Food for the Druggist

Random Pharmacy action

2009-12-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a few goodies i'd like to share from the pharmacy. This was all over the last month or two, but you still deserve to read it:

-I realized that 9 out of every 10 people that complain about Obama and his government-run insurance plans either have Medicare part D or Medicaid.

- I had an old man tell me that we shouldn't have the condoms sitting on the shelves like that. He then told me that I should be walking around the store with them and randomly dropping them into our senior citizens' carts.

- A six year old boy was telling me that he was no longer having a birthday party. His mother sheepishly said "someone's not having a party because they drew on the leather couch with permanent marker." To which the kid replied "I didn't do all of it at once".

- I had a kid who couldn't have been older that twenty ask me with a Russian accent what we have over the counter for enhancement. "down there". Why someone your age would need this, I don't know.

- I had a medicaid patient come in for Plan B. This was her third time in 4 months. I asked her what she's using for birth control, to which she replied "I've been too busy to schedule a doctor's appointment". Girl, you're 20 years old. Learn how to make a damn appointment like the rest of us. It's not like you're too busy working, otherwise you wouldn't qualify for medicaid. Get off your back, close your legs and go make an appointment before we have to pay for another medicaid baby.

The last post reminds me of a favorite patient quote:

"If my daughter doesn't have her birth control she'll get pregnant!"

Is it wrong to superglue a medicaid patient's legs together?

CSA week 21 and 222

2009-11-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, i'm condensing the last two weeks into one. Our summer share came to an end, the last week of October. So sad. Where did the summer go? I do feel blessed to get fresh produce for over a third of the year, so I guess i'll use the next few months to clear out everything I have stocked up in my freezer and pantry.

For week 21:

2 leeks
1 squash (pumpkin)
2 greens: mustard greens and collard greens
swiss chard
mixed lettuce
carrots
radishes
apples
pears

For week 22:

cut lettuces
spinach
radishes
greens- tat soi
winter squash (pumpkin)
thyme
beets
asian pears
apples

Today is a day off, and therefore a cleanup day. For the first time ever, I am making chicken stock from scratch. The last five times I roasted a chicken I cut out their backs to butterfly them, and hopefully the frozen backs are now turning into a delicious stock, with the leftover leek greens and shiitake stems. It smells so good, at least it's distracting me from this precipitation that can't decide if it wants to be rain, hail or snow. Ugh.

I plan on using some of the stock to make a spiced apple pumpkin soup, and I plan on using more of the apples in an apple cake. Here's to good food!

CSA week 20

2009-10-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

We got:

7 lbs apples and pears
1 sweet onion
4 hot chile peppers
2 bunches swiss chard
2 lettuces
2 greens (mustard and collard)

only two weeks left!

CSA week 19

2009-10-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

1 baby watermelon
6 lbs apples and pears
2 bunches swiss chard
2 lettuces (with two bonus worms!)
1 large sweet onion
4 bell peppers
1 quart tomatillos
1 bunch thyme

I had to give some of the food away to my parents so it wouldn't go bad while we went on a mini-vacay. I have yet to ask them if they found extra protein in their lettuce like I found in mine.

CSA week 18

2009-10-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

In my old age i'm forgetting to post in a timely matter, and almost forgetting what we received each week. It's a little easier when we take forever to eat everything and end up having a loaded fridge. So here's week 18's list:

7 lbs assorted apples, plums and pears
1 bunch carrots
swiss chard
mustard greens
2 lettuces
red potatoes
green bell peppers

CSA week 17

2009-09-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

It's starting to feel like fall around here. Did I miss summer? oh well.

We got:

2 bunches greens (mustard greens and arugula)
2 bunches lettuce
1 bunch radishes
1 bok choy
2 lbs green beans
1 pint raspberries
7 pounds plums, nectarines and apples

I think that's it. I had Will do the pickup so I could get rid of my headache.

Lady, I want to help you find your birth control rx.

2009-09-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

I had a woman call and try and get a refill on her birth control rx. I tried looking up her name, and couldn't find it in the computer system.

What's the rx number? She tossed out the rx label.

What's the date of birth? Still cant' find you.

Did you change her last name? nope.

This is the location by the water. You sure you meant this call this location and not the other two in this town? No, she swears it was at this location.

This is such and such pharmacy. Are you sure it wasn't at Rite aid, CVS, or Walgreens? Nope, she swears it was at this location.

You tell me that you had your daughter's rx filled here. I see her rx. I try searching for the address and phone number. I can only find her, not you.

