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Oregon Board of Pharmacy

1. Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements:

Strongly

AgreeAgree Neutral Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Not Applicable

Response Count

I have adequate time for breaks/lunches at my primary

practice site.

5.5% (38)

15.8% (108)

10.2% (70)

23.5% (161)

44.5% (305)

0.4% (3) 685

I am satisfied with the amount of time I have to do my job.

1.6% (11)

16.5% (112)

14.9% (101)

39.5% (268)

27.4% (186)

0.1% (1) 679

My employer provides a work environment that is conducive to

providing safe and effective patient care.

4.1% (28)

21.8% (149)

21.1% (144)

29.5% (202)

23.0% (157)

0.6% (4) 684

My site has adequate Pharmacist staff to provide safe and effective

patient care.

4.7% (32)

22.4% (153)

17.4% (119)

34.1% (233)

21.3% (146)

0.1% (1) 684

My site has adequate Technician staff to provide safe and effective

patient care.

5.1% (35)

21.2% (145)

14.3% (98)

33.3% (228)

25.8% (177)

0.3% (2) 685

My site has adequate Clerk staff to provide safe and effective patient

care.

4.2% (29)

17.7% (121)

14.9% (102)

24.0% (164)

25.8% (176)

13.3% (91) 683

answered question 685

skipped question 0

chennigan

Practice Setting - Community Pharmacy - Chain/Mass Merchand.

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2. Please select your primary role as a pharmacist:

Response

PercentResponse

Count

Staff Pharmacist 55.5% 379

Clinical/Specialty Pharmacist 0.3% 2

Pharmacy Manager/PIC 32.1% 219

Regional Pharmacy Manager/Director/VP

2.2% 15

Relief Pharmacist 10.0% 68


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3. Please indicate your primary practice site.

Response

PercentResponse

Count

Community pharmacy - independent

0.0% 0

Community pharmacy - chain/mass merchandiser

100.0% 685

Mail order pharmacy 0.0% 0

In-patient hospital pharmacy 0.0% 0

Out-patient hospital pharmacy 0.0% 0

Health Center pharmacy 0.0% 0

Long term care pharmacy 0.0% 0

Ambulatory care 0.0% 0

Compounding Pharmacy 0.0% 0

Other 0.0% 0


skipped question 0

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4. How many hours do you work during a typical shift at your primary practice site?

Response

PercentResponse

Count

< 4 hours 0.0% 0

4-5.9 hours 1.5% 10

6-7.9 hours 2.4% 16

8-9.9 hours 45.1% 305

10-11.9 hours 33.2% 225

12-13.9 hours 17.7% 120

> 14 hours 0.1% 1


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5. How many hours do you work in your primary practice site in a typical week?

Response

PercentResponse

Count

< 20 hours 7.0% 47

20-29.9 hours 9.3% 63

30-39.9 hours 18.5% 125

40-49.9 hours 62.4% 422

50-59.9 hours 2.2% 15

> 60 hours 0.6% 4


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6. Approximately how many prescriptions or orders are processed PER PHARMACIST per day at your site?

Response

PercentResponse

Count

< 50 0.0% 0

51-99 3.2% 22

100-199 44.3% 300

200-299 41.8% 283

300-399 6.2% 42

400-499 0.6% 4

> 500 0.6% 4

Not Sure 2.4% 16

Not applicable 0.9% 6


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7. Please select the number of years you have been a licensed pharmacist.

Response

PercentResponse

Count

< 5 years 20.1% 133

5-10 years 9.4% 62

10-15 years 17.9% 118

15-20 years 10.7% 71

20-25 years 7.3% 48

> 25 years 34.6% 229


skipped question 24

8. Sex

Response

PercentResponse

Count

Male 52.4% 343

Female 47.6% 312


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9. Please provide any additional comments you think would be helpful to the Board.

Response

Count

348


skipped question 337

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Page 4, Q9. Please provide any additional comments you think would be helpful to the Board.

1 Please spend a day at XXX Fred Meyer pharmacy and observe how crazy it is towork there. I am no longer employed for this corporation. I have chosen to takethe high road where I don't have to feel like I'm going to jeopardize the patientsevery time I stepped into that pharmacy.

Aug 8, 2011 12:02 PM

2 WALMART KILLED MY PARTNER IN 1999 AT THE XXX WALMART. SHEWAS ONLY IN HER 30'S. STRESS WAS TOO MUCH FOR HER. WE HADSTAFFING AS FOLLOWS: AVERAGE 75 RX PER DAY IN A 6 DAY WORKWEEK WOULD GIVE US 20 HRS TECH. LESS THAN 75 RXS PER DAY- NOTECH.

Aug 8, 2011 11:57 AM

3 None of the chain retail pharmacies I have worked at provide for pharmacist'sbreaks. If you really want to know how bad the situation is check out Fred Meyerin XXX Oregon. Last year, fter the staff pharmacist quit they could not hireanyone. The Pharmacy Manager worked as the sole pharmacist, 9 to 9 Mondaythru Friday, 9 to 7 on Saturdays and 10 to 6 on Sundays for 6 months. Surely,this does not promote patient (or Pharmacist) safety. But the Store Manager andthe Pharmacy District Manager thought this was acceptable.

Aug 8, 2011 11:50 AM

4 As a chain pharmacist at XXX in XXX I feel that we are operating on the edge ofdisaster. We make mistakes that are secondary to being too distracted. Ourstore is up almost 50% in volume due to 2 buyouts. And Corp has cut ourstaffing hours. It is a danger zone for us and for the patients. My co-workers arevery frustrated. We all talk about what to do to improve our situation. The boardinspector was in a few weeks ago and gave us a good review. Which was great.This is supposed to be the slow season. God help us when the schools startback up and flu season hits.

Aug 3, 2011 7:27 PM

5 1.Consultation rules are time concuming and unnecessary. Being interrupted tohave a patient tell me he doesn't want counseling is ridiculous. Your rules inferthat we are not professional enough to make our own decisions on counseling.You are taking professional decisions out of our hands. 2. Being interruptedconstantly to look at trivial interactions is time consuming and counter-productive. Most pharmacists don't bother to look any more and blow rightthrough this. We have to assume that MD specialists know what they are doingand most if not all of the interractions are unavoidable. What are we suppoosedto do? Call the doctors constantly to tell them about some ordinary interraction?This sort of thing consumes our time and distracts us and needs to bestreamlined or eliminated. 3. Compounding - Pharmacists are highly educatedthese days and yet we are prohibited from compounding many simple thingsbecause they have to be weighed. Do You think we are incapable of doing this?So I have to send a lady to Portland to have her sulfur ointment made. Howstupid and what a hassle for the patient! 4. In many pharmacies staffing isminimal but adequate. But typically someone , pharmacist or tech or clerk is sickor on vacation or for some other reason cannot show up for the assignedschedule. Remember many of our customers are sick with colds and viruses thatare passed along to pharmacy staff who all use the same telephones and keyboards and pass illness around. Staff is working when they are sick, particularlypharmacists working while taking antibiotics or pain meds because there is noone to releive them. If a clerk or tech is sick and doesn't come to work, thenstaffing is inadequate because trained and qualified personell is not available toreplace them. I myself have had to work multiple 10 to 13 hour shifts 10 to 14days in a row with no breaks or lunch. Obviously attention span and performance

Aug 2, 2011 2:30 PM

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suffers and mistakes occur. There needs to be regulations covering work timeand uninterrupted lunch and break time. 5. Electronic prescribing is fraught witherrors because those inputing them at the doctors office are unskilled or theirsoftware is confusing. I have had nurses tell me that they don't know what to pickout of a lsit of drug types and dosage forms and strengths that shows up on theircomputer screens. Directions are likewise often wrong and dangerous and thepharmacist has to take time to call the doctor and straighten it out. For exampleyesterday I had a prescription that said to take 7 Vicodin tablets once daily, whenthey actualluy meant 7 tablets a day maximum. 6. Is any one but me botheredby the fact that we don't know where the drugs that we are dispensing are madeor who is making them? This information is not required to be listed on the label.Is anyone bothered by the fact that the drugs we are dispensing may be made inChina in a plant that has never been inspected by the FDA? I for one would notgive my dog food that has been made in China, much less giving a patient drugsthat have been made there. Is anyone bothered by the fact that foreign drugmanufacturers are inspected only once every 7 to 9 years or in some cases notat all? Is anyone concerned that counterfeit drugs are a huge business and aremaking their way into the US market? If we are truly comncerned about6 patientwelfare then we should be counseling them about this and giving them a choiceabout who makes their drugs and where they come from. Is anyone bothered bythe fact that FDA , by their own admission before congress, cannot guarenteethe safety and efficacy of imported drugs? 7.Constantly changing color, shape,size, and dosage form of generic drugs are a given to senior citizens who cannotrecognize what they are supposed to be taking. How can this be in the bestinterest of the patient who depends on taking "my blue round pill at noon" whenhe or she gets an oblong yellow capsule. Yes we tell them that it is different, butit happens so often that I suspect that they don't listen anymore or their shortmemory causes them to forget. Or the person picking up the prescription forthem forgets to tell them. How can we say that we are looking out for the healthof the patient when this occurs - and the pharmacist has no professional input.Pharmacists have lost control over their profession. What we do is dictated byinsurance companies, drug companies, special interests and political insiders.Example,. colchicine, which has been on the market since I began practice 43years ago, has suddenly been deemed unsafe and replaced by the brand nameCOLCRYST, the same drug but now costing much much more. Co-pays havegone up from $5.00 for generic to $45.00 for brand name and there is no otherchoice. 8. If we are truly serious about MTM and counseling, then full disclosureto the patient about the manufacture, and unknown safety and efficacy of thedrug that they are about to take for their life threatening ilness should be made.Otherwise we are in the same category as a "snake oil" pitchman of the olddays!

6 A quote to me from the Bi-Mart Regional Manager: "Your job here as apharmacist is about production, nothing else. You are here to produceprescriptions and keep up with the workload, even if it is more than 300 perpharmacist per shift. You are allowed a 30 minute lunch for your 10 hour shift,which means you return to your work station ready to work after exactly 30minutes. Producing finished prescriptions for sale is all that we want you to do."That is not why I became a pharmacist - I am patient care oriented, notproduction oriented, so I left Bi-Mart to open my own pharmacy in a very smalltight knit community! Thank you for trying to do something about the ludicrousworking conditions at most or all of the chain pharmacies in Oregon.

Aug 2, 2011 2:18 PM

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7 I think that there needs to be more regulation of the working conditions ofPharmacists federally. If we can't make a difference at the federal level then Iwould be more then happy to see some action at the state level. Retailers aretaking complete control of the situation by overworking pharmacists andtechnicians to the point that critical med errors are now becoming more commonthan ever before. This is happening due to a complete saturation and overabundance of new graduates being flooded into the pharmacy workforce. Whenpush comes to shove retailers have been able to control staffing and cut back tothe point that people are getting burnt out and can no longer safely handleworkloads. Some retailers are even implementing new programs requiringpharmacists to meet quotas or promise times less than 15 minutes perprescription. If you don't like it you do not have the option of quitting becausesomeone else will take your job gladly. This is a direct threat to the license ofthe Pharmacist as well as the health of the patient. I think workload ratios needto be set and established to effectively eliminate risk. I urge the person readingthis to take the necessary steps and actions to protect both pharmacists andpatients by providing the means to a safer work environment and healthcaresystem. We need advocates to take a stand against the way pharmacy is beingpracticed today and the direction in which it is headed. I urge you to considerthese thoughts of mine that many others share and do not voice. Thank You

Aug 2, 2011 2:12 PM

8 Instead of focusing upon Pharmacist counseling violations, you should insteadfocus upon the Pharmacist/Technician ratio when imposing fines (and makingthe said penalty onerous). (Even to the point of observing/validating who isacting (working) as a Technician, and who is acting as a clerk.) You could thusmitigate the error ratio of Pharmacists, and better serve the Public. Thank youfor your concern.

Aug 2, 2011 2:05 PM

9 The relentless pressure on margins is driving business decision makers tocontinually push us to fill more and more prescriptions. This creates difficult andsometimes dangerous situations and certainly is not helping to promotepharmaceutical care. There are only three ways that I see this can change: 1)Payment for dispensing increases (obviously unlikely,) 2) Payment forPharmacist services becomes a reality. The expectation of payers andcustomers today is that we will provide advice and pharmaceutical care for freeand get paid for dispensing. 3) The Board of Pharmacy places some kinds ofrestrictions on business owners that controls how many prescriptions they canrequire a pharmacist to fill per unit of time. I also STRONGLY believe that theBoard of Pharmacy must not exempt mail order pharmacies from the SAMErequirements as community pharmacies. (i.e.: The mail order pharmacist mustinitiate and provide counseling.) Thanks for considering these thoughts.

Aug 2, 2011 2:01 PM

10 It is my opinion that the whole immunization push is a giant set back for theprofession and medicine in general. The "home office" demands we do more,much more, with less. The blurring of the lines between professions is troublingto me as responsibilities are shared and therefore often diluted to the point ofstupor. Pharmacist have traditionally been drug dispensers not administrators.Doctors and nurses, PAs, FNPs etc etc have all been forced into gray areas bythe quest for the health care dollar by assuming or delegating areas ofresponsibilities. A more clear picture of who does what and when could helpsolve some of the confusion in the market place. Pharmacists immunizing takesaway from pharmacists dispensing and creates ill will with Doctors offices, is itreally necessary? Is it in our scope of practice, should it be? The slashing of

Aug 2, 2011 2:00 PM

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clerk help is ridiculous as well, they practically work for free anyway and helpimmensely with the work load, which bean counter vice president is responsiblefor this decision? Our profession is on the verge of becoming a joke anddisappearing into the sunset behind the glow of robotics and warehousedispensing. ps I applauded Walgreen for demanding a better deal from ODS

11 We average 250-270 rxs on a single pharmacist day at our pharmacy. This goeswithout lunches and breaks. Average 40-75 prescriptions daily that have someneed for consultation. Disappointed that the trend in pharmacy seems to haveactually gone away from patient safety and only matters how fast a prescriptioncan be done. Companies continue to insist on labor models that cut pharmacisthelp and rely on more auxiliary help. I would urge board members to visit a retailpharmacy I observe what that pharmacist is expected to do each day. XX couldtake you to a safeway pharmacy where he expects the pharmacist to work atwelve hour shift, give two zostavax shots everyday, and still provide Safeway'ssuperior customer service. Pharmacy staffing models being designed by peoplewho either haven't worked in a pharmacy, or like people like XX who haven'tworked in a pharmacy for years. It is time the board addressed the safety aspectof pharmacy staffing.

Aug 2, 2011 1:57 PM

12 a typical day: rx volume: anywhere from 300 to 400 rx per day. typically mondayis the day closer to 400. staffing is as follows: rph 1 from 8:30-5 with 1/2 hr forlunch. tech 1 9-6 with 1 hr lunch. tech 2 comes in 10-7 (1hr lunch). tech 3 is 12-8with a 1 hr lunch. rph 2 comes in at 1:30 and works until 9pm (close) orwhenever she can get out. she also takes 1/2 hour lunch. on monday we willhave a 2nd tech to open at 9. we do not have labor to allow 4 techs on any otherday. sat is staffed by 1 rph and 1 tech and 1 clerk. same for sun. sat volume isbetween 130-180 and sun is between 100-140. sat is 9-6 and sun is 10-4. we dohave a parata max robot. this is helpful but does nothing to assist in phone calls,counseling and immunizations ( we are a travel immunization store and do alarge volume of flu, zostavax and all other immunizations).

Jul 31, 2011 1:21 PM

13 There are no breaks for the pharmacist and a 30 minute lunch during a 10 hourshift. I feel that this greatly increases the chances for an error. Thesecircimstances have been brought to the board's attention on many occasionswith the usual reponse that you do not have to work there. These types ofworking conditions have been the norm in pharmacy for years. At some point theboard needs to be proactive and deal with this situation to prevent seriousevents. Punishing pharmacist's after an incident has been common place, thepublic health and safety is not served by "you do not have to work there".

Jul 30, 2011 9:23 PM

14 I am a Traveling Pharmacist, so I work at at least 6 different locations eachmonth. Some weekdays when only one pharmacist is scheduled (ie.Wednesdays and Thursdays) to cover the entire shift without a lunch break, it isvery difficult to perform the job safely and accurately, as well as handle allcounselings completely. Lunches and breaks are missed so the singlepharmacist is performing while mentally fatigued. This is a situation that I wouldlike to see changed. But when two or more pharmacists are scheduled, the workgets done at a reasonable pace with adequate time to counsel and researchquestions.

Jul 30, 2011 7:16 AM

15 I love my profession as a pharmacist, however I do not believe I (we) are treatedas professionals and the patient interaction has become less and less over the

Jul 29, 2011 10:57 PM

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years as resources are getting cut and job expectations are increased. I feel Iam working harder and yet satisfying the patients and myself less. I feel like Ihave to hit the door running and I dont get a breather for at least 11 or 12 hrs..weare never caught up, and then after staying late to catch up, I do my managerduties...commute and try to go straight to bed when I get home as I must wakesix hours later to make it back for the morning shift. I have had to quit doingafter work activities as I am exhausted and afraid of being too tired the next dayat work. I truley cant imagine keeping this pace at the age of 60 plus.....We takeabuse from customers everyday, have to work late hours, weekends andholidays...I have never heard patients use swear words while I have been at thedentist or doctors. I hope these surveys can help bring the professionalism backto our profession and help increase job satisfaction...I was a pharmacy cashierway before technicians, loved it enough to go back to school and become apharmacist...I cant imagine many pharmacy cashiers now wanting to take thesame route.

16 It is very difficult as a professional to watch the changes in the communitypharmacy setting. There are still those loyal customers who greatly appreciateour long time pharmacy manager just like in the days of small independentpharmacies where service was foremost. Unfortunately, the time to continuethose relationships has been cut so the personal relationships are left to theclerk who has time to chat with patients or the input technician who at leastgreats the patient initially. - I'll date myself. I was in pharmacy school whengeneral merchandisers and grocery chains started having pharmacies in theirstores. We have reaped the loss of pharmacist as owners and managers ofpharmacy. It now feels like we are treated as if we were selling bananas ratherthan practicing as a part of a health care team, even though such language isused in public announcements. - I happen to be one pharmacist who does notunderstand the excitement over immunizations. Why are we so glad to be doingsomething back office medical assistants with little more than a high schooleducation would do: give shots. I think it is because it is the only chance to stopand talk to our patients. Sadly, I have heard pharmacist make such a comment."At least it gets me away from counting pills." -Which brings me to anothercomment. Right now I stand and "count pills" as fast as I can for my entire shift,occasionally being called away to counsel a patient regarding a new prescriptionmedication or find the baby ibuprofen. Gone are the days when you had time totalk with an elderly person on the phone, be the source of information forailments treated by otc medications and really feel like a member of the healthprofession. Yes, really efficient people can work unstressed at this pace but notall of us are able to work like machines. Recently I have heard comments fromthe "fast moving folks" that they are made to feel incompetent by divisionsupervisors and store expectations. Especially managers are burdened with allthe extra store demands as pharmacies are treated like other departments in thechain stores. -Every once in a while I get to work with an old independentpharmacist and am reminded how good the pharmacy profession used to be.Otherwise, my experience of the pharmacist who "float" through is that they arevery dissatisified with current working conditions. White the Industrial Engineerswho study and analyze productivity are setting the standards for prescriptionprocessing, we are left with no time to deal with people. After all, we are notdoing data entry and filling orders for engine parts. On a perfect day when allruns smoothly it is bearable. BUT we are treating sick people who need lovingcare, so days should not be expected to "run smoothly". - And lastly, price warsover drugs is a sad development. Interestingly, we spend great amounts of

Jul 29, 2011 2:32 PM

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money seeing specialists only to purchase "cheap" drugs. I have calledemergency room staff and urgent care clinics who promise patients $4prescriptions. I offer to send them referrals for $4 office visits. -I'll quit because Icould go on and on. I am sorry to say I work for a pay check and am glad that Ido not have to dig ditches to earn a living. I am very thankful these days to havea job that pays so well. I only wish it were more rewarding and less stressful. Atleast, I can afford the physical therapy I need for my shoulders and neckbecause of poor ergonomic situations, zero breaks and antiquated technology.THANKS FOR LISTENING

17 Thank you BOP for taking the time to listen to our state's pharmacist! This is agreat first step in the process to initiate much needed changes in our workplaces. I know I am not speaking only for myself when I say that patient safety istruely at risk because of the increased pharmacy workload and insufficientstaffing pharmacists are currently dealing with. I have been a pharmacist for over11 years, most of that time with the same company. Recently I have beensaddened by how recent changes have affected the quality of patient care I amable to provide. I work 12&1/2 shifts with no other pharmacist on duty and littleancillary staffing. Prescriptions stacking up, immunizations to administer,doctor's questions to answer, patient counselings to do....something will fallthrough the cracks, it's simply a matter of time. The sad part is everybody knowsit, but nobody is doing anything about it!!! The solution is easy- we need morehelp! Quickly, before patients start dying.

Jul 29, 2011 1:25 PM

18 We are continually having our tech hours cut. We have so little help that weoften have a lone of 10 or more people. Then someone from the front of thestore comes back to cashier, but this person is often not a technician, so theirability to help is very limited, as is their knowledge, so as the pharmacist I haveto be continually listening to everything to say to ensure that it iscorrect/appropriate. I do this while often on 2 phones at the same time,reviewing on 1 computer or sometimes 2. I make very few errors, but feel thatthis is just setting the stage for a huge increase in errors. In the last year oflosing about 60 tech hrs per week total we have seen a huge increase in errorsas a pharmacy. We used to have a couple per month, now we have a coupleper week and sometimes more than one in a day! I think there is so muchattention paid to getting everything done super fast that we are degrading ourprofession. I'm a PharmD, and my schooling was very focused on making us apart of the health care team, rather than just assembly line dispensers of drugs.Other than the fact that my site has compounding and does immunizations(neither of which we are given extra help to do, just forced to incorporate it intoan already overfull workload) I feel as though I'm nothing more than an assemblyline worker (except without breaks to even go to the bathroom). As pharmacistswe should be striving to push our profession forward and to utilize our extensiveknowledge to provide exceptional patient care and to maximize benefit from drugtherapy. In reality we are lucky to get a chance to put our knowledge into place.When we actually get an opportunity to contact a prescriber with a suggestionwe have to fight to talk to anyone but a receptionist who just reads us a chart.When a doctor calls the pharmacy they are given a pharmacist right away, butwhen we call them we have to beg for a nurse, then sit on hold for 15 minutesuntil a nurse answers the phone. The lack of breaks is also hugely problematic.I have gone for 8 hours pregnant without a bathroom break and with eating onlya granola bar in the back of the pharmacy! I have had patients complain to storemanagers that I left the pharmacy (for 1 minute to go to the bathroom for the first

Jul 29, 2011 9:43 AM

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time 6 hours into my shift), and the manager has said "I will talk to her aboutthat"! Talk about a lack of support. It is simply not safe to go for 6-8 hourswithout a break. It gets to the point that you can only think about going to thebathroom, not about people's medications! I feel there is also a hugedisconnect between corporate "higher ups" who make many decisions and thereality of the situation. My direct supervisor is wonderful and very supportive.She knows our jobs are hugely stressful and that we work very hard. She alsohas her hands tied about almost everything. She knows there are problems andempathizes with them, but nothing changes.

