putridfairytale

hell yes, love you too and I long for the day when this evil system is just a terrible memory

Lol you're all good, there was a time in my life when I used to get pissy when people would say that, and I'd go WELL AKCHUALLY and proceed to tell them at great length how they just don't get it... super cringe shit tbh.

Corporate retail pharmacy is a fucking dumpster fire for all parties involved... patients are #1 but it sucks shit for providers and pharmacy staff too. Everyone except the C-suites and shareholders. No harm in pointing it out.

None taken.

Sorry you had to deal with this, and that your local indie shop is fucked too. Don't know if it would help at all but next time consider asking if your provider would notate on the prescription "BRAND NAME MEDICALLY NECESSARY," or since this is likely an electronic Rx, check the field for NO SUBSTITUTIONS to hedge against Walgreen's system autosubbing for the generic. Depending on your state law (assuming you're in US) there may be a different phrase or method for forcing the pharmacy to fill brand name.

Second, I didn't come here to defend these guys or tell you not to trust your lying eyes. I'm just gonna paste what I wrote in the White House Pharmacy thread the other day. this was in response to someone asking how retail pharmacists aren't just glorified pez dispensers:

more serious note though, the extent to which people unironically say this about pharmacy is a key example of how for-profit healthcare and capitalism in general has corrupted the profession IMO. medicine, just like all health care should be free for all and healthcare workers should treat people with dignity and respect and should themselves be able to work their profession with dignity... if it looks like the pharmacist is a useless gatekeeper just counting pills all day that's because that's the extent to which the profession has been degraded. there's still important work being done behind the scenes but the amount of corporate BS far outweighs it. trust me most of them hate it too, even if they lack the awareness to see where the problem truly is. there are some scumbags but most of them know they should be making sure that people get the medicine they need safely, and not answering to CVS or Walgreens' bottom lines.

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more spores = better than

in the US, you can approach a pharmacist and ask for OTC medical advice. whether you get a decent answer depends on a lot of factors... if you're wanting to ask a corporate retail pharmacist it depends on how overworked and shortstaffed they are. if you have an independent community pharmacy nearby your odds are a lot better.

some pharmacists are offering oral contraception now, and I think anything increasing access to that is a good thing in principle. don't @ me about "access" to health care, btw, I understand it's not the end goal.

whether this will be a trend among other drug classes, idk. until we have a functioning healthcare system and people can get what they need when they need it, I think it's at least better than the status quo.

all in a day's work as another part of the safety net. providers are human too, like nurses and everyone else. glad your loved one was OK.

Talk to a hospital pharmacist some time, they've seen some scary shit.

can confirm. thanks for the kind words btw

this system is so uniquely cruel. I'm glad things eventually worked out.

you know, it's wrong to use the term healthcare system in the US. this thing we have is incompatible with health indeed. I hope you're doing ok.

thanks, life is busy but sometimes I think about getting into creative writing again. if it ever goes down I'll share. Tales from Not a True Pharmacy, where they definitely don't handle large volumes of pharmaceuticals with zero oversight

you do you

more serious note though, the extent to which people unironically say this about pharmacy is a key example of how for-profit healthcare and capitalism in general has corrupted the profession IMO. medicine, just like all health care should be free for all and healthcare workers should treat people with dignity and respect and should themselves be able to work their profession with dignity... if it looks like the pharmacist is a useless gatekeeper just counting pills all day that's because that's the extent to which the profession has been degraded. there's still important work being done behind the scenes but the amount of corporate BS far outweighs it. trust me most of them hate it too, even if they lack the awareness to see where the problem truly is. there are some scumbags but most of them know they should be making sure that people get the medicine they need safely, and not answering to CVS or Walgreens' bottom lines.