It seems to me that doctors are pretty much taking off the better-than-you crowns and the are-you-looking-at-me cloaks these
days. They seem to be much more egalitarian than ever before. They often appear to be more democratic than they were just
10 years ago. I can even call them by their first names without getting attitude. When I question them on restricted refills
on something like Freestyle strips, they are likely to back off and change to p.r.n. Doctors are getting human on us.
I know! Watch out that you don't fall down laughing. I was brought back down to reality recently. This guy on the telephone
starts asking about prescribed medicines for his brother who was just released from a hospital about 40 miles away. The patient
needed to get home to Ohio, and the brother wanted to get going on the long road trip. I should have wondered why he was calling
me when there are plenty of drugstores closer than 40 miles. Was I the last resort?
Jim Plagakis, R.Ph.
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"Do you have Keppra [levetiracetam, UCB Pharma]?" he asks. "My brother needs 60 tablets of both 250 mg and 750 mg. I'd like
to pick them up before you close."
"We do not have either," I said. "We do get a morning order by 10:00 A.M." I wanted to help. "He also needs Diastat [diazepam rectal gel, Valeant]."
"That is hopeless," I said, "I doubt if you will find any drugstore with that in stock."
"Why?" Did I smell a haughty attitude? The odor is unpleasant.
"Pharmacies don't keep it in stock because it is rarely prescribed and it is very expensive." I walked to the order computer.
I was anticipating the next question.
"What is expensive?" Oh, there was the attitude, loud and clear.
"How about