fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2610 ]

[ SECRET POST #2610 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2610 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

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02.

[Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies]

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03.

[Twin Peaks]

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04.

[DC Comics, Strix and Batgirl]

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05.

[my mad fat diary]

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06.

[Sekai Seifuku]

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07.

[Lindsey Stirling]

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08.

[Star Trek: The Next Generation]

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09.

[Attack on Titan]

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10.

[How to Train Your Dragon]

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11.

[Figure Skating]

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12.

[A Wild Endeavour]

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13.

[American Horror Story]

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14.

[The Americans]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 061 secrets from Secret Submission Post #372.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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I'll just sit in my corner being confused, I have to identify myself every time I pick up a prescription, no matter what it is for... That is one of three questions I always get, "What is your birthdate, then clarification on my name and sometimes my ID", "do you want a cheaper alternative?" and "do you know how to use your meds?"

Isn't it natural that the pharmacy wants to know who they give the meds to, I would assume that counted double if you are getting it covered through insurance*?

Slightly unrelated (and possibly stupid) question, but what do you guys actually mean when you say you have to wait for a prescription to be filled? Because when I go to my pharmacy they have everything ready and I don't have to wait (except in line) as in they are in the box with the name of the med and all the info about it, then they just print a sticker with my name and the information and directions my doctor wants me to have. Are those yellow container things they have on medical shows the ones they always give out? Or, what?

*That might be a slightly ignorant comment from me? I do realize not all Americans have insurance and so on, nor do I have any idea how it actually works. Every time I try to understand I just get confused and give up.

Do you call the pharmacy before picking up your prescriptions? Sometimes if I don't call before hand I have to wait a while for them to get everything together.

No, I just get my prescription walk to the nearest pharmacy, give them prescription*, the pharmacists asks me if I want everything filled or just one of the meds and if there is a cheaper alternative she tells me about that. Then s/he just turns around and goes through shelves of meds until she finds the brand/med that I have a prescription for and hands them to me after putting on the sticker that was printed while s/he got the box with the medication in. Oh and at some point I pay for it.

*Well now they are finally done electronically in my new hometown too, so I don't even hand them anything, I just give them my info.

In my experience, we also have to count out however many pills a patient is getting, since pharmacies buy medicines in containers that are not practical for giving to a patient as is. For example, in the pharmacy I work at, prescription-strength ibuprofen comes in bottles of 500. Usually, the prescriptions we fill are for 10-20 pills. Also, depending on how busy things are (and on how cooperative a patient's insurance is), we might need 5-15 minutes to fill a prescription.

Every pharmacy looks pretty much like this:

Everything is ready to go and sealed, I wouldn't be comfortable with using medicine that has been opened, even if it was by a pharmacist, but that is probably because of how I am used to getting my pills.

So the prescription strength ibuprofen I get are in bottles of 50 or 100 (same with paracetamol and I get another set of pain relief in boxes of 30 or so). my migraine meds are in packages of 6 and so on, everything is ready to be handed out. Which means no wait times...

~~I also realize I might eem pretty addicted to drugs? I'm not, well I am because of constant pain, but I don't abuse anything.~~

I'm not actually sure it's possible to abuse NSAIDs or paracetamol (I had to look that up, since in the States, we call that acetaminophen). Besides, those are both available over the counter, albeit at a lower strength.

I know, it is more in a general holy shit I have a lot of pain meds laying around..

Slightly unrelated (and possibly stupid) question, but what do you guys actually mean when you say you have to wait for a prescription to be filled?

In the UK, you go get your prescription from the doctor/dentist, and it's got your name, address, phone number printed on it, with what you've been prescribed. You sign it in the right place, tick the box to say why you're exempt from paying for it if you are (in England, anyway), and then hand the slip over to the pharmacist. They'll then tell you it'll be ten/fifteen/twenty minutes, and you can either wait there or wander off to a different shop/department and come back. This gives them time to gather the needed medicine from their stocks, package it if it's not already (it'll be in blister packs already, but they might need to split a blister strip if you've not been prescribed a multiple of a full strip, e,g. 7 tablets of something that comes in strips of 5), print out labels for the packaging, and then another label for the paper bag they'll put your prescription in.

This is so odd, seriously we just have everything ready in this:

So it is just a matter of searching the system for where it is placed... I don't have to fill out anything, just sign for it, pay what you would call copay (if I haven't reached the maximum a year to pay then I won't have to pay for anything*) then they just give me my receipt tell me how many times I have left on my prescription and I am on my way. It might take 5 minutes if you have a lot, or longer if you have to wait in line, but that has nothing to do with the filling of prescriptions.

*Actually I might still have to pay for some stuff that are prescribed by a doctor but not medically necessary, like the cream I use on my face because of acne, can't remember been a while since I managed to get to the point where everything is free for the rest of the year.

