Calling Doctors...

What is easier? Making 2 phone calls or making 3 of them? I always thought 2 was fewer than 3 and therefore simpler. Why do some doctors' offices require the pharmacy call them for prescriptions? The way it is supposed to work is the patient visits the doctor. The doctor prescribes something. Someone at the office either writes it, faxes it, electronically sends it, phones it, or teleports it over to the pharmacy. The pharmacy then fills it. I can't spend all day tracking down prescriptions for patients because doctors won't call pharmacies. If the patient calls the doctor then the doctor calls us, that is 2 calls. If the patient calls the doctor, then calls us, then we call the doctor, that is 3 calls. What reasons have I been given by the offices?
1. You're long distance and you work for a big corporation. They can afford the bill. (I guess no one near you uses an independent then, huh?)
2. We always have to wait on hold for such a long time with pharmacies. (Fantastic. I guess you never heard of this thing called voicemail. Revolutionary concept, this. You call. You talk. It records. Done!)
3. We only have one person who can call in prescriptions here. (And I only have one person who can take prescriptions here. That doesn't stop the other dozens of offices from calling me all day.)

It was an especially awesome and frustrating Saturday when this unfolded at 9:15 am:
Impatient Patient: My doctor wants you to call him at home.
Me: WTF? Why?
IP: I just called his cell phone and talked to him. He wants to prescribe me something but you have to call him. He said you have to call him at home right now because he's leaving.
Me: Wouldn't it have saved time if he would have just hung up with you and called me? He could have left a voicemail by now and I could be working on it. I am going to do over 400 prescriptions today, by myself. I don't have time to track down your doctor immediately. (I take the number from him...)
IP: <less than 3 minutes later> Did you call yet? I have his cell number.
Me: <I call the cell number. It was incorrect. I call the house number I was originally given. The doctor's wife answers and gets all bitchy with me because she is put out that I am calling. She gives me his correct cell number and I get his damn voicemail.>  Listen, if your husband is going to request people call him, take it up with him. I'm just doing what he told me to do. I'm not happy about it either because his lazy, self-important ass could have called me at 9:15 and this would have been over. Instead, I have to make multiple calls and track him down on a Saturday and waste 2 & 1/2 hours of my time for one lousy prescription. <Doctor finally called back...at 11:45. After I got 6 more phone calls from IP>