Required reading, especially for the APhA

Over at the Pharmacy Alliance, TPA President Myron Bryant has a very interesting post on one of the discussion boards. The link is here.



We like to think that as pharmacists, we are respected medical professionals. After reading Myron's post I'm not so sure. When I go in to speak with my lawyer, we go into a closed room and our time is not disturbed. How often does that happen in a retail pharmacy?

The lawyers, plumbers, hell..... just about everybody other than pharmacists, know what their time is worth and charge accordingly.

Since I received my professional license thirteen years ago, my salary has doubled. Not to shabby. Over that time there has been a continued push by the various pharmacy organizations to promote the professionalism of our profession.

How the hell can we be professional when we allow other people to determine what our time is worth? As far as I can tell, I'm only worth 21-27 bucks/ hour. That's based on the $1.75-2.25 fee that is tacked on to the drug cost as a dispensing fee for each script that I fill and an average time of 5 minutes per rx.

Maybe instead of sitting on their respective butts urging, promoting, and praising various BS crap, maybe the leaders in the APhA ought to go out into a real world pharmacy. They are even applauding the House for recognizing October as American Pharmacists Month.

Who gives a rat's hairy hind end if the US House "recognizes" us? How about this APhA.... lobby Capital Hill to write a bill that reimburses pharmacy at a rate that covers the actual cost of doing business.

I wasn't in the profession of pharmacy when we started accepting insurance plans, but I imagine that the APhA was all for the acceptance of third-party plans when they were proposed. I mean, accepting third-party plans would give us access to patients who would otherwise not get their prescriptions filled. Right?

The APhA claims to represent over 63,000 pharmacists, students, techs, and others in the profession. If you are sending your dues in to this organization, I would seriously ask you why? What has the APhA done to help the profession? Seriously?

To borrow a line from the APha, I encourage you to check out the Pharmacy Alliance. It's new and is looking out for you.

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I guess there is one positive thing that has come out of the APhA and American Pharmacists Month.......................

Hot Pharmacist Day

October 31

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