19 Thank you for this survey! Please, 12 hour days for one pharmacist and only twotechs, without a break, is just too long. Most days are so busy (drug recalls, tonsof corporate paperwork, vaccines and yes filling nearly 300 Rx's) that even a 10minute break is impossible. Pharmacists become tired and are not alert andmistakes will happen. The BOARD must regulate this situation. Askingcorporations to do that will not be successful. All corporations have one corevalue: to make money. Trust me, except for their interest in shifting the burden ofliability, they have zero interest in the professional aspects of Pharmacy. You,the Pharmacy Board, must take immediate action--it IS a matter of patient safety!

Jul 28, 2011 11:04 AM

20 as long as I have been a Rph, there has been the battle of getting the mostproduction(not quality) with the least amount of hours used...cooperate,retailpharmacy....a set up for mistakes....solution????

Jul 28, 2011 6:35 AM

21 We need some help to save our profession from idiot corporate hierarchymanagement, many of whom have never stepped foot in the pharmacy, let aloneworked under the stresses that they put is under. Please restore some commonsense restrictions on ratios, such as pharmacist:tech ratios.

Jul 27, 2011 10:44 PM

22 Corporate was given an inch and they have taken a mile. Common sense isbeing lost to the almighty dollar. We, as a profession, have so much to give topatients.....it is too bad we are not given the time to share our knowledge andwisdom. Let us have some common sense before we kill someone.....not saidas an idle threat.....this will be the result if we do not change some things.

Jul 27, 2011 10:16 PM

23 Walgreens requires completed scripts in 15 minutes or less. There is continuedpressure to meet these requirements. This type of practice jeopardizes patientcare. It is the quality of care that a pharmacist provides that keeps patients safe.When the focus is on speed and quantity then the quality of care iscompromised.

Jul 27, 2011 7:32 PM

24 It seems that my company values only the product of a completed prescription.And since the metrics measure exact moments to completion of each stepprocessing an rx, with time "wasted" opening the bottle to look at the pills ("bestto verify through the small window above the label-no need to open it; takes toolong") there is definitely no value, for example, that can be put on leaving thepharmacy to counsel a patient on an OTC - can't quantify the value of that,therefore, no value. We are just about the only health care professional that isstill 100% completely accessible to the general public with just one phone call.Though I enjoy the patient care aspect of my career more than any other part ofbeing a pharmacist, I find the environment I now work in to be the opposite ofone conducive to quality time with patients. Instead, we are asked to immunizeat every hour of the day, compound category 1-2 drugs, verify data entry for

Jul 26, 2011 7:28 AM

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other stores and continue to do it all with a smile, even when technician hoursare cut to bare bone minimums. Sadly, I spend my days rushing from one patientto the next, barely able to keep my head afloat, let alone be absolutely sure thatall rxs are filled accurately, billed correctly, and work well with their multitude ofother medications. And, unfortunately, the "glory days" of the pharmacistshortage are now over so the corporations have even more control over theconditions they choose to provide, because if one can't handle the volume, they(the corporations) have the upper hand to look for another body willing to takethat spot. Never before have I felt like just another cog in the wheel of the massproduction line of pushing a product. The major problem is that production line iscranking out potentially deadly chemicals at a rate seemingly unsustainable toprovide quality health care. Bottom line- it's pretty ugly out there and mostcertainly not an environment concerned primarily with the health, safetly andwelfare of the public. Thank you for asking.

25 Thank you soooo much for finally looking into this! Salaried pharmacists arebeing slaved in Oregon. It is not in the best interest of patients for theirpharmacist to stand on their feet for 12 plus hours without a break for rest, foodand refreshment, so exhausted they can hardly think! In an effort to get the last $chain pharmacies are expanding services and hours and calling it meeting theneeds of customers while also cutting staffing hours. My corporate office doesnot even want to pay a float RPh for the 20-30 minutes it takes to open, I'msupposed to cut an hour off my support staff if I go on vacation! When mypatients come to the counter I greet them in a friendly way and meet their need.I'm sure if they knew the conditions we worked under they would be appalled,and would be very understanding of a change in pharmacy hours to providelunches. Again thank you for dealing with this. Please stand up for your hardworking pharmacists and help us be able to provide the best care possible forour patients.

Jul 26, 2011 6:59 AM

26 Our staffing for the past eight months has been poor because at least one staffmember has been out on sick leave almost every day for the past eight months.No replacements have been brought in to replace them so our healthy staffmembers have been working eight to ten hours per week overtime to try to makeup for some of the lack of help. Although I am not completely satisfied with ourstaffing it is much better where I am currently working than where I waspreviously employed. The technicians are much more knowledgeable andefficient because they have good training and have been with the company fortwo to five years. My previous employer had high technician and clerk turnover,which forced us to constantly train and work with inexperienced staff. As anintern I never witnessed a preceptor, staff pharmacist, or district manager takemore than a few minutes break without having another pharmacist present. I donot get breaks for more than a few minutes a couple times a day except on dayswhen we have two pharmacists on duty. Although the company encourages andrequires breaks, doctors and their assistants often call in prescriptions,prescriptions cannot be sold if the pharmacist is out of the pharmacy, patients donot like to wait for council and will leave if made to wait more than a coupleminutes, and patient complaints of poor or slow service can threaten your job.With our computer system technicians cannot process half of their prescriptionswithout a pharmacist present to override warnings. If a pharmacist were to takea ten minute break when they were the only pharmacist present all prescriptionselling and processing would stop for that ten minutes. I cannot help but thinkthat taking a significant break would be considered unacceptable by any

Jul 25, 2011 10:22 PM

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pharmacy corporate official.

27 Please do something about working conditions at all pharmacy locations. Forthe the past 3 years, I've been treated like a slave at Walgreens (not bypharmacist managers per se, but by store managers, district managers, andcorporate. We are understaffed - both pharmacists & technicians; we have notime to eat a meal nor take bathroom breaks. How are we supposed to provideadequate patient care if I'm the only pharmacist filling & verifying prescriptions,counseling patients, answering phone calls, helping patients at the drive-thru,giving flu-shots, ringing-up items for patients, providing medication-therapymanagement and verifying prescriptions for other Walgreens stores all the whilemeeting quotas? It should be readily apparent to any humane person that theseare not conditions conducive to the well-being of staff not to mention ourspouses, family and friends! It has been well documented that with conditionssuch as these that more errors occur which adversely affect the well-being of thepatients. Eventually a nation-wide union will need to be created if companiesdon't see their short-sighted management practices soon. Thank you for yourattention to these matters.

Jul 25, 2011 8:37 PM

28 With the current working conditions I face, I doubt the Board of Pharmacy wouldbelieve our pharmacy provides adequate patient care services and drugutilization review services. I absolutely HATE that I cannot regularly orconsistently get breaks and/or lunches. I thought giving employees breaks andlunches was part of Oregon State labor laws so I don't quite understand how myemployer can expect me to work as the only pharmacist for 10 to 12 hoursstraight without any breaks or a lunch.

Jul 25, 2011 7:27 PM

29 It would be very helpful if a law were to be passed to disallow the use of couponsat retail pharmacies. It creates a culture where patient's hop from pharmacy topharmacy chasing the next best deal. It makes it difficult to deliver good healthcare when patients are using multiple pharmacies and transferring theirprescriptions around town every month.

Jul 25, 2011 6:49 PM

30 I understand somewhat the requirement of pharmacist only to accept refusals tocounsel, but in reality I am repeatedly interrupted while trying to concentrate onchecking rxs etc. Our store only has one rph on duty at a time, so theseinterruptions come frequently and I believe they distract me and possiblyincrease the chances of me missing an error. My usual work week consists of an8hr shift, followed by 12 hr , followed by a 10 hr shift. I get no breaks or lunchtime at all. When you lifted the requirement of 1 rph per 2 techs, I feel thatemployers took advantage of the situation, hence the no rph overlap. Our DMsays when script count goes up, then more rph staffing. I am pushed to do more,with no extra rph help or time. My employer now wants us to makeappointments via getoutcomes with patients to improve care, but again no extrarph help or time. I usually dont even have time to read emails or completerequired in-house training. Stress and fatigue set in.

Jul 25, 2011 1:41 PM

31 Mandatory lunch breaks (regardless if salaried or hourly)... PLEASE!! Twelvehours with no breaks is inhuman. I have been interrupted half a dozen timestrying to eat one banana. Patient care declines when the pharmacist is runningon fumes.

Jul 25, 2011 7:54 AM

32 Vaccination should NOT be provided by the same pharmacist on duty, then Jul 24, 2011 9:39 PM

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MUST have another pharmacist to provide Vaccination, Its so hard and ourlicenses on line, and people lives in danger because of that, ONE pharmacistcan't do it all and at the same time leave his work station in the middle of the dayto go and provide vaccination to who ever drop bye, PLEASE we need the boardto interfere ...Thanks

33 Help! I feel over the last few months hours are being cut so extremely that clerkand technician help is sparse and everything is being put on the pharmacist'sshoulders. Patient care used to be my focus, and safety was just an unsaidobvious aspect of being a pharmacist. Now, I am primarily focusing on notmaking a mistake! Having to run and get the register, answer the phone, etc. Iam just prioritizing what I have to do to get though the day without making amistake! I am committed to safety, therefore other necessary tasks of pharmacyare falling by the wayside, things that should be a tech's duty, but are now minedue to lack of help. And add in VACCINATIONS!! I am a floater and travel allover the state and it is the same fiasco at every store which is leaving us allexhausted! We are being spread too thin and I'm currently looking into getting anew job out of retail. It just isn't fun anymore and I do not have the satisfaction ofconnecting with my patients, and feeling like I'm making a difference. Patientshave just become a number and I don't want to be "that" kind of a pharmacist.

Jul 24, 2011 12:44 PM

34 The 12 hour day, working from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with one pharmacist, nolunch, no breaks, and no chair is rather intolerable. We need a quiet workplace with adequate working space. In some of these pharmacies, it is like tryingto be an air traffic controller who is simultaneously listening to the general publiccomplain about late flights, lost baggage, marginal food, and cramped seats,while also conducting final checks at the ticket counter. I just want theopportunity to concentrate so that the plane can land safely. Perhaps we couldat least compromise and allow for a rule that would keep one of the gates in thedown position so we're not always working in a plexiglass fish bowl.

Jul 23, 2011 8:11 PM

35 It is not only the prescription filling process but the additional requirements thatthe chain pharmacy makes you complete with out giving you any additional help.Currently they are requiring more work but it is not all reflected in script count.

Jul 23, 2011 7:16 PM

36 During my tenure as a Professional, I have seen the degradation of Pharmacypractice from great and personal care to just trying to keep up with the workload.I attribute this to the change in mentality of the corporation's CEO's being "nonpharmacists" and not having the knowledge on what we have to do, and what wehave to provide for great customer care. I feel that the workload will eventuallylead to "errors" of which I am proud to have a zero percent error rate, currently. Ifeel my license and professionalism are at risk every single day and I think it'stime to have the Board step in and protect us from the imminent doom we arefacing. It is unfortunate to witness this day when the "all-mighty buck" isexceeding the importance of great customer care. I am proud of my Professionand my customer's are pleased to have my care, but someday, I am not going tobe the fastest and most efficient Pharmacist on the planet; I am requesting helpfor that day from yourselves and APhA. Thank you very much.

Jul 23, 2011 2:47 PM

37 The corporation that I work for has implemented many good innovated softwareand protocol programs to improve safety and efficiency. However, with eachapplication, labor hours are cut so that in reality we have an expected netincrease in productivity per person working the pharmacy but not necessarily the

Jul 23, 2011 9:36 AM

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time to review complications without multiple distractions, and in turn fallingbehind in the work load. I float between different stores and some stores arebetter than others with the changes but many are very dysfunctional. Despite therhetoric, it's always about the bottom line. In talking to pharmacists in the area,this seems to be the corporate norm.

38 pharmacists are under a lot of stress. Jul 23, 2011 9:21 AM

39 I've noticed over the years that I have been a pharmacist, when the laws & ruleskeep changing to take responsibilities away from the technicians, responsibilitiesthat were once shared by both technician and pharmacist, by placing soleresponsibility upon the pharmacist alone, this creates an even greater strain onthe pharmacist's workload.... making it more difficult to work efficiently, as wellas, increasing chance for error.... just something to think about as more rulesare passed which puts full liability upon pharmacist only.... we need the fullcapabilities of our technicians... Thanks. :)

Jul 22, 2011 9:16 PM

40 EVERY DAY IT BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT FOR RETAIL PHARMACISTSTO BE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME. HOWEVER, WITH THE $4.00PRESCRIPTION "WARS" AND INSURANCE COMPANIES CONTROLLINGPRICING IT MAKES MORE PRESSURE FOR RETAIL PHARMACISTS TO FITINTO THE "BOTTOM" LINE. MORE PRESCIPTIONS A DAY WITH LESSHELP SEEMS TO BE THE SOLUTION IN THE RETAIL WORLD WHICH ADDSTO A LONG DAY IF ONE IS TRUELY TAKING CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS.SOME DAYS WHEN YOUR VOLUME IS AROUND 250 PER PHARMACIST ITSOMETIMES SEEMS PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY IMPOSSIBLE

Jul 22, 2011 8:11 PM

41 When the Or BoP changed rules allowing more than two technicians on dutyunder the direct supervision of one pharmacist, a disservice was perpetratedupon the patients receiving pharmaceutical care in Oregon. Forcing themovement of ancillary pharmacy workers to become licensed technicians wasthe interpretation by most employers, when simpler requirements would havesufficed, i.e. mandatory background checks and registration with the OR BoPprior to hiring. At this time everyone feels so highly qualified for their jobs thatnobody will even sweep the floors or dust for under $15/hr and they're all toobusy to do that even. I regularly visit every pharmacy I come across in mytravels and see messy and dirty countertops at nearly 100% of the sites. I wishthe Or BoP would crack down on the pharmacies who are lacking in a basicfundamental element of running a pharmacy, i.e. keeping it clean.

Jul 22, 2011 10:42 AM

42 When big companies are allowed to demean and under value pharmacists andthe pharmacy profession, I think the overall effect to public view and publicsafety becomes clouded. Laws do not protect the profession nor do they protectthe professional, yet we are held to a higher standard to provide professionaland safe care to our patients. I think it was a mistake to dissolve the tech-pharmacist ratio. There can be so much accomplished by the board to benefitboth the public and the profession.

Jul 21, 2011 10:41 PM

43 I wish there is a maximum limit on the amount of prescriptions processed perpharmacist. The volume of prescriptions being processed at our pharmacy hasincreased significantly in the past few years and on top of that we are expectedto provide other services such as immunizations, MTMs, blood pressuremonitoring, 15-minute rule (getting all prescriptions with the promised time of

Jul 21, 2011 9:42 PM

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less than 1.5 hour ready in 15 minutes), etc. I have noticed that not only myselfbut the other pharmacists at our location making more mistakes now comparedto the years before. I am trying my best to commit myself to deliver the best andsafest care to our patients but it is really hard when so often I feel like I don'teven have time to think. So please develop new rules to protect us protect ourpatients.

44 There is less emphasis on individual patient care and increasing emphasis onthe quantity of prescriptions filled. At the same time, hours for technicians andclerks are being decreased. I was recently told to not "take too much time"counseling patients, Frequently, checkout clerks communicate with patientsregarding requirement for counseling, informing the pharmacist that counselingis either desired or not desired by the patient. This makes it more difficult for thepharmacist to be the one deciding whether or not counseling is required, ratherthan desired.

Jul 21, 2011 4:01 PM

45 I am ok with not having breaks because this allows me to have an 8 hour shift onM-F and a 9 hour shift every other Sa-S ( I have 2 hour round trip communte)but, I think it is rediculus to require a pharmacist to take their lunch at 2 or2:30pm when they have breakfast at 6:00am. Or night shift is expected to takelunch at 3:30pm when starting their shift at 2-2:30pm. I think pharmacys havingone pharmacist on a 9 hour day (Sat) should be given a lunch by shutting downthe pharmacy. Americains are used to being spoiled. They can adjust. (TheFrench shut down for 2 hours and are closed every Sunday.) Also holidays aredriven by greed. Some chains close and others stay open even if their is nobusiness. Every town should be required to have one retail pharmacy open forall holidays but only one. If the burden was shared amongst the pharmacies,pharmacists would only have to work Christmas, Easter etc once every 5-10years. I do not like working holidays especially when it is such a waste of manhours and in our proffession we begin to resent other occupations enough that Ihave discouraged people to enter this profession. I do believe, however, if onepharmacy per town were open, that would releive the burdeon from the alreadyover-worked hospital pharmacists required to provide emergency dispensingscipts. I think it is also not cost effective to require everyone in the pharmacy bePTCB certified. There should be some allowance for clerks. More time than iswise is spent at the cash register requiring me to hurry with my actual job.

Jul 21, 2011 12:30 PM

46 Wal Mart is trending toward single pharmacist coverage without breaks andlunch. They will continue until confronted by the Board of Pharmacy, etc. Thisposition presents significant risk to both the patient and pharmacist. There is somuch to deal with in pharmacy practice today that eventually without the properwork environment and staffing an error will occur. We can only run at 150percent for so long.

Jul 21, 2011 10:48 AM

47 It should be mandatory that all pharmacies provided break and lunch time fortheir pharmacist on all days of the week ( like closing the pharmacy for 30minutes for lunch on single pharmacist day). The number of prescriptionschecked by pharmacist with-in a period of time should also be reviewed. As achain pharmacist I am getting more and more responsibilities without theallocated hours to perform these tasks. Drive-in pharmacies should have adifferent quota compare to none due to increase # of interruption that occurs withevery consultation, questions, etc...while one pharmacist is checking theprescription.

Jul 21, 2011 9:49 AM

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48 pharmacists have one half an hour break in a 10 hour shift. i think it should berequired to have a 10 minute break every 2-3 hours just to regroup.

Jul 21, 2011 7:09 AM

49 The profession is at a crosssroads-mail order and chain pharmacy no longersupports providing any type of quality healthcare or service to the patient, it isnumbers driven without regard to safety and service. Safe distribution ofmedications continues to be an integral part of pharmacy services yet conditionsare dictated by industrial engineers with absolutely no knowledge or experiencein providing either safety or service. Patients are continually brain washed withprice and incentives and have lost the message of the importance of the safetyand education provided by pharmacists. The ability of bread and milk mentalityto run pharmacy care without responsibility is not just dangerous but outrageous.

Jul 21, 2011 5:28 AM

50 I like the idea of mandatory lunch breaks. Jul 20, 2011 11:05 PM

51 THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE JOB IS HAVING THE TIME TO GIVE AGOOD QUALITY CONSULTATION TO A CUSTOMER WITHOUT GETTING SOFAR BEHIND IN FILLING PRESCRIPTIONS

Jul 20, 2011 9:40 PM

52 Although we have a good staff right now, we do not have any extra help andspend most of our time catching up. We rarely get ahead of the work and duringvacation/personal time we are forced to work short handed since there is no oneto help. Our crew is established and well experienced so they are able to rise tothe challenge, but there are a lot of stores that have young inexperienced peoplewho are not able to keep up with the numbers that we do on a daily basis. I justleft a store were the manager only had 2 years of experience and was not ableto keep up with a staff pharmacists daily chores and never got to the manager'sjob. There should be some level of experience necessary to become any part ofmanagement.

Jul 20, 2011 1:45 PM

53 Continuing to allow pharmacists to work here on visas is worsening workconditions. We currently have enough internal graduates to fill available positionsand the need to find international pharmacists to fill positions has passed.

Jul 20, 2011 12:28 PM

54 I strongly encourage a change in the way corporate chain companies treat theirpharmacist. They expect us to give superior customer service, process scripts ina timely manner (<15 min), work 12 hours straight without any designated lunchbreaks (for ALL salary pharmacist). When I work 12 hours- i get a max of 5 to 10min lunch break. They keep increasing our workload yet constantly decrease ourtechnician hours. I really hope that something changes in the near furture andpeople start to recognize their pharmacist as a professional and educatedindividual and not just a retail employee that works in one of the departments inthe store. Thanks for all your help

Jul 20, 2011 12:04 PM

55 Thank you for initiating this survey. It is long overdue. Jul 20, 2011 11:29 AM

56 Just look at the script volume along with all the other services the pharmacist isasked to provide ie flu shots (anytime of the day), blood pressure monitoring,counseling with all new rx ect... then look at the labor hours allocated by thechains to accomplish these tasks...(along with the fact that if the tech calls outyou are on your own) no backup labor pool here folks..) Uh I forgot anything ispossible as long as you don't have to do the job..

Jul 20, 2011 11:11 AM

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57 need more overlap time of pharmacist shifts, and more technician help. toomuch volume on a shift leads to too many errors. It is very frustrating.

Jul 20, 2011 9:43 AM

58 I sometimes find that I do not counsel as well as I could because I am beingpulled in too many directions because of staffing issues. When we get behindand feel we need extra staffing to complete our daily tasks, Corporate does notfeel this is important. Most times they send no one. Profit is the bottom line nothealth care. Anymore it feels I am doing factory work. Lately the push is to do 2Zostavax shots a day, which doesn,t seem like much but most of our patronshave had the shots. The pressure still comes from corporate daily. I work 2days without any support staff. It is difficult sometimes to give good care whenyou are pulled to the cash register, someone is dropping off a new prescription,the phone is ringing and there is a problem that takes a little sluething. I workone day a week with another phamacist, which is Monday. When I am the onlypharmacist I rarely get a 30 minute lunch or 15 minute break. I work at store thatis between their business model and thus doesn't get the proper staffing. I thinka pharmacist should never have to work alone, there is no assurance as to whatcan happen. Sometmes it just gets crazy for 30 minutes but that is all it takes tomake 1 mistake too many. It is unsafe practices and no one is out there toprotect us or the public. In New York the Rite Aide stores ran an add fo 3 RX in15 minutes or a $5 gift card, the Board of Pharmacy stepped in and stopped it,saying it was unsafe. This does not happen in Oregon.

Jul 20, 2011 9:12 AM

59 District Managers responsible for pharmacies in retail chains should be licensedpharmacists and if the Board could pass regulations to support that it mightimprove working conditions. The number of prescriptions one pharmacist canSAFELY fill per day could be more clearly delineated to help support appropriatelevels of pharmacist staffing for daily workload.

Jul 20, 2011 8:01 AM

60 answers reflect my new work site after changing employers 3 months ago.Previous site would have quite different answers. Staffing was quite meager forthe volume of prescriptions processed.

Jul 19, 2011 8:42 PM

61 RiteAid's forcing of their pharmacists to provide immunizations and holding themto quotas for immunizations, as well as their 15-minute prescription guaranteeonly adds to the excessive workload and further decreases patient safety.

Jul 19, 2011 8:22 PM

62 It is wonderful that you took your time and extra efforts to put this surveytogether. Daily interaction with other chain pharmacies reinforces my belief that Iam very fortunate to be working for my employer. My preparation routine foreach day's shift consists of: 1. Maintain focus, when loss of focus occurs, stopand start over! 2. Am I spending excess time at the cash register or rx computercapturing information for the company? See number 1 3. I am aware of someweaknesses in our computer system and know there must be others. Am Iprocessing each script with this concern in mind? 4. Am I really counseling?Could I do better?

