pharmacy Pet Peeves

It is no secret that pet peeves come with any profession. Pharmacy Times wants toknow what ticks you off. In each issue of our ePharmacy Times newsletter, we will continueour ongoing list of pharmacists' complaints. Perhaps you'll identify with one andnod your head in agreement because you're not alone. Please e-mail your complaintsalong with your name to Eileen Koutnik-Fotopoulos at

linkEmail('ekoutnik','pharmacytimes.com')

.Here are some pet peeves pharmacists have submitted:

71. Dealing with the rude and obnoxiousphysician's office assistant who thinksthat she has the authority to determinewhether patients need or doesnot need their medications.—Mary Raptis-Garcia

72. Having customers call in for a refillon a Friday afternoon for a prescriptionthat doesn't have refills and thencome in Saturday morning to see ifthe doctor called back.

73. Working with patients who moved alltheir prescriptions to mail order andcome back demanding a week's supply(at a discounted rate, of course)because their scripts are "in themail."—Tom Stewart

74. Dealing with a customer who said,"If all it takes to fill my prescription isto count out the pills and put them inthe vial, then I can do that myself." —Sue McDonald

75. Trying to understand the public perceptionof retail pharmacists andpharmacy operations in general. Analarming number of people have noidea what really is going on behindthe counter in a pharmacy, and somehave no idea who the pharmacist is,thinking everyone working in the storeis a pharmacist without any appreciationof the training that the actualpharmacist must complete.—Don Gudenas