Do you have the bag tag or info sheet that came with the rx? Silly me for thinking that.

I tell her that we keep a permanent record of every transaction ever submitted, and that if she ever had a prescription filled here, even 10+ years ago, we would have it. Since I am finding nothing, she must have had the prescription filled somewhere else.

Listen, don't throw a hissy fit because you don't know where you filled your prescription. I suggested she call her insurance (medicaid) to see if they could help her locate her her rx, or she could call the md for a new rx.

And get this- she tried calling back two hours later, and then three days later, trying to get the same rx filled. Sorry, scripts don't just magically appear and disappear. My job is dependent on filling scripts. I have no desire to lose, toss or eliminate scripts. Why would I do that, then offer to do the extra work of calling your doctor for you to get a new script?

And for the love of god, please keep your legs closed until you find the rx.

CSA week 16

2009-09-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Another week, and even more food. It's going to be hard to eat it all, especially with restaurant week starting up on Monday. Wish us luck! We have:

Tomatoes
Zucchini
2 lbs green beans
2 lettuces
Mustard greens
Collard greens
Beets
7 lbs assorted peaches, nectarines, and apples

CSA week 15

2009-09-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

I had to work last Thursday, so the hubby was in charge of picking up the share. He barely made it in time- a major accident made his trip home and to pick up the produce take more than an hour- he has more patience than he gives himself credit for. Either that, or he knows how much trouble he'd be in if we didn't get our weekly share.

We got:

1 bunch romaine lettuce
1 bunch mustard greens
lots of tomatoes
tomatillos
green beans
yelllow and white peaches

I had a productive Monday when it came to cooking- I made gazpacho, salsa, baked haddock with tomatoes and a hazelnut and pear crumble. Thankfully I had my helper to keep me sane as I cooked.

CSA week 14

2009-09-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Holy crap we got a lot of tomatoes! I have to clarify that when I previously listed the number of tomatoes, it referred to the number of tomatoes. Now they are giving them away in POUNDS!

So here we go again:

6 lbs tomatoes
2 bunches edamamme (yea!)
4 zucchini
2 greens (mustard greens, and another one that starts with an E, I think it's endive, the curly version. I know it's bitter, so i'm still trying to find a use for it)
1 bunch radishes
1 pint raspberries
4 lbs peaches and plums

I love edamamme as a snack- I prepped it for freezer storage as soon as I got it so I could go through the rest of the veggies we already have. You can't beat it them steamed with some sea salt.

CSA week 13

2009-09-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

Here's our latest bounty:

half a dozen tomatoes
more zucchini
a big sweet onion
2 bunches lettuce
tomatillos
1 pint raspberries
4lbs peaches and plums

I went for tomatillos as a substitute for basil, as I have a basil plant in the backyard that is more than healthy. Now i just have to get my ass into gear and do some cooking.

CSA week 12

2009-09-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

You may notice that week 12 and week 13 were both posted on the same day- I'm not naming names, but someone forgot to post.

So here's week 12!

1/2 lb spinach
2 heads lettuce
one bunch of radishes
4 tomatoes
6 ears corn
too much zucchini
1 bunch greens (arugula)

For fruits we got 5 lbs of peaches, plums, apricots and nectarines!

I had some good cooking adventures- I made taco bake with lots of corn and tomatoes, all served on a bed of lettuce. I also made stuffed shells with a ratatouille of garden vegetables instead of a red sauce. Will is still in his "i don't like zucchini" mode. He told me he didn't like it when I was cooking it, he told me he didn't like it when we were eating it, but he still managed to polish off the leftovers.

I also made thai chicken wraps. Will grilled up some chicken tenders in one of my favorite (and easiest!) marinades, and I served it in a wrap on a bed of arugula with swiss cheese and a peanut satay sauce. My only recommendation is don't use the wegmans refrigerated tortillas for the time being. I have the patience of a saint, and these are practically cemented together! Their recommendation to roll the package to separate them is total BS. Out of 8 tortillas, we had 3 usable ones with a few holes in them, and one of the usables was three tortillas thick in the middle.

Chicken Satay marinade

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

salt and pepper to taste

Workman's comp rant

2009-08-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

I feel bad for people that get injured on the job and need to get their medications filled under workman's compensation. It's a real pain in the arse. Your doc gives you a script for the injury. You go to fill it, and woah... hold up... you thought you'd be getting it filled? Your comp needs to verify that your doc isn't just giving you drugs for fun, it has to be related to your comp claim. The drug needs prior auth. Comp needs to contact the adjustor, the adjustor needs to contact the doctor, and so on. According to them it should take 24-48 hours.