Jul 19, 2011 8:10 PM

63 The hours for pharmacists, techs and clerks are continually being cut. Yet, weare still supposed to increase prescription count, administer & promote vaccinesand respond to corporate emails, etc. Something has got to give. You can'tstretch everybody that much and not expect a mistake to happen. At least westill get lunches most days (except those solo shifts). Breaks? Never heard ofthem!

Jul 19, 2011 7:53 PM

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64 Work loads are increasing as more and more demands are placed upon thepharmacist ie immunizations. Decreased reimbursement from insurance alsomeans decreased help with increased workloads.

Jul 19, 2011 3:26 PM

65 The typical pharmacy environment is very fast pace and high stress withincreasing demands to do more with less help. Frustration and even anger arecommon emotions exhibited daily by those withwhom I work. As a result mederrors increase and patients are at elevated risk.

Jul 19, 2011 9:57 AM

66 I answered as if I was still employed by my previous employer. I no longer workfor them because they made several changes that made me feel that it wasunsafe to continue to work in such an environment, #1 they cut my 1/2 hour"lunch" break...we had been allowed to close for a short break, we received anemail on a Sunday that effective Monday no more lunch breaks. #2 they cut my80 tech hours to 56 tech hours with our script volume continuing toincrease....more work with less help and no breaks is disaster waiting tohappen....They get around this by saying that we are salaried employees andtherefore the labor laws do not apply to us! And they get away with it as all myother employers have for the past 20 years. No lunch breaks, having to stand allday, no help, is why I am now looking for a government job! Somebody needs tomake a stand, maybe Oregon can lead the way and demand better for ourprofessionals, because when it comes down to it, do you really want yourprescription filled by someone who is overworked, tired, hungry, needs to go tothe bathroom, answer the phones, ring customers up for their non-pharmacyitems, show someone where the beer isle is...and in between all that, be able totake the prescription from the doctor, type it, count it out and fill it correctly(checking for interactions, etc...) and counsel you?

Jul 19, 2011 1:06 AM

67 Corporations are cutting staffing and increasing the demands on pharmacistsand techs. We are reaching a level that is unsafe. Pharmacists are working 12hr days without rest periods or lunch times. The cuts in support staffing have puteven more pressure on pharmacist, then add in immunizations and the demandto produce so many per day and you have a recipe for disaster.

Jul 18, 2011 8:53 PM

68 American's are consumers. Live, eat, exercise as you want. Non-pharmacistadvertisers tell us to expect on demand rx's in 15 minutes for $4.00. A pill existsfor any life-style problem you develop.

Jul 18, 2011 6:55 PM

69 15 minute wait or your prescription is discounted offers cause a hurried, rushmentality in the pharmacy and can cause prescription errors. Is the pharmacistalone at the time, is there a difficult consult that must be completed, is there 3incoming phone calls waiting for a pharmacist? A prescription can't always befinished in such a short period of time

Jul 18, 2011 6:48 PM

70 WORK LOAD VARIES DEPENDING ON PHARMACY SOMETIMES FILLGREATER THAN 250 RX AS ONLY RPH I WORK IN SEVERAL DIFFERENTPHARMACIES OCCASIONALLY STAFFING IS INADEQUATE

Jul 18, 2011 7:18 AM

71 I would recommend Pharmacy Inspectors visit chain pharmacies unannouncedbetween the hours of 4pm and 7pm on Mondays and Tuesdays to observe theenormous stress pharmacists are under to meet corporate metrics. Theseproduction goals focus only on volume and not on accuracy. I would alsorecommend Pharmacy Inspectors review the excessive workloads of

Jul 18, 2011 12:03 AM

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pharmacists who have to not only do the work at their pharmacy, but review Rxsfor other locations and the heavey-handed pressure corporate places upon themto accomplish this. Further, pharmacist immunizations are a wonderful additionto our scope of practice. However, pharmacists are required to cooperate in theunsafe practice of having to do immunizations simultanous to being the onlypharmacist on duty, who is required to fulfill all of the requirements of reviewing,verifying, and counseling patients; in addition to recommending OTC remedies ina high volume pharmacy. Thank you for the survey.

72 Rite Aid has a 15 minute guarantee for prescription pick up, and I am disgustedthat our Board of Pharmacy is not as aggressive, cautious, or attentive as NewYork or New Jersey's board of pharmacy, that didn't allow pharmacists to bemade to work under these conditions (they didn't allow Rite Aid to inflict this ontheir pharmacists). I work at both ambulatory and retail pharmacies, and amtruly disappointed that pharmacists are SUPPOSED to be working toward beingmore attentive and more thorough in our professions, as we have doctoratedegrees and yet our Board of Pharmacy is allowing companies to belittle us tothe point that we are being treated worse than McDonald workers; glad we paythe Board to protect and uphold the respect for our profession.

Jul 17, 2011 8:18 PM

73 The main problems occur when one pharmacist must work alone 12 hourswithout breaks or lunches. On those days the script count is 200-270prescriptions per pharmacist which is just too much. You start getting dangerousat 4 or 5 PM when it is busiest and you are exhausted. There is just no way totake a break in the afternoon when it is needed. As a pharmacist you areresponsible for keeping yourself rested and vigilant to ensure the safety ofpatients. When you are placed in a position where you cannot take breaks orhave adequate staff to ensure patient safety then what do you do? You can takea forced break and cause the pharmacy to "melt down" at a busy time andangering patients. But, this is not a true break as you are stressed knowing thatwhen you come back it will be a "hornets nest" which causes even more stressand fatigue. You can also switch employers to a job where there you generallyget breaks, lunches, and there is adequate staff. However, this is increasinglythe exception to the rule. The Board of Pharmacy is not charged withaddressing working conditions and health and safety of pharmacists. However,when these conditions impact patient safety and are industry wide, then I thinkThe Board needs to step in to at least establish minimum breaks and staffinglevels.

Jul 17, 2011 7:13 PM

74 Since our chain has added $4 generics the work load has increased butmanagement says we don't have the dollar volume to warrant more staffinghours

Jul 17, 2011 6:43 PM

75 There seems to be more production work and less patient contact at somestores...the techs are more involved and i think they need a bit more educationand guidance

Jul 17, 2011 6:17 PM

76 For our prescription volume...my work space in square footage....is toosmall....does not provide adequate room for private and confidentialconsultation...does not have adequate storage for completed prescriptions...anddoes not have adequate work (counter space) areas for Pharmacists who maybe evaluating, troubleshooting, or assembling completed prescriptions...this canbe dangerous in some situations. There are times when I am sure that any

Jul 17, 2011 2:45 PM

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reasonable fire marshall would shut down the pharmacy area.....simply becausewe have surpassed the maximum occupancy of people per square foot. While Iam sure that a lot of work can be done in a small area....at what point does itbecome a risk to the public safety?

77 Employers that require pharmacists to fill each prescription in a certain amountof time adds a dimension of pressure that does not need to exist in theworkplace. Certainly, as professionals, we need to work quickly and accuratelyto provide prescriptions to those that need them. However, I do not like feelingthat I need to find another job after 10 years because my employer is creatingpolicies that affect my ability to properly care for patients.

Jul 17, 2011 10:06 AM

78 The amount of prescriptions filled per day, per pharmacist is excessive. At myparticular work site the emphasis, in my opiinion is far too oriented to thetechnical and the clinical portion of a patient care suffers for that. There isinadequate control on technical staff input and that induces a conflict that almostborders on encouraging some technical staff to go beyond their scope ofpractice. The pharnacist staff, as a whole, lacks the ability to take theleadership role. It is almost built into the system, however chain wide this is notpromoted and I do not see this happening company wide in my particular chain.

Jul 17, 2011 8:32 AM

79 1. My company says it is important to counsel patients, but in reality there is notime to do an adequate job. 2. It would be nice to have a break once in a while torun to the restroom, get a drink,or just put my feet up. Why no breaks when youwork in a pharmacy? 3. Our counseling area is a joke, there is no privacy. 4. Thecomputer system (PDX) lets you put a totally different drug in the sub field. Wehave sent a few prescriptions out wrong that were not caught in the final check.5. Constant pressure to fill more scripts in less time. 6. Stress in retail pharmacyis very high! 7. Maybe its time to have a Union to protect pharmacy staff frompoor work conditions.

Jul 16, 2011 7:58 PM

80 The workload at my pharmacy is counter-productive to proper patient handling.We do not have enough technician hours to adequately ensure safe dispensingand counseling objectives per board requirements in my view. I have been toother pharmacies and every one has had many more technicians available onstaff to help with the daily requirements of a typical day. I would like to herebystate that it is Walgreens that does not have enough staffing to properly fulfill thenecessary requirements of a safe and effective environment to make sure ofpatient safety and proper counseling of patients.

Jul 16, 2011 7:22 PM

81 Lunch breaks should be mandatory in any 1 pharmacist store. Should be able toclose pharmacy for 30 minutes.

Jul 16, 2011 10:37 AM

82 If the Board is going to be serious on this objectively, I think it should putadvocacy as its number one agenda instead of advsary via monitory or sanctionon practice. I firmly believe that no pharmacist wants to put the safety ofconsumer or any public as secondary objective, however mistakes happenunless the Board gets out of this punishment mode and listens to the cry of thepractitioner about why mistakes happen. In order for such a cry to be heard is foran investigator to walk at the place and observe what went on rather than sittingin their sanctioned office where no one can interrupt them while the other sidehas no such opportunity, even for answering to investigator question. These aresome of the reasons: Noise, Driver through window, Third party ' demand,

Jul 16, 2011 8:51 AM

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waiting on phone to get a simple answer from prescriber for any clarificationabout concern Rx on hand while you are shouted "counsel, counsel", Guesswork on prescribe r ' signature, or DEA number is missing. In other words thepharmacist becomes the Sheriff to implement for others irresponsible acts at thesame time stay clam and cool and responsible to principal of practice of safemedication , Four dollars prescription competition, Consumer behavior andunreasonable demand, tight hour enforced by either store manager/director, orcorporate 's demand to the demand of their stock holder, And many othersituation. practitioner wants and respect The Board 's objective, however suchobjective must be just and reasonable. the best result would be to expand theresponsibilities of Certified technetion such as, getting and reducing to writingany OK for a prescription from prescribe r or his/her agent, giving/or perhapsgetting transfer, and some other simple task. This perhaps give more time for topractitioner more time to slow down and practice what is asked of them. "safepractice" Good luck with this survey

83 We have adequate help on Mondays and Tuesdays with 2 pharmacists. Theother days have only 1 pharmacist which allows for a quick trip to the restroom,but no meals. A half hour meal break would make a huge difference.

Jul 15, 2011 9:48 PM

84 Some days I work 12 hours with no guarantee of a lunch break, filling 180-240prescriptions as the only pharmacist on duty. My other shifts are usually around8 hours, with little to no overlap with another pharmacist. My employer expectsme to fit in vaccinations on top of this. Not to mention we tend to be behind by50-100 prescriptions each day. We have prescriptions that have not been filedin over a month, just piling up. Every day I go to work and work as quickly aspossible but never seem to be able to catch up or get ahead.

Jul 15, 2011 8:18 PM

85 All Chain pharmacies seen to be in a crunch for funds and the easiest short termsolution is always cutting staff. It would be nice if they pursued other avenues toincrease revenue- such as taking our profession back from the insurancecompanies and negotiating better rates from the drug companies. I would alsopoint out that all the increased regulation adds tremendously to overall cost andto the stress that pharmacists are put under. When I first became a pharmacist Isaw the Board of Pharmacy as a valuable sourse of help. I now see them as anextention of the over regulation that, often intended to help people, has made itmore difficult to truely help and service the people most in need.

Jul 15, 2011 7:12 PM

86 I strongly encourage the board of pharmacy to increase the frequency that theyconduct random inspections/audits. I think the chain pharmacies will keepmaking work conditions worse and worse (in turn making conditions dangerousto patients), until action is taken against them by a regulatory agency such as theOregon Board of Pharmacy.

Jul 15, 2011 5:28 PM

87 do something the only factor they think is profit Jul 15, 2011 3:38 PM

88 I do not believe 12 hours shifts good for patient safety. After 10 hours mind is notas sharp

Jul 15, 2011 12:58 PM

89 I worry a little that some employers are stretching their pharmacists a little toothin at times as workloads increase in response to lower third partyreimbursement.

Jul 15, 2011 12:12 PM

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90 I fell my employer expects too much from each pharmacist to do in a safe,professional way. This is not true at all times, but more often that not. Since Iam older, I remember the time when the pharmacist had more time with eachpatient and did not feel as rushed and did not have to multitask as in today'sworld. The large corporations seem to expect more from each pharmacist andare less concerned with patient care and more concerned about profit. Theinsurance companies have not helped the situation at all with their low re-embursements and their denials of claims (which can take a lot of time awayfrom giving the patients needed info and a professional atmosphere whenpurchasing their needed medications).

Jul 15, 2011 11:39 AM

91 My employer has historically been very good about providing hours andadequate help. Lately, in the last few years our hours have been cut to a levelthat I feel is dangerous to the safety of our customers.

Jul 15, 2011 9:42 AM

92 I am in a situation where I work alone most of the time because my companyallocates technician hours to our pharmacy based on our script count. Theyhave calculated that filling <350 scripts/week gets you 0 hours and once you arefilling >500 scripts/week you get 40 tech hours. In between 350 and 500/weekgets you somewhere between 8-39. However we are open 74.5 hours a week.This doesn't add up to me and I believe if there is research that shows howmany scripts a single pharmacist can safely fill then there should be someregulations. I realize this case is not common and most pharmacies are havingthe opposite issue. I believe there should not only be a maximum number oftechnicians(ratio) that can work under a pharmacist at any given time but thereshould also be some kind of threshold for a minimum based on script counts ifthis is the way corporations are going to allocate hours to pharmacy. I'm happythe Board is finally looking into this as it does seem to be affecting allpharmacies.

Jul 15, 2011 9:35 AM

93 This is THE issue that unless addressed once for all - even at risk of annoyingcorporate BOP deciders-- will reflect the more accurate future of pharmacy, overany purported advancements.

Jul 15, 2011 9:13 AM

94 The staffing levels have been lowered to the point the accuracy and patientsafety are endangered. Pharmacists, technicians, and clerks are expected towork at unsafe speeds, doing the work of two or three people all day every day.They are physically and mentally overwhelmed. Breaks are nonexistent.Lunches are often skipped because it is too busy. The work cannot becompleted at these staffing levels, even if safety is ignored, which it mostly is.Mistakes are made continuously, corners are cut, and employees are miserable.We are told that staffing will soon be cut drastically again. Please help us!

Jul 14, 2011 11:10 PM

95 A pharmacy should be required to close for a half hour lunch break if only onepharmacist is on duty for an all day shift (ie: weekends).

Jul 14, 2011 10:36 PM

96 I strongly feel that for patient safety there should be a law which states amaximum limit of prescriptions that a pharmacist can fill during a specific periodof time. I feel that corporations like Rite Aid and others are forcing pharmacists tofill more and more prescriptions without adequate staffing and time which is verydangerous for the patients because it drastically increases the chance to makemistakes.

Jul 14, 2011 8:43 PM

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97 With the increase demands of increased script count and vaccinations by myemployer, they don't realize how long it takes to perform those functions.Therefore it cuts into patient counseling which is the biggest area that is gettingsqueezed. With the concept of doing more rx's with less staff, error's are goingup and counseling time is getting greatly decreased. To me that is the biggestchange and challenge I have seen in the last couple of years.

Jul 14, 2011 8:42 PM

98 Although I feel I have adequate staffing I have no real time to have any breakfrom the work flow. I have only 2 days a month that I have a second pharmacistto work with and it represents the only time I can get a break for 15 minutes and30 minutes to have lunch actually sitting down. We have an area that shouldhave a much better and more private counselling area. We do require people tostand back for privacy but that just barely adequate.

Jul 14, 2011 8:42 PM

99 Dear Board, Employers bottom line are steadily declining, the profit marginscontinue to get lower and lower. In order to maintain more staff pharmacyprofitability needs to increase. The cost of prescription products need todecrease and insurance companies need to reimburse better. This will onlyoccurr when chain drugs stop signing contracts that only lead to loss leaders.The CEO of express scripts makes 52 million per year as per the paper in thelast month. The financial side of pharmacy is not going toward patient care.Removing the tech ratio of 2 techs to 1 pharmacist has not benefited pharmacyat all except creating an environment where pharmacist need to supervise morestaff. The more time you spend supervising staff the less time you have with thepublic. I understand corporations will put more pressure on the board to havetechs give the final check on refill prescriptions. I hope the board neverapproves this. It takes an understanding about meds not just the right med inthe right bottle to dispense meds.

Jul 14, 2011 8:14 PM

100 The reimbursement rates through third parties has shrunk to the point that itcosts more to pay for the labor to provide safe , and legal, pharmaceuticalservice than what we are compensated. In addition the number of audits, andtime to address them, has greatly increased in the last two years. Measures toaddress third party insurers and discount cards would be the single mostimportant step in ensuring adequate staffing levels/available pharmacies to meetthe public needs. I don't worry about new regulations that ensure pulic safetyand the profession. I worry about having the resources to be able to providethem. Thank you for your considerations.

Jul 14, 2011 8:06 PM

101 It always seems to me that new laws are constantlybeing implemented in whichthe burden of fulfilling the law is placed on the pharmacist, not the physician orother practitioner. I feel often as though everyone thinks we are just twiddling ourthumbs and therefore we can track down DEA numbers, etc. and then it is ourneck on the line if we can't, not the practitioner. While I understand that we arethe last health care professional a patient will see, it is not our job to be the"janitor" for the rest of the healthcare professionals. We are constanly beingpressured by the patient, the insurance companies and the practitioner to getmore scripts out faster, yet no one seems to understand how much is oftenneeded to do just that and how many laws we must abide by in the process.

Jul 14, 2011 6:27 PM

102 weekdays are not usually a problem. weekends , however, Rph is expected towork approx 11 hr shift with no scheduled breaks or lunch on sat followed byapprox 8.5 hr on sun, also no breaks or lunch. This is exhausting and dangerous

Jul 14, 2011 4:55 PM

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to both RPh nad customer!

103 For being in a "profession" for almost 25 years now I still don't see pharmacist'sbeing treated as a professional by corporate employers or the general public.When I can come into work and start a shift at 8:00 am and be processing &checking 200 to 300 Rx's in the first four hours of that shift without barely lookingup, let alone getting a quality break, I really don't see that as a professional workenvironment. I work in a small town with a population of around 8,000. We haveonly two pharmacies( one chain, one independent). Now we have to also dealwith electronic scripts that any number of providers can electronically drop atruckload of work on you at a moments notice, and tell the patient that thepharmacy will probably have that ready for you when you get there, since it wasalready sent to them. Maybe I'm just cynical, but I don't see anyone(corporate, orgovernment) looking out for the poor pharmacist who is overworked(on your feetfor 10+ hours,go go go) and under-appreciated.

Jul 14, 2011 3:33 PM

104 e-prescribing has not been as helpful as hoped for- it is now just legibly wrong.That adds to the workload also.

Jul 14, 2011 2:52 PM

105 No breaks or lunch breaks provided for pharmacist because pharmacy wouldhave to close (only 1 pharmacist on duty at a time)

Jul 14, 2011 1:44 PM

106 I work at Safeway Jul 14, 2011 11:09 AM

107 I believe that my employer does the best of any chain retail pharmacy that I haveseen with regards to breaks and technician staffing. As a part-time staffpharmacist I believe I have time to do most of my tasks required of me during myshift. However, I was recently a pharmacist in charge and I did not feel like I hadenough time to do my tasks as manager. At my company, certain stores areopen for fewer hours and at these stores, there is the PIC who is full time andthen a part-time staff pharmacist. These pharmacists never overlap andcommunication is a struggle and stress increases when the pharmacists neverget a chance to work together.

Jul 14, 2011 10:58 AM

108 My issue is safety/security of pharmacy. Need to have some type of alarmsystem in case of burglary

Jul 14, 2011 10:57 AM

109 Like many other companies, Walgreens reduced technicians' hours drasticallysince the financial recession began. Try calling any local Walgreens in themorning a couple times and see how long you have to wait for someone toanswer. You may have to wait for up to 30 minutes. I heard that Rite-Aid andSafeway also cut many of their technicians' hours. I hope this is helpful. Thankyou.

Jul 14, 2011 9:59 AM

110 The staffing of pharmacies has been reduced to a hazardous level by almost allchain phamacies. The formula for staffing is decided by industrial engineeringdepartments that have done survey on how much time it takes to fill aprescription. Also the influence for controlled saffing is coming from grocery oriother non pharmacist management. We are told that it has the approval of thepharmacy management. I have never been able to get feedback on how theformula is determined . Any complaints are handle by telling us not to write to theIE DEPT . The environment is hostile to any form of input. Meetings are held andno time is allowed for discussion of workload issues. The consensus is that if a

Jul 14, 2011 9:29 AM

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pharmacist complains they are just an isolated case and are disgruntled. I wastold if my staff worked more urgently then we would not have a problem. We arestress and have made numerous mistakes. Luckily no one has been injured. Thereporting system is not used by many as it does not reflect on workload just onthe incompetence of the staff. The management just resorts to the issue thatbest practices were not followed not that there were too many distractions, Ihave also been told the Board of Pharmacy will not do anything but blame themanager for not properly supervising the pharmacy. Our hands seem tied asmany of the Board of Pharmacy representatives are district managers for thechains. Upper management seems to have implied either do the job or findanother job and many pharmacist hve done just that. It is also why we have somany relief pharmacy agencies because so many pharmacist do not want to begot up in this situation. This makes it bad for the customers who get differentpharmacist who do not even work for that store so do not always know thecomputer systems or insurances and sometimes have to work by themselves inunderstaffed pharmacies. It is about to implode. I have never felt as incompentas a pharmacist in my entire career and was experience extreeme stress until Ifinally just adjusted to the fact that I cannot so this job as I would like and have toleave a lot of left over work to face the next day. I am proud to be a pharmacistand am trying to provide the best patient care I can under the circumstances

111 * Make it easier to find answers to questions on the website. * Work with theState to reduce redundancy and overlap in agencies. i.e. Safety Comission

Jul 14, 2011 9:19 AM

112 I believe the board should require chains that have a 1 pharmacist for 12 hourshift to close for a lunch break and let the pharmacist have 3 fifteen minutebreaks throughout the day. Doing this profession for 20 years, there is no way apharmacist has 100% of his alert mental abilities to function up to standardsworking a 12 hour shift.

Jul 14, 2011 9:00 AM

113 Range of Rx #'s should have been covered in max/min per shift to get a betteridea of workload. The learning curve that prescribers and their staff have withautomation (e-scribing, computer use, etc.) has added a significant amount ofstress to the job. The number of clarifications required to get a clear order hasgrown exponentially. You never get to talk with a prescriber - always theirCMAs. The same is true of support staff in the pharmacy. The number of Rxsfilled per day pulls you away from the customer. More and more communicationis handled by the Rx support staff. It is affecting the safety with which we dealevery day. The time the RPh has to deal with the patient shrinks more everyyear. The amount of paperwork with each Rx and the amount of checking thatthere is no HIPAA violations and the billing challenges adds to the stress ofgetting it all right. Thank you for the opportunity to communicate my thoughts.

