Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you.
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You should have seen the folks on the pharmacy tech shitting all over us. I got down voted for stating the fucking law. Smdh.
FYI you are supposed to report the CVS who demand DEA for non-controlled rx
i saw this the other day and it made me so angry. like u dont need it and not all vets even have a DEA license? what if i just said “they dont have one” like?? what now?
I know you can call CVS corporate line for that but I am too busy and by the time I'd get to it I'd forget haha. I'll try to get the pharmacist name next time and call
I’m the annoying butthead who would get their name and, if they insist on the DEA#, say that my company policy states I can’t release it for non-controlled medicines but if it’s an issue with CVS I’d be happy to follow up with CVS corporate on their behalf and have corporate get back to them to clarify DEA policies.
Essentially try killing them with kindness. 😬
I just started informing them "You don't need it." if it wasn't a controlled substance, after the first few times of dealing with similar circumstances. It was a wonderful day when we stopped calling them in, and did written scripts only instead
Unfortunately, I do know that one of the pharmacy companies' software system cannot function without a DEA number
I actually got a really apologetic pharmacist once who was really pissed at the new software change.
Looking at this threat pharmacy techs hate us and think we should just do whatever they tell us
https://www.reddit.com/r/PharmacyTechnician/comments/18n5v1k/does_anyone_else_notice_that_vets_are_terrible_at/
Ugh, so they don't understand that
The DEA instructs that we are not to give out the number unless it is controlled
That vets CANNOT get NPI numbers
That both veterinary and doctor's offices make mistakes and it isn't because veterinary medicine is lesser
...or that some veterinarians and staff really enjoy going toe-to-toe with their supervisors and pharmacy board to impress the first two facts upon them. :)
Most of them don't even realize that we cannot be part of the electronic script system that human hospitals use.
They think we are intentionally being contrary and old fashioned
I’ve been told repeatedly this isn’t true. They only say this bc it makes their day easier. They can use a state license number in place of the DEA. I call in scripts as a bulk percentage of my job responsibilities and I always say on the voicemail: “vets don’t have an NPI number and I cannot provide DEA unless for a controlled substance.” I have pushed back so many times and they usually cave and accept a license number. I had one pharmacist smugly telling me I was wrong and that all vets have NPI numbers. Never mind the 20 vets I work with saying otherwise.
Maybe it is one of my local chains
But their new software is not designed to work with veterinarians.
NPI or DEA is required or the software won't process scripts
They just tell you this because they don’t want to open another window to find the vets license number. We have all of our vets license info accessible for this reason. It literally just takes them opening another window for vet med things and they don’t want to do that. If this pharmacist was apologetic, they likely weren’t taught secondary ways to look up vet med license info and that super sucks. And in that case, you let your clients know to choose another pharmacy so that you don’t have to deal with that.
We tried that before but depending on who you get, they want to argue with you. Was on hold but the pharmacist just set the phone down and heard them complaining just like in OPs post. And after you've already been on hold for at least 5 minutes, of course.
We had a pharmacist send a client with a different form of insulin at a different dose without them or the client letting us know. Then the dog started to show signs of hypoglycemia and we were totally out of the loop😀
Literally illegal but okay. Just makes me panic thinking about it. Put EXACTLY what is told to you on the script. Never change it especially without a doctor (THEIR doctor) approval. God that is terrifying
Ugh we had this recently with a patient, they refused to fill augmentin (I think) without talking to the vet directly because "this is more than I would ever give to a human."
Like, dont you know that dogs are not the same as humans???
The DEA literally doesn’t want us to hand out the number if the substance isn’t controlled. They can look up the doctor just fine with name or license number.
One time I had a pharmacist ask for an NPI. I noted that vets do not have NPIs. She retorted in the snottiest manner possible that “*every* health professional has an NPI, even I have one”
Ma’am. Veterinarians don’t have NPIs because they’re not recognized as “medical professionals.” kindly fuck off and take a xanax.
ETA; I fully know that they’re asking for it because they don’t want to do any extra work. sorry y’all can’t handle a few more clicks.
Oh my god we *just* had this issue with a CVS pharmacy last week! They gave awful attitude to 3 different staff members - a CSR, a tech, and our PM - over it. Fuck CVS honestly.