They'll already be in those boxes here, but sometimes what's prescribed won't match the box amounts.

I had a gum infection around Christmastime and had to visit the emergency dentist for antibiotics. She prescribed me the same one she usually gave, take one three times a day for a week, which was a full box. She also gave me a second prescription, just four once-daily doses of a stronger antibiotic to give the first one a boost as it was the third time in sixth months I'd been prescribed it.

The second antibiotic was in a box the same size as the other one's. Upon opening it, however, I found a three-strip and a single blister, both clearly cut away from a larger blister strip with scissors. That's what I mean by packaging them, a patient getting a dose that doesn't match the amount in a full box, or a multiple thereof.

Huh, we don't do that, we just get whatever is in the box and get told to take whichever amount we need on the sticker thingy form the doctor and we are supposed to hand the rest back to the pharmacy so they can safely dispose of it (or as most of us do, leave it in the bathroom until the end of times or we move).

Which thinking of it is probably pretty wasteful.

I suppose you pay for the amount as well? Say, 14 pills would cost less than the 28 you'd have to buy even if you only needed 15?

It's funded by the NHS here, via taxes, and if you pay for your prescription, you pay for each separate drug prescribed. So if you're prescribed 15 tamazepam, 21 amoxicillin, and 56 lansoprozole, then you'll pay £7.10 (I think, I've never paid for prescriptions) times three, (£21.30), and those are the precise amounts you'll receive.

We pay about 20% of the cost of the pills*, but they are always prescribed in the amount the box has. And also you are by law supposed to be told from the pharmacist if a cheaper alternative is available, which for my migraine meds makes them go from 30£ for 6 pills down to like 3£...

We have the same system as you guys, funded by tax money, but in a slightly different way I think? After I have used about 200£ in a calendar year on medical expenses (prescriptions, doctors, physiotherapy) and such everything is free for the rest of the year, and it seems we are covered in slightly different ways. But the for the most part we are similar. Also most medication (and all doctors and/or the emergency room, it is a newish rule and I don't have kids) are free for children, until I think 16, but it might be younger.

*The % differs depending on what kind of meds it is, by rules no one on the planet understands, but I assume makes sense somehow. When I got about 150 pills (pain meds)I paid like 3£, but when I got my last prescription for migraine meds and the cream for my acne I paid about 30£, but that was because the cream isn't covered, only my migraine meds.

Even if it's something like oxycodone? No pharmacy around here would ever give you more of stuff like that than exactly what your doctor prescribed.

The doctor prescribes the amount in the box, so the pharmacy gives you what the doctor have prescribed. It is also the doctor who writes how much, when, how and for how long you should take the meds and your responsibility to use it as described.

Quick search in the online catalogue over medicine that the doctors use. Oxycodone is in boxes of 30 or 100, with 3 different set of dosages and the doctor will prescribe one of those and either for one box or three depending on what your needs are, just like with any other kind of meds. You also pay between 14 and 60$ for it, depending on the dosage and price.

Re: Presented without Comment

(Anonymous) - 2014-02-25 02:59 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

making_excuses - 2014-02-25 03:09 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

(Anonymous) - 2014-02-25 03:39 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

making_excuses - 2014-02-25 03:44 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

ansela_jonla - 2014-02-25 09:07 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

making_excuses - 2014-02-26 09:12 (UTC) - Expand

Those little yellow bottles (amber, really) aren't used for everything, but they are used a fair amount. What ansela_jonla said about the exact amount/dosage/whatever you are prescribed not always coming in a pre-packaged form and the pharmacy having to assemble it for you, as per your doctor's instructions, is true for the US, as well. I'd have to ask my former pharmacy technician friend, but I think a lot of stuff gets shipped to pharmacies in bulk and they break it down into individual prescriptions as they come in.

My doctor's office can send a prescription straight to a pharmacy of my choosing and then I get an automated phone message telling me it's ready and I can go pick it up at my leisure. If I am physically taking a prescription slip to a pharmacy, as long as they have what I need in stock, they can fill it within about 5 or 10 minutes (depends on how busy they are) and I just browse the store until they call my name. I can also drop off a prescription request and tell them I'll be back later, if I don't have time to wait.

Huh? As I told Shortysc22 right under here, I think the difference is pretty much how the doctors prescribe meds. In Norway the amount that the box has is what we get prescribed either once or times 3, and that is it.

The prescription thing in itself is slightly different. I can get my meds in any pharmacy in Norway that has the electronic prescription system installed, or if if I live in a city still on the old system with a A4 paper with the drugs and a stamp+signature I can just give that to my pharmacist and if I have more than 1 prescription on it I get it back and can keep it until I run out of meds (or just need more than what I have left because I am going away and such) and show it to a different pharmacy. They do stamp/sign and put a sticker on it for each time they fill the prescription tho, to make sure it can't be abused. But as it is easier to fake a note than it is to hack a computer system they are really working hard to get it installed in the entire country.

