Approximately 1.5 yr ago, I was asked to be the National Pubic Relations Director for The Pharmacy Alliance (TPA). At the time, the focus of the TPA was on the work environment of the garden variety pharmacists – particularly those who work in the community setting. The concern was about patient safety… but … in how the average RPH work environment was putting the pt’s safety from medication errors at risk.
It took a while, but I convinced the BOP of the TPA that while it was great to focus on patient safety… it was not about us… it about pt safety… and that focusing on anything else could be considered self-serving and otherwise ignored.
While the vast majority of RPH’s have remained silent and obedient to the demands and edicts of their corporate masters… like in any group there are dissidents ..
If you are a PIC, PDM or some where along the corporate chain… those dissidents are collecting very damning data, emails and the like and some are already talking to attorneys… some have even filed lawsuits.
I talk and exchange emails with many of these dissident RPH’s… there is a network of attorneys that is nearly complete that is aligning themselves up to take on these corporate bullies…
If you are a PIC… your state BOP looks to you as to where the buck stops in regards to the legal operation of the Rx dept… The BOP’s are going to be forced – after this mess with the NECC and tainted compounding injectables – to look into all the errors that happen in the Rx dept… not the ones that happen that don’t reach the pt… but those that reach the pt.. even if they don’t cause any harm. They are going to be forced into actually being concerned about things that affect patient safety…
The permit holder will probably not be held responsible for anything that goes wrong in your Rx dept.. they can provide you with the worse Rx computer software, the worse work flow layout and no where near the staffing you need to get your job done safely… the BOP doesn’t care that you are expected to keep the “red icons” off the computer screen… or the dozens of other metrics that you are suppose to meet… Most practice acts just wants to know the name,address, phone number of the permit holder… after that… all responsibilities drops to the PIC.
The BOP no longer has to worry about that all the pharmacies having enough of a labor pool that they remain staffed… the surplus of RPH’s is growing… suppose to peak in 2017-2018 at 4000 extra RPH’s per year.. all the while… the chains have stopped their marathon pace of opening new stores and when they buy other stores/chains… the majority of the acquired stores are closed. You can do the math on that equation.. in regards to RPH demand…
The days of giving a “wayward RPH” a break and allow them to keep their license is probably coming to a end… to quote the QUEEN OF HEARTS in ALICE IN WONDERLAND ” Off with their heads”
This will allow the BOP’s to point to their yanking of the licenses of these “bad RPHs” that they are doing their job… protecting the public’s health and safety.
If you are a DPM or on up the corporate ladder… and have a RPH license… if your edicts, emails can be linked to a causative factor that was a contributor to a med error that cause patient harm… you will most likely become entangled into any legal matters resulting from the patient’s harm…
You can stroke the ego of the techs all you want and turn them into snitches about the rest of the staff members…especially the staff RPH’s… those introverted, meek, silent RPH’s are collecting data on you and the company’s questionable operations… and it is not on the corporate server… it is on their home computer, their smart phone or flash drive/card… and you won’t be able to find all the copies they have made.
I know, you think that I am blowing smoke up your ass… that is really what I want you to think…. because I talk, exchange emails with a lot of these RPH’s and for every one that I have had correspondence with, I will bet that there are hundreds more that are doing their due diligence and documenting like crazy. Many are asking for the names of the attorneys that are in “the attorney network” for the state that they are in. Which I am more than happy to “hook them up”…
By all means, don’t change any of your edicts or processes…. it will make it all that easier for the attorneys to NAIL YOUR ASS !
Filed under: General Problems
I would be quiet about a damaging traffic of emails. Computer networks can be spied upon.
So i read this and am keen to find out more on this. It seems that no amountof bad publicity stops the powers that be from stopping. The continue on their focus on why patients were not reached and to keepmaking calls to ask for refills. And then the confounding way of tech budgets!! Rx budget to increase 2.5% and tech budget to REDUCE by 5%. Is there not some way thatthe board can see this and stop the highet ups for making undue demands on the PIC?
Apparently a unionizing attempt was made at South Jersey in CVS. How come i didnt get to hear of it?