That's just what you want to hear when you're in pain RIGHT NOW.

I have one woman who has been waiting 3 weeks for comp to authorize her pain med. Keep in mind in my state scripts for controls expire after 30 days. Thankfully she doesn't use it very often, because this happens every month!

I go to run a refill for celebrex for another woman and get a DUR reject. I know from getting this reject before that they want the doctor to consider a generic COX II inhibitor. Comp is required to pay for whatever the doctor writes for this comp claim, but they still pull this crap. Why the hell are you (cough_express scripts WC_cough) having me do your dirty work? I've called this doc enough to know that yes, they wrote for celebrex because they want celebrex, not some generic.

Congratulations, you have sunk to a new low on a Friday (daytime) when you kept me on hold for 2 1/2 hours. I hung up. I tried to call to tell you what the doctor wanted, but I suppose this is your new crappy way of preventing people from getting their maintenance pain medications. Saying that you suck would be a compliment.

CSA week 11

2009-08-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Peaches are here! For our fruit share we got 5 lbs of peaches and 2 lbs assorted plums and apricots. I was a little disappointed with how quickly the peaches started to turn. But hey, you never know what to expect, and I still made a peach tart before they all went bad. Here's everything else we got:

1.5 lbs beans (green and wax)
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch beets (swap for zucchini)
6 ears corn
some tomatoes

CSA week 10

2009-08-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Maine on Friday (well technically Saturday, due to a stop at the outlets on the way home) and my awesome dad picked up the share while we were away. I told them to eat whatever they wanted; I was kinda looking for a break from cooking all of the veggies. While they did take some (half of the spinach and blueberries, and the cilantro), there is still a ton left. We had:

1 quart blueberries
a bunch of apricots and plums
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch spinach
1 bunch beets
2 zucchini
1 bunch cilantro

As if that was not enough, we stopped at the local farmers market and picked up some fresh leeks and potatoes. Apparently the way to my hubby's heart is with soup. This time it was potato leek soup.

I am also trying to eat my abundance of zucchini- yesterday was a 2-recipe day, and I only used a third of our monster zucchini. We had Chocolate zucchini bread and Zucchini fritters. both were amaaaazingly good. I am always looking for recipes where you forget you're eating zucchini, so let me know if you have any ideas.

Advice for druggies

2009-08-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

Here's some advice for all the addicts out there- ER docs do not write for a month supply of Lortab. If you think you're being clever by adding a zero to the end of what was originally #12, then you are going to go from getting 12 tabs to ZERO tabs.

I was off on the day this guy came in, and he was fully expecting 120 tablets. He even had the nerve to ask for the original twelve tablets!

Idiot.

I almost wish he came in on my day off. I have fun with people who try to pull one over me; I make them wish they never came to my pharmacy. If he asked me to fill it for the original twelve tablets after altering it, I would tell him my dilemma. If I fill it, I would be filling a script that has been altered in an attempt to procure additional tablets. Altering the script is against the law. If he asked me to fill it I would have to call the cops. Did you still want me to fill it?

I wonder if anyone would say yes?

It's been a slow week at the pharmacy. The most action I've had was a man in his fifties telling me that he loves his wife very much, but he had to let me know my teeth were very pretty, and that they were pearly white. This is from the same man who asked me a year ago what I do to get my hair to fall into place so perfectly. (For those who don't know me, the answer is: not much.)

Ending on a good note: a regular came to the counter for a pickup, she saw my name tag and said "you're the one I speak to on the phone all the time. You're always so helpful and nice".

Ma'am, you made my day.

CSA week 9

2009-08-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

Yowzers. I have more than I can finish before my vacay. We're going to Maine! Yet why do I still want to go to red lobster? Pretty sad, huh? Well here's this week's bounty:

4 zucchini
2 bunches scalllions
2 bunches swiss chard
1 bunch beets
1 head of cabbage
2 lbs assorted apricots/plums/cherries
1 quart blueberries

Success: braised cabbage with apples and cranberries to go with pork chops

Not-so success: kale chips. Too salty. Oh well, you don't know until you try them.