I don't get prescriptions filled often, but it all depends.

What happens is that I go to the doctor, they fill out a prescription blank with the dosage and what medicine and instructions. They call it to the pharmacy and then I have to show the pharmacist the prescription and they will put the medicine together. They also ask if I'm taking any other drugs and double check that nothing will conflict. Sometimes the pharmacy doesn't have the correct dosage and will send me elsewhere (Or make me split pills)

The reason it takes longer is if they are busy, they are also refilling prescriptions that are on a refillable basis or they have to mix some of the children's liquid drugs. A pharmacist would be able to explain better why it takes so long, but I usually don't wait much.

Huh, we either get a printed paper from the doctor with the information + signature/stamp and bring that to the pharmacy or what I do and what is more and more common in the entire country it is made electronically which also means I can get my meds in every pharmacy in Norway that has the system installed.

I think I get what the difference is, our doctors always prescribe us the amount the box has then just gives us the instructions to how we are supposed to use it, and if the box contains more pills than we need then we just stop taking them when the instructions on the stickers tells us to, not when we run out of meds.

I have never experienced that the pharmacy doesn't have what I need, but then again I usually take pretty generic meds so it isn't like they have to look hard for something. And even if they didn't have it I can just walk to a different pharmacy to get them, or in a crisis they can give me a smaller box than what I was prescribed.

*Well it is the pharmacists job to print it out and put it on the box, but yeah.

Pharmacies here stock the pills in large quantities and then individually count out the pills per bottle. So yeah, I think that's probably the biggest difference.

(I'm fascinated by these discussions about how everyday things vary so much between country to country)

Sometimes my mom fill have a prescription for a 90 day supply, but the pharmacy will only have 30 days worth, so they will give them pills and have my mom come back later to get the rest. We also aren't taking any controlled substance, otherwise there are probably a lot more restrictions.

Yeah we don't do that.

(I find it interesting, but once again I managed to hijack a thread because I had a question, I didn't do it on purpose, I was just curious)

Hm, the filled for days thing is not something I am familiar with? Well the meds will usually if you need them for 3 months last for that time, but that isn't what you get filled, you get one box of each. Or you could if you want to get all 3 boxes at the same time if that is the amount your doctor prescribed.

I think that's what seems to be the biggest difference then, they keep the prescriptions in mass quantities and then individually put them in bottles for the patient.

My dad's blood pressure meds, because it's something he has to take daily, area actually on a renewal service and get mailed to the house. They screwed up the last time and sent him 100 mg instead of 50 mg, so the doctor just said to split them in half. So that might be another difference is that our pills come in so many different sizes/strengths that a pharmacy finds it more efficient to keep mass quantities, rather than individual boxes.

(I also didn't like how this comment started with just a link so I'm glad you hijacked it and I get to learn more about Norway!)

Re: Presented without Comment

making_excuses - 2014-02-25 03:40 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

shortysc22 - 2014-02-25 03:43 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Presented without Comment

making_excuses - 2014-02-25 03:47 (UTC) - Expand

I have never experienced that the pharmacy doesn't have what I need

Couple months back I managed to convince my mum that she needed to see a doctor about the weeping on her leg and that since we were going into the city centre anyway, we should go to the walk-in centre there. They prescribed her some antibiotics.

These should be easy to get hold of. Unfortunately, my mum is allergic to penicillin and all derivatives thereof, so she has to be prescribed the alternate antibiotics.

There are five pharmacies in the city centre alone (two Boots stores, Manor Pharmacy, two Superdrug stores), and not a single one of them had the alternate antibiotic in stock. Because doctors usually prescribe something related to penicillin, that's what the public pharmacies keep in stock.

Yeah in situations like that you might have a bigger issue, but I don't think it would be that difficult over here. Then again I am not familiar with alternative antibiotics, except a friend of mine don't take the one most of us are on, but it isn't because of a penicillin allergy and she has no issues finding that one.

I am more shocked over the fact that you have walk in doctors, because I have never heard of that, only the emergency room and they don't take kindly to people just walking in without some kind of emergency.

Walk-in centres are for people who need to see a doctor, but it's not serious enough (in their mind) for the emergency department, and they either can't get an appointment with their own doctor soon enough or they're not actually signed up to a doctor's surgery.

I don't know if it's the same for all of them, but the one I use works more like an emergency department than a GP's surgery. You walk in, give your details to the receptionist (who I think are also trained nurses), tell them your symptoms, and they'll prioritise you in the system according to what you tell them. Sometimes it'll be decided you only need to see a nurse, other times you'll be seen by a doctor. If it's decided you need an x-ray, an ambulance will be called for you since they can't let you just walk out with a suspected fracture.

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