First post! (for me)

This is my first post here, so I figure I should probably introduce myself. I'm Abby's sister, Dr. Liz ... except, I'm a Doctor of Pharmacy, versus being a medical doctor. I work in the retail setting (at a store I'm going to be referring to as Rx's R Us ... and, of course, all patient names and identifying information will be changed for patient privacy reasons), and I graduated from college a few years ago. I've been working in pharmacy, though, for a half-dozen years or so by now, though, so I definitely have plenty of stories to share. I generally won't bore you with old stories, but if something interesting happens at work, I'll definitely pass it along.

And, it just so happens that I have a story about a "special" patient of mine to pass along.

Last night, a patient calls in a refill for her Diazepam 10mg. Directions: 1 tablet three times daily. She received 90 pills 10 days ago. I flag it as being too soon to fill, and call the patient to tell them that I will not have it ready for them that evening. The doctor's office is closed, so I can't check about getting an early refill.

But, wait, it gets better.

The patient proceeds to tell me that she talked to the nurse, and the nurse said that she was going to call in a new script with the right directions. And what directions were these, you might ask? 30mg of Diazepam three times daily. Because the patient was in so much pain, that's how the doctor told her to take it. (my mental response: riiiiiiiiiiiiiight)

I tell the patient that I don't have any way to get ahold of the doctor, but they're willing to try if they'd like to do so. I say that I cannot fill the prescription until I hear back from the doctor giving me new directions and/or an authorization to fill the medication early.

This morning, I call over to the doctor's office - they do a lot of orthopedic stuff and deal with a lot of patients in pain, but I'm pretty sure that the nurse will not be confirming the patient's story.

RPh: Patient Susie Smith --

Nurse: *audible sigh*

RPh: I take it you talked to her this morning?

Nurse: Last night, actually. She called to have the doctor call in a new presciption for her Valium (brand name for Diazepam), saying that she's had to take more of the medication because of her pain. I told her last night that the doctor was already gone when she called in, so it would have to wait until today. He won't be in until after lunch since he's in surgery this morning.

The nurse said she'd call back once she talked to the doctor about the patient, but I didn't hear anything back before I left work this afternoon.

And, to top things off, the patient finally realized that I wasn't going to fill her RX without doctor authorization (which didn't appear to be forthcoming), so she had the prescription filled at a different pharmacy. I told the other RPh about the too soon issue, but it's their problem now ...