CSA week 8

2009-07-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

1 head cabbage (cone shaped, I don't know the name)
1 head napa cabbage
1 bunch of dill
baby/medium carrots
red kale
3 lbs cherries
1 pint blueberries

This week was rather productive. I made blueberry muffins with a crumb topping. The blueberries had just the right amount of tartness- delicious. I made a sweet cherry pie with an almond-coconut topping- amazing as well, the recipe is a keeper. I found both recipes on other blogs, and also on foodgawker.com

I got zucchini and peas from my uncle, and I plan on making a chocolate cake with the club-sized zucchini.

I also made some cukes sitting in a brine with the dill- I can't wait to dig into those pickles. I want to eat them all today, but my hubby loves full sour pickles, so we must wait. and wait.

I'm also waiting for my vegetable garden to come to fruition. We have some pepper plants that are just about ready to be picked, some green tomatoes, and the cucumber plants are going to explode as soon as I go on vacation, I know it. You turn your back, lift a leaf, and woah, there's a 12" cucumber. If my pickles turn out well, we will be eating a LOT of pickles. Yea!

Too bad I can't quit my day job to cook full time.

CSA week 7

2009-07-23T06:46:00.001-07:00

Aargh! It's thursday already and I never posted last week's bounty! So here we go:

1 bunch of beets
1 bunch japanese turnips
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch scallions
1/2 lb green beans
3/4 lb mixed salad greens
2 and 1/2 lbs cherries
1 container black raspberries

This whole healthy bounty is really having a positive effect on the way my hubby and I eat. We've been eating more fresh produce with every meal, simply because I would feel bad letting it rot and tossing it. It's a bit of a chore, but my body is feeling the difference. The other night at work I had chicken fingers for dinner. Deep fried, crispy goodness slathered with blue cheese dressing. They were delicious. An hour later, my stomach felt like crap. It felt so heavy; my body was saying "what is this foreign fried substance?" It was easy for my stomach to adjust to eating healthier foods, now I have to train my mind to ignore the scents that spur salivation (Homer Simpson style). I have grown up loving crappy, deep fried foods. I will never own a deep fryer for health reasons, but I feel like I could never give them up entirely. Maybe if I feel like crap enough times my mind will learn not to crave it.

-Healthy snack of the day- steamed green beans dipped in ketchup. They're not fries, but they were tasty and my body said thank you.

C25K

2009-07-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

I started a new workout this morning- C25K, also known as couch to 5k. I've got the couch part down. It's an interval program where you gradually increase the running time (distance) while decreasing the walking time. Week one involves running for 60 seconds, walking for 90 seconds and repeating for 20 minutes, plus 5 minutes each warmup and cooldown walk.

I could never run. I was always jealous of people who could run and burn calories so efficiently. I would try and run, yet I could never make it past 5 minutes without complaining about something, usually abdominal cramps, my shins hurting, my inner thighs rubbing against eachother (if you're flabby like me you'll know what I'm talking about), always something. Reflecting on this morning, out of the 20 minutes, I was able to run for a total of 8 minutes. Of course I wanted to stop and walk at a comfortable pace. But how could I argue with myself when I kept saying "only one minute"?

According to the site if I follow the plan I can could be able to run 5k in 2 months, but they do allow you to repeat weeks if you're not quite ready yet. Wish me luck!

CSA week 6

2009-07-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

So here's our latest assortment:

1 bunch beets
1 bunch of baby carrots (the real ones, not the ones that are shaped to look like miniature carrots)
chard
2 bunches of lettuce- butter and red romaine
escarole
fresh sage
Fruit share- 4 lbs cherries

I am very excited about the beets- I haven't had roasted beets for around 8 months, and the're so easy to make- rub them in oil, wrap them in foil and bake!

A self-proclaimed sucker for deals

2009-07-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Buffalo News' discount diva has nothing on me.

I'm on the Discover card website to get my 20% cashback reward on my restaurant.com purchase. I see a link stating that if I blog about my experiences, I can get a $50 gift card? Heck yeah! Here's my entry!

It's simple. I log into discover's website. I click on the website link through the site. I do my shopping. I can even use other promotion codes, like emailed ones for free shipping. I pay with my discover card, and the next statement or two I get a bonus cash back reward, anywhere from 5-20% back depending on the site.

This past spring I went on a binge shopping trip at Lands End.com, and bought $379.14 of clothing (I know, I justified it by working overtime, and I love their fine gauge sweaters!). I used the code Lands End emailed me for free shipping as well, and when I received my bill at least when my husband said "you spent $380 on clothing???" I could respond "yes, but It came with free shipping and look, Discover gave me $38 cash back!"