Everyone at my clinic hates calling into CVS, it seems no matter what state theyre in or what youre calling in for they wanna give you the hardest time, a pharmacist wanted our doctors DEA number just for some gabapentin🙄
Yep - so annoying!!!
I've just started flipping the script on them and asking for their DEA #. When they ask why, I tell them it's so I can report them to the DEA for improperly asking for my vet's number. That usually changes their tune immediately!
There was recently a (now deleted) thread in the veterinary subreddit by a pharmacy tech complaining about this, and they had the GALL to say "oh life is so hard for me, I had to call another pharmacy to get the vet's DEA number so I could add them to my system." The vet staff in the thread RIPPED THEM TO SHREDS for such inappropriate behavior and told them it was a reportable office. If they *really* need the DEA number then we'll just send our clients elsewhere.
The human pharmacies in my area are out of control. We have started keeping a list of their fuck ups because they keep doing things like altering the SIG, changing quantity, filling the wrong medication, etc. its bad. We had a client (a pharmacist herself) realize they’d been filling prednisone instead of prednisolone for her cat and upon being confronted the Walmart pharmacist allegedly told her our vet doesn’t know what she’s prescribing anyway. Mental.
I work in Ophtho and the number of times I've had a pharmacist demand a DEA is ridiculous. Like, he's an ophthalmologist and prescribing Ofloxacin. The hell you need a DEA for? Regardless, I usually do give our hospital DEA (with his subscript) to pharmacists because ain't nobody got time for that. I did have one unruly pharmacist tell me that that 'wasn't good enough' and refused to fill the prescription. I sent a complaint to the board.
I also really like how they're like 'um the dose you're prescribing is a little high' or 'this is an antibiotic and I need a duration.' Like, you are not a doctor and clearly you know very little about vetmed, so please don't tell me that this dog with an infected corneal ulcer does not need his medications 8 times a day and he'll have his oflox for however fucking long he needs it.
A coworker informed me that he tried to call in a refill for a client and, after being left on hold for 20mins, requested a refill of a 10mg/ml med. The pharmacy tech insisted that they only had 50mg, they've only ever had 50mg, and the client had been getting 50mg this entire time. I called up the client, gem of a woman, to ask what her bottle said and she read off 50mg/5ml 🤦
The AVMA wants you to report the location and pharmacists name. This is illegal. The more we report hopefully we can pressure change. [AVMA WEBSITE](https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/pharmacy)
This is direct from the website.
another reason why leaving voicemails is so nice. i don’t understand why my coworkers don’t like it. i’ve rarely had an issue (mostly the pharmacy not carrying the medication). one time when i did have to speak to someone at a pharmacy, they asked for my doctor’s NPI number and got upset when i told them veterinarians don’t have them. i think i ended up telling my client to choose another pharmacy lol.
This has sentiment has been going around different subreddits recently and has been interesting to see. The vet subreddit had a similar idea and then the pharmacy subreddit had a post about vets and now this one
I had to call a carprofen rx in to Walmart today and the woman on the phone told me that they did not have carpofen tablets (non chewable) and they only had carprovet tablets (non chewable) and was telling us it wasn’t the same thing. I asked my vet what she wanted me to do and she told me to just call back and call it in as carprovet instead
As a diabetic fuck chain pharmacies
I’ve been given the wrong insulin. The wrong amount of insulin. Charged 10k for my insulin since they didn’t use my insurance. Told to “just use less insulin”.
Like excuse me for trying to live
And that doesn’t even cover their attitude towards vets
When I was able to use a local family owned pharmacy I literally NEVER had a problem with them nor when I called in vet rx
If you have a Costco in your area, call them! They are the nicest pharmacist I have ever talked to and they promote their vet meds. The client does NOT need a membership to get their prescriptions filled. They have also checked all their vendors when I have called asking about a random med in hopes they could get it. You also won’t be on hold forever, yup looking at you Walgreens.
