12 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Pharmacists

While pharmacists appear behind a counter in a store and serve customers like so many other people, they also have to have a good amount of education, follow a maze of regulations, and watch out for their customer’s health. That makes pharmacy work very different from other retail positions. And your life may depend on their work.

1. THEY STOP DOCTORS FROM KILLING YOU.

Jason—he prefers not to reveal his last name—has been a retail pharmacist in the Midwest for more than 20 years. When he hears complaints about slow service from patients who think of the chain stores as glorified drive-throughs for prescriptions, he sighs.

“It’s not just putting pills in a bottle,” he says. “With a prescription, there’s a good likelihood of there being wrong information. We catch interactions that could kill you.” On an average day, Jason might see 200 orders. He estimates 10 to 15 percent contain errors in quantity, instructions, or dosing that need to be corrected by phoning the physician.

2. THEY USUALLY HAVE ABOUT 15 MINUTES TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.

Owing to the volume of prescriptions processed by major chains like CVS and Walgreens, the one or two staff pharmacists on the clock have precious little time to spare. While pharmacy technicians can count pills and perform other tasks, only the pharmacist can double-check a medication is accurate before it’s turned over. “We have a time limit,” says Aaron, a retail pharmacist in Texas. “Reports get printed out at the end of the week and we get reprimanded for not meeting metrics. People ask if there’s anything they need to know about their medication. Yes, lots, but I only have a few seconds to give you the highlights.”

Not all the 12 secrets of pharmacists are so scary, but they are all interesting, in a list at mental_floss.


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