It's a vicious cycle. The more I shop the more money they give me. I now have $100 in cashback rewards, which I can redeem for a credit on my account, or I can redeem it for $125 in gift certificates to Lands End (evil grin on my face :-).

I've gotta get back to more shopping!

CSA week 5

2009-07-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm suprised that my skin is not turning green with all the greens we have been eating lately, not that it ever turned the color of processed foods during the last few months. I do feel better about what I am eating, even though i can justify eating more bacon when served with the greens (bacon, arugula and tomato sandwich anyone?)

So here's what we got this week:

1 lb apricots
1 lb cherries
1 bunch japanese turnips
1 bunch mizuna
1 bunch napa cabbage
1 bunch swiss chard
2 romaine lettuces
1 bunch cilantro
bonus- garlic scapes

I love how we are getting things I have never heard of before. Like Mizuna- yeah, it's one of those greens you'll find in mesculin mix

I also made vientamese spring rolls for lunch today- they were yummy, and I felt good eating something so healthy, so here's what went into them:

Vientamese spring rolls

-rice paper wrappers

-rice noodles, softened

-julienned cucumber

-scallions

-bean sprouts

-shrimp, sliced in half

-thai basil (from the 2nd plant; I killed the first one)

Dipping sauce:

-hoisin sauce

-minced ginger

-rice wine vinegar

-sriracha sauce

-light shake of sesame oil

These really should be eaten within an hour or so of preparing, which I had no problem with. I will definitely make these again.

CSA week 4

2009-07-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

I'm falling behind! Thankfully it's mostly on the posting end, not on the eating end. We received our week 4 share June 25th, but I still wanted to let you know what we got:

3 quarts strawberries
2 lettuces (butter lettuce is my fave)
1 bunch of radishes
2 pounds of peas (english peas, thank goodness for tv when shelling these)
1 bunch of arugula
1/2 lb spinach (this was a swap for the bok choy)

At the end of the week the only thing we had left was about half of the arugula, still looking good. The week was a roller coaster week when it came to food. Sunday I made my hubby love me forever when I bought some rhubarb and made my first ever rhubarb strawberry pie (yes, emphasis on the rhubarb, as in 3 cups rhubarb and 2 cups strawberries), and I also created a lattice crust (thank you Pillsbury). The edge of the crust was overbrowned by a few minutes, but I was very proud of my first pie with a top crust, ever.

The low point came when I was eating a sandwich at work, and I had a "friend" join me. I made a turkey sandwich with buffalo wing cheese and butter lettuce (rinsed off under the tap). Halfway through eating the sandwich, a small worm, about 1 cm in length crawled directly on the teeth marks I left less than ten seconds ago. That was the end of THAT sandwich. I visually inspected the worm, and thankfully he was all there, meaning that reverse peristalsis would not be necessary. I called the hubby as I had made him a sandwich the night before as well, and he was already 2 bites into the sandwich and was willing to take the chance. He called it a bonus. My tech called it protein. I called it disgusting.

I thought about giving up the whole organic thing, but then realized there's probably worse stuff in all the processed food I eat. I just can't see it. From now on, every green will be triple washed AND visually inspected.

CSA week 3

2009-06-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

It's official, the fruit share is here! This week we got 3 quarts of strawberries (all organic, just like the veggies), and they were delicious (emphasis on the were). Thursday we had strawberry shortcake, Saturday we had strawberries with chocolate fondue, and Monday I tried making a Strawberry Margarita pie. It wasn't fully frozen by the time I served it. I don't know whether it was because I didn't freeze it long enough, didn't store it in the deep freeze freezer, or if it was because I was an alcoholic and kept adding more tequila "to taste". The recipe wasn't perfect, but it was still a fairly delicious frozen concoction.

So here's the rest of the share:

one head butter lettuce
one head romaine
mustard greens
radishes
one pound spinach
one bunch arugula
bok choy (still in need of loving as of Wednesday)

Not my job

2009-06-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'd like to thank Ms. Mean for reminding me about a wonderful nurse ( can you feel the sarcasm?) I had to deal with a short while ago.

One of my older patients came in to tell me that her doctor gave her a free new blood glucose meter to replace her old one. She only had a few test strips left, and the doctor did not give her new prescriptions for test strips or lancets. She did not know which meter the doctor gave her, but i can forgive 80+ year old patients for not knowing, figuring the doc would have documented this in her chart. She has Medicare, so I fax the doc's office requesting they mail us prescriptions with the name of the test strips and lancets, testing frequency, diagnosis code, etc.