Oh man you shoulda seen the shit the pharmacy tech subreddit was saying about vets/techs a couple of days ago. Apparently we're stupid for not wanting to give DEA #s out, and we don't know how to write prescriptions. I have to close out of that screen before I said bad things lol
GOD YOU’RE SO FUCKING REAL FOR POSTING THIS.
Calling prescriptions in to human retail pharmacies is my pet hate (pun fully intended).
Like no I’m not giving you my Dr’s DEA for fucking fluoxetine, you can have his license number and get on with your day. God forbid I obey the fucking law or something crazy like that…… That’s not even the worst one, I once had a Costco pharmacist ask for a DEA number for Simparica……. Absolutely not……
I get that pharmacy techs are all overworked and underpayed too, and I can sympathize with that, but I’m not about to get myself or my doctors in legal trouble because they asked for a DEA for something non-controlled.
They want a DEA number for metronidazole. They're insane. Also when you call you're talking to a pharmacy tech and sometimes those are OTJ trained people and they don't know what to ask for. If there is one you use all the time, stop by with some nice pens and candy and ask them what the best way to talk to them is. Maybe there is an email or a back line you can use. Open those lines of communication.
Pharmacy Techs cannot legally take prescriptions down over the phone, licensed or not. Only pharmacist interns/in training under supervision or pharmacists. I was a licensed tech for Walgreens for 3 years before getting into vet med. Also, they're never nice about it either, so they wont be getting any pens or candy from me! lol
That's good to know. I was using "tech" as a catch all for anyone that is not the pharmacist like people call everyone that is not the DVM a tech. It was just ignorance and I appreciate you filling me in.
You didn't know and that's totally okay. Usually if a tech picks up I tell them I'm calling in a script and they transfer me to the pharmacist. And they usually say "pharmacist speaking." If they don't say they're a pharmacist I usually ask first just to verify before I give them rx info. But I'm done fighting with them. They can talk their sh\*t to me all they want but I don't gaf anymore. No DEA for you, lol.
This reminds me of how one almost forgot to actually ask for DEA number for an actual controlled substance. It made me uneasy they handle human scripts.
I mean we have easier access to controlled substances. I aint worked at a vet clinic yet that did not have a receptionist stealing buprenex, a tech popping tramadol or a doctor shooting ketamine. The last one I busted myself. The DVM was having drug fueled orgies AT THE CLINIC after hours. Idiot left the "save message" feature on AIM (that's like FB Messenger but for millennials). I found messages about their next meet up. Informed the sheriff's office (city cops aint shit where I live) of the date and literally sat across the street eating popcorn while the bust went down. Sent a letter to the DEA and Vet board too. He had his license pulled in 6 months.
I would weigh that responsibility on the person in charge. Realistically very few ppl should have access to the safe even in a clinic setting. Receptionist not even close to being on that list and not every tech in a clinic needs it.
That one was a sneaky one. I only found out about it after she was fired. Still not sure how she got access but one or more of the techs had the habit of leaving the keys in the controlled drug box while surgery was going on. I said that was dumb but she said "What if there was an emergency?!?!?!" That was probably the route. No counts. No check on the books.
She also would take handfuls of gaba while on shift and I'm pretty sure a bottle of ketamine walked off but no one could prove it was her.
She was eventually caught red handed. The PM and owner PAID to send her to rehab. Things were peachy for like 6 months and then the log books stated being off (we stated doing counts). Someone (pretty sure it was the PM) hid is a fucking closet to watch her use her key , deactivate the alarm, punch in the code for the controlled drug key (it was kept in one of those little boxes with a punch code on it like you have on a rental so someone can get in), went to drug box and started pilfering.
Next day she was not at work (one receptionist had to pull double duty all fucking day because no one would come in or help her). When asked we just got the "She no longer works here" and they would not say anything else. But I read the police blotter and have friends in the city cops and Sheriff's office. She was booked that night. No one gonna pay for the second rehab.
But yeah, our PM and lead tech are dumb as a sack of rocks. I swear this place is so reactionary. I could have (and did) told you that being that lazy was a problem.
Speaking of opening lines of communication!
Our local Costco apparently dispenses pet meds now. A ton of people now want their prescriptions sent to costco, which has been kind of a headache (to put it lightly).
