to think doctors don't read repeat prescriptions before signing them

[2shoescreepingthroughblood]

collected dd's today
I had asked for paracetamol, the doc knows dd and knows what she has(he precribed it for her a while back)
yet instead of liquid, he put soluble tablets!!
so he can't have read it can he, makes me think the receprionist, does them and he just signs them without looking.....
(it is ok as chemist will swap it)

macdoodle .........not sure where you got the 'miserable and bitter from'.
I would obviously not have stayed in the job for what was actually 39years (from 14 years old to date).
At no time during my post did i say or infer that i was miserable or bitter.Quite the contrary,it was the GP;s who were bitter and naffed off at being queried,even when ,God forbid,they were actually wrong.

Funnilyenough, I even said,i was not knocking how hard doctors work........so you didnt read my thread properly.(good job it wasnt a script)
As for you saying my job was 'far more important'....I think you need to analyse what actually happens when a wrong prescription does arrive at a chemist......we do have a very important role in making sure what we recieve on an FP10 and dispense is correct( and i take great pride in being accurate)...so your sarcastic outburst was completely bang out of order. I think you can see from other posts that some MN's pharmacist are on the ball thankfully.
You should come and work in a pharmacy sometime and pick up some of the flack from the patients who believe we have got it wrong,when all along it is the surgery.

AS for a rant...i am sorry you cant distinguish a statement from a rant....so on both parts...your diagnosis of ME is completely WRONG.
Sorry you are so techy about mistakes being brought to light,I believe professional is admitting to mistakes ,not covering them up.......but do read the other posts where other have made similar staTements....the feelings are pretty widespread. As i say IM GLAD YOU CHECK,WISH THERE WERE MORE LIKE YOU AND THEN THINGS WOULDNT GO WRONG.But there are bad eggs in every profession. Didnt realise it was unpforessional to tell the truth by the way............
I absolutely loved my job and still do,have references to support my ability and professionalism otherwise i wouldnt be certified by professional bodies as qualified and capable.
Unfortunately over the years in all the different pharmacies and medical companies i have worked for there are always those who dont care.
I left my profession because the pharmacist was the straw that broke the camels back.

As FOR SLAGGING OFF A COLLEAGUE.....didnt realise that we had to brush mistakes under the carpet so that no one would find out!!!!
As for a single anecdotal. comment..........how many would you like,from me and alot of the other unhappy posters.

So in summary ,I was happy at my job,very professional...just disullusioned at the lack of professionalism in SOME cases.

2shoescreepingthroug... sorry to digress from your original post....but had to correct the fact that DR macddoodle thinks that 200 scripts ,and 20 phone calls and 20 queries are alot. From the sarccasm in her 2shoescreepingthroug... sorry to digress from your original post....but had to correct the fact that the bitter one seems to think 200 scripts ,and 20 phone calls revious post, i diadnose that its not me that bitter and cynical.I just got out because of the general apathy form other 'profesionals'.
macdoodle ....please read lots of threads on what patients think and maybe you wouldnt have such tunnelled vision.
I would go back to my job any day,with the right pharmacy and the right ethics.

But for now Im actually enjoying being at home........

sorry the first bit of my post came on twice for some reason. This is what it should have read

2shoescreepingthroug... sorry to digress from your original post....but had to correct the fact that DR macddoodle thinks that 200 scripts ,and 20 phone calls and 20 queries are alot.
From the sarcasm in her previous post i diagnose, that its not me thats bitter and cynical.I just got out because of the general apathy form other 'profesionals'.
macdoodle ....please read lots of other threads,as well as these, on what patients think and maybe you wont have such tunnelled vision.

Personally, I would go back to my job any day,with the right pharmacy and the right ethics.

But for now Im actually enjoying being at home........

2shoescreepingthroug....totally agree with you about the 'doctor bashing' bit. Also agree with you about doctors and pharmacies making mistakes...we are all human....not robots. What its about is admiiting to mistakes....multiple rechecking as is practiced in good pharmacies.
Its not about 'slagging'off a colleague ( didnt realise pointing out mistakes was slagging off),but hey,whos the senstive one,
Its about the ability to have a mistake pointed out and taking it on the chin. But ultimately its about the patient getting the correct medication,not some GPs ego trip.