A few days have passed, and I still haven't received anything. I call the doc's office again repeating everything I sent in the fax including how I need the rx's mailed, and 30 minutes later I receive... a fax. Test strips for an old meter (aka NOT the meter she received in the office). I call the office and finally work through the phone tree until I get to speak with a nurse, and I ask if they can pull the patient's chart to verify what meter THEY gave her (you know, that documentation thing that pharmacists talk about all the time), because I know the one they faxed over was wrong. She pulls the chart, and says there's no mention of a new meter.

Me: "It's not documented? Can you check with the doctor to figure out what meter your office gave her?"

Nurse with attitude: "I don't have time to do that. Why don't you call the patient to figure out what she got, then call me back and let me know" *click*

Woah. That's low. I'm going out of my way to take care of something that you should have done before the patient even walked out of your office, and you have the nerve to assume that I sit on my ass all day and have the time to take care of your problems? What makes you think that I'm not busy in the pharmacy? In addition to taking care of problem scripts like these, I still have ten people waiting in the store for scripts. And then you hang up on me?

I'm sorry, but I get enough crap from patients, I don't need it from doctors offices too. Some patients don't know better, but you do. If you dropped the attitude and didn't hang up on me, I would probably be willing to help.

I consider myself to be someone who goes out of my way for others, but this was unacceptable. I called the office back to let them know I did not appreciate the way I was treated by this nurse, and sure enough, 30 minutes later, I received faxes for the correct test strips. It still took another week to receive hard copies of these scripts for Medicare, but I still felt like this was a victory.

CSA week 2

2009-06-18T06:51:00.001-07:00

I'm such a slacker- it's Thursday and the day to pick up the new batch of produce, yet I have yet to blog or finish cooking everything from last week. Aarghhh!

So here's what we received week 2:

2 lbs red spinach
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch arugula
a baby bok choy

It's hard work eating all these vegetables. I cooked up the spinach in some bacon fat and feta cheese, and made an asian-inspired slaw salad with the baby bok choy and the radishes from last week. Half of the arugula and the bunch of mustard greens are stll sitting in the fridge. (Here comes the rant) I'm glad I get to pick out the veggies this week. If Will wanted the mustard greens so badly, then how come he didn't cook them himself? I know I love to cook, but I would have preferred the rapini, or a helper in the kitchen.

CSA week 1

2009-06-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

In an effort to be healthy, my hubby and I signed up for a cropshare with Native Offerings Farm. The way I see it, we have one week to eat through everything before we pick up the next wave of veggies.

Here's what we received week one:

1 bunch mustard greens

- final destination: saute pan with bacon (BACON!) and gorgonzola

1 bunch rappini

- final destination TBD

over 1 pound red spinach

- final destination: quiche

1 bunch thyme

- final destination: mixed with eggs, still "hanging around", and butt of pun-intended jokes

1 bunch of radishes

- final destination: still pleading for help in the refrigerator (aka the rotter)- any ideas? And they came with the greens too! We have one day to think of something!

Swish and swallow

2009-06-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Another example of why e-prescribing will not take over the world...

Rx:

Nystatin sus 100,000 units/ml

swish and swallow 4-6 ml four times daily

disp: 60ml

Congratulations, you can read the prescribing information for this drug! At this point you're as skilled as a monkey (you know, the one that fills all of your prescriptions overnight, allowing you to call in an rx at 2 in the AM and expect it to be ready when the gates are opened).

Now, let's see if your degree can help you apply this knowledge...

4-6 ml.... Yeah, that's the recommended adult dose, but did you LOOK at the population you're prescribing this to? If I write this on the bottle the patient will be back with an empty bottle in three days because they thought that a ml is a teaspoon, or worse, tablespoon. (And for laypeople out there, 1 teaspoon=5ml.) Just write one teaspoonful!

But it gets better, because since you only wrote for 60 ml, they WILL be back in three days. I really hope you don't think it will a day for this to clear up, but sadly I know you wrote 60 ml because, oh, in the prescribing information this is available as a 60ml bottle (for infants!). What? you actually wanted your patient to be on this for one week? Well it's a good thing I called to cover your ass.

Sorry i'm not a phonebook?

2009-05-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

I had a woman call me trying to find the phone number for new Walgreens a few miles away. I knew the phone call was not going to be pretty as soon as the woman started complaining about how long it takes to go through all these automated messages

Two facts you must know:

1. the specific pharmacy opened within the last few months and I have not had to call them yet, and

2. I do not work at a walgreens.

I tried to tell her that I did not have their phone number; big mistake.