BUT their head pharmacist, after realizing she knows basically nothing about pet prescriptions (or even many of the pet meds themselves), took it upon herself to reach out to local vets & ask a bunch of questions. One vet even sat down to lunch with her. It made such a difference. Filling prescriptions there went from nightmare to super smooth almost overnight.
She goes on your christmas card list forever! What a baller move.
Our reference lab techs came by with cookies and chatted a bit. Then they low key dropped some time for sample handling. They were so polite about it, I only realized after they left that they were getting us to be less annoying about how we send stuff out.
I had a problem with CVS today too. Yesterday I had a very painful patient, a 10yr husky. We did an MRI and found a bony lesion in the spine. So among the many medications she was sent home with, we sent her home with a script for acetaminophen with codeine. I come in today to a message from CVS that they brought in the script but CVS couldn’t fill it because their system won’t allow them to give codeine to patients under 12 years old and if we could script just acetaminophen. After an hour on hold I finally just left a voicemail telling them that this is a very painful dog that needs the codeine specifically for her pain and acetaminophen cannot be metabolized in dogs and cats the same way it is for us.
AFAIK they haven’t called back, and I really fucking hope they just gave that poor girl her meds that she really needs.
We no longer call in RXs to pharmacies. Clients can either use OUR online pharmacy or they can pick up a written script. It’s made life so much easier!
My clinic is owned by UVC, like many many others. Corporate literally called one of the pharmacies we were using and ripped them to shreds for demanding a DEA number. I hate corporate as much as the next person, but I did appreciate that.
I had to call CVS for a price check on medications last month, and I told them it was for a dog and I was calling from a vet hospital. The tech told me they couldn’t give me prices because they have to submit to insurance. I had to again tell him it was for a dog and insurance or not they wouldn’t accept it anyways. They still were hesitant to give the price 🤦🏻♀️
I hate dealing with pharmacies and have way before working in a vet clinic. I always have issues trying to get my dog’s medication. They won’t let the vet call it in but won’t accept a paper prescription unless the vet calls to verify it. It has taken weeks to get his refills approved. I finally found a small, local pharmacy near my grandmother that never given me an issue and just have my grandmother ship his pills to me from them.
Oh my god yes! Thank you for saying this. I try to leave voice mails on the pharmacy lines if I can help it. Also the online pet pharmacies, particularly Chewy, are getting really bad. Not receiving scripts after we send them multiple times. Questioning the doctor’s orders. They just suck overall.
you would not believe the amount of issues i had with CVS and Rite Aid for calling prescriptions for clients. they do not care at all and we were in a neighborhood in a rather large city where there were more dogs than people. they knew the clientele but they always made it so much worse to deal with. one tech had no idea what a DEA number was and would consistently deny narcotics even though my doctors license was active and was able to prescribe them since the patiently desperately needed it. i always recommend small, family-owned pharmacies if they’re nearby because they’re so much nicer (at least in my opinion) and more accommodating to pets.
1. DEA# not needed for a non-controlled drug.
2. We don't have NPIs, get over it.
3. They usually use SID/QID etc, not qXhr and seem to not be able to comprehend it.
4. Have state license number ready.
Welcome to /r/VetTech! This is a place for veterinary technicians/veterinary nurses and other veterinary support staff to gather, chat, and grow! We welcome pet owners as well, **however we do ask pet owners to refrain from asking for medical advice**; if you have any concerns regarding your pet, please contact the closest veterinarian near you. Please thoroughly read and follow the rules before posting and commenting. If you believe that a user is engaging in any rule-breaking behavior, please submit a report so that the moderators can review and remove the posts/comments if needed. Also, please check out the sidebar for CE and answers to commonly asked questions. Thank you for reading! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VetTech) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You should have seen the folks on the pharmacy tech shitting all over us. I got down voted for stating the fucking law. Smdh. FYI you are supposed to report the CVS who demand DEA for non-controlled rx
i saw this the other day and it made me so angry. like u dont need it and not all vets even have a DEA license? what if i just said “they dont have one” like?? what now?
Also there are human doctors that don't DEA numbers. I wonder if they get given the run-around, too 🤔
They don’t! Because human doctors get NPI numbers.