Jul 14, 2011 8:59 AM

114 This company runs on minimum hours for staffing the pharmacy. It is a busystore and requires everyone be top notch or the work is impossible toaccomplish. There are never enough techs to help the customers and fill scrips.Finding time to give the techs breaks and lunches is a challenge with littleoverlap in staff. The pharmacists have a hard time just keeping up with what wedo in addition to giving flu shots and taking bp for anyone who requests it. Thereis always work left from the previous day so you begin the day in the hole andmost of the time you can't dig your way out. It doesn't have to be run like this.

Jul 14, 2011 8:40 AM

115 Staffing at chain pharmacy has become out of hand. We are expected to do Jul 14, 2011 8:22 AM

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more with less, or at the least, the same amount of staffing ie. increase scriptsper day, flu shots. I liked your question about number of rxs verified per shift perpharmacist. Just thowing more tech hours in does not solve the problem either.

116 Management is more concerned about the numbers than about customercare.You only get more staffing if numbers are above a certain level.

Jul 14, 2011 12:17 AM

117 The chains are just increasing the amount of work we do and decreasing thehours-everything is judged on how fast you can get an rx filled. There is noconsideration for the lengthy consult or long phone call etc. They just keepreducing the total hours allowed for the pharmacy and this is usually decreasedRPh hours --also technicians are poorly trained. They do not allow any extrahours to train someone so everything falls behind-stress goes up and mistakesare made. They also expect a massive shot season with absolutely noincreased help--try giving 50 shots a day and checking and counseling on 250scripts. It has totally gotten out of hand the last couple of years. Also try to getanything done when you have 4 to 6 technicians asking you something at onetime---scream!!!!!Maybe its time to limit the amount of technicians perpharmacist. I'm not sure what the answer is-but the way it is going help is goingto be hard to come by. It is no fun going to work and being so stressed and sobehind all day--the public has become very impatient and very rude. We are notMcDonald's but our employers make us out to be.

Jul 14, 2011 12:02 AM

118 Pharmacy is open 12 hours per day during the week and pharmacist overlappingshifts have been reduced to just 1.5-2 hours after factoring in lunch/dinner break.Some days the rx volume is over 400 and this is inadequate pharmacistcoverage. When a technician calls in sick, we are having to do without since thecompany has not allowed us to hire "float" or on-call technicians. Pharmacistswork 10 hour shifts on Saturdays without any ability to take their 2 breaks that isrequired by State law and company policy. During the week, pharmacists arenot getting their breaks as well. Lunch and dinner breaks are being provided alldays of the week for a 30 minute period. The company does not allow apharmacist to leave the "prescription area" without closing the pharmacy (eventhough Oregon law allows this) and when you attempt to do that for any kind ofbreak, you will get hassled by Pharmacy Management. There are days whenstaffing consists of one clerk, one technician and one pharmacist from 9AM to12:30PM. On these days, I feel as though I am working under unsafe conditionsas I am interrupted constantly to answer telephones, and complete rx processfrom input to check without any second set of eyes ever seeing the prescription.The organization has made it clear that minimum staffing coverage is their mainpriority. I have worked for this organization for 5 years and have watched the rxvolume grow and the staffing levels drop considerably over the past year. I nowconsider my working conditions as unsafe on many days. I did not feel that wayin the past.

Jul 13, 2011 10:23 PM

119 The numbers of pharmacists , techs, clerks is not always the issue. It is thequality/training of each employee that can make the difference. Not all Rph's,tech's, etc are equal in ability, intelligence. Also, work load can vary. Numberof rx's filled must be broken down into new, refill, etc and administration is notalways aware of the amount of counseling done and how this can impact workflow. For example, on saturdays I dont do a lot of new rx's but spend a lot oftime answering questions unrelated to the rx at hand.

Jul 13, 2011 9:57 PM

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120 I like the idea of having a tech to pharmacist ratio requirement Jul 13, 2011 9:55 PM

121 Retail pharmacies provide a lot of distractions. Store management can bedistracting as well. It seems like we are constantly interrupted. The pharmaciesshould close by law for lunch for 1 hour each day. Give the mind and body rest,so we can come back focused and relaxed.

Jul 13, 2011 9:27 PM

122 Although 200-250 rx's per pharmacist per day may seem like a reasonablenumber, I feel like it is becoming harder and harder to achieve this numbersafely. If that was all we had to do, it would be fine. But with insurance issuesand rules, price matching, increasing requirements of documentation and otherpaperwork by the board of pharmacy PLUS more and more phone calls toundertrained and/or overworked prescribers, it's really making things tough. Idon't expect my job to be fun, but I should be able to say," Most days my jobdoesn't suck". And I really like the company I work for, it's the profession that'sbecome a bit of a monster.

Jul 13, 2011 6:35 PM

123 companies are relying too much on automation/technology and there is still thehuman element that needs to be taken into account- which doesn't meet a lot ofcorporate models

Jul 13, 2011 6:32 PM

124 it is my belief that small errors occur at most pharmacies that do not getrecorded into quality assurance documentation reports, as the reporting processtakes up too much time in an already short-for-time occupation.

Jul 13, 2011 5:18 PM

125 I think it is important that pharmacist have an opportunity for breaks and lunches.The expectation that someone can work 10 to 12 hours without this makes for anunsafe work day.

Jul 13, 2011 2:19 PM

126 CURRENT WORKLOAD TYPICALLY PROVIDES ME WITH 3 TO 4 MINUTESPER PRESCRIPTION. UNTIL THE REGULATORY PROCESS SEEKS TOINCREASE REIMBURSEMENT FOR PHARMACY SERVICES, RETAILPHARMACY WILL CONTINUE TO BE A "SHORT ORDER COOK" PRACTICE.AS FAST AS THEY COME IN, WE PUT THEM OUT WITH LITTLE TIME TODISCUSS THE PATIENT'S CARE. CONSULTING IS A LIMITED PROCESS ATBEST, WITH THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE REAL INFORMATION ANDDISCUSSION NOT ALLOWED WITH THE WORKLOAD. LIKEWISE, MOSTPATIENTS DO NOT WANT TO DISCUSS THEIR PRIVATE BUSINESS IN APUBLIC OPEN AREA. AS LONG AS PRIVATE AREAS ARE NOTLEGISLATED, OR PHARMACY CONSULTING IS NOT BEING PROVIDED ATTHE TIME PRESCRIPTIONS ARE WRITTEN, PATIENT SAFETY AND CAREWILL NEVER BE WHAT MOST OF US WOULD DESIRE. IF LEGISLATATIONDOES NOT DEMAND THE REIEMBURSEMENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDESAFE PHARMACY PRACTICES, THIS WILL NOT CHANGE.

Jul 13, 2011 1:53 PM

127 Techs - adequate vs. competent - some techs seem to lack basic math andreading skills that seem necessary for their job. Errors get all the way to theverifying pharmacist, who then has to spend extra time to correct, and keep thecustomer waiting longer. Pharmacists - We get lunches, but no other breaks,techs get breaks and lunches. Our staffing has been reduced for both techs andpharmacists, business and wait times are up, customers and remaining staff arenot happy. We have been told its due to the economy - hopefully it will improvesoon. Corporate - wants newer pharmacists to use clinical skills, yet no

Jul 13, 2011 1:25 PM

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additional staff provided. Difficult to do a health screening or immunization andeverything else when only one pharmacist on duty. Expectations or quotas, ofhow many can be checked an hour seems to be the only number corporatecares about besides the weekly staffing hour levels.

128 Thank you, board, for looking into that. I believe that 12 hours shifts could bemuch easier and safer had we had more help, more time to eat and use therestroom!!

Jul 13, 2011 12:50 PM

129 Many days I will fill 200+ prescriptions, which I believe is too many for onepharmacist, although not unheard of by today's standards. I consider myself astrong, efficient pharmacist but the workload is, at times, unbearable. It pleasesme greatly that you are reviewing prescription volume as a part of patient safety.

Jul 13, 2011 12:09 PM

130 In my opinion, the state of retail pharmacy for pharmacists, techs, clerks andPATIENTS has never been worse and is EXTREMEMLY dangerous. Chainmanagement in far away places demands unbelievable performance from theirstaffs. One chain's industrial engineering section actually decides how manyhours a pharmacy can have each week. Whatever the management style, mostof them demand entirely too much from their professional staffs. Chainpharmacies demand that their pharmacists work as much as 12 hours/day as theonly pharmacist. In an environment of overrides, customer questions,mandatory counselling, immunizations etc etc etc, the pharmacist, is required towork 12 hours with no breaks, no lunch, no nothing. How dangerous is that tothe public? No pharmacist should be required to work more than 6 hours withoutat least a 1/2 hour lunch away from the pharmacy, period. No pharmacist shouldbe required to work 12 hour shifts, especially, as the only pharmacist in thepharmacy, which is always the case. Quite frankly, I am very disturbed by what Isee as chain management's disregard for its pharmacists. Managmement keepssigning contracts for less and less reimbursement and then thinks they can makeup the shortfall by cutting labor in the pharmacy. The conditions in retailpharmacy are abhorable, period. Trouble is coming.

Jul 13, 2011 11:47 AM

131 I am currently working as a relief Pharmacist but I worked in retail up to 6 monthsago. We had inadequately trained technicians and clerks, the store pulledcashiers and technicians from "the floor" to work in the pharmacy. They tookadvantage of the 1 year where a person could work as a licensed tech withoutbecomingt certified. As long as the hours were kept under a certain amount, thestore didn't have to pay them as pharmacy staff but could pay them at the lowerstore rate.No new hire technicians had any previous pharmacy training orexperience. One pharmacist was on duty for entire 12 hour shift, the pharmacyclosed for 1/2 hour during lunch. The retail chains are taking advantage of thesurplus of pharmacists in Oregon now to overwork and put unreal expectationson the pharmacists. They are firing current pharmacist's for not fulfilling theirdemands and replacing them with new graduates whom they can pay lessbenefits and lower salaries. No pharmacist can work with these conditions andexpect that no errors will be made. I am very concerned about the situation atthe retail level. As a relief pharmacist I don't work at any big box stores if at allpossible. I find the independent and institution type pharmacies are much moresafety minded and concerned with the safety of the patient rather than theincome that patient will provide.

Jul 13, 2011 11:02 AM

132 It, in my view, is not safe nor timely. Jul 13, 2011 10:28 AM

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133 Prescription counts are no longer the only measure of a pharmacists duty withregards to labor load. The continued development of many clinical monitoringsevrvices, immunization services, Insurance requirements, (example insuranceaudit record retention and retrieval medicare record/signature requirements,product recalls, ect.) are all dividing the pharmacists attention away from theprimary function of prescription preparation. What 10 years ago felt like 15scripts an hour now feels like 30 scripts an hour with all the interruptions andadded services. The added services are very good for the profession'sdevelopment but are not being given the proper labor. The pharmacistresponsibilites are increasing but the staffing and labor provision is not.

Jul 13, 2011 10:25 AM

134 Not only am I short staffed at the pharmacy that I work at, but my company alsohas a 15 minute guarantee where I'm required to finish up to 3 prescriptions in15 minutes. Most of the time I can handle this, but on the weekends I workalone. So not only do I have to run the cash register at the drive-thru window, runthe front counter cash register, type in the prescription, count the prescription,QA the prescription, and sell the prescription all by myself, but Saturday is ourorder day. So, I have to put the whole order away by myself and getprescriptions done in 15 minutes. My company just recently cut our technicianhours by 20 hours, and since then I have made more mistakes. I report all of mymistakes to my company in hopes they will realize that errors have increasedsince the cut in technician hours and the 15 minute guarantee. I feel bad for mypatients because I feel like they are not getting the care and counseling theyneed because we are so short-staffed. I really do love my job and love helpingmy customers. I just wish they could get the appropriate care that they deserve.

Jul 13, 2011 10:12 AM

135 1..set schedule for lunch or break for staff pharmacist. If there is only onepharmacist on duty, the pharmacy should be closed to give the pharmacist abreak. 2. provide better staffing, like cashier or tech, would relieve the work loadon the pharmacist to provide better patient care. 3. a price and coupon warbetween chain pharmacies are a shame to our professional image. A goodpharmacist should be judged by his patient according to his/her ability to providegood services and not by the price...( a $4.00 prescription). 4. we are a highlyeducated health provider, not like a 2 cents hard laborer. We have standards.Our state board should help us to upheld this image and not just to critic ourwork but to protect and to enhanced our professional goal like physician anddentist. .

Jul 13, 2011 10:09 AM

136 While we average about 180 prescriptions per day per pharmacist (and 1&1/2technicians), we frequently go over 200 per day. Many pharmacies, like mine,have become immunization centers, and are providing daily immunizationservices with no increases in staffing. My company, Walgreens, has actuallydramatically decreased staffing as it has ramped up its immunization services. Itis virtually impossible to provide even a single immunization without multipleinterruptions during the process. I am able to take one break most work shifts. Isimply walk out and take it when the other pharmacist arrives . However, mypharmacy manager never takes breaks, frequently comes in early, stays late andruns errands for Walgreens on his personal time. When I was first licensed atypical pharmacist, technician, and clerk were expected to be responsible for 75to 100 prescriptions per day. Now Walgreens expects the same staff to fill morethan double that. I am responsible for the safe delivery of a prescription every2.2 minutes on top of the growing burden of federal, state, and corporatemicromanagement, not to mention the additional services, such as

Jul 13, 2011 9:51 AM

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immunizations, that seem to continue to be added to our workload. Of course Iam expected to provide all of the traditional pharmacist services at the sametime. It has become impossible for me, or any pharmacist, to fully comply with allrules, regulations, and documentation requirements under to the currentconditions - no matter how hard and fast I work. I can barely give lip service tothem and hope I do not injure someone or get caught. I used to enjoy being apharmacist. In the past two years, however, Walgreens has become determinedto be the lowest common denominator. I am certain they would like to write meoff as an old crank (even though I am still extremely productive) except I amvalidated by the recent Consumer Reports ranking that puts Walgreens thirdfrom the bottom, and Walgreens own internal Gallup poll that found 70% ofWalgreens employees dislike Walgreens. Finally, I have little faith the OregonBoard of Pharmacy will be able to affect any meaningful changes. Best of luckwith that.

137 I work for a chain pharmacy that does not listen to their pharmacists in regards towhat we feel are increasing burdens and work load. We are asked to do tasksaccording to the chains protocol rather than what we think is the best forcustomer and pharmacy and personal practice. Our current problem isrequirement to immunize which is fine. The chains stance is to immunizewhenever the customer asks for it. We feel that the safe, less stressful for allpharmacy team is to make appointments when our workload is less or we havetwo pharmacists on. Do to the stress and long hours of working at the chainpharmacy as solo pharmacist I moved to a pharmacy that has two pharmacistsper day. I personally have witnessed the pharmacists getting more stressed dueto 12 hour shift days solo with eating on the run. In my opinion this is a majorproblem of working 12 hour shifts, being mentally tired towards the end of theday. This causes more stress and more errors. My stress level has personallyincreased over the last 5 years. When our chain changed to 12 hour shifts, thestress level went up significantly and I took a position that would be lower stress.By nature I am a person that does not easily have stress in the work place. Butit has taken some toll on even me. Thanks for allowing us to have a voice.

Jul 13, 2011 9:08 AM

138 My employer has several programs which help promote patient compliance andtherapy outcomes. But the amount of staff allowed is lacking. Also with theflood of new pharmacy schools, my employer knows that pharmacist are nowexpendable. I am getting close to retirement age, but do not know if I will stillhow a pharmacist position by the time I retire.

Jul 13, 2011 8:55 AM

139 You forgot to ask how the Board rules are affecting my ability to do my job safelyand effectively.

Jul 13, 2011 8:43 AM

140 THE CURRENT CORPORATE NORM IS TO ALWAYS ADD TO THE WORKDUTIES, WITH NO INCREASE(AND FREQUENTLY A DECREASE) INCOVERAGE TO THE PHARMACIST'S AND STAFF HOURS. THE CURRENTEXCESSIVE OUTPUT OF PHARMACISTS FROM SCHOOL HAS ALLOWEDTHE CORPORATE MIND TO PLACE CUTS AND PROFITS AHEAD OFPROFESSIONALISM AND PUBLIC SAFETY, WITHOUT CONCERNS FORSTAFFING.

Jul 13, 2011 8:35 AM

141 My company recently threatened to cut our technician hours from 57 per week,to 12 hours per week. With so much pressure to fill many prescriptions as fast aspossible I can't imagine what effect this would have on patient safety. Basically

Jul 13, 2011 8:09 AM

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only one person, the pharmacist, would be available to input, fill, dispense, andcounsel on medications, as well as answer phones seek clarification frompractitioners and insurers, among our other duties.

142 staff hours cut. More work added. Immunizations added. time restraints on fillingtime. consultations with patients short and squeezed in and not taken intoconsideration as to work flow. I believe this is a disaster waiting to happen.Pharmacy has become a fast food mentality,

Jul 13, 2011 7:54 AM

143 We need to have a lunch, even if its 15 minutes! Jul 13, 2011 7:33 AM

144 My work site is unique in labor hours and I know of other sites within mycompany that do not have the staffing budget we are given and at those stores itseems more rushed, hopefully pharmacists working at those locations will takethis survey so they will be represented as well. I have worked with pharmacistsat other chains that state they do not get a lunch and work long hours all bythemself, filling over 300 scripts a day, this seems inappropriate and hopefullythese pharmacists will also honestly state their opinion on this survey.

Jul 13, 2011 7:08 AM

145 The Board does nothing to support it licensees. Jul 13, 2011 6:50 AM

146 I think oversight of the pharmacy is well overdue. Most employers (massmerchandisers absolutely, independents to a much lesser extent, but there aresome out there-) don't really care about patient safety, not like thePHARMACIST does! It is all about how much you can do and how fast you cango and how many shortcuts you can take to make them more money. Patientsafety has taken a back seat to this and it is a terrible thing to see. I have beena pharmacist for long enough to see that they are only going to change thismodel if they are forced to by some regulating agency such as the Board, andonly after something tragic happens to some innocent patient.

Jul 13, 2011 6:23 AM

147 I have worked at many retail settings and companies. All have a work load thatare extreme and do not allow a lunch break. Standing for 12 hour days on yourfeet and no lunch is not healthy. My back is gone from the standing for 12 hoursdays. I ruined my back and I don't believe it is humane to do this to anyone forlong hours. Pharmacist should be able to sit down more in a retail setting.There should be some kind of regulation that makes it mandatory to sit to relievethe stress on the back. Not being allowed to eat a lunch also is very dangerousto the public. A very tired, achey, and hungry pharmacist does not do any goodfor the public safety. It is not rocket science, so please do something!!! I amsurprised nothing has been done yet. How long will it take before we change theway pharmacist get treated in the retail chains!!! Please wake up and get thisball rolling. We need an hour lunch. We need to sit down every hour. We needto have trained (through a college) and excellent technicians-better and morehelp-2 technicians per pharmacist.

Jul 13, 2011 5:38 AM

148 Inspections need to be more thorough, and not just asking staff if they do this orthat. Staff have been instructed on what to say or not say to the Board. Theannual inspection forms that are filled out by the PIC's aren't reliable either.Management puts heavy pressure on the staff at many pharmacies to not saythings to the board about concerns they have, or to ask the board questionsabout if something is ok or not. Management (even when they aren'tpharmacists) insists that they know the pharmacy laws better than Pharmacists

Jul 13, 2011 1:11 AM

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do. Many pharmacists don't follow the pharmacy laws so that they can meet therequired workload put on them by management, and not get management or thepatients mad at them (which results in reprimands from management) for nothaving the work done immediately. Many pharmacists have caved to thepressure of management and patients, and have decided that pharmacy lawsare unrealistic to follow and take too long to follow. The current reality ofpharmacy in the workplace is quite scary. Patient safety and medical care hasbeen replaced with speed. Pharmacists are rewarded based on the # ofprescriptions that they can fill per hour or per shift. With the increase inpharmacist wages over the years, many of the pharmacists that have graduatedwithin the last 7+ years are only in the field because of the pay not because oftheir concern for the patient. Many pharmacists and management don'tdocument errors that patient's bring back, and in fact get upset with thosepharmacists who do. Patients and the public have no clue as to the high numberof errors that occur at all levels of pharmacies. Knowing what it's really like inthe pharmacies, I carefully check any prescriptions that are filled for me or myfamily, and there have been 2 errors that I have seen for my family.

149 These questions are difficult to answer as my shifts vary widely - anywhere from4 hours to 12 hours. The work load is most difficult in a retail store like minewhich has a volume just below the volume which our corporate office deems togrant extra staffing. We work with a bare bones staff - mostly one pharmacist onduty at a time with little overlap. Over a 12 hour shift we will generally processabout 225-275 prescriptions. Even on a good day, when all techs actually showup for their shifts, we will be extremely pressured to keep up with the work loadand we will run behind. However, there is no time to file the invoices, put awaythe order, check for recalls and outdates, send back outdates, take out thegarbage, file the prescriptions, or keep up with other necessary housekeepingtasks which are necessary for providing safe patient care. Then, on an all toocommon day when we hit a snag, as in a tech calls in sick, or there is ascheduling snafu with the main office so a schedule "float" tech doesn't show upfor a shift, there is no way our pharmacy can adjust for the decrease in staffing.There is no slack, we are already stretched to our limits. This concerns us - weare human and there is only so much we can physically do. But what to do?Those of us caught in the situation try to make the best of it and carry on thebest we can, full well knowing that we are now carrying a greater risk of makingan error. The workload issue is huge. There is an extreme disconnect betweenthe corporate offices and the field. From what I gathered from the Board ofPharmacy Newsletter, the board had not previously involved itself in workloadissues, and had just stated that pharmacists are expected to conduct themselvesin a way the protects the public safety. We want to do just that, but the currentworkload does not bode well for patient safety.

Jul 12, 2011 11:10 PM

150 WE ARE CONSTANTLY PRESSURED INTO INCREASING THE NUMBER OFPRESCRIPTIONS COMPLETED IN A SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TIME. THEYHAVE NOW STARTED A "PROMISE IN 15 MINUTE PROGRAM" WHICH ISDESIGNED TO INCREASE FRONT END SALES. I FIND THIS HAS ANEGATIVE EFFECT ON PHARMACY SERVICES. THIS 15 MINUTEPROGRAM SHOULD BE STOPPED. IT PUTS UNDUE PRESSURE ON THEPHARMACIST. IT WILL EVENTUALLY BE A CAUSE OF ERROR.

Jul 12, 2011 10:52 PM

151 DURs do not get completed unless they result in the need for an override for thetech processing the prescription (although we state they are being done on the

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Self Assessment). The best way to improve patient safety would be to limit theamount of work that a corporation can require of their pharmacists that is non-prescription related. We can not run the computer, check the prescriptions,immunize, and do hours of paperwork, all at the same time, and expect to do itall well.

