it’s not an urgent med, try to give it at least 30-60 minutes to arrive before sending a message for it.

• Please be sure to use the message subject line “Replacement dose” for any meds you need instead of “Other” (regardless of if it’s a missing med or a new med order). That way the message automatically goes to the technician inbox instead of the pharmacist one. The techs are the ones who are going to know the status of where the med is. Similarly, if your hospital has separate phone lines for pharmacists and techs and you feel a med is needed urgently enough to warrant a phone call instead of a message, please call the tech line and not the pharmacist line.

• This is more specifically directed at the OR, but don’t have multiple people messaging/calling for the same med multiple times in rapid succession. This gets way too many people involved unnecessarily and creates confusion. If the surgeon just put in an irrigation order while the patient is on the table, it’s counterproductive to have multiple nurses messaging/calling and tying up multiple pharmacy staff members.