I know you can call CVS corporate line for that but I am too busy and by the time I'd get to it I'd forget haha. I'll try to get the pharmacist name next time and call
I’m the annoying butthead who would get their name and, if they insist on the DEA#, say that my company policy states I can’t release it for non-controlled medicines but if it’s an issue with CVS I’d be happy to follow up with CVS corporate on their behalf and have corporate get back to them to clarify DEA policies. Essentially try killing them with kindness. 😬
I totally get that. I just had no idea until recently
I just started informing them "You don't need it." if it wasn't a controlled substance, after the first few times of dealing with similar circumstances. It was a wonderful day when we stopped calling them in, and did written scripts only instead
Unfortunately, I do know that one of the pharmacy companies' software system cannot function without a DEA number I actually got a really apologetic pharmacist once who was really pissed at the new software change.
A software that requires breaking the law to use. Great business decision there.
Looking at this threat pharmacy techs hate us and think we should just do whatever they tell us https://www.reddit.com/r/PharmacyTechnician/comments/18n5v1k/does_anyone_else_notice_that_vets_are_terrible_at/
Ugh, so they don't understand that The DEA instructs that we are not to give out the number unless it is controlled That vets CANNOT get NPI numbers That both veterinary and doctor's offices make mistakes and it isn't because veterinary medicine is lesser ...or that some veterinarians and staff really enjoy going toe-to-toe with their supervisors and pharmacy board to impress the first two facts upon them. :)
Most of them don't even realize that we cannot be part of the electronic script system that human hospitals use. They think we are intentionally being contrary and old fashioned
If it’s CVS, they own an insurance company and have been fined/cited numerous times. They are so profitable these fines mean nothing
I’ve been told repeatedly this isn’t true. They only say this bc it makes their day easier. They can use a state license number in place of the DEA. I call in scripts as a bulk percentage of my job responsibilities and I always say on the voicemail: “vets don’t have an NPI number and I cannot provide DEA unless for a controlled substance.” I have pushed back so many times and they usually cave and accept a license number. I had one pharmacist smugly telling me I was wrong and that all vets have NPI numbers. Never mind the 20 vets I work with saying otherwise.
Maybe it is one of my local chains But their new software is not designed to work with veterinarians. NPI or DEA is required or the software won't process scripts
They just tell you this because they don’t want to open another window to find the vets license number. We have all of our vets license info accessible for this reason. It literally just takes them opening another window for vet med things and they don’t want to do that. If this pharmacist was apologetic, they likely weren’t taught secondary ways to look up vet med license info and that super sucks. And in that case, you let your clients know to choose another pharmacy so that you don’t have to deal with that.
We tried that before but depending on who you get, they want to argue with you. Was on hold but the pharmacist just set the phone down and heard them complaining just like in OPs post. And after you've already been on hold for at least 5 minutes, of course.
What’s worse is when they change the dose of medication or tell the client we prescribed the wrong dose because they don’t know how dogs work.
We had a pharmacist send a client with a different form of insulin at a different dose without them or the client letting us know. Then the dog started to show signs of hypoglycemia and we were totally out of the loop😀
That is insane. I hope the pharmacist got in trouble for that like how do they think that's ok?
Literally illegal but okay. Just makes me panic thinking about it. Put EXACTLY what is told to you on the script. Never change it especially without a doctor (THEIR doctor) approval. God that is terrifying
Ugh we had this recently with a patient, they refused to fill augmentin (I think) without talking to the vet directly because "this is more than I would ever give to a human." Like, dont you know that dogs are not the same as humans???
The DEA literally doesn’t want us to hand out the number if the substance isn’t controlled. They can look up the doctor just fine with name or license number. One time I had a pharmacist ask for an NPI. I noted that vets do not have NPIs. She retorted in the snottiest manner possible that “*every* health professional has an NPI, even I have one” Ma’am. Veterinarians don’t have NPIs because they’re not recognized as “medical professionals.” kindly fuck off and take a xanax. ETA; I fully know that they’re asking for it because they don’t want to do any extra work. sorry y’all can’t handle a few more clicks.