152 A certain chain drug store's 15 minute guarantee puts the pharmacy into thesame category as a fast food chain. It feels like safety and proper health carecomes second to speed. People coming through drive through expect it to be likefast food drive through. There shouldn't be any time limit to proper health carefor the fear of being penalized. This will just lead to more mistakes.

Jul 12, 2011 10:24 PM

153 I really think you need to investigate the 15 minute guarantee that rite aidpharmacies promote. This promise puts undo pressure on the technicians andpharmacists, and increases the chances for errors. When you have customersyelling and complaining about a site not finishing the prescription in the promised15 minutes makes everyone working at the pharmacy very upset. The increasedpressure combined with being emotional make errors more likely. I myself haveseen an increase in technician errors since this marketing ploy started. New Yorkand New Jersey board of pharmacies have already banned this marketingscheme, and I believe that if the OBOP is looking out for the interest of the publicthey really need to do an investigation.

Jul 12, 2011 10:19 PM

154 I feel that the pharmacy board should institute a maximum number ofprescriptions that can safely be processed by a pharmacist per hour as I thinkthat retail chain pharmacies will continue to push the limits in this regard andcomprise patient safety in order to improve profits. I feel that a safe number ofprescriptions to fill in a 12 hour day for a pharmacist is around 200. I have onoccasion in other stores filled up to 420 alone [given with 2-3 technicians].However, this is still ludicrous. In order to process these numbers there is nobreak at all, even going to the bathroom has to wait. Meals are eaten at yourterminal and patient counseling becomes secondary to "getting the work done".Towards the end of the day your concentration starts to go, you find yourselfdouble or triple checking yourself as you cannot remember where you were inthe QA process. This is not why I became a pharmacist but if you complain youmay be targeted as a trouble maker and "worked " out of a position. So you keepquiet and hope to be moved to a slower store where you can really be apharmacist! I have worked in both high and low volume stores and can attestthat there are definitely fewer errors in lower volume stores, patient counseling isbetter and MTM and immunizations are more feasible. There needs to be morelower volume stores or more RPH's in high volume stores.

Jul 12, 2011 10:16 PM

155 I am (also my boss) the only pharmacist on duty for the 10 hour shift that thepharmacy is open. There are no lunch breaks since the pharmacy never closes.I get a restroom break only when there is not a customer asking for me orneeding a consultation. I work after hours to get everything done so the counteris clean for the next day, fortunately the store is open for 1 hour more at the endof the day. We are open 10 hours, we put in 10+ hours.

Jul 12, 2011 9:46 PM

156 It is hard on our single pharmacists day to get any break or lunch. On the basisof patient safety, this needs addressing because the corporate mindset isn'tgoing to change unless the Board steps in and helps us out.

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157 If you did spot checks on counseling, you'd find it lacking. Jul 12, 2011 8:50 PM

158 When a company buys and provides poor used hardware ie. printers, cashregisters, computers and parata robots with the cheapest software packagesthere are many breakdowns that make patient wait times greatly increase alsotaking your focus off of patient care, consultation etc. There are many dayswhen corporations cannot supply relief pharmacist and technicians to covervacations and sick days thus increasing the stress and workload immensley.Companies write policies and procedures stating that salaried pharmacists are totake meal breaks but with lack of coverage that is often impossible and it is notunusual to work 7 to 10 hours without meals or breaks.

Jul 12, 2011 8:44 PM

159 Staff reductions in technician, clerk and pharmacist hours has resulted in a veryhurried and stressful environment. No breaks for pharmacists, lucky to get to thebathroom, multiple interruptions while trying to fill one prescription all result inmore filling errors being made. Is it time for the board to recommend workingconditions for the safety of the public? My supervisors only see the bottom line,which is: less staff equals more profit......

Jul 12, 2011 8:16 PM

160 The understaffing by Walgreens is getting dangerous. Pharmacists are reviewingnew prescriptions at such a fast rate (in order to keep up) that there is really nottime to do a proper job. Often there will be no overlapping of pharmacists whichleads to one pharmacist doing 8 hours without any breaks. They keep cuttingtech hours and the good techs leave which throws the pharmacy into morechaos as the pharmacist tries to overcome the drawbacks to new techs or non-motivated techs. It is demoralizing and scary.

Jul 12, 2011 7:35 PM

161 money getting tighter with lower reimbursements from insurance, believe that iswhat is fueling the crunch on hours. Typically fill 25-30 scripts an hour,sometimes more, do feel that it is getting to the unsafe regions. I work in ahigher volume store, so at least have crossover help. For those who are at thethreshold of getting extra help, it is hardest....you work 12 hrs alone, and areexpected to fill 300 plus yourself. Have felt like slave labor more than once inthe past few years.

Jul 12, 2011 7:21 PM

162 Currently, I work for Bi-Mart, which seems to put an emphasis on adequate helpfor the pharmacist. These are the best working conditions I have had in 3+decades of working in retail pharmacy. However, when working at other retailpharmacy chains, (Safeway, Wal-mart, Target), the emphasis has been on howskimpy they can staff a pharmacy to maximize store profit. I feel that, at times, ithas put patient safety at risk. When the store management has 2/3 of the say inhiring pharmacy techs, w/o knowing a scintilla of the requirements, and strait-jackets your questions, something is very wrong. (ie, Target). The HRrepresentative and store manager have equal input into hiring techs--NOT good.Other places cut hours down to skeleton crews, and when the inevitable personcalls in to say they, or their kids, are sick and can't come in, there is completelyinadequate help, as the pharmacist spends an inordinate amount of time onbagging groceries, ringing up sales, calling insurances, arguing with consumersabout changes or co-pay increases in their insurance, required store "meetings"which talk about everything BUT the pharmacy (and when pharmacy ismentioned, it is a complaint), lunch "hours" which are a half hour which ultimatelybecome 10 minutes or not at all (pharmacist closes window for lunch and has tohandle customers, and finally leaves with 10 minutes left for lunch, and has to

Jul 12, 2011 6:50 PM

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return in 5 minutes to re-open because hours are posted for lunch andcustomers will complain to store management if not re-opened on time andmanagement will then spend 1/2 hour telling pharmacist this is unacceptable andthey do NOT want to hear these kinds of complaints anymore), etc.Sorry for the diatribe, but I hear these complaints from other pharmacists in retail(ie Albertsons, Fred Meyers, etc), and I have been waiting for 3 decades forthings to change. The first quarter of a century I was a pharmacist, I had NOofficial lunch or break in a 10 to 12 hour day, and was able to urinate (oftentimeswith customer complaints) only once to 3 times a day. I do not eat breakfast orlunch to this day because of this (bolting down food to sit undigested while I runaround like a chicken with its head cut off is unappealing). Just tired of beingblames for insurance problems, MD offices not responding in timely fashion andclaiming that they "never got the phone call/fax", etc. I would go on, but carpaltunnel, back problems, kidney problems, and your probable annoyance with thislong complaint preclude me from going further. But, thank you for offering alittle opportunity to vent. ** A tired old pharmacist**

163 My company has a "15 minute guarantee" for customers waiting. If 3 or less rxare turned in we must complete them within 15 minutes. For all other rx, oncethe tech generates a label, for example an order of 5 items in a refill order, thepharmacist has to QA the rx within 15 minutes of label generation or it countsagainst the pharmacy in the corporate metrics. These policies are despite thefact that the literature regarding quality, safety, and error reduction decry the useof minimum time limits. The state should rule against the use of minimum timesto complete prescriptions. How comfortable would anyone be with their surgeonif there was a time limit to complete a procedure? As the for the breaks, thereare none. I seldom have the opportunity to eat anything and drink very little in as12 hour shift, and may be lucky to use the restroom more than once during thattime. Consultation areas are not private in many pharmacies. It should not be upto the individual pharmacist to "find" a way to consult a patient privately whenthere is a crowd of customers and nowhere to go. The state should mandate aseparate consultation area away from the cash register and a way for thepharmacist to document in the computer that the patient has been consulted andadd any notes... the way a nurse can make chart notes. The only way this isgoing to happen is if it is legislated. This alone would increase patient safety asmany elderly patients have difficulty hearing and understanding in a crowdedenviroment with a lot of background noise. It would allow a better opportunity togauge the level of understanding of the patient as well. As for rx errors , thechain pharmacies need to be held accountable for the work environment theyperpetuate. The focus on why errors happen and how they can be preventedshould go beyond the pharmacist and tech following policy and procedure. TheBoard really needs to look at the big picture of what is going on in chain retailpharmacy and move us from the fast food model to the professional practiceenvironment many of us hoped for when we became pharmacists.

Jul 12, 2011 6:14 PM

164 No breaks or lunches with only one pharmacist per shift Jul 12, 2011 6:10 PM

165 I am licensed in Oregon, but work in Arizona Jul 12, 2011 5:54 PM

166 I briefly worked for Rite Aid corp which demanded twelve hours shifts withoutlunch or breaks and without a stool to rest my feet- really an abusive experience.Why are workers not protected in Oregon?

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167 Since the recession, staffing has decreased. The corporation I work for keepsadding more and more work for us, while decreasing labor. This includes theincrease in demands for immunization services, and an increase in reports wehave to do on daily basis. Due to the decrease in pharmacist, but mostlytechnician and clerk help, I have definately seen an increase in errors from allthe employees I have had discussions with. I hope with this survey there will belegal requirements for how much staffing is needed to keep people safe.

Jul 12, 2011 5:46 PM

168 Mandated workplace changes would be a welcome change to our profession.The increasing demands and decreasing support staff I've seen over the lastdecade make me question my decisions to enter this field. The future looks evenmore dire as companies are expanding and pushing fast into the immense worldof pharmacy care now expecting pharmacists to add a enormus amount ofworkload with not the same auxiliary help as 10 years ago when none of thateven existed, but LESS help. How far do they think they can push the limits of uswithout safety and our health paying the price It's past due that this safetyhazard is addressed by the board of pharmacy. Thank you.

Jul 12, 2011 4:35 PM

169 In sourcing pharmacists through foreign recruiting is outsourcing jobs and maybe detrimental due to language barriers. Unlimited tech to pharmacist ratios isbeing abused at the cost of patient safety.

Jul 12, 2011 4:00 PM

170 When board removed techs to pharmacist ratio, employers have increased innumbers of techs, however, the number of pharmacists at a particular pharmacyhas decreased. Pharmacists are now verified more prescriptions andcounsellings than before. These are the duties that can be performed bypharmacists and sometimes they can be overwhelming.

Jul 12, 2011 3:22 PM

171 I previously (34 yrs, from 1975 - 2008) worked for Kaiser Permanente inSouthern California. I moved to Northern California and through a series ofreasons ended with CVS as a retail pharmacist. This has to be the worstpharmacist practice setting in the universe as the Mega Retailers seek toincrease value to shareholders by slashing costs and payroll and heap additionalwork load on the pharmacists. It is truly abhorrent.

Jul 12, 2011 1:42 PM

172 Although drug regimens are more complex, I feel that the time to THINK aboutD-I and adverse effects has diminished. There is a constant pressure to producewith the result being more like factory work. Now I feel less like a professionaland more like a cog in a wheel. I have always loved being a pharmacist. I amconcerned, however, by this trend toward increasing productivity and decreasingprofessionalism.

Jul 12, 2011 1:39 PM

173 Locations I float between vary quite a bit, but certain locations in particular strikeme as more unsafe than others. While my most frequent site is presentlyrelatively safe, other locations will require up to twelve straight hours workedwithout ANY break (9am-9pm) over which period you may process up to 400prescriptions. Making things more concerning is my employer has cut technicianhours several times the last couple years, requiring that pharmacists arecovering their jobs in addition to doing their own. Employers additionally arethrowing vaccines on top of everything else without consideration given to thedegree by which this consumes time and disrupts processing of regularprescriptions.

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174 A regulation on number of pharmacists on duty per number of scripts filled at astore per day needs to be added. I have seen more and more errors withcontinuing budget cuts and staffing cuts. Script volumes are increasing anddemand for shorter wait times is as well. All of this is leading to unsafe practice.

Jul 12, 2011 1:28 PM

175 I would like to be able to spend more time with patients but I don not haveenough time.

Jul 12, 2011 1:03 PM

176 The general trend in retail pharmacy is to cut hours, and simultaneously addadditional items to be completed by pharmacy staff. Retail pharmacy practice isnot safe in the way I would like it to be. If pharmacy is about just verifying datarapidly, then the profession is in a good place. However, I would bet not onepharmacist would agree that this is what the profession is about. As for safety,yes, data gets verified correctly most of the time, but with hours being cut, I havepersonally seen the error rate in my store increase dramatically. Most errors aresmall and have no real clinical consequences, but I am waiting for the day whenour luck runs out. Very little thinking of the entire clinical picture happens. It isverify correct data, rinse, wash and repeat. I am rushed through DUR screens,and patient profiles, just to keep up with the pace that is set in our store. As forbreaks...what are they? I have never received one. Lunch, that is also funny. Isaw that question and smiled, for it has been quite some time since I really got tosit down and have a full thirty minutes to myself, and on weekends forget it. Iwas called unprofessional last weekend because I was eating in the pharmacy. Itend to agree with this person, except for the fact that I do not get a lunch breakon weekends, and am expected to work 8 - 9 hours without a break for anything.I am not willing to risk hypoglycemia for professionalism. My health has, andalways will come first.

Jul 12, 2011 12:24 PM

177 Pharmacy has been broken up into "verifying" rx's and then the final check. Mayverify 240 and do final check on 150 to 200 rx's which are not necessarily thesame rx's. So, workload has increased because doing multiple things. Also,concern as to job in the future now that the Pharm D is majority. I have no trustin employers to keep me as a pharmacy manager since I don't have a Pharm D.Will it become like immunizers where if RPh. wasn't an immunizer there wereNO hours available for them even when assigned full time to a store? I havenever felt as insecure in my profession as I do today. Wish there were laws,rules, and regulations to protect me as a pharmacist of 26 years. Thank You!

Jul 12, 2011 12:22 PM

178 many pharmacies today are too open to distractions by customers from otherdepartments asking for locations of products and restrooms, prices, and advicewithout any consideration about the pharmacist's focus on filling prescriptions.The incoming phone calls also continue to be a distraction. The law on a patientcounseling shuold expand to allow the technician to take the denial. Your newlaw on the National Drug Control Policy is also another time burden onPharmacists. It would be great if the Board of Pharmacy could either allowTechnicians to do more, maybe with more levels of techs, or supply policies thatrequire pharmicists more enclosed area to prevent disruptions...or the error rtewill continue to rise...

Jul 12, 2011 12:11 PM

179 All pharmacy chains have a corporate bottom line mentality at the corporate toplevel. They constantly try to get by with minimal staffing levels at all of theirstores. Rite Aid is probably among the worst offenders! They also keepincreasing the work load by adding superfluous tasks that have little to do with

Jul 12, 2011 11:19 AM

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professional practice - mostly trying to cover their corporate backsides (c.y.a.)while calling it an effort to improve health care of patients/clients.

180 Time to do DUR review; checking for accuracy of computer input of Rx; andpatient counseling, is not adequate for the Pharmacist to provide dispensing ofmedication for patient safety.

Jul 12, 2011 11:16 AM

181 The lack of adequate support staff in my chain pharmacy is egregious.Somedays I really worry about whether or not I made a major mistake. Sofar,only minor mistakes have been found--nothing that affected a patient's healthbut,I'm afraid, it may only be a matter of time. The long hours & lack of time toeven eat somedays only contribute to the stress I feel.

Jul 12, 2011 11:12 AM

182 My practice site uses variable length shifts of 6 to 12.5 hours. Pharmacists workalone a significant portion of their shift (3 to 6 hours). When working alone, it isdifficult to complete any task without interruption. Interruptions lead to errors anddecreased availability for handling patient questions or concerns. Pharmacistfatigue during longer shifts also contributes to errors or grumpy pharmacists thatpatients do not find helpful.

Jul 12, 2011 11:09 AM

183 The pressure at the out window to limit wait time encourages clerks andpharmacy techs to cut corners on safety and counselling

Jul 12, 2011 11:09 AM

184 As a pharmacist in Retail setting , we are required to do it all, from Filling Rxs, togiving vaccines, to counsel,answering the phone, run back and forth from thedrive through( Two) in some location to the In window to the Out window ,answering OTC questions, be so nice to the the old lady on the phone she needshelp with her cat or dog, or listen to the whining of a customer wants to tell youher life story while the phone ringing all the time, to find some one to cover thetechnician decided to call sick at the last moment, Oh God , I forgot , I forgot toeat that is why I am so notious, and feeling sick, my back hurts..at the same timemake sure to get the Rx 100% correct and make sure the woman hardly speeksEnglish knows how to give the medication to her 2 month old baby..Oh God, weneed the board or God to interfere and find a Role, Vaccination is not apharmacist Job..CPR need time and concentrations and some one with goodback and fast, not tired or sick of working non stop and at the end ....Oh God I,when you hear it you want to die, I got the wrong tablets..actually they aredifferent color, different manufactures...we needs MERCY ..lots and imediateaction ..I guess The board will hear the same from 99% of the pharmacist, GoodDay..and :).

Jul 12, 2011 10:49 AM

185 Thanks for asking. My work varies from store to store. Some stores where Iwork, I am working alone, and others I might be one of 3 pharmacist.

Jul 12, 2011 10:34 AM

186 The new goal according to our corporate regional pharmacy manager is to get anew prescription in and out of the pharmacy in 5 minutes. Yes, that's right. Fiveminutes. How is that possible taking legal and safety requirements intoconsideration? What about all of the interuptions that happen in those fiveminutes?

Jul 12, 2011 10:31 AM

187 The answers I've given apply to the working conditions that convinced me toretire a couple months ago. I thought I would work part-time for years butWalgreens kept cutting staff hours and increasing work load to the point I no

Jul 12, 2011 10:25 AM

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longer felt l could practice proper (safe) pharmacy. Since there is now an overabundance of pharmacists the chains can demand what ever they want, speedquoatas, volume quotas, etc. This is not the grumbling of a slow, mistakeprone pharmacist...I was very good at my job but the professionalism was gone,I felt like a clerk at a fast-food place. Thirty-six years ago people called thepharmacist "Doc" and didn't scream at pharmacy staff...times have changed toomuch for this old gal.

188 third party issues, beauracracy compliance, increasing customer demands,vaccinations, being the only health profession to give free advice,corporate rulesand regs, all weigh heavily upon today's pharmacy environment.I would neversuggest any one spend 6 years in pharmacy school. I would be a dentist andwork 8-5 , 4 days per week, and schedule appointments.

Jul 12, 2011 10:17 AM

189 Pharmacists and patients should be provided private counseling areas free fromexcessive noise and distractions (e.g., support staff talking on phones and tocustomers immediately adjacent to counseling area). Pharmacist verificationareas should be made free from excessive noise and distractions (ringingphones and support staff talking on phone or using speaker phone immediatelynext to a verification station). The volume of ringing phones and drive-thruringers should be reduced so as to provide fewer distractions. Errors that havebeen discovered after a pharmacist has verified a prescription should beunalterable and immediately quarantined on the computer so as to ensurecomplete error reporting. Pharmacists should have the ability via computer toimmediately reject and quarantine any off-site prescription they find wrong, inquestion, or unfillable. Surprisingly, this ability has been revoked withoutquestion at Walgreens (the reject tab on verification has been disabled formonths). Remarkably, we can not immediately continue verifying beyond aprescription that has been found in error, yet we are threatened with verificationquotas? Vaccinations should be made by appointment only when pharmacistsare pressured to fill waiting prescriptions in 15 minutes or less. These issues aresimply ignored when brought to the attention of management.

Jul 12, 2011 10:01 AM

190 Overall, I have time to complete all my work with peak busy times sometimesoverwhelming. It would be nice to see a standardized lunch/dinner time for ALLpharmacists for actual sit down breaks during a 12 hour shift. The quality oftechnician makes all the difference. We are unique in that we have low turnovertech in our pharmacy which is nice! It is time to train the public that we offerprofessional services which can't always be provided in 15 minutes!

Jul 12, 2011 9:50 AM

191 In my opion, electronic prescribing or biz-hup prescribing or what ever the hellyou want to call it has created more prescribing errors than it has solved.Prescriptions are transmitted by people with a high school education then 6months at community college. If an error is made it is nearly impossible to speakto the prescriber especially if it is an MD. MA answer questions with "I'm prettysure this is what the doctor, pa, np wanted. I put more care into fillingprescriptions than what a MA "thinks" was meant to be prescribed.

Jul 12, 2011 9:49 AM

192 Love my profession, has been rewarding, providing a good living. Every yeargets tougher to say I like my job. Constant push to increase script count, dovaccinations, State regulations to keep up with, DEA now enforcing moreregulations, insurance plans always looking for ways to get paybacks, patientsasking more questions because they cannot afford health care or go to the

Jul 12, 2011 9:34 AM

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doctor, employer says "I know your job is stressful but we need to do more" -and I understand the economics of it all. But at the bottom of this heap is thepatient we and you are trying to serve, protect (many times from themselves),and to get healthier. Retirement cannot come soon enough!

193 The chain I work for seems to add more and more tasks for the pharmacists todo (vaccinations, MTM) with no extra staffing. They push keeping wait timesdown, but then cut our hours if they perceive any drop in prescription volume. Iwork in California, but am sure this situation would also apply to any chainpharmacy in Oregon.

Jul 12, 2011 9:33 AM

194 I work at a very busy chain pharmacy. I am often pressured to ensure that our"wait time" is no longer than 15 minutes. However this is often very difficult, aswe are not staffed with enough pharmacists or technicians. We are budgetedhours based on how many prescriptions we do. However, we are located next toseveral emergency rooms and do a significant volume of one time prescriptions.These often take much longer as the patient has to be registered, insurance hasto be entered, and more extensive counseling needs to be done. I have spokenwith my supervisors about this issue and how it can lead to not only dispensingerrors, but also poor pharmaceutical care as patients are often rushed in andout. However, my concerns have fallen on deaf ears. I feel that it is imperativefor there to be an adequate staff in order for patients to not only receive the bestpossible care but also to prevent medication errors. I do not know what the bestway to improve this is. Regulation will help, but I am at a loss for the best way toregulate this from the board of pharmacy's point of view. I also know that it isnot just my location. My chain has cut hours of both technicians andpharmacists at all stores several times over the last year siting a bad economy.However I do not feel that profit should come before patient safety. Thank youfor addressing this issue that I have long felt strongly about.

Jul 12, 2011 9:29 AM

195 Counselling is a very important part of our day but also creates additionalinterruptions. I would like to have a pharmacist designated to counselling inaddition to our regular staff. I think that would improve patient safety. However,someone has to pay for it.

Jul 12, 2011 9:28 AM

196 I am so glad that the board is finally taking this potentially dangerous situationseriously. The lack of board sanctioned requirements allows corporations toslice staff to the bare minimum, and then require the over worked staff to pick upthe slack when absences, appointments or vacations decrease those staffedhours even further. Greed has taken over common sense and CEO's need torealize this is not an occupation that should be pushed to the limits in order for toreach ridiculous quotas that where designed by business majors. You areresponsible for the care of the public just as much as the staff pharmacist.Please remember this when evaluating and redesigning these regulations andgive us the backing and regulations that no longer allow our managers, and VP'sto ignore our voices.