Have a look at this thread...............to complain/sue my GP? (long rant).....i rest my case

I think its perfectly acceptable to point out mistakes with GPs and other medical staff - we point out mistakes made in other professions, don't we? My GP is fantastic, but my physc. was crap - changed recently simply because he wasn't good at his job. And I don't think that is slagging off the profession, simply the individual - and asking if I'd twisted my ankle because I was in a wheelchair, when it clearly states in my notes that I am disabled I think makes him very poor.

200 scripts, 40 patients, 20 phone calls and 20 queries sounds like a lot to me. As does 800 scripts.

Thankyou for your vote of confidence ErikaMaye. I wish it was so easy to approach some members of the medical profession when there is an error. Some are so rude.Every person makes mistakes at some time....no one is perfect. I have in my past too and it gets documented,unless a patient persues a Gp's mistake it gets swept under the carpet.But thankfully, because of the checking system that i insist on working with,anybodys mistakes hopefully get picked up,before the patients gets their meds.
In this day and age when people want to sue for anything and everything ,you have to be so much more vigilant....but i still say its all about giving the best service to the patients rather than attributing blame to pharmacists and doctors. Surgeries blame the pharmacist and pharmacists blame the
surgery...its ridiculous....when will profesionals own up to their errors and stand up and be counted.Please think of the patients rather than your own egos.

I don't quite understand how this works. I can understand reading through the prescription you might pick up things like interactions of drugs, duration of medication, wrong dosage etc.

But if a prescription gives the right dosages of paracetamol, what would it help if the doctor would read through the prescription or not?? To avoid the problem OP faced he/she would have to look up the file of every patient before signing the prescription. Which I think is a bit much.

there in lies the problem.
But if the receptionist generates it from a repeat prescrition, it should be repeated from the individual patients records. If it is a new prescription...when you enter the word paracetamol....there is a massive selection of formulations,brands,pack sizes etc. It all depends on how the prescription is generated. If it is a straight repeat extracted from patients records by the receptionist it should never be wrong. If it is a new entry (or a new request from the patient), on to patient medical records for whatever reason,(maybe Gp couldnt find it on patient history or consultant may have changed dosage etc etc then that is where the errors occur. When a presription is dispensed ,you have to look up every file (800+ a day minimum),plus phone queries,plus orders from wholesalers,plus nursing home dossette trays....we do it!!!!!) So whats the difference?

OP- I do think it is worth mentioning to the GP if you haven't already.
Of course there is a big difference between a pharmacist checking and dispensing prescriptions and the job of a GP. The GPs actually have to consult with the patients and decide when it is appropriate to prescribe, make referrals, check blood results and act on them, read large amounts of paperwork, manage staff and the business, etc, not just check the scripts. Not trying to excuse mistakes but there is a difference!

oh I'm so glad that someone else thinks there's a difference, you may not think so aly but there is

Wow, lots of unhappiness here. Alypaly. I see you are happy to list un-named (and therfore unable to defend themselves) doctors' mistakes here in great detail but not your own. Or didn't you make any in your 39 years working in a pharmacy?

Bet doctors just loved hearing you down the phone if that was the case.

2shoes, cowardly of you to post somewhere where your GP can't see or reply to your concerns, but which garners you the most 'poor you' internet kudos. Why didn't you just phone up and point out the mistake? If it was a mistake to assume that a 14 year old with CP would be able to swallow a dispersible tablet as opposed to a suspension.

I have a feeling you are complaining bitterly purely about the taste of the medicine as opposed to the dose/effect too - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

clopsy what a nasty post
do you know what cp stands for??
I assume not
I would explain
but can't be arsed.
you haven't read the thread,
or my op properly
just assumed and been stupid.

I assumed CP stood for cerebral palsy. I'm obviously very sympathetic to you given that your child has this horrible illness, but it doesn't give you the right to complain online where your doctor has no chance of seeing the complaint and answering it. Not meaning to be nasty - just pointing out the facts.

Why didn't you phone up, point out the (let's face it minor in the grand sceheme of things) mistake, and ask for the script to be changed, instead of just coming here to look for posts saying 'oh yes, your GP is totally shit'?????

clopsy please read post timed at 16.34 where i admitted i made mistakes and it gets documented....obviously you didnt read the post properly. i also said we are all human. gosh i wish people would read things properly before they go on the attack. Maybe if people read things properly ,facts wouldnt be missed or overlooked!!!!!!!!

i feel very sorry for the OP dilemma,its very upsetting when you have a sick child.