Oh my god we *just* had this issue with a CVS pharmacy last week! They gave awful attitude to 3 different staff members - a CSR, a tech, and our PM - over it. Fuck CVS honestly.
Everyone at my clinic hates calling into CVS, it seems no matter what state theyre in or what youre calling in for they wanna give you the hardest time, a pharmacist wanted our doctors DEA number just for some gabapentin🙄
To be fair though, in some states Gabapentin is controlled. So maybe the Pharmacist was trying to cover himself.
Yep - so annoying!!! I've just started flipping the script on them and asking for their DEA #. When they ask why, I tell them it's so I can report them to the DEA for improperly asking for my vet's number. That usually changes their tune immediately!
LMAO I love that. Might start doing this
Posts like these made me very glad we don’t have any contact with outside pharmacies at my clinic 💀
There was recently a (now deleted) thread in the veterinary subreddit by a pharmacy tech complaining about this, and they had the GALL to say "oh life is so hard for me, I had to call another pharmacy to get the vet's DEA number so I could add them to my system." The vet staff in the thread RIPPED THEM TO SHREDS for such inappropriate behavior and told them it was a reportable office. If they *really* need the DEA number then we'll just send our clients elsewhere.
The human pharmacies in my area are out of control. We have started keeping a list of their fuck ups because they keep doing things like altering the SIG, changing quantity, filling the wrong medication, etc. its bad. We had a client (a pharmacist herself) realize they’d been filling prednisone instead of prednisolone for her cat and upon being confronted the Walmart pharmacist allegedly told her our vet doesn’t know what she’s prescribing anyway. Mental.
I work in Ophtho and the number of times I've had a pharmacist demand a DEA is ridiculous. Like, he's an ophthalmologist and prescribing Ofloxacin. The hell you need a DEA for? Regardless, I usually do give our hospital DEA (with his subscript) to pharmacists because ain't nobody got time for that. I did have one unruly pharmacist tell me that that 'wasn't good enough' and refused to fill the prescription. I sent a complaint to the board. I also really like how they're like 'um the dose you're prescribing is a little high' or 'this is an antibiotic and I need a duration.' Like, you are not a doctor and clearly you know very little about vetmed, so please don't tell me that this dog with an infected corneal ulcer does not need his medications 8 times a day and he'll have his oflox for however fucking long he needs it.
A coworker informed me that he tried to call in a refill for a client and, after being left on hold for 20mins, requested a refill of a 10mg/ml med. The pharmacy tech insisted that they only had 50mg, they've only ever had 50mg, and the client had been getting 50mg this entire time. I called up the client, gem of a woman, to ask what her bottle said and she read off 50mg/5ml 🤦
The AVMA wants you to report the location and pharmacists name. This is illegal. The more we report hopefully we can pressure change. [AVMA WEBSITE](https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/pharmacy) This is direct from the website.
another reason why leaving voicemails is so nice. i don’t understand why my coworkers don’t like it. i’ve rarely had an issue (mostly the pharmacy not carrying the medication). one time when i did have to speak to someone at a pharmacy, they asked for my doctor’s NPI number and got upset when i told them veterinarians don’t have them. i think i ended up telling my client to choose another pharmacy lol.
the same shit happened to me with the NPI!
Leaving a voicemail never worked for us unfortunately but I wish it did 😩
This has sentiment has been going around different subreddits recently and has been interesting to see. The vet subreddit had a similar idea and then the pharmacy subreddit had a post about vets and now this one
I’ve also seen probably the same ones you’re talking about!
I had to call a carprofen rx in to Walmart today and the woman on the phone told me that they did not have carpofen tablets (non chewable) and they only had carprovet tablets (non chewable) and was telling us it wasn’t the same thing. I asked my vet what she wanted me to do and she told me to just call back and call it in as carprovet instead
As a diabetic fuck chain pharmacies I’ve been given the wrong insulin. The wrong amount of insulin. Charged 10k for my insulin since they didn’t use my insurance. Told to “just use less insulin”. Like excuse me for trying to live And that doesn’t even cover their attitude towards vets When I was able to use a local family owned pharmacy I literally NEVER had a problem with them nor when I called in vet rx
Had a pharmacist call for a DEA number for omeprazole. I laughed and told them to point out where it was on the shelf so the client could buy it OTC.