Jul 12, 2011 9:21 AM

197 I'm very glad that you are doing this survey. I hope that you are able to make theresults available to pharmacists. I am a PIC, and when I was meeting with myupper management to try and get my staffing budget increased, I was surprisedat how hard it was to find hard data on prescription volume for communitypharmacy. There was one recent study published relating volume to error rate,but other than that there was one PhD thesis that I would have had to pay to get

Jul 12, 2011 9:09 AM

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a copy of.

198 As we all know the Board is responsible for pt safety, not the comfort of the RPh& we have been on the short end of stick for as long as I know. We still needtime to process the new Medicaid forms and billing etc as well as doing moreimmunizations, phone/fax etc to mds. We are " now the "substitute nurse or md"for pt who have no $ or time to see them and counselling takes longer with theolder pt as well. I myself have cut back to part time due to the large stress ofputting in 10-12 hr per day with still 100-300 rx not filled on the table andcustomer complaints that we are too slow. Pt safety is the No1 priority but I haveseen numerous RPhs leave the battlefield due to stress, heart attacks and regretover a forced error---we are proud of what we so--save lives every day but weare slowing losing this battle. I feel we need # scripts/Rphs to be in place eitheras guidelines or mandated, esp when errors crop up or the big corp will not allowany incr in tech,RPh hrs.

Jul 12, 2011 9:02 AM

199 The compamy I am presently employed with makes an effort to insure properpatient care balanced with content employees. However, when observing thework conditions at other pharmacies, I have noticed a steady decline in properpatient care and over worked and stressed out pharmacist. For this reason Icame to work for my present employer in 2000, leaving unbearable workconditions at another chain. Thus, your survey will need to focus on specificemployers along with a general overview.

Jul 12, 2011 9:01 AM

200 There is a greater and greater push by all of the large retail chains to do morework with less people. And I feel this is leading to greater potential of errors andburn out of pharmacists and technicians. I believe the state board should put acap on how many prescriptions a pharmacist is allowed to do. This would forcethe pharmacy owners to staff the pharmacies properly.

Jul 12, 2011 8:52 AM

201 Safeway is pressuring the pharmacists to be Zostzvax sales men to personallytalk with every customer that is 60 or older , we are suppose to keep track of thisand email corp. every day with results. On average we have about 2 minutes tofill a prescription including consaltation. Now we are we suppose take time forthis and as always make sure the mystery shoppers can find the toothpaste.

Jul 12, 2011 8:52 AM

202 There is constant pressure from the company through my pharmacy manager todo more and do it faster, to review more scripts for other stores. The computerkeeps track of many performance indicators. In addition to the med guides, drugadvertising prints out upon verification of selected prescriptions which I mustattach to the dispensed medication. (Plus the numerous "eyeballs in the sky"and mandatory purchase stickers and bag checks. I understand why this is isnecessary, but it is very humiliating nonetheless.) All of this is demoralizing.When I was younger, I could work eight hours (double shifts on occasion)straight through when there was no time for a break, but as I approach age 65this is increasingly hard on my body. When I take an actual break during theweek, it has to be during the two hour overlap between pharmacist shifts. Onweekends, there is no pharmacist relief. I work in one of the newest and lowestvolume stores in my area, although we are increasing in volume. I still frequentlydo have down time, especially in the evening, so I don't feel I can complain. But,I've worked in many of our other stores, all much busier than ours.... it's tough.

Jul 12, 2011 8:38 AM

203 I work in two primary locations for my work. One has one technician and one Jul 12, 2011 8:27 AM

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pharmacist for about 120 to 150 prescriptions. That workload is fine exceptwhen the tech goes home and sometimes I have a crowd around me. The othersite has one or two pharmacists to 3 to 4 technicians and 2 or 3 clerk staff. Thatsite does many hundreds of prescriptions daily and it can be hectic when there isonly one pharmacist like late in the day. Safety due to workplace conditions is aserious issue with no easy solution. It will not be easy to solve this problem until,I am afraid, people start making horrible mistakes.

204 I left Safeway 2 years ago when they increased our hours of operation anddecreased our staffing at the same time! I was PIC at that busy pharmacy andfelt that the staffing issue was dangerous. The stress level went through the roofwith the same (good) technicians and clerks working for me. It had becomeextremely difficult on some days to take 15 minutes to eat lunch on a 12 hourshift. So I left. I am at Albertsons now and currently have a good pharmacy witha decent staffing arrangement. It is not perfect, but I am not stressing overpatient safety constantly like it had become at Safeway. I believe the Boarddoes need to get involved in this staffing issue. I don't know if errors statisticallywent up since Safeway did this in March of 2009 but it would be interesting toinvestigate. I have heard that Bi-Mart did a similar staffing squeeze about a yearago. It really needs to be stopped.

Jul 12, 2011 8:20 AM

205 Pharmacists are being asked to take on a larger workload than ever before whilestaff hours are being cut. I have been a pharmacist for 18 years and have seenthis trend grow exponentially in the last few years. I was opposed to changingthe tech to pharmacist ratio because I believed larger corporations would abusethe ruling and I believe they have. In the past few years our hours of operationwere extended while our staff size was decreased. We have a busy pharmacybut only have overlapping pharmacists during the least busy hours of the day. Iam a quick pharmacist so I take on busy 12 hour days by myself so my otherstaff pharmacists can have more overlap. I often work a busy Monday withmyself, one tech and two clerks and do 400 rxs. I eat while I work and often find Idon't take a bathroom break for the entire shift. We find it VERY difficult to getproper coverage for sick days, etc, so we often work while under the weather.Not every pharmacist is up to the challenge of working alone. Mistakes haverisen. Customer service has dropped. Companies are emphasizingimmunizations and putting a lot of pressure on pharmacists, creating actualquotas to fill! I believe quotas in healthcare are absolutely unethical.Pharmacists have no one to speak for them. We do not have a union. Theboard exists to protect the public, not us. Something needs to change. Thankyou for the opportunity to speak.

Jul 12, 2011 8:16 AM

206 I work for Safeway as a float pharmacist and the company has beencontinuously cutting hours across the board (pharmacist/tech/clerk). I feel it isno longer a safe place to work at. Everyone is stretched so thin that there is nolonger any time to spend with patients or to take breaks. I've heard mistakes areincreasing across the company and morale is very low. A number of people arestarting to leave the company and I am also thinking of leaving because of thepoor work environment.

Jul 12, 2011 8:02 AM

207 It would be nice if breaks and lunches were mandated. Working 8-9 hourswithout any break is really tough. And even though we can leave to go potty,there is a line of angry people waiting for us so it's just not worth it.

Jul 12, 2011 7:51 AM

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208 The safety in filling prescriptions is not in numbers of prescriptions but in theother requirements of the pharmacy and it's staff. Flu, Zostavax, otherimmunizations and MTM pull the pharmacist away from concentrating onchecking prescriptions. Some shots take 15 plus minutes to give and properlyexplain to patient about the shot, thus removing the pharmacist from the fillingand check position. When they return in some instances they are rushed to catchup, thus skipping steps. We should be involved in immunizations but morethought and space is needed in some pharmacy's to provide safe workconditions for staff and patients.

Jul 12, 2011 7:34 AM

209 Throughout the recession there has been a steady decline in labor hours perperscription. Staff are continuing to find ways to go around policy and procedurewhich are meant to circumvent errors because they can get their work donefaster. There is only enough time to help the customer and not enough time towork on the little things which would cause failures in Third Party or Board ofPharmacy audits. I have spoken to several other pharmacy managers and thesame theme seems to be enough to take care of patients, but not enough time totake care of other items which are a part of Board of Pharmacy regulations.

Jul 12, 2011 7:05 AM

210 Please lobby to institute laws similar to those in California....if the employerswere obligated to pay time and 1/2 for over 8 hours they would be using morePharmacists per store. Also, a Pharmacist should not be allowed to be anexempt employee... As more Pharmacists come into the market from all the newschools, we should be able to get to a point where we live like the rest of thework force, with decent working conditions and actual break and lunch periods.

Jul 12, 2011 6:57 AM

211 I work at Safeway Pharmacy, north central Oregon. Jul 12, 2011 6:56 AM

212 I think the Board of Pharmacy should mandate that a 30 minute break becomeslaw for pharmacists regardless if their hourly or salary for every 8 hour shift. Allpharmacies should be able to close for 30 minutes- 12:45 to 1:15pm forpharmacists and technicans to be able to mentally and physically recover toprovide continued patient safety. Currently I and my staff pharmacist work 10hours per day and our "lunch" consists of a "energy bar" and coffee. There is notime to recuperate or prescriptions will continue to stockpile creating an evenmore stressful situation. My customers, physician and family are in disbelief wedo not receive a mandatory 30 minute lunch break from the company or by statelaw. It is just a matter of time that someone is seriously injured because of amental or physical lapse. We are not robots but that is expected of us. There isno other "profession" that is as abused by companies as a retail pharmacist. It isnot right and we our only hope is the Board of Pharmacy will pass a law tomandate 30 minutes lunch break where the pharmacy closes for 30 minutes forthe staff to recharge to make it through the stressful day. I thought we werehealth professionals but this is in every way not a "healthy" way to live and work.thank you.

Jul 12, 2011 6:56 AM

213 The question concerning how many prescriptions are processed per pharmacistper day doesn't necessarily apply well in my location; many times onepharmacist will process the Rxs while the other will counsel, make chart notes,perform medication reviews, inventory and other duties meaning that onepharmacist will process 300+ prescritions in a day and the other will performmany other (necessary) duties, but the average then drops to around 150prescriptions per pharmacist.

Jul 12, 2011 6:46 AM

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214 The board should consider banning immunizations when only 1 pharmacist ispresent. My employer's massive immunization program is often understaffed,and typically requires the pharmacist to leave the pharmacy.

Jul 12, 2011 6:35 AM

215 I wonder if the board has noticed the glaring conflict of interest when higher levelemployees of corporations serve. All the rhetoric aside in my twenty some yearsof practice with various chains the dance is that the corporation pretends to treatus as professionals and we pretend to believe them. The lip service given topatient care/counseling is risible when compared with the mania for cutting workhours to preserve a profit margin.

Jul 12, 2011 6:04 AM

216 Extremely understaffed during peak vaccination months. Jul 12, 2011 3:28 AM

217 no comment Jul 12, 2011 1:24 AM

218 Starbucks has double the help (compared to mine and most other pharmacies)just to make peoples coffee compared to a pharmacy where we deal withpeoples lives!!!

Jul 12, 2011 12:20 AM

219 The regulations do not take into account the difference in practice settings. Iwork with a population where half of the clients are over 75 years old. Theyneed more time than someone who is picking up their birth control pills. Thecontrol that a pharmacist has on his practice setting is null and void in thesetimes of corporations looking for survival at any cost and insurances looking atprofits at any cost. If the board is really looking at the best interests of thecitizens in Oregon, they need to divest themselves from the corporatestranglehold that exists within the board of pharmacy. It is like putting the foxinto the henhouse to make sure the hens are safe.

Jul 12, 2011 12:11 AM

220 Many chain pharmacies close for lunch, however mine does not. If it weremandated across all, we would be able to take a lunch & not feel guilty about it.

Jul 12, 2011 12:09 AM

221 You cannot mandate good care regardless of the hours or labor allowed. It is upto the individual to manage his time and the time of others to provide the servicerequired for each situation. Immunizations at the pharmacy has significantlyincreased the demand of pharmacist time without adequate compensation to thestore or the pharmacist.

Jul 11, 2011 11:51 PM

222 Most all community based chain pharmacy companies are utilizing an idea ofgetting the most results (prescription counts & sales) by providing the leastresources to do so. The work loads and requirements for pharmacists are onlygrowing and yet, techs hours are getting cut leaving a pharmacist to do more oftechs' duties in addition to pharmacist's duties. It'll only get worse now as thenew flu vaccine season begins since there will be no changes in amount of hoursfor techs and pharmacists, but having to do a hundreds of vaccines per week. Alot of the times pharmacists cannot spend enough time to counsel patients abouttheir new medications or to address any questions they may have since phone'sringing continuously nonstop, prescriber's on hold for a new prescription on oneline, other competitor pharmacists requesting for transfer on the other line, andmany orders in line that need pharmacist's final verification. All theses tasksmentioned previously and more responsibilities wait pharmacist in many differentcombinations at any given moments and never one task at a time. Anotherlarge problem is how retail pharmacies are being treated as a fast food

Jul 11, 2011 11:48 PM

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restaurants and many patients will get very impatient and rude if theirprescriptions take any longer than 5 -10 minutes no matter how manyprescriptions they are dropping off. It just seems like there's unreasonableexpectations set by company executives who are only concerned about the finalnumbers of sales and script counts in conjunction with patients who thinks all wedo is putting stickers on bottles and packages. The business oriented operationtrends of many retail pharmacies geared only to increase profits are veryconcerning and all pharmacists are well aware that it will jeopardize patients'safety and prescription accuracy.

223 Transfer options, such as gift cards, 15 minute guarantees should be outlawed.Require lunch breaks.

Jul 11, 2011 11:37 PM

224 The board needs to institute the following measures to protect pharmacists,thereby protecting the patients and the public. 1) Require that no pharmacist willbe required to staff a pharmacy alone. This does not include store managerswho are on duty. What if there is a medical emergency in the pharmacy or arobbery and the pharmacist is stuck back in the bowels of the store alone andunnoticed. It is no exageration that I could collapse at my work site whileworking alone and go completely unnoticed and not missed for 30 minutes ormore. 2) Require pharmacies to provide dedicated lunch breaks for pharmacistseven if the pharmacy must close for it. 3) Define and require pharmacist totechncian ratios. Although California may have its share of problems, it is muchmore progressive at providing for the needs of pharmacists. Protectingpharmacists at the work place would go a very long way toward protecting thepublic. Overworked, tired, hungry and distracted pharmacists who are lucky toget a chance to use the bathroom over an 8 to 9 hour period don't do good workand they don't meet the requirements or intent of pharmacy laws.

Jul 11, 2011 11:37 PM

225 You might want to consider adding a question or two to address the effect ofcompliance/regulatory demands on the time of the PIC.

Jul 11, 2011 11:18 PM

226 I haven't worked in Oregon in about 2 years. Jul 11, 2011 11:16 PM

227 I feel the practice of pharmacy has been turned into a "fast food environment".My employer is cutting pharmacist hours, leaving one pharmacist alone forlonger periods of time during busy times of the day. When I spoke to the MarketManager about my concerns, the reply was "well it wouldn't matter if you havegood technicians". What they fail to understand, is that only the pharmacist cancounsel, check the prescriptions, take new prescriptions on the phone, and whenleft alone during busy hours, you are being pulled in 3 different directions. Thepotential for making an error is huge. I actually think we, as a profession, needto make a stand and put restrictions on how much one pharmacist should beallowed to do during a shift.

Jul 11, 2011 11:08 PM

228 I have been recently placed at a permanent location, and up until two monthsago was floating throughout the Portland metro. I have realized that stores thatdo >500 scripts per day are fairly well staffed, in the sense that there are enoughbodies to get what needs to be done completed. However, the strains put on thepharmacist in these stores is extreme. My current store does roughly 370prescriptions per day. We are horribly understaffed to the point where we arenever really caught up. In my store, more often than not, I have to enter aprescription, review/DUR, fill, and check the product. The error rate at this store

Jul 11, 2011 11:07 PM

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is astounding to me, and I believe it can be attributed not only to one persondoing an entire prescription, but when one person is not doing it all, everyone isrushing to get things done. On top of that, I barely have time to do little more onDUR than check to see if a patient has had this medication before to mark it ascontinuing therapy. My counseling has declined significantly due to the pressurethat is placed on me to do everything, and to do it quick. Do I feel safe as apharmacist in my store? Absolutely not. I worry daily about what error did I maketoday? Will I get sued over it? Did I harm someone? In the current state ofpharmacy, I would not wish this job on anyone. I applaud the board for takingpreliminary action on a large issue in pharmacy. Please do not break tocorporate interests, but instead work on behalf of the pharmacists in this state.

229 you didn't ask about giving vaccines. that takes much more time than just filling aprescription order. and i am expected to just work that into my work flow. andblood pressure checks. a more realistic idea of what this job entails factored inwith more help, and more qualified help, to get it all done and in a timely manner.very stressful. and make sure no mistakes are made.

Jul 11, 2011 11:05 PM

230 I am concerned that technicians are not adequately trained nor educated in theunderstanding of what pharmacy practice is about. Most are trained to pushthrough prescriptions for a quick pharmacist verification to sign off on theprescription, giving patients the impression that the hard part is done, which intheir mind is the input of rx information and billing. This poses a very imminentdanger to public safety. I believe that pharmacy technicians should be requiredto take training to include a general knowledge of pharmacy practice and thelaw. Also, patients do not get counseled adequately nor an offer to counsel isbeing made by clerks and/or technicians instead of being referred to thepharmacist. I believe that standards should be set to regulate pharmaciststaffing ratio to protect public health as we move forward in a more clinicalpharmacy care practice which includes immunizations and MTM services.

Jul 11, 2011 11:03 PM

231 There has to be some maximum number of prescriptions per work hours of staff.We get more and more required of us with less and less help. Can you believewe immunize as though we are filling a prescription! Our computers have a waittime bar counting the minutes it takes to type, review, fill and check aprescription. The managers complain if the wait time is longer than a certainamount. There should not be any monitoring as this. This takes away fromspending time with patients. Additionally we are rushed to get back to thecomputer to satisfy wait times. It is ridiculous to expect one pharmacist tocounsel 2 drive through lanes, the front counter, take phone calls, checkprescriptions and then immunize in between all this. REALLY?

Jul 11, 2011 11:02 PM

232 Not nearly enough support staff. Company expects things done quickly butcontinues to cut support staff creating a very rushed workflow while continuing toadd more projects and programs

Jul 11, 2011 11:01 PM

233 Some big box chain pharmacies don't have enough clerks to ring upprescriptions for patients. This forces the clerks to work harder and may checkout the wrong prescription bags to the wrong patients. This is not only violatethe HIPPA law and the wrong medications to the patients, who could assumethat the doctors just ordered the new medications for them.

Jul 11, 2011 10:56 PM

234 Often times I am working by myself (no technician help) trying to handle front Jul 11, 2011 10:52 PM

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counter, two drive-thru lanes, pick up/drop off/ phones, filling, flu shots,counseling, questions, etc....I do believe pharmacies should have one drive-thrulane at the most because it creates too much confusion and pressure andcompromises patient safety, especially when not properly staffed.

235 Safeway requires us to do more with less staff. (ie immunizations, MTM,)besides the daily tasks Cut staff hours by 50% AND increase store hours from 7or 8 pm closing to 9pm closing. it's hard to keep pace with constant interruptionsof having to ring customers up and answer the phones(taks that can be doneby non RPh) techs may have passed CPHT exam but that isnt necessarilyhelpful with day to day routine or work ethic. another round of hours cuttingwith additional push for increase vaccination services.

Jul 11, 2011 10:49 PM

236 We cannot provide the service that the customer deserves. Many times the waitfor a prescription is 1 hour. If a pharmacist consults the legal proper way (whichwe are doing in our pharmacy now since we were warned for not initiating theconsulting process.)2 pharmacists doing 300 or even 250 rx's a day puts a hughstrain on the pharmacist. I feel the state board should make sure pharmacistsare consulting properly espically in the large chains so all pharmacist are treatedequally and bring the work load to a respectable level.If this is not done the workload will remain the same which can be dangerous to the customer.

Jul 11, 2011 10:46 PM

237 My main concern is that my employer doesnt allow us to close the pharmacy forlunch or even a 15 minute break. I work 12 hour shifts and get really tired about9 hours into the shift. I asked if I could close the gate for 15 minutes just so Icould have a few minutes to myself, but was told that I couldnt close thepharmacy but could take 15 minutes during a slow period. Somedays, a slowperiod isnt until 7pm (10 hours into my shift). Its difficult to take a break while thepharmacy is still open because I am constantly being pulled to counsel, answer adoctor call, review prescriptions. I am worried about patient safety becausewhen I get tired or havent eaten all day, I'm not as sharp and I am worried I willoverlook things. I just wish my employer would reconsider closing the pharmacyso we could have breaks. Isn't it mandatory that I get three 15 minute breaks in a12 hour shift?

Jul 11, 2011 10:40 PM

238 I think technology is a factor for some pharmacies. Outdated software is makingit more difficult to do more with less help.

Jul 11, 2011 10:39 PM

239 I am overall satisfied or slightly disatisfied with my working conditions and abilityto provide patient care safely. However, nothing much "extra" can ever be donein the way of thorough patient counselling or pharmacy care, because of thespeed at which I must work just to get the bare essentials done in a timelymanner. I don't take breaks because it would just be that much harder when Ireturn, but I don't really seem to need breaks anyway. I take about 15 minutesto eat my lunch as fast as I can to get back to work. I would like to be able to domore for patients than crank out prescriptions as fast as I can go. The reason Itolerate it, and keep doing it is because I make it a priority to be grateful,positive, and upbeat, and I am happy with my salary and benefits. But we coulddo better. Thank-You.

Jul 11, 2011 10:38 PM

240 Lunch breaks are not given on the weekends. Lack of technician help leads tomistakes by pharmacists who must multi-task to meet deadlines.

Jul 11, 2011 10:36 PM

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241 Please keep in mind that any regulations you make will be applied in a variety ofpractice settings. Focus your efforts on the things that truly impact patientSAFETY. For example, no one cares if the DEA number is written on the hardcopy -- you can trust pharmacists to detect fraudulent prescriptions...IF they aregiven enough time to do their job. Make regulations that will force employers toallow pharmacists to practice in a safe environment, not regulations that forceindividual pharmacists to perform more busy work.

Jul 11, 2011 10:36 PM

242 I do not believe pharmacists should be immunizing Jul 11, 2011 10:34 PM

243 I am greatly concerned about the never ending cuts that are being made to bothtechnician and pharmacist hours, and clerk hours are only provided at busierstores. Patient counseling and education are the tasks I believe I should bemost focused on and I enjoy them greatly, but find myself only offering theminimum consult and information necessary because there is not time to bethorough. I think there are far more errors made now than when I first started asa pharmacist several years ago, simply due to large cuts in hours. Also, beingunable to take true lunch on a long (12 hour shift) is dangerous.

Jul 11, 2011 10:27 PM

244 Our pharmacy is located inside a grocery store and pharmacists and tecniciansare often requred to ring up groceries at the pharmacy register. This is not onlyan extra burden on the pharmacy but also alters the public's view of ourprofession. We are highly educated health care professionals and we would liketo be recognised as such.

Jul 11, 2011 10:20 PM

245 There are no lunch breaks on weekends since only 1 pharmacist covers thewhole day. So i have to eat my lunch in between prescriptions. Some weekendsunable to sit even for just a minute. This is a work condition where the Boardcould step in and make it illegal for pharmacist to work straight 10 hour or even 8hours without a half hour lunch break. I hope the Board will do something aboutthis situation

Jul 11, 2011 10:16 PM

246 I believe that the current budget cutting measures undertaken by my employerhave resulted in increased risk to my patients. I work as fast as I can just to fillprescriptions and don't have the time that I need to spend with patients forcounseling, answering questions, and doing OTC counseling. We work at abreak-neck pace and are told to take breaks although there is absolutely no timeto even get a cup of coffee. Tech and clerk staffing is cut on a weekly basis andthis just causes the pharmacist work faster because the amount of work is thesame. This outrageous pace cannot be sustained without mistakes being madeand patients will suffer.

