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| The Best Little Christmas Gift Ever: Rants and Musings of a Retail Pharmacist |
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by The Redheaded Pharmacist - December 27, 2011
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Provided by The Redheaded Pharmacist
An unexpected gift came to me from a patient at work last week. I had a customer who helped me with one of those jobs you deal with constantly as a retail pharmacist or pharmacy technician. And this patient didn’t even realize that in the process of helping, they were giving me a great holiday gift.
It was the middle of the afternoon on one of the days leading up to the holiday weekend. A younger male customer came in to pick up his two prescriptions. And of course, his insurance had changed. Oh no, this could get interesting. At least we were slow so I had time to deal with any billing problems. I always expect an issue with insurance claims now. How sad is that?
But this was different. This patient actually called and got all their new insurance information before coming to the pharmacy so we could correctly bill his new coverage. He had just qualified for his job’s insurance, but it was new coverage and he didn’t have an insurance card yet. But this patient actually made the effort and called to get the pertinent coverage information for the pharmacy!
Now half the time I hear that “I don’t have the card yet but here is the information” phrase come out of a patient’s mouth at work, I instinctively cringe inside. I fully expect some random series of numbers that has nothing to do with that person’s prescription coverage to be handed to me scribbled on a sheet of paper. Those numbers never help any pharmacy employee process an insurance claim and we inevitably end up calling an insurance company on the patient’s behalf. And that is assuming we can even figure out who the correct insurance company we need to call in the first place.
But this patient was different. He actually obtained all the correct information including his BIN number and the correct pharmacy group number. In fact, the only thing I had to ask him was if he was the card holder on his insurance plan. Otherwise, this patient came in armed with everything I needed to re-bill his prescriptions all written down for me.
After a quick reprocessing of his two prescriptions he was happy to leave the pharmacy paying less than $10 out of pocket for two prescriptions. I was happy that instead of a 15 minute phone call to Medco or Caremark, I simply plugged a couple of numbers in a computer and had a new price for this patient in a few minutes tops. It was so nice to have everything work right away with no hassles!
The patient thanked me and then left and I went back to work. It wasn’t until later that I realized that my interaction with this patient was about the best possible Christmas gift a pharmacist could receive. A patient actually did some leg work on their own, an insurance company cooperated, and a couple of prescription claims were paid without a fight. It almost felt like a Christmas miracle had happened.
Now to a layperson who might have stumbled upon this blog, my story may not sound like much of anything. But anyone who’s ever worked a shift in a pharmacy knows just how bad it can be to figure out new insurance coverage for a patient if they don’t have any of the correct information with them ahead of time. Finding the correct coverage information can be more than a little interesting and time consuming to say the least!
So while I enjoy the cookies and cakes and other goodies that patients shared with us at the stores I worked on the days leading up to Christmas, this one patient probably gave me the best gift of the entire holiday season. He was organized, prepared, and did a little leg work on his own behalf. Just one patient who puts forth a little effort can put a smile on a pharmacist’s face. Believe me, I would know!
So if you are a pharmacy patient and you are wondering what to get your pharmacy staff next Christmas, let me tell you what they really want. Pharmacy employees don’t need cheesecakes or sweets around the holidays. We’d just like a smiling face on the other side of the counter and a few patients who care enough to do a little leg work on their own so we don’t have to do it for them.
You see, that isn’t that big of a request is it? I think most pharmacists and technicians are like me. We don’t need a lot of special gifts around the holidays. We just need one happy and organized customer to make our workday just a little bit easier. Just one well prepared customer can make our day.
So here is to one pharmacy customer who gave me the best little Christmas gift ever. Having done a little work and obtaining his new insurance information meant as much to me as any pie or thank you card. And he didn’t even realize he was doing anything out of the ordinary that afternoon. Even so, it was one of my favorite gifts of the holiday season. And all it cost was one phone call and a little effort! It’s so simple when you think about it.
The Redheaded Pharmacist
The Redheaded Pharmacist has been working full time in retail pharmacy for more than a decade. He is in his mid 30s, and, yes, he has red hair.
Disclaimer: This blog represents the opinions of the author and the author alone. It does not represent any pharmacy group or organization. I also will leave out or change the names of patients/customers to protect their privacy and comply with government regulations regarding patient privacy rights and personal information.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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