"What do you mean you don't have their phone number? you're a pharmacy! You have to have it! How do you get a hold of them?"

I'm sorry that I haven't had to transfer any rx's from there yet! I explained to her that I would have to contact another Walgreens store to see if they could give me the number to the new store. I started giving her the number to the Walgreens across the street, and she interrupted me mid-number saying "I SAID I NEED THE NUMBER FOR THE OTHER WALGREENS, NOT THE ONE HERE." Again I replied "I don't have their number", to which she politely slammed the phone on the receiver.

Have fun dealing with the automated message at the next pharmacy you call, b!tch!

The only thing missing is the full moon

2009-05-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

Fridays are not supposed to be busy. Granted, I like being busy. The day is over before I know it. I filled 212 scripts. I battled with medco (and lost, because, well, it's medco, and medco sucks). But nothing can top the conversation I had with one of my 90+ year old patients.

Patient (P)- This prescription I have, this salve, it should be taken off the market.

Me- What seems to be the problem? (he's been on this cream for years)

P- I can't apply it. I can't reach. The sore is on my bottom and I can't reach there.

Me- Do you have anyone that can help you apply it? Any family or friends?

P- No. And the doctor wants me to apply it as often as needed. What am I going to do?

Me- Actually the doctor wants you to apply the cream only twice daily, and only if needed, as it says on the directions. Have you tried contacting your doctor to see if they could help you find a visiting nurse to help?

P- The salve says to keep it covered. How can I have someone come and apply it throughout the day?

Me- (Reitierating the twice daily directions) the wound site should be covered with a dressing, but the cream should be applied no more than twice daily. Have you called your doctor's office?

P- They said they couldn't help. Can you help?

Me- I would recommend seeing if a visiting nurse can come by and help you with your medication.

P- Can you help me apply it?

Me- I'm sorry, I can't. I recommend you call your doctor's office if you still have problems.

Wow.

There's a reason why i'm a pharmacist, not a nurse.

May I also add that nurses don't get paid enough?

One of my techs was later wondering how he manages to wipe his own ass.

Lying gets you nowhere

2009-02-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

---disclaimer- I am aware there are plenty of people with legit pain problems who are not trying to abuse the system. This post is about the 1% of abusers that make life that much more difficult for the other 99%.

You come to my pharmacy counter with a prescription for Lortab. You want this filled as cash.
Do you have insurance? of course you don't. You lost it a few months ago. At that point I ask for your ID. Sometimes I get lucky and you hand me a medicaid card as ID. No ID, no controls.
You're new to our pharmacy. Have you had this before? No, of course you haven't. Every doctor starts their patient on Lortab 10/500 four times a day #120.
I tell you it's going to be at least 15 minutes so you hopefully don't hover around my counter and observe my every move.
You set off enough red flags to make me think something is amiss. I get a reject saying this was just filled recently. People like you are the reason why I get along with the other pharmacists in the area. Turns out, Medicaid just paid for a 30 day supply of the same medication at the Rite pharmacy down the street, SIX DAYS ago.
The problem is, if you have medicaid, you are required to get all of your prescriptions filled under medicaid.
What? you lost that last bottle of lortab and your doctor said it was ok to get the rx filled again? Great! I'll give them a call and document the conversation. What? you don't want me to call your doctor? Then i guess you're not getting this script filled here.

Slacktastic

2008-12-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Slack-tas-tic [slak-tas-tik}
-adjective
1. completing an everyday expected task that while postponed, was completed faster than a true slacker.
2. doing something necessary, in an not-so-impressive time frame, while still being appreciated.

Julia, are you going to finally take back the garbage?
I guess so (grrr....)
Thanks, you're slacktastic!

Will's tangy sauce

2008-11-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

The day has finally come. Will finally made a batch of homeade hot sauce!

The quest began a year ago. I bought him The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia for Christmas in 2007. In the late spring, we bought seven different varieties of chile peppers from Niagara Produce and planted a total of 28 pepper plants in our pepper and tomato garden. The plants had to fight for life as the nearby cucumber plant tried to suffocate them. While none of the crops could match the success of last year's habanero plants, we were still proud of ourselves. We were able to freeze some leftover peppers, but at no point did we have enough to try to make a batch of hellishly good poison.

Until our recent visit to Niagara produce.