It seems like feckall, girlsyearsapart pruneplus2edambobbingForpeaches spoiltkidall think similarly,to name but a few. I am definitely not in the minority with my disatisfaction.

hennypennyhen not being funny but if you believe that ALL that pharmacists do is check things, you are very misguided.They have to do, on-going training courses to enable them to keep their registration, do blood tests for diabetes,cholesterol,blood pressure, in situ at the pharmacy, patient consultations and lengthy medicine reviews,liaise with district nurses,nursing homes,residential homes,print MAR charts for these homes, medicine reviews,wholesaler ordering,administering flu jabs,seeing reps,managing the business,invoices and managing the staff...holidays,sickness. GP's have a team of people including a practice manager to manage their staff,their holidays,sickness,rotas and business....so..in summary,pharmacists they dont JUST CHECK THINGS.

anyway,i think this thread has been thrashed to death and as i said before i am having a nice rest away from all hassle and have decided to move away from medicine/pharmacy and its annoying little idiosyncrasies (off to ,make some mistakes in another job..Ha!ha!....and i am sure it will be a move for the better.

No one seems to have time for anyone anymore,and i think its quite sad.All too money driven.
I am sure this thread and the many posters will not be the last to voice their disatisfaction.

clopsy, what has the taste of the medicine to do with anything? Surely the point was that 2shoe's dd cannot swallow tablets because of her cerebral palsy?

and why is it cowardly to complain about doctors online?

MN is a place where posters are continuously off-loading, about teachers and other parents and childminders and traffic wardens and mothers-in-law and Offsted inspectors and so on. Is there any reason why doctors in particular should be exempt? Is it more cowardly to moan about your GP than about your child's headteacher?

just a final word clopsy before i leave this thread forever with my greatest sympathy to 2shoescreepingthroug for your aggressive comments...
Some of the less arrogant doctors were very grateful to us for questioning mistakes...it was the ungrateful ones that make the job a real ball ache. Maybe one day they will realise it is TEAMWORK .......when that happens i may return to the job i loved as a teenager....but then pigs might fly

hear hear..cory well said.couldnt have put it better myself.

goodnight all

Were they not soluble tablets?? So they can be dissolved and swallowed just the same as the suspension, same dose too I am sure!

But I'm sure your GP would be very grateful if the pharmacist just called while he was busy doing nothing with his feet up (as aly seems to think) and pointed out the error of his ways!

BTW I am interested to know whether you rang the GP to ask/complain what had happened, you never know they may actually have had a reason!

BTW aly I have an excellent realtionship with al our local pharmacists, we DO work as a team, though dont call up just to berate my laziness and errors!

We work as a team where I am the doctor and they are the pharmacist, we both know our respective roles and do them appropriately, we dont try to do or pretend that we can or understand the others jobs!

And FWIW doctors have thorough policies for recording erros/significant events and acting on them!
I COULD give you many many pharmacist errors but I have more respect for my colleagues, my patients and the system!

clopsy
you have shown your ignorance
cerable palsey is not an ilnees, it is a condition/disabilitie, my DD is not ill or suffering.
so now I can't post asking a question on mn....
wtf is the point of MN then?
or is it only dodctors that can't be questioned.
cos they never make mistakes do they...

I think this thread has yet again proved to me that talking about anything to so with sn is a no no outside od the sn topic.
It is not rocket science to work out that if a 14yr old can't swallow tablets there must be a good reason.

SOLUBLE tablets no?? so not actually tablets needing to be swallowed!
Why on earth does this have anything to do with SN's, cant see anyone at all even mentioned that SN's was the issue - of course MN is here for questioning/venting, and doctors are very open to errors, as I said we have a whole system set up JUST to deal with this!
But just ranting without even trying to find out the reason comes across as a good old reason to doctor/NHS bash as is very common on MN!

SN, mental health or disabilities... People don't get it shrugs

Chuck, your DD is adorable, and its blindingly obviously how much you adore her, and she you! There is nothing wrong with wanting the correct and best treatment for her. If you had come on here and complained about a teacher getting something wrong which could have possibly had a severe affect on her, you would have had much more sympathy.

Prehaphs worse, if you'd have come on and said that she was younger, and this was the reason for needing a certain type of meds instead of being disabled, you would have also received a much better reaction.