Jul 11, 2011 10:08 PM

247 volume is up profits down($4 scripts) cutting hours - go figure. who will die first? Jul 11, 2011 10:06 PM

248 Workloads in retail help determine technician hours allowed per pharmacy. forexample 800 rx per week allow 80 hours of tech. Store hours determinepharmacist hours allowed. for example 9-9 mon-fri plus 9-6 sat and 10-6 sunallows 77 hours of pharmacist. If you have properly trained techs in a busy storea good pharmacist can do 200-300 prescriptions in a 12 hours shift, but 300-400??? is that safe? Are they all properly counselled? are they all correct ? Thatpharmacist had to DUR 400 scripts while being interupted 10-15 times perhour.... who benefits from this? Not the pharmacist... and Not the general public!!

Jul 11, 2011 10:05 PM

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249 appropriate pharmacy staffing should be determined by the acting pharmacymanager, since they are responsible for the pharmacy. You know something iswrong with the current system when a store director with only a high schooldegree can control the hours in a retail pharmacy and as a manager onesometimes has to decide between running really lean and providing minimalcare, or having to quit and try and find anouther job with better staffing situations.Many studies show a direct corrolation between staffing and accuracy, it wouldbe nice if the department of heath/board of pharamcy provided some legalbacking to help balance appropriat staffing and safety verses anemic staffingand higher profits.

Jul 11, 2011 10:05 PM

250 12 hour shift with no breaks and filling 300 plus scripts is no way for apharmacist to provide safe and effective enviroment for the patients. Throw inseveral immunizations in addition to filling rxs is too much for one pharmacist tohandle safely especially in busy pharmacy.

Jul 11, 2011 10:03 PM

251 A definitive limit as to how many prescriptions per pharmacist should be allowedper shift. Limiting district manager positions to pharmacists only or requiring thata DM at least work in a pharmacy for a prescribed period of time and pass a testthat shows he/she has a working knowledge of how a pharmacy works.

Jul 11, 2011 10:01 PM

252 It would be helpful if a rule was passed that a pharmacist should never be staffedwithout a minimum of one support staff either technician or clerk from opening toclosing. Errror occurs most frequently when pharmacists are distracted fromchecking a prescription to either answer the phone, get the counter, counsel orring up a prescription for a pick-up. A lot of this distraction would be eliminatedby ensuring a minimum of one support staff for every hour of business operation.Chain pharmacies are always compromising quality of care for profit.

Jul 11, 2011 9:57 PM

253 Generally we do not have enough time for counselling or profile reviews Jul 11, 2011 9:54 PM

254 Staffing per rx has been reduced significantly since last year. Jul 11, 2011 9:45 PM

255 The addition of vaccinations has really put us over the edge. Our business is up,but yet we were cut hours because other locations were down. We werethreatened with firing if we didn't become immunizing pharmacists, and we werethreatened with more loss of hours and tech help if we didn't becomeimmunizers. Thus more work with less help. Coupons that promote transferringprescriptions should be banned - they definitely endanger public health. Goodluck with this survey- we tried to get the board to listen to concerns aboutoverworking pharmacists 20 years ago and all we heard was "well you can golook for another job." Now we have the big boxes and they are pushing evenworse than 20 years ago and we still have nothing to promote professionalworkload levels. Reasonable workload levels will put a stop to the stupid $4prescription (of course so would a one-payor plan- but that is another day on aplanet far, far away in the future! or at least in almost any country other thanours)

Jul 11, 2011 9:44 PM

256 I recently lost my job because I could not "produce enough prescriptions" in thetime allotted at a mass marketer/chain store.

Jul 11, 2011 9:39 PM

257 Pharmacies that have drive-through windows and have expectations forpharmacists to give vaccinations at any given moment are never staffed well

Jul 11, 2011 9:37 PM

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enough to give good service and safe patient care. It is all about the numbers,not about patient satisfaction and safety.

258 i think having a tech to rph ratio like other states would help Jul 11, 2011 9:29 PM

259 we need to set a ratio between pharmacist and technician again, since we haveno longer shortage of pharmacist. 1o3 or 1 to 4 is the best to my opinion.

Jul 11, 2011 9:20 PM

260 The main concern for the big chain is to make the stockholders happy at theexpense of safe patient care, but advertising that the corporation has thepatients health at the top of its priorities. Meanwhile adding events such as:Blood Pressure Screenings, Walk in Immunizations, TIPs, etc, with less staffthan there was before these programs were put into place. It's scary out there.

Jul 11, 2011 9:20 PM

261 The board should require mandatory lunch break for pharmacist. , even if itmeans having to close the pharmacy for 30 minutes or so.

Jul 11, 2011 9:12 PM

262 Staffing has diminished in the last three years; I feel I have needed to work muchharder to ensure patient safety since these changes have occurred. Increasedpolicies and procedures do not compensate for all patient care issues whenthere is a lack of staffing. Automatic refill programs for patients who are notcognitively intact also increases the risk of medication errors; this seems to beunderappreciated. Manager's bonuses tied to clocking in/out within a fewminutes of the pharmacy opening/closing are counterproductive in terms ofpatient care.

Jul 11, 2011 9:06 PM

263 The chain drug store that I worked at for 14 years had changed their pharmacistshifts to 12 hour days with no breaks or lunches. This is an absurd way ofpracticing pharmacy. It is a danger to the consumer. They also are continuallyreducing tech hours which is putting continued pressure on the pharmacist.Error rates have been increasing. I complained to BOLI about this problem andall BOLI did was to send them a letter with no follow up whereas I lost my job forcomplaining. If the Board does any investigating or change look to Rite Aid first!

Jul 11, 2011 9:00 PM

264 I work 11.5 hour shifts with myself being the only pharmacist. I do not getadequate time to take a lunch or even a bathroom break for that matter. I workwith 2 technicians and no clerks. So during lunches it is myself and onetechnician running the entire pharmacy. Being the only pharmacist, I amexpected to fill rxs accurately and safely, while giving immunizations to anyperson who walks up within a timely manner. Not to mention MTM's, which takequite a lot of time, while waiter rxs are building up. In the past year I have seenRPh's who have never made mistakes before starting to make them. Theworking conditions have gone down hill in the last 2 1/2 years. They keepcutting labor and expect us to have more productivity. I have had "work smarter,not harder" said to me multiple times and it gets to the point where one personcan only do so much safely. The company I work for has gone from providingexcellent customer care to only caring about the final $ brought in. Thank you forproviding this survey. I hope it will bring about some change for the safety of ourcustomers and pharmacy staff.

Jul 11, 2011 8:57 PM

265 I believe that compliance in following strict guidelines and policies/procedures isessential in maintaining a safe practice - it protects the patients, employees andemployers- having a positive attitude to support these rules is critical and it

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should extend to each individual worker. It is dangerous working withindividuals who are unable to perform their jobs competently or who arenegligent in following rules and puts those working with these individuals at risk.It is often futile that these individuals continue to work because they arerepeatedly retrained or that our concerns go unnoticed. These individuals areoverwhelmed and create more pressure and stress on those who work with themcorrecting their mistakes. Constant interruptions and extreme multi-tasking isthe norm. Our labor model is stretched thin to the bones. And now we areexpected to meet a quota of expected number of immunizations per day. It's aneffort and a stretch to give the most out of ourselves to support demandinginitiatives. Salaried pharmacists are not allowed to be compensated for stayinglate to clean up or working extra hours to perform narcotic and pharmacyinventories. It's only the very dedicated who care enough and take pride in theprofession to consider staying extra hours by not leaving unfinished business forthe next day or it will accumulate and inconvenience our patients. We all knowthat when work is left for the next day, this causes a snowball effect. It isextremely disconcerting to hear about writing up pharmacists who make errors.Pharmacist are humans and no one is 100% perfect and certainly mistakes arenot intentional. Working conditions and an unforgiving practice climate do affectpatient safety. I believe that voluntary reporting of errors is paramount todeveloping ways on how to prevent errors from occurring. If Pharmacists feelthreatened about making errors, there will be those who will be less likely toreport these errors and the efforts to identify patient safety will be compromised.The practice of pharmacy is an essential profession and not immune from theeconomic pressures. There should be Board of Pharmacy limits set in placebefore another unfortunate event unfolds, such as those we see sensationalizedin the media. Companies and owners of pharmacies should be held accountablefor patient care in a manner to preserve the integrity of pharmacy practice.

266 It seems that the work load is unreasonable. We would benifit from some sort ofboard mandated maximum per RPh script count. I have completed >325 rxs in a10 hour shift many many times. When you add in consulting, phone calls andquestions from patients and staff. It is too much. We need something help.How can you REALLY not make errors when you are so overworked?

Jul 11, 2011 8:48 PM

267 Couselling requirements and clinical care responsibilities add to multipledistractions making focus on proper verification of prescriptions difficult.

Jul 11, 2011 8:47 PM

268 Even if I had enough technicians to type and fill all my scripts, and all I had to dowas check them, I STILL wouldn't have enough time in the day to look at eachprofile and talk to patients about non-compliance and other issues I should. Ifthe store is filling 300+ scripts in a 12 hour period, it should have more than 12hours of pharmacist staffing it. Twenty scripts per hour is do-able perpharmacist. Not thirty per hour. And I've worked plenty of days when I've filled350 scripts in a 12-hour day. No breaks. No lunches. And counseling? Yeh,sure- but it's a quickie. I'm hoping nobody asks any detailed questions becauseI've usually got a doc on hold, a couple of copies to get, and a line up of scriptsas long as the counter. So you can bet that I'm not talking to customers aboutnon-compliance. I don't have time to ask them if they've been skipping theirantihypertensive meds or getting them filled somewhere else too. And IREALLY really think when I tell my PDM that I need more help, that they shouldlisten, not snort and say I need to learn how to run my pharmacy more efficiently.

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269 The worst part of pharmacy has been the constant nit-picking from third partieslooking for mistakes to deny claims. They are now deciding what is and is notproper patient care based solely on package inserts. My employer keepsplacing more demands on the pharmacist in the name of third party securitywhich have nothing to do with patient care and make it harder to really monitorpatient medication use. The auditors need to be reigned in so we can go back toproviding real care.

Jul 11, 2011 8:43 PM

270 Pharmacist will always complain that we are over worked and understaffed, butwe have put ourselves in the situation. We have allowed insurance to continueto cut reimbursement so that we have to fill more and more prescriptions to meetour profits. We also have demanded salaries that have at times beenunreasonable. When you review these surveys remember that more willcomplain than compliment. We are partly to blame for our working conditions forif we did not like the salaries so much we wouldn't have to fill as manyprescriptions as we do. That being said, life could be easier if the regulationsthat we have to follow to protect patients were more streamlined and designedso that we could do our job and encourage us to do our job for the patients.When deciding on new rules and regulations please remember that every newform we have to fill our and every new log that needs to be signed takes us timeand rushes the patient interaction even more. Thanks for listening to the rant.We have a very progressive board and you do a great job in these complicatedtimes. Cheers

Jul 11, 2011 8:43 PM

271 Pharmacy managers MUST be provided additional time aside from regularpharmacy operating hours to perform their managerial duties to insure that thepharmacy is operating according to BOP rules and regulations (maintaining goodrecord keeping; performing quarterly, biannual and annual self-inspections in atimely manner, and so on....) Unfortunately, this is NOT the case.

Jul 11, 2011 8:43 PM

272 Every year there are more and more distractions and requirements of my timethat prevent me from fully concentrating from start to finish of filling aprescription. Very proud of the profession, with all the constraints place on us,for the job we are doing.

Jul 11, 2011 8:24 PM

273 This survey is too short to really get any good information. The ONLY questionsthat you asked that has any bearing on patient safety is #4 and #6. You shouldbe asking about the pharmacist/tech ratios, how we view safety, pharmacy errorsetc. The workload that is demanded (not asked for) with giving the new moneymaker (shots: ex: flu, zostavax etc) and trying to fill, check rx's, counsel patientsas well as due the regular OTC helping with recommendations etc. is scary.Chains are squeezing and compramising the pharmacy safety for lost profitsbecause of the $4.00 rx programs. (thank you Walmart)! There is NO time to doany of those patient functions that are considered part of phamacy practice anylonger. I can tell you that I have never in my 29 years as a pharmacist beenmore scared about the possibilites of making errors that might be lifethreatening. Last month the chain cut pharmacist and tech hours and it took me3 days to catch up with the rx's that should have been filled during the week.Due to RPh/tech hourly cutbacks and increased store hours open, we were 3days behind on rx's and so I worked for 3 days at 9 hours/day with one 15minute break/day just to catch up with the current days rx's and keep peoplegetting thier rx's within 2-3 hrs of when promised. (This is NOT an exageration)They demand customer service but have all kinds of time wasting things to do

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like watch and note other employees for safety issues, noting how manypeople/day we ask about getting/or actually giving flu/zostavax etc. and havingcontests to see who can do the most flu or zostavax shots by going to nursinghomes, outside companies and businesses and walking the store to ask peopleif they have had thier zostavax shots yet? Those are mandatory and notvoluntary activities a pharmacist MUST do. Who has time to do what apharmacist should do when they make you do those things or you get on the"non participating pharmacist" list. Patient safety should be paramount and theabsolute first priority. It's now all about rx volume because there is no profit inpharmacy anymore. So you have to churn out as many rxs as fast as you canwith as little help as possible and still not kill anybody. Something is definatelywrong here and perhaps the Board of pharmacy is partly to blame at the veryleast for looking the other way and not considering patient safety first andbowing to chain influence when most pharmacists are in favor of RPH/Techratios that make sense. This is what happens when you only regulatepharmacists and techs and not the chains that influence rules. Obviousely the"SurveyMonKey" does'nt know how to ask questions that actually might bring outthe information that is necessary to make changes for public safety. So thatmeans you really dont have to do anything but tally some useless questions andsay you did your part for public safety. .That must be why you increased all thepharmacy fees and now charge pharmacists for tracking narcotic abuse insteadof charging a fee for nacotics rx's tracking (ex: 2 cents/narc rx abuse trackingcharge) that should be paid by the consumer who uses and abuses thedrug...not the pharmacists who work hard to prevent overuse and abuse bypatients! Once again.....put it on the pharmacist.

274 While our computer system is VERY good the pressure to move orders out istremendous. The attitude that I hear from upper management and frankly theboard is "Its your license" meaning that if you don't believe the situation is up topar leave it, move somewhere else. It has been my experience that a complaintwould be ineffective. The chain pharmacies are very adept at shifting all blameto the pharmacist. The volumes of additional regulations, some from the board,some from Federal regulatory bodies and some from the business itselfALWAYS will to be accomplished without additional help. I am not aware of asingle instance when I was told "to comply with such and such regulation we willauthorize more staff". I am a Wal-mart pharmacist. Wal-mart is unbelievablyaccurate. Our mistakes are so few it is amazing. But, the work load doesn'tallow good patient care. There is more to this profession than DUR. The nextlevel of care requires more time per prescription. I believe with more time/lesspressure we could improve outcomes. I compare the care we give friends andfamily members to the care of the general public and there is a difference. Thereis no time to move to that next level of care that many people would benefit from.I was a former business owner I understand how the bills are paid-however inmy opinion we, the profession seem heading the wrong direction (note $4.00meds may have helped some patients but there was and is a cost in patientcare) I will look forward to the boards response to this survey. I would beshocked if most pharmacists don't share my opinion.

Jul 11, 2011 8:22 PM

275 The tendency for most if not all pharmacies to try to do more work with lesspeople is very disconcerting. It leaves less time for double checking work and toadequately counsel patients. Today's complicated medication regimens aredifficult for educated people to understand let alone elderly patients withdementia. I speak with personal experience in helping my relatives with these

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very issues. Please keep in mind the burden of trying to balance patient safety,efficiency to keep patients satisfied, and making sure the pharmacy bottom linestays positive.

276 Thank you for taking this survey. I believe many Pharmacists agree with me thatthis is right direction that Board of Pharmacy is taking to assist Pharmacists inmaximizing the effectiveness of patient care. Thanks

Jul 11, 2011 8:08 PM

277 Most chains offer no time to take lunches/breaks - I believe long-term this willcause more mistakes. Expect too many prescriptions per pharmacist.

Jul 11, 2011 8:02 PM

278 I believe that our CPhT's should be allowed to do more in the practice ofPharmacy. We expect them to be trained and licensed, but not allowed to doanything but data entry. Allow them to take phone orders, that the pharmacistwould then review and initial. With that being said a technician will never takethe place of a pharmacist, so those who think they can deveolp a better Rxsystem to "relieve" the pharmacist are only looking at dollars and not patient careor safety. Eventhough the pharmacist may only have to check the final step ofthe fill, if they are the only pharmacist they will be under time pressure andvolume pressure and this could allow even more mistakes to get past Also I donot see why those outside of pharmacy i.e. store manager, etc., are allowed tohave any say in the pharmacy scheduling and staffing. If they are not pharmacistthen they should never be allowed in the position to control pharmacy. A betterbottom line does not equal better patient care or safety.

Jul 11, 2011 7:55 PM

279 One of the largest problems in adequate staffing is that the Federal Government,the State Boards and the insurance companies are requiring more and moreattention to their mandates (not necessarily better patient care) and providingless and less reimbursements to cover the cost. When were are paid 73 cents(total) for a low cost Rx, and yes, it happens, that doesn't begin to cover the truecost of filling that prescription. And when the store is paid $25 for a drugs thatcosts $1500, it doesn't even begin to cover the cost of keeping this in inventory.Fix the reimbursement problem and we might begin to see enough staffing toprovide for better patient care.

Jul 11, 2011 7:53 PM

280 we as pharmacists have the responsibilty of providing Safe and Accuate andProper Counseling and Appropiate Service to our patients, but do not have any"say" in the number our hours of work hours for our employees, we are"required" to spend significant time and resoures doing "company programs",when we really need that time to be Pharmacists. Example, "your store shouldbe "selling" two shingle shots a day .... and the inventory to do this is automaticsent to you, and remember, you must keep your inventory in store quide lines(are we providing service OR pushing dollar sales??) Is the Oregon State Boardof Pharmacy doing thier job of maintaining or providing new rules andregulations that will allow pharmacies to provide Safe and Accurate service tothe public??

Jul 11, 2011 7:47 PM

281 too many requirements not related to pharmacy required..the decision makersact like we are selling soup*

Jul 11, 2011 7:45 PM

282 I'm currently working in California where the technicians have a strong laborunion in my company. They do not have to do anything they do not want to do,especially manual tasks such as helping fill prescriptions and the company

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allows and supports lawless insubordination. So essentially, there may bemultiple licenced technicians on staff, they limit themselves to clerk-only dutiessuch as input or sales only. The pharmacist must be functionally both technicianand pharmacist and has no real authority and gets no back up or support frommanagement. In pharmacies doing in excess of 100 to 300 Rx's a day, havingno functional technician means quick burn out, even for young and enthusiasticnew pharmacists. The lack of any meaningful technician assistance, but havingto pay multiple technician salaries does not make economic sense to me. Ifthere will be no technician functions being performed, then they should all beclerks and paid as clerks, IMHO, and the balance of $ savings should all go tothe pharmacist pay. I am nearly ready to relocate to Oregon to get back to aproperly enforced and lawful pharmacy practice, real technicians, and naturalwork ethic. Humane treatment of pharmacists (such as any sort of lunch orbreak and the authority to manage) is paramount to this profession or theresponsibilities given to the pharmacist have no possible way to be enforced bythe pharmacists. The staff would and does outright laugh at the concept and thepharmacists risks being fired if he or she dares to comply with the law or eventake a break. This is the inevitable result of flooding the market with pharmacistsin an overregulated profession. If you cannot get your current pharmacist tobreak the law the way you want, you can easily replace him or her with one whowill. Please do not let Oregon pharmacists fall into this California-made trap.

283 I work for a chain retail pharmacy. My pharmacy does between 570-600prescriptions per week. The technician hours are 34-40 per week with only 1tech on staff. The hours per week for the staff tech is designated every monthper corporate and keeps getting shorter! There is no clerk assistance. Only 1pharmacist is shifted per day. Shifts are 12 hours standing 90% or more of thetime. No time is designated to close the pharmacy for lunch or break. Eating isusually done standing and often interrupted to provide patient care, orcheck/verify prescriptions. Weekend shifts are solo. I purposely stay dehydratedin order to minimize leaving the pharmacy unattended for bathroom visits Thecorporations have deemed Pharmacist as salaried managers - therebyexempting us from wage and labor regulations. Relief Pharmacist in the samecorporation are mandated to follow wage and labor rules. Overtime is not paid -unless it is a designated shift of 4 hours or more. I have worked over 40 hoursmany times - and told to try to flex the time weeks after. When the technician isout sick, the corporation has usually been unable to provide help. I believerunning the pharmacy solo on busy days puts patients at risk. I have spokenthe Board of Pharmacy and the corporate District Manager. Suggestions fromthe Board include providing written statements. This I feel would put me at riskfor losing my job!!!! The District Manager just says to take as long as needed todo prescriptions safely. This is delusional when inundated with multiple phonelines, taking care of patients at the counter, vaccinating, counseling, and givingshopping suggestions. With many corporations mandating filling prescriptionsbe done in shorter time periods, mandating how many vaccinations must begiven per day, etc I feel working conditions have declined over my 20 years andare worsening significantly over the last two years. I believe patient care andsafety will be put at risk no matter how vigilant and caring the pharmacist is. Myhusband is a hospital pharmacist, which follows wage and hour regulations andrefuses to work retail - because of these issues.

Jul 11, 2011 7:42 PM

284 The Oregon BOP should mandate that ALL pharmacists get lunches to becompliant with the state of Oregon lunch & rest break requirements.

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285 My responses to this survey are based on 25 years of retail practice. I do notthink things have changed since I left retail to do consulting work in long termcare facilities. Recent relief work would indicate to me that working conditionsare harsh and demanding. I am now retired having been in practice for 45 +years. I have three grown children and none of them are pharmacists. My yearsof practice were challenging but the opportunity to serve the public made thelong hours and corporate frustration bearable. In case you are wondering. mydaughter is a speech pathologist, my older son is a police officer, and myyounger son is a store manage for a large retail drug chain (not the Pharmacist).I am pleased that the Board is looking into working conditions for pharmacists. Itis long over due. There were may days when I was in retail that I worked 14hour shifts back to back as the lone pharmacist in a high volume pharmacy.Meals and breaks were few and far between. When working those long hours Imany times was very concerned about the effect on my ability to perform safely.

Jul 11, 2011 7:37 PM

286 I have worked for several different large retail pharmacy chains, and all have hadthe same problems as related to this survey. I very rarely (if ever) am able totake a break or eat lunch (including restroom breaks). It is common place towork 8 to 13 hr shifts with these conditions, sometimes without tech help. I donot feel that I have adequate time to adequately counsel patients and performDUR. I often worry about errors or unnoticed DUR issues that are gettingthrough due to shear volume. There is no RPh overlap (or at best 15 min), sotransfer of information is incredibly difficult. I have brought up these issues, andthe related safety concerns, several times to my superiors only to be told thatunfortunately this is the staffing situation and to "deal with it."