Right out in the open, it had our names written all over it. And a price I could not refuse- 3.99 for a huge basket of mystery red peppers. There had to be over 40 peppers in the basket. These red beauties looked like chubby cayenne peppers, like they could almost be hungarian wax peppers. Were they hot? I was willing to take a chance.

The next morning we had eggs for breakfast, and used this opportunity to determine the heat level. Not knowing what to expect, I touched a sliver of the pepper to my tounge, and my mouth woke up immediately. These were going to be some good eggs, and even better hot sauce!

10 Chili peppers
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup vinegar
salt to taste

Will started by removing the seeds and stems, and roasting off the skin under a broiler. I left the handling of the peppers to him, but he was not the only one to feel the power of the capsicum. Every breath filled my lungs with the fiery air. My eyes could feel the burn every time I walked into the kitchen. I did not have the guts to breathe in through my nose. The latex gloves could not stand up to its power while he was removing the meat from the skin. The ingredients were sent for a spin in the blender. Even after "diluting" the sauce with the requisite garlic and vinegar, it will still need to be declared at security checkpoints as a weapon of ass destruction.

Mission accomplished.

I can't make this stuff up

2008-11-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

Have you seen those Simple Save pharmacy discount cards recently? They're everywhere. I've received two of them in the past week, one in a coupon mailing, and a second one with my national fuel bill. If for some reason you have yet to receive one of these, I'll explain how they work. They are not an insurance card, and they do not pay anything towards your prescription. we submit your prescription information to this carrier, and they have a "negotiated" price- basically they tell us how much we can charge you for a specific drug. It's usually less then our cash price, and will save on average 10-30%, more on generics.
I had a woman come in the other day. She seemed smart, until she started talking.

Me: How can i help you?
Patient: I have this card and i would like to get these two prescriptions filled.
Me: (running scripts through) the ambien generic will be 9.99, and the retin-a generic will be 63.57.
Patient: They're not free?
Me: (????????????????????????) why would it be free?
Patient: the card says "present your FREE drug card to the pharmacist"
Me: The card is free, you don't have to pay for the card, but you will still have to pay for the prescription.
Patient: that card is misleading, it says free, it shouldn't say that.
Me: It says on the card that they can save you 10-30% off prescriptions. It is only a discount card, not insurance.

(apparently the simple save card is too complicated for most people to comprehend)

It's sauteed, not chard!

2008-09-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies at the farmers' markets. I've been trying to serve vegetables with every meal, and my latest adventures have been with Swiss Chard. I'm not a nutritionist, but i have to wonder how much credibility this healthy vegetable loses when it's sauteed in bacon fat. What can I say? Bacon makes everything better!

Swiss Chard with Bacon and Feta

3 strips thick cut bacon
1 bunch Swiss Chard
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup feta cheese

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut bacon into bite size pieces, add to a large saute pan and begin to render out the fat (medium low heat)

Cut out the thick stems from the swiss chard, and cut the stems into 1 inch pieces. Slice the leaves into 1" strips. Rinse well. Drain the stems well, but it is ok to leave some water on the leaves (helps with steaming).

Add the stems and garlic to the bacon and saute in the bacon fat until the stems soften, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the leaves the pan, cover and stir occasionally until the leaves begin to wilt. The leaves may need to be added in multiple batches.

Remove from heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with feta cheese prior to serving

Thursday morning

2008-09-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm amazed it took me so long to realize this. I worked the entire weekend prior to Labor Day, and not a single person called to see if they could get their controlled rx filled early. To everyone that does not work in the profession, our store is closed on labor day, and this is as rare as a steak that says moo when you stab it. Tuesday morning i came back to work, and my SP had cleared the queue (yay!). The day was still pleasantly busy and flew by. I had a few crazy people as usual, but the most annoying part of my day was having a drug rep stop by at 9:15 in the morning. Who does this? He didn't even have any free pens! At least he had coupons for some free nice blood glucose meters (not going to say the name, but they are preferred by most ins. companies). I'm saving them for nice people. There's nothing I hate more than giving up a valuable coupon and still having a patient bitch at me. Learn to say thank you, and i'll take care of you.

post numero uno

2008-08-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have the day off today. I should be cleaning to prepare for Labor day, but i'm still waiting for the motivation. I need to prepare today because I work the next two days, and I tend to freak out the day of a party. I'm also hoping to do some baking today as well, and fit in some grocery shopping.
I've been on the search for a Wii recently, and i've been hoping to buy it from target so I can use my 10% off reward coupon before it expires early next week. Hopefully i'll have better luck this weekend.