When Patients Aren’t, Part 2

I get my first customer of the day when the drive-through bell rings.

Me: “Hello, how can I help you?”

Patient: “Yes, I’m here to pick up my drugs.”

Me: “Okay, what is the last name?”

Patient: “I was here yesterday.”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Patient: *More agitated.* “I was here yesterday.”

Me: “Okay, I’ll just need your last name.”

Patient: “I was told yesterday that my medication would be ready today.”

Me: “I was not here yesterday, so you need to give me your last name so I can look you up.”

Patient: “[Name].”

Me: “Thank you.”

After looking up information:

Me: “Looks like this controlled drug still needs to be filled. Please loop around, and we will start filling it.”

Patient: “I was told yesterday it would be ready today.”

Me: “Yes, it will be, it just needs to be filled and verified, it should take around five to ten minutes.”

Patient: “It’s not ready now? Why was I told it would be ready this morning?”

Me: “Ma’am, we opened fifteen minutes ago.”

Patient: “But I want it now.”

Me: “I understand that, but the earliest your controlled substance could be filled was today.”

Patient: “So?”

Me: “I have barely begun typing overnight faxes, let alone look at prescriptions needing to be filled.

Patient: “I’m not going anywhere until I get my drugs.”

Me: “Okay, it will be five to ten minutes.”

The patient scowls at me as I leave the window. I filled her medication, but this put me in a bad mood the rest of the day. 

So many times, people think I can read the minds of doctors, insurance companies, or their own minds. For example, I was asked why a doctor repeatedly prescribed Doxycycline instead of Augmentin. I ended up saying, “Ma’am, I have no clue what goes on through your doctor’s head. I just fill what I’m told to fill.”

Related:
When Patients Aren’t