Dr. Zoffis

CPP: Okay. We have covered that the good Dr. Zoffis is terrible at math and at using e-scripts. 

CP: They'll blame the staff and the e-script software. This Dr. Zoffis is above reproach. 

CPP: True. But what else are we missing to complain about today?

CP: Let's go with a two-parter: 

a. There Should Be A Test and 

b. Things We Have To Do That Our Dr. Zoffis Does Not

CPP: Okay. I'll take "There Should Be A Test" to get things started. 

CP: Before you are allowed to prescribe something, anything, you should have to know HOW to write it. 

CPP: I am in favour. Are we talking dosing or strengths or quantities or what?

CP: All of the above. But also HOW to write a prescription. I had these conversations last week:

1.

Office Receptionist Calling: I'd like to call in this prescription for Phenobarbital. 

CP: Ok. Quantity and refills?

ORC: One month with 8 refills. 

CP: <shakes head> Huh? It's a controlled substance. You can't have 8 refills. 

ORC: Well that's what they wrote. How many can they have?

CP: Five. It's a law. Dr. Zoffis should know this by now. You've been practicing for decades.

2.

CP: We received an Rx for Maxitrol Eye Drops, filled them, patient retrieved them and went home. The next day, we received a second Rx for Maxitrol for this patient and filed it since it was too soon. The NEXT day, the patient brings us a hardcopy Rx for Maxitrol. 

CPP: Wow. Her Dr. Zoffis really wanted her to have these drops. 

CP: Except Dr. Zoffis, an EYE doctor/specialist, told her the pharmacy misfilled her Rx because she is allergic to Neomycin and he wrote for Maxitrol which he knows for a fact doesn't have Neomycin in it. 

CPP: Dafuq? 

CP: Oh yeah. And not a new Dr. either. We showed the patient the ingredients and she called the office herself and went off on the ORC who promptly put the Dr. on the phone. 

CPP: Let me guess. He meant something else?

CP: Nope. Didn't know, all these years on, that Maxitrol has Neomycin in it. Guess what I had to do?

CPP: Write the Rx for him?

CP: Yep. Give him a list of everything we had in stock that is LIKE Maxitrol, sans Neomycin. 

CPP: There should be some kind of test your Dr. Zoffis has to pass to be able to prescribe medications. 

CP: Especially a specialist. 

CPP: And this, kids, is why your pharmacist is important. 

CP: The more you know. 

CPP: Ouch. I can pheel that conversation. Let's move along to "Things We Have To Do. . . "

CP: We already established that, when laws take effect, pharmacists must be compliant that day, but Dr. Zoffis gets to plead ignorance and continue along as if nothing changed. 

CPP: Right. 

CP: This is more of a "problem of yesterday" when we had handwritten prescriptions, but it still bothers me. We were drilled in pharmacy to never abbreviate certain words, particularly when it came to directions. This is especially true with "UNITS". We were told to never ever abbreviate units to "u". 

CPP: Yet Dr. Zoffis continually writes prescriptions to administer 42u instead of 42 units. 

CP: Right. As I said, it's not as big a deal as it once was now that we have e-scripts and a "u" is clearly a "u" but I recently saw this again and was reminded about how we were taught this but Dr. Zoffis apparently graduated without this lesson. (Though they still shouldn't abbreviate units. tsk tsk)

CPP: I always wondered why they stressed it with us when WE weren't writing the prescriptions. 

CP: Ability to telepathically force prescribers to write correctly; another one of our disrespected superpowers, like math. 

CPP: Math is hard. 

CP: I also miss rounding on calculations. 

CPP: Dispense 66.507 ml to be administered as 3.167 ml TID for 7 days. 

CP: Ask them if you can give them Benzonatate as well. 

CPP: Why? Oh. 

CP: So you can tell them phuh cough.