What Do We Do Behind the Counter?

Hi everyone! So, for our first real blog post I thought I would talk about what we really do behind the counter. Trust me, before I went to pharmacy school, I also didn’t understand what was going on after I handed them my prescription!

Before I get into the details, I have a little DISCLAIMER – this is what our pharmacy, Greencrest Pharmacy looks like day to day, but this is slightly different at each pharmacy you go to.

So, let’s start at the beginning of the day. At 9 am we open the doors and get ready to see all of our wonderful patients. The morning is typically our busiest time trying to prepare all of our auto-refills, including blister packs, to get ready for people to pick up and get all of our deliveries done for our first pick up at approximately 10:30am. Along with this we typically have people come in to pick up their medications, drop off prescriptions, get an injection, and ask any questions they may have in person or over the phone. This may sound hectic but who doesn’t love the hustle? I sure do!

But let’s rewind a little. From the time you come in with that white paper saying what medication you need until the time we give you the vial of medication this is what goes on behind the counter:

1. We enter the prescription into our computer system along with your insurance to make sure it is processed properly.

If you’re new to the pharmacy we gather information about you to put into our system to double check any allergies, medical conditions, and other medications you may be on along with vital information for your insurance.

2. We then run it through your insurance – this is a vital step!

Insurance is a funny thing, sometimes it works just fine and sometimes it sends us on a rollercoaster. There are many different types of insurance and many different plans. We always try to find the most cost effective option for you and sometimes that means we have to call your insurance company or help you figure out the right paperwork to submit so you get the best price. Unfortunately, when insurance problems happen, they usually take a little while, but we are doing our best to help you as fast as we can.

3. After the insurance is dealt with, we print the label and count out your medication and yes, we use that fancy little tray to count by fives! (Or 2s or 3s or whatever works)

Sometimes we have to double count and back count what is left in the bottle depending on the medication. During this time we usually also check about how many refills you have left, or if your birthday is coming up so we can give you a little birthday card. We truly want you to have the best experience since we know that coming to get a prescription usually means you may not be feeling the best.

4. After this whole process is complete it heads over to the pharmacist.

Our amazing pharmacists is here to double check the appropriate medicine is in the vial, the medicine is appropriate for whatever is bothering you, there are no drug interactions with your other medications, you understand how it works, how to take it, where to store it, and what side effects may occur. Lastly, the pharmacist is here to answer any questions you may have. If there are any concerns, we typically speak with you to explain what is going on and call your doctor to figure out a plan. We work as a team with you and your doctor so everyone who is involved is on the same page.

Though this entire process may not seem very long since it is only 4 steps, do keep in mind we may have multiple patients waiting at the same time and people calling to ask questions as well. We all do our absolute best to make this an overall great experience for you as we truly care about all of our patients. We love to get to know about our patients and be able to build a lasting and trusting relationship! If you have any more questions about our process please comment below, call us at 204-415-3404, or email us at info@greencrestrx.com

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