That Stupid Pharmacist! That Stupid Nurse!

A lot of misunderstandings can occur between members of a team when said members probably don't even realize they are a part of a team. I spent 8 years as a pharmacy technician in the outpatient setting and I can tell you, I heard these words almost daily. Here is where most of the misunderstandings revolved around:

The doctor's handwriting (which has been improved greatly by electronic prescribing)

A piece of missing information on the prescription (DEA # for controlled substances, signature, quantity to be dispensed *hint #1 is not very clear unless it is 1 tab)

A dose discrepancy (we all know mg and gm are very different things)

A medication that interferes with something else or a medical condition the patient has. (The not knowing this one could be any number of reasons)

So instead of blaming the messenger why not realize that in an environment where people are overworked and pressured to be busier than they'd like, be glad you caught the potential mistake and laugh a little we are all human.

The thing that nurses need to understand is that the Pharmacist has to make sure he/she can prove the Prescriber's intent unless they get audited by an insurance company; of whom are happy to take as much money back as possible.

The thing Pharmacists need to understand is nurses entrust the Physician to write the prescription order and focus on the medication and the dose so they can teach their patient proper instructions not whether a DEA # is missing.

It has little to do with intelligence and more to do with respect. In the end the patient deserves to leave the hospital or clinic and go on about their business quickly, not waiting for phone calls back and forth to clarify this or that. If you find your office taking a lot of calls for a specific doctor due to their missing something on the script, talk to the nurse manager or someone who can get to the root of the problem.

We are all a part of the team in the health of our patients, it is up to us to ensure positive outcomes. The extra stress I saw in the pharmacy only added to the discomfort and it is one thing I think we all can team up to fix.