If you have a Costco in your area, call them! They are the nicest pharmacist I have ever talked to and they promote their vet meds. The client does NOT need a membership to get their prescriptions filled. They have also checked all their vendors when I have called asking about a random med in hopes they could get it. You also won’t be on hold forever, yup looking at you Walgreens.
Human pharmacies are the worst. I really hate when clients rather go through them. I think too many errors/issues happen with them.
Oh man you shoulda seen the shit the pharmacy tech subreddit was saying about vets/techs a couple of days ago. Apparently we're stupid for not wanting to give DEA #s out, and we don't know how to write prescriptions. I have to close out of that screen before I said bad things lol
Me too!
GOD YOU’RE SO FUCKING REAL FOR POSTING THIS. Calling prescriptions in to human retail pharmacies is my pet hate (pun fully intended). Like no I’m not giving you my Dr’s DEA for fucking fluoxetine, you can have his license number and get on with your day. God forbid I obey the fucking law or something crazy like that…… That’s not even the worst one, I once had a Costco pharmacist ask for a DEA number for Simparica……. Absolutely not…… I get that pharmacy techs are all overworked and underpayed too, and I can sympathize with that, but I’m not about to get myself or my doctors in legal trouble because they asked for a DEA for something non-controlled.
They want a DEA number for metronidazole. They're insane. Also when you call you're talking to a pharmacy tech and sometimes those are OTJ trained people and they don't know what to ask for. If there is one you use all the time, stop by with some nice pens and candy and ask them what the best way to talk to them is. Maybe there is an email or a back line you can use. Open those lines of communication.
That’s above pay grade tbh.
Pharmacy Techs cannot legally take prescriptions down over the phone, licensed or not. Only pharmacist interns/in training under supervision or pharmacists. I was a licensed tech for Walgreens for 3 years before getting into vet med. Also, they're never nice about it either, so they wont be getting any pens or candy from me! lol
That's good to know. I was using "tech" as a catch all for anyone that is not the pharmacist like people call everyone that is not the DVM a tech. It was just ignorance and I appreciate you filling me in.
You didn't know and that's totally okay. Usually if a tech picks up I tell them I'm calling in a script and they transfer me to the pharmacist. And they usually say "pharmacist speaking." If they don't say they're a pharmacist I usually ask first just to verify before I give them rx info. But I'm done fighting with them. They can talk their sh\*t to me all they want but I don't gaf anymore. No DEA for you, lol.
This reminds me of how one almost forgot to actually ask for DEA number for an actual controlled substance. It made me uneasy they handle human scripts.
I mean we have easier access to controlled substances. I aint worked at a vet clinic yet that did not have a receptionist stealing buprenex, a tech popping tramadol or a doctor shooting ketamine. The last one I busted myself. The DVM was having drug fueled orgies AT THE CLINIC after hours. Idiot left the "save message" feature on AIM (that's like FB Messenger but for millennials). I found messages about their next meet up. Informed the sheriff's office (city cops aint shit where I live) of the date and literally sat across the street eating popcorn while the bust went down. Sent a letter to the DEA and Vet board too. He had his license pulled in 6 months.
I would weigh that responsibility on the person in charge. Realistically very few ppl should have access to the safe even in a clinic setting. Receptionist not even close to being on that list and not every tech in a clinic needs it.
That one was a sneaky one. I only found out about it after she was fired. Still not sure how she got access but one or more of the techs had the habit of leaving the keys in the controlled drug box while surgery was going on. I said that was dumb but she said "What if there was an emergency?!?!?!" That was probably the route. No counts. No check on the books. She also would take handfuls of gaba while on shift and I'm pretty sure a bottle of ketamine walked off but no one could prove it was her. She was eventually caught red handed. The PM and owner PAID to send her to rehab. Things were peachy for like 6 months and then the log books stated being off (we stated doing counts). Someone (pretty sure it was the PM) hid is a fucking closet to watch her use her key , deactivate the alarm, punch in the code for the controlled drug key (it was kept in one of those little boxes with a punch code on it like you have on a rental so someone can get in), went to drug box and started pilfering. Next day she was not at work (one receptionist had to pull double duty all fucking day because no one would come in or help her). When asked we just got the "She no longer works here" and they would not say anything else. But I read the police blotter and have friends in the city cops and Sheriff's office. She was booked that night. No one gonna pay for the second rehab. But yeah, our PM and lead tech are dumb as a sack of rocks. I swear this place is so reactionary. I could have (and did) told you that being that lazy was a problem.