Jul 11, 2011 7:21 PM

287 No lunches/breaks for night pharmacists Jul 11, 2011 7:20 PM

288 Thank you for looking into the drastic reduction of support help we (pharmacists)have these days. We also need breaks and/or lunches as well. In 10+ years asa pharmacist I never had a lunch break. We need to hold employersaccountable for safety and mandate at least one technician to a pharmacist.Thank you.

Jul 11, 2011 7:20 PM

289 As the demands in retail pharmacy grow (bp checks, immunizations, remoteverifying, glucose testing, etc) it seems that tech hours are being cut to maintainprofitability. Patient care issues are going to rise. It is a frustrating situation.

Jul 11, 2011 7:07 PM

290 Tech certification restricts the applicant pool. It is good to certify but due tomulticultural situations often the language barrier keeps really excellentemployees from becoming certified. They should either be able to take the testthe in the language they are most comfortable with or not have theconsequences be so drastic.

Jul 11, 2011 6:56 PM

291 There should not be a time limit on filling a prescription IE 15 min guaranty Jul 11, 2011 6:35 PM

292 There is a direct relationship between the health & safety of Oregonians andlong pharmacist shifts without breaks. The air traffic controllers are beginning tosee the same relationship. Fatigue and time pressure lead to errors...it's a simplefact. Kudos for the survey! Now, do you have what it takes to do somethingabout it?

Jul 11, 2011 6:32 PM

293 We were told because we are staff/ salaried the breaks and lunches rule don't Jul 11, 2011 6:21 PM

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apply to us. There should be regulations about how many rx a pharmacist shouldsafely check each day. Also labor (adequate staff) is a huge issue.

294 this is why I work for fred meyer. because we have technician and clerk help Jul 11, 2011 6:19 PM

295 I am concerned about patient safety, but lets consider safety of the R.Ph as well!! I'm not afraid to say I work for Safeway. Safeway pharmacies are understaffedand overworked. Pharmacists don't have scheduled breaks or lunches.....whichmeans in a 12 hr shift you may or may not get a break or lunch.Corporate saysits up to the pharmacist to make time for breaks or lunches.....which is notrealistic in a one pharmacist setting. All other "proffessionals" get lunches andbreaks. Considering the pressure and concentration involved inpharmacy......don't you think its unsafe for pharmacists to work withoutdesignated lunches and breaks. The BOARD needs to step up and protect thepharmacist from being taken advantage by corporate management. Safewaypharmacist have recently been bombarded not only with longer shifts, moreworkload and less tech help, but also the requirement to promote and givevaccines. Safeway pharmacists have traditionally been designated salariedemployees. Not true, because we were paid for overtime. Recently, safewaycorp has tightened up the enforcement of the salaried designation. Now we arenot paid overtime unless we work 44 or more hours. If I was to spend 4 hrsoutside of my regular work schedule to complete a mandetory quarterlypharmacy inventory, it would be considered off the clock and I will not be paid forthose 4 hrs. Is that legal?

Jul 11, 2011 6:05 PM

296 I feel requiring lunch breaks, as in California, would greatly help Pharmacists inOregon remain fresh and alert through the day, and improve overall patient care.

Jul 11, 2011 6:01 PM

297 It would be nice to have a lunch break. A half-hour to actually sit down and eat ameal and take a real break from being in the pharmacy. I don't mind the 12-hourshift, but I think being able to get away from a period of time halfway throughwould be so entirely welcome.

Jul 11, 2011 5:56 PM

298 There has to be some regulation in this area. The only reason I get a lunch breakis because it is built into the schedule and to not take it would put me intoovertime. I go through most of a 12 hr shift with one tech and part of it with notech. This is not a safe environment where I can focus on patient care. All we dois try not to leave to much work for the next day. Thanks for noticing and forgathering this information.

Jul 11, 2011 5:43 PM

299 BOP and inspectors are servants of the public and buisness and blamepharmacists for all problems regardless of conditons imposed by employers andunreasonable demands of a spoiled public.

Jul 11, 2011 5:33 PM

300 The current retail pharmacy trend is one of cutting staffing hours as far as theycan. And then just a little more. This is leading to a pressure-cooker environmentwhere prescription errors are inevitable. It devalues pharmacists and pharmacystaff in the eyes of the customers we try to serve.

Jul 11, 2011 5:17 PM

301 Errors happen all of the time but they are not being reported because everyoneis afraid of losing their job. We never get lunches or breaks and salariedpersonnel work at least 3-5 hours every week for free because we can't get thework done in the time given due to staffing cuts. We have no pharmacist

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overlap, no clerk and poorly trained technicians. Corporate pharmacy has usedthe "economic crisis" to cut staffing and created an environment where no onewill stand up and say we've had enough of being taken advantage of becausewe're all afraid to lose our jobs. It's sad because the grocery chain I work forseems to have plenty of money to remodel several stores and pay its CEOmillions in bonuses but I can't get a 30-minute uninterrupted lunch break and acouple decent 10- minute breaks. I'm a Doctor of Pharmacy with 10 years ofcollege. I feel like a slave to an evil corporate machine that is sucking the life outof all of it's employees. Something needs to change and with pharmacists beingowned by corporations and drug companies we don't have the ability to stand upfor ourselves without being a martyr. I can't afford to do that and frankly, I don'tknow anyone who can. The system has stifled and silenced us and if I didn'thave so many student loans I would do something else.

302 I think patient safety in community pharmacy as well as compliance can beimproved upon as pharmacists are able to better focus on individual patients andtheir prescriptions versus the number of prescriptions that an employer wants tosee churned out daily. Employers typically want the maximum amount ofprescriptions done daily which can conflict with pt safety. How can this bechecked? What role can the board play as employers might "push" their staff todo more and more prescriptions. I hope there can be some kind of standard putforth that would enable community pharmacists to practice more safely. I don'tthink any rph would be willing to "rat out" their employer, myself included,because of work conditions that an rph may feel are unsafe. The implications ofa single rph doing this would be too great in my opinion. I think the board shouldmove to assess whether community pharmacy employers are operating theirpharmacies safely based on appropriate staffing levels. Maybe havestandardized amount of staff based on volume, regardless of automation, andadjust accordingly based on number of errors made by the pharmacy.

Jul 11, 2011 5:08 PM

303 Retail chain pharmacy over time has become a real bear to work for. Asreimbursement rates continue to drop, so does staffing. The first point of cuttinglabor is with pharmacist hours as they are the most expensive. The company Iwork for continues to increase the workload on pharmacist due to changes inmedicare laws and inadequate technician training before they are released fromtraining as a critical component of the pharmacy team. Pharmacists are beingadvised to cut back on counseling time as their need is in production. Chainstores are currently only staffing enough pharmacist hours to meet demand. Soif a pharmacist calls in sick there is no backup to step in. On occasion thepharmacy manager performed all functions of a pharmacist for the entire dayalone with a volume of almost 600 prescriptions. You can only imagine the poorlevel of patient care and safety to patients.

Jul 11, 2011 5:01 PM

304 15 minute rx ready policy not only jeopardizes patient safety but also damagethe image of pharmacists as health care professionals. Nothing hurts us moreas pharmacists when customers demanding rxs done within 15 minutesdisregard how busy the pharmacy is, and making recommendation that weshould take notes from Mcdonald. The company policy has degraded pharmacydown to another fast food chain.

Jul 11, 2011 4:57 PM

305 Workload increases every year, more responsibilities (ie filling precriptions forwaiting customers whithin 15minutes, providing vaccinations, blood pressurechecks, third party interventions etc) , more customers and more prescriptions.

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At the same time technician hours are being cut severly across the board atevery store. Any customer questions or concerns cause me to get behind on mywork. This is not what I envisioned when I became a pharmacist.

306 Staffing is being cut all the time and the immediate tasks are barely getting done.The tasks that can be left for later are not being done and that makes the jobmuch more stressful. I am often at work as a relief pharmacist all by myself for atwelve hour workday. I often have no break at all. Cannot drink water becausethat would mean I'd needs to visit the bathroom! I often take only one trip to thebathroom in the twelve hour shift. I am becoming very irritable and sharp withpeople because they are "interrupting me and keeping me from the work I mustdo. Counseling is definitely suffering.

Jul 11, 2011 4:53 PM

307 There is a maximum of 15 minutes allowed per waiting prescription, no matterwhat the workload or availability of technicians. I was not making the goal, so Ifilled faster, and started making mistakes. They wrote me up for making errors.I went back to original rate, and wasn't making goal. I feel pressured to produceprescriptions quickly, provide immunizations, perform MTM and take pt's bloodpressures. The workload is getting heavier and heavier, with less time to providecounseling and pt care.

Jul 11, 2011 4:52 PM

308 The continual addition of more and more burdens, such as special promotions togive money for transfers from other pharmacies, adds much work to ourworkday. We have many errors that are detected during our post fill audits, andthey occur at times of day when there is simply too much stimulation and notenough time to think, given things like my employer's lack of a good phonesystem which could queue calls better instead of its ringing off the hook.ACCURACY IS SIMPLY NOT VALUED, not in such a way that my managermakes clear or that the higher-ups keep him accountable for. We do not havemeetings about accuracy, we never hear him emphasize it. No clear proceduresin place that are consistently applied to errors or to making sure stock is putaway well, or to make sure that techs know that they are not to combine stockinto stock bottles. We are now being told that we need to do this (putting backinto stock bottles) because of patient protected info being on little peeled offreturns to stock. It's just "unacceptable" in the eyes of my employer to considerclosing for 30 min for lunch of sat and sunday, even though I am the onlypharmacist on those days. When I tried to place a sign up that explained wecould not sell Rx's while I had stepped out on a break, I was told I was not toplace such a sign up, which causes extra stress to patients who get in line, pay,and then are told to wait while I HURRY to get a 10 minute bathroom break, if Iam lucky. Now with our "preverification" system, nothing can be done withouttwo checks by me on the weekend (I am the only Rph). So it adds even morework to weekends. Also, the influx of error-filled doctor scripts that we have tocall to clarify (where they enter the med wrong or pick wrong drug from adropdown box) has lead to much extra work. These are examples of the kinds ofthings that make retail chain pharmacy unbearable at times, stresswise.

Jul 11, 2011 4:50 PM

309 Too much emphasis on fast turn around. Poly pharmacy encouraged throughrewards program, incentives.

Jul 11, 2011 4:48 PM

310 New / transferred prescription coupons are not conducive to patient care orsafety, guarenteed wait times are not conducive to patient care or safety, and $4lists are creating a prescription mill that is not conducive to patient care or safety.

Jul 11, 2011 4:45 PM

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311 Just had tech hours cut 25%. One tech left. 1/2 tech short. Jul 11, 2011 4:41 PM

312 Hours are continuously being cut, which results in us being days behind in filling.I feel it is dangerous how understaffed we have become.

Jul 11, 2011 4:40 PM

313 Currently my answers reflect a situation different than what I would haveanswered 4-6months ago. This is the slowest time of then year for thispharmacy. Come September and flu shot season I would be disagreeing withmost of the questions.

Jul 11, 2011 4:39 PM

314 The idea that our services should be "timed" is an insult to our profession. I feelI should not have to apologize to the patient when we are all trying to do our bestto give quality care. I also think people want to know the approximate time wethink their prescription order will be ready, not just a pat answer of 15 minutesand then when it is 45 minutes we give them a $5.00 gift card. I think we can tryto ignore this added pressure and focus on our job, but it is just one more thingto think about besides each prescription that we are working on.

Jul 11, 2011 4:36 PM

315 Walgreens has been drastically decreasing technician hours in their Portlandpharmacies while requiring all prescriptions for customers waiting in thepharmacy to be processed in under fifteen minutes. This combination ofinadequate staffing and increased focus on speed is creating an unsafepharmacy environment.

Jul 11, 2011 4:34 PM

316 I am not working in OR. Jul 11, 2011 4:33 PM

317 I worked for Safeway and they cut staff coverage way back making it impossibleto do the job correctly. I had to quit so as not to compromise myself or thepatients.

Jul 11, 2011 4:28 PM

318 I've worked for several retail chains in the past few years and I see depressionand gloom descending over our profession. It seems as if the corporations aretrying squeeze us for every last drop of energy we can muster. I traveled for alarge chain doing relief work all over Oregon and I have taken an informalsurvey. I have asked just one question of every pharmacist: "Do you like theProfession?". The answer is an invitation for most to vent and rant and even goballistic. The feelings toward our profession are overwhelmingly negative. Fromwhat I see the pace of work and extra duties and the "do more with less so wecan sell $4 prescriptions" mandate has been increased to a point wheresomething has to be done. I hope this can be studied to a point where sensiblelaws are passed so pharmacists (and techs) can work with a more positive andless stressed attitude. Thank You.

Jul 11, 2011 4:28 PM

319 We are not staffed with enough Pharmacist hours to provide proper patient care.I know we do not catch all the RX errors that occur. We are constantly beingpulled in all directions to do more patient service while at the same time thechain has cut our staffing hours. Our hours have been set by a non pharmacyindustrial engineer who has no concept of what occurs on a day to day basis inour pharmacy. We are practiceing pharmacy at a NON SAFE LEVEL for ourpatients. It's only a matter of time before someone experiences a terriblemistake

Jul 11, 2011 4:27 PM

320 I believe the staffing is adequate at my site. However that is the reason I am Jul 11, 2011 4:21 PM

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there. I constantly speak with pharmacists at other sites who do over 300prescriptions per pharmacist and are under a lot of stress and pressure.

321 I moved from another state where the chain store I managed gave us the optionto close from 1:30-2:00 daily for lunch. When I worked 12 hour days this was agodsend. The idea was so effective for safety reasons that the state boardconsidered making it mandatory during a 12 hour shift. Just a thought that mightbe useful for safety reasons.

Jul 11, 2011 4:17 PM

322 I believe it should be a requirement that all pharmacies with only one pharmaciston duty at a time must close for at least 30 minutes per day for lunch.

Jul 11, 2011 4:03 PM

323 I believe that the economic crisis has adversely effected safety i the practice ofpharmacy.

Jul 11, 2011 3:58 PM

324 I will be returning to work after maternity leave and will need to pump twice aday, once on my lunch break which is fine, but I have to pump one other timeduring a shift. I know the board of pharmacy allows me to do this, as does myemployer, but it is very stressful leaving a busy pharmacy with one or twotechnicians to try and do what they can and explain why things aren't able to getdone. It would be nice to have an allotted break time with another pharmacist towork, but I know it will never happen, it's not even a realistic expectation in myopinion.

Jul 11, 2011 3:57 PM

325 We are always expected to produce more with less help. This leads to moreerrors, more frustrations, less time to interact with the customers.

Jul 11, 2011 3:53 PM

326 I think the Bd of Pharmacy needs to step in and make sure each pharmacy hasadequate help. In my situation all I weed need is a clerk. That person can keepthe Pharmacist and technician off the phone and off the cash register. Thiswould allow the Pharmacist and the technician adequate time to do the jobs theyhave been trained to do. Any pharmacy that fills over 100 Rx's in a 8 hourperiod should have a full time technician and full time clerk. Thanks, I hope wewill be appraised of the results of this survey.

Jul 11, 2011 3:52 PM

327 Every state board of pharmacy in this country should make it a law thatemployers are required to provide lunch breaks for pharmacist.

Jul 11, 2011 3:50 PM

328 I think there should be reexamination between the role of pharmacy technician tothe pharmacist in relevant matters on following what is madated under the rules.

Jul 11, 2011 3:48 PM

329 My previous retail employer, staffed only one pharmacist/day with 1.5 technicianfor a 12 hrs shift. We often had to stay longer, working 13-14 hrs/day due tobeing paid salaried base. The pharmacy was not allowed to close for lunch sothere were no specific lunch breaks. Due to high volume relative to staffing #,none of the staffs can ever take breaks. There should be a limit of how manytech/prescription/day to ensure accuracy and improve quality of care.

Jul 11, 2011 3:46 PM

330 Reimbursement decline by private and government has placed pharmacybetween an anvil and hammer. Not enough money to have adequate humanhelp to much reliance on technology. We have lost our focus on helping patientsand are worried more about production (at least in the community setting). I feelthere should be ratio of staffing/pharmacist/prescription set the board not public

Jul 11, 2011 3:46 PM

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or private industry, for patient safety

331 There is a growing trend that pharmacist are being fleeced for money that waslost during your last budget arangement. Please give complete explanations forthe increase in fees for our licenses when it is more then double most otherstates

Jul 11, 2011 3:45 PM

332 workload has become unreasonable. in a time of increasing patient careincluding immunizations we have less technician help and coverage forproduction function such as routine fills and refills. all this without lunch or officialbreaks! morale in the pharmacy is down as we all have to work at a frantic paceand still may not keep up. our customer's health is at risk when we don't havetime to be thoughtful professionals anymore. ten years ago i was extremelysatisfied with my career and my ability to do my job well. now, not so much.thank you for the opportunity to report on work conditions with your survey

Jul 11, 2011 3:43 PM

333 Please note that I am not currently working and answers chosen applied to workexperience prior to February 2010, when I QUIT. Perhaps the company hasimproved conditions in the pharmacy since that date..however due to lack ofsufficient staffing and support it was nearly impossible to fill a prescription as theBoard would like (pharmacist DUR review before fills and refills etc.). Auto-refillswere instituted and pharmacist compliance was "mandatory". I am glad to seethat the Board is undertaking a review of workplace procedures; perhapsunannounced visits to the actual workplace would be helpful to ascertain degreeof compliance in a realistic setting (all day). The pharmacist (at the time I wasworking) was expected to answer customer phone calls, wait on customers attwo separate windows, answer customer questions regarding where things werelocated in the store, AND run the cash register for transactions...in addition to thereponsibility of being a PHARMACIST and doing that job carefully and well. Inthe store policy and procedure manual you will find a great summation of thingsthat are "procedure," however in actuality there was little time allotted to putprocedures into practice. Overtime was prohibited and all work for the day HADto be finished by a certain clock hour. I am not singling out any particularworkplace nor pointing fingers...however I don't anticipate working in the retailsector anytime soon....unless significant changes can be made which allow apharmacist time to check drug interactions, verify questions with providers,adequately and privately consult patients, and thoroughly perform DUR reviews.Patient safety should be the Number One goal for any pharmacy or corporationowning a pharmacy. Please be advised that the number of prescriptions"processed" per pharmacist is not a clear indicator of how much time thepharmacist has had to focus on prescriptions. Thank you for undertaking thissurvey. I trust that my name will not be disclosed.

Jul 11, 2011 3:40 PM

334 I am very concerned about the shear number of prescriptions am asked to checkwhile counseling, recommending, answering the phone, and discussing Rx's withmy technicians. There are many days I get more than a few minutes to eat oruse the bathroom. I feel rushed all the time and feel customer care is beingcompromised.

Jul 11, 2011 3:33 PM

335 We currently utilize a higher functioning level of technician to help us continuesafe practices, seems to be working well. With increased cost of pharmacisttime, just can't afford the staffing we used to. Have learned to counsel quickly,not engaging in jobs that a tech can do, etc. It has almost eliminated time for

Jul 11, 2011 3:29 PM

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MTM. I can save more $ with 1 less pharmacist on a single day than I get paidfor 6 months of MTM. Pretty sad...but trying innovative ways to keep counseling,placing consumer info out front, immunizing, etc.

336 We survive by using student pharmacy technician externs. Without that help, wewould be dangerously behind.

Jul 11, 2011 3:27 PM

337 With each year, more tasks (immunization, medication management, insuranceprior authorization) accompanied by less staff hours. No coverage for lunchbreaks, sometimes not even a bathroom break. Increasing irritability ofcustomers for changes in insurance premiums, deductibles, donut hole, expiredinsurance cards, and formulary changes.

Jul 11, 2011 3:23 PM

338 I am now retired, these are last years stats. Jul 11, 2011 3:18 PM

339 It seems as though our tech/clerk hours just keep getting cut. It is difficult to ringup customers, answer the phone, fill prescriptions, do over head announcementsabout what ever newest thing my company wants to sell by myself and not makea single mistake. I have been doing this job for about 20 years and it seems likeour staffing hours just keep getting cut while the demands of the job keepincreasing. How do I maintain control of my pharmacy when I have a line of 3people, 2 phones on hold and I have to go around the corner to give yet anothervaccine? And I'm the only one there? Also bathroom breaks? Could I get at least1 in 8 hours? You touched on a really important subject, I think most of thepharmacists working in retail would say the same thing. It's a sad state.

Jul 11, 2011 3:06 PM

340 Welcome to corporate pharmacy Jul 11, 2011 2:59 PM

341 I think we need some regulation on technician support (max and min). I ammainly at a low volume store right now, but as business is growing we are notgetting adequate tech help. For instance, I processed 99 prescriptions on Fridaywith only 4 hours of tech help which was definely not enough. But because ofpolicy with the chain, they wont give us more tech help until we are consistentlyat a higher script count.

Jul 11, 2011 2:59 PM

342 I think Lunch breaks should be mandatory. Jul 11, 2011 2:58 PM

343 Pharmacist hours are spread too thin. Pharmacist doesn't get to checking rxbecause of phone calls, dr calls, and consultations, immunizations. Techniciansare being asked to be at clerking stations too much to get other essentialfunctions done. Do not have time to keep paperwork and filing caught up

Jul 11, 2011 2:50 PM

344 Every year we are asked to do more with less!!! On Saturdays, I am asked towork a 11.5 hour day, on Sundays, 9.5 hours, all of this with no breaks or a lunchbreak. This is not an unusual circumstance, but rather the norm!! When will theboard recognize that this is a safety issue? If I were an air traffic controller withthe possibility of killing or injuring hundreds of people, we wouldn't even behaving this issue because the public would be aware and outraged. However,because I am a pharmacist with the possibility of only injuring one person at atime, then the issue is left up to the pharmacy owners/corporation! Very sad thatthe board members can't step aside from whom their employers are (Safeway,Fred Meyer etc . . .) long enough to represent the safety of the public.

Jul 11, 2011 2:48 PM

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345 Staffing levels inadequate for effective communication of drug information topatients.

Jul 11, 2011 2:45 PM

346 The primary metric for staffing revolves around profit not patient care. Jul 11, 2011 2:43 PM

347 As a pharmacist, we are constantly being expected to "do more with less". Profitmargins have shrunk and budgets have been reduced. I have watched over the15+ years that I have been working in retail pharmacy for the same employer asthe daily volume expected from each pharmacist has roughly doubled as a resultof technologic advances, increased technician ratios and increased consumerdemand. Drug misadventures have increased at an alarming rate as technology(e-prescribing) has advanced and training quality for ancillary staff (in thepharmacy, but mostly at the prescriber's site) has declined.

Jul 11, 2011 2:41 PM

348 There should be a law in which a pharmacist is required a 30 minute break per 8hour shift whether there is a relief pharmacist or not. There also should be a lawlimiting the amount of prescriptions a pharmacist can fill per day or hour (ie. 150per day or averaged 15 per hour).

Jul 11, 2011 2:30 PM

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