Do you think pharmacists have the right to do this?

[user01082312345]

I was prescribed strong painkillers by a doctor for something which is very personal and I only felt comfortable discussing it with the doctor at the clinic I visited. I took my prescription to the pharmacy, and the lab technician asked me why the doctor had prescribed me this medication. I told her it was personal, and she rudely said that the pharmacist would have to know. I replied that the pharmacist doesn't have to know, that it's not her business, it's between me and my doctor. There were customers waiting within earshot in the queue behind me, and I certainly did not want them knowing the reason why I'd been prescribed this medication. The lab tech rolled her eyes, asked if I was a smoker or had any allergies (which I was happy to answer), and told me it would be ready in 30 minutes.

Are pharmacists beginning to overstep the mark in demanding customers to reveal what should be confidential information, and expecting you to discuss your medical issues in public?? I understand that pharmacists want to prevent opioid abuse etc. but they could have always just called the doctor's clinic to verify the prescription. Or if it was absolutely necessary to know the reason, then at least take me aside out of earshot of the general public or in a side room.

Interested to know what you guys think. Maybe I'm in the wrong I dunno.

YANBU at all. If the pharmacist needed to check something, they should have offered you a more private space. Don't most pharmacies now have a consulting room for that exact purpose?

As others have said, I really dislike when pharmacy staff disclose potentially sensitive info (eg the name of my medication) to a busy pharmacy! I don't want everyone to know what I'm taking or why.

You've no idea how many prescribing errors GPs make that are only picked up by the pharmacist.

@FedUpWithTheNHS some people are ok with it, not all, but to suggest every person they have a question about should be ushered into a consultation room rather than given an option to wait less time and answer questions like allergies which is rarely (but not never) controversial just means people waiting way longer. Something about your username and other responses on this thread lead me to think perhaps you'd also not be happy about that 🤷‍♀️ The system isn't perfect, not by any means, but nit pick on the important stuff rather than your own issues

Pharmacists should query prescriptions. They are an extra check to ensure the correct drug had been prescribed at the correct dose. Doctors make errors and another clinician may just catch it before it does any serious harm.

Doing that in public isn’t acceptable.

id have said I don’t wish to discuss my personal details with a shop assistant, but I am happy to discuss my health issues with the pharmacist in private.

YANBU
I agree with pp saying this was a bit of a jobsworth shop assistant.
It's out of order

They can question it if they think its to high a dose or to low. Happened with my dd turns out she should off had a higher dose so pharmacy then phoned gp and he sent correct prescription over.

If the pharmacist had concerns they should have taken you to one side and privately discussed it.

if they have concerns they are right to raise them. It was a pharmacist who noticed an issue with meds DS had been prescribed and him questioning it meant it was safely resolved.

I don't know why everyone is so embarrassed about their prescriptions and medical conditions. It's something you will have to get over very quickly if your ever in hospital. Also a pharmacist knows a lot more about meds then drs do and spend their whole day trying to prevent drs killing their patients so I think they deserve a lot more respect then people are giving them.

Yes Pharmacists have the right to query clinical info. They can end up in coronors court and need to justify every decision they make (including not checking with a Dr) Sometimes It can be as simple as just checking with the Dr that they intended to prescribe what they have as it’s unusual/higher dose etc. Drs can make mistakes too just like Pharmacists can but there is no third check after the pharmacist.

I was privy to a conversation between a pharmacist and a young girl who didn't speak much English and wanted the MAP. It involved the pharmacist bellowing "how many hours ago did you have sex?" It was a classic case of someone thinking that English will suddenly become comprehensible if you shout it at someone who doesn't speak it. I think the whole of Boots heard it.

Good grief that’s shocking. Surely that is very much a sensible time to usher someone into a private room. What a tool.

Since when do pharmacies have “lab technicians”?

pharmacies haven’t made their own drugs or needed laboratories for years.

I'm lucky I have a wonderful pharmacist. He knows more of what I'm taking and the reasons I'm taking than any Drs.

He has guided through side effects and talked to GP surgery when they weren't listening (Drs tried to tell me that I must be on a diet of some kind, rather than accepting that my sudden constant runs which started with a new medication were related, I lost over a stone in about 10 days), it hadn't been on side effects list as medication was only NHS approved less than a month before...

He has also caught several drug errors in my case and questions anything new. They don't have a booth but he will talk to you quietly between the nappy and incontinence pads racks.

Its not always the pharmacist either depending on how busy the pharmacy tech will go through a list of questions on his behalf. I trust them with my life.

Some pharmacies actually do make up preparations for customers. I agree that most do not have such facilities, but they still do exist.

Well actually they should. I was prescribed some antibiotics for a throat infection. The pharmacist asked me what it was for and then said he'd have to phone the doctor. Turned out the doctor had prescribed a huge single dose tablet 3 times per day when it should have only been a single one-off dose for a gynae infection! I'd have had 21 times the maximum dose if I'd taken it 3 times per day for 7 days as the doctor had instructed. The doctor pinged through a prescription for a much reduced dose, the correct dose! Doctors can make mistakes and it's good that there's someone who can query it if it looks wrong.

@FedUpWithTheNHS the conversation goes "can I ask if you have any allergies?"

I'd rather not say

"Okay, we do need to know to issue your medication safely but it's fine to talk privately in our consultation room"

I don't get your drama, honestly

@Rapidtango just an example but a pharmacist I worked for once got a formal
Investigation because their meds interacted with an oral thrush treatment that is readily available. Sure, people shouldn't have to justify their doctor's choices but pharmacists aren't just asking to be nosey. There is a reason

Having been prescribed medications that can’t be taken with each other twice in my life, I’m glad that pharmacists check what doctors do. GPs make mistakes and pharmacists know more about pharmaceuticals than GPs do.

You should have been spoken to in privacy, but it’s good that they check things.

Ultimately the pharmacist has to take responsibility for providing the medicine so it’s understandable that they ask specific questions and have the power to withhold the drugs if necessary. However, those questions should be asked in private and it sounds like you weren’t even questioned by the pharmacist anyway and clearly the answer wasn’t needed or you wouldn’t have the medicine.

No drama when it’s handled like this.
which wasn’t the case for the OP and many other posters on this thread.
And wasn’t clear in your post.

Confidentiality is essential and it seems pharmacies haven’t always got the memo. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

I know. I tried giving her a beady stare, but I clearly didn't look beady enough.

I agree. I was waiting for a prescription in boots and the seats are next to their pharmacy booth. It's open at the top and the pharmacist (one I'd never seen before) was fairly loud - so I was able to hear a fair amount of his conversation with someone who wanted the MAP. I moved away at that point as it was none of my business obviously. I was chatting to the pharmacy assistant who knows me (I'm a regular) and mentioned it to her. Whether she said anything to get him to be quieter I don't know!

It's literally the pharmacist's job to query what a doctor has prescribed. They will be struck off and lose their job if you take something that causes you harm if they could have prevented that harm. In hospitals, they spend their entire working day trying to stop doctors killing patients with prescription errors - and this is no exaggeration. Doctors are simply not experts on medications. Their job is to diagnose.

Not really on topic but I hate how there is literally no privacy in pharmacies. There should be an option to show your address rather than have to shout it out. Don't get me started on asking for something like condoms, canastan, pile cream or anything else you don't particularly want to holler over the counter. My local one doesn't even have a room to go into if you want to ask about an ailment. Awful experience.