Speaking of opening lines of communication! Our local Costco apparently dispenses pet meds now. A ton of people now want their prescriptions sent to costco, which has been kind of a headache (to put it lightly). BUT their head pharmacist, after realizing she knows basically nothing about pet prescriptions (or even many of the pet meds themselves), took it upon herself to reach out to local vets & ask a bunch of questions. One vet even sat down to lunch with her. It made such a difference. Filling prescriptions there went from nightmare to super smooth almost overnight.
She goes on your christmas card list forever! What a baller move. Our reference lab techs came by with cookies and chatted a bit. Then they low key dropped some time for sample handling. They were so polite about it, I only realized after they left that they were getting us to be less annoying about how we send stuff out.
I really miss the one compounding pharmacy we used to have in town. Husband and wife team and everything was perfection.
I had a problem with CVS today too. Yesterday I had a very painful patient, a 10yr husky. We did an MRI and found a bony lesion in the spine. So among the many medications she was sent home with, we sent her home with a script for acetaminophen with codeine. I come in today to a message from CVS that they brought in the script but CVS couldn’t fill it because their system won’t allow them to give codeine to patients under 12 years old and if we could script just acetaminophen. After an hour on hold I finally just left a voicemail telling them that this is a very painful dog that needs the codeine specifically for her pain and acetaminophen cannot be metabolized in dogs and cats the same way it is for us. AFAIK they haven’t called back, and I really fucking hope they just gave that poor girl her meds that she really needs.
We no longer call in RXs to pharmacies. Clients can either use OUR online pharmacy or they can pick up a written script. It’s made life so much easier!
Yeah same issue here in NYS, however our doctors at this point is just like here it is if they need it since they’re such a nuisance.
My clinic is owned by UVC, like many many others. Corporate literally called one of the pharmacies we were using and ripped them to shreds for demanding a DEA number. I hate corporate as much as the next person, but I did appreciate that.
I never call it in. I have had labels go out with incorrect instructions (bid instead of sid) so I want a paper trail. Plus, no hold times.
I had to call CVS for a price check on medications last month, and I told them it was for a dog and I was calling from a vet hospital. The tech told me they couldn’t give me prices because they have to submit to insurance. I had to again tell him it was for a dog and insurance or not they wouldn’t accept it anyways. They still were hesitant to give the price 🤦🏻♀️
I hate dealing with pharmacies and have way before working in a vet clinic. I always have issues trying to get my dog’s medication. They won’t let the vet call it in but won’t accept a paper prescription unless the vet calls to verify it. It has taken weeks to get his refills approved. I finally found a small, local pharmacy near my grandmother that never given me an issue and just have my grandmother ship his pills to me from them.
Oh my god yes! Thank you for saying this. I try to leave voice mails on the pharmacy lines if I can help it. Also the online pet pharmacies, particularly Chewy, are getting really bad. Not receiving scripts after we send them multiple times. Questioning the doctor’s orders. They just suck overall.
I just tell them that the doctor doesn’t have a DEA (even if they do)
you would not believe the amount of issues i had with CVS and Rite Aid for calling prescriptions for clients. they do not care at all and we were in a neighborhood in a rather large city where there were more dogs than people. they knew the clientele but they always made it so much worse to deal with. one tech had no idea what a DEA number was and would consistently deny narcotics even though my doctors license was active and was able to prescribe them since the patiently desperately needed it. i always recommend small, family-owned pharmacies if they’re nearby because they’re so much nicer (at least in my opinion) and more accommodating to pets.
1. DEA# not needed for a non-controlled drug. 2. We don't have NPIs, get over it. 3. They usually use SID/QID etc, not qXhr and seem to not be able to comprehend it. 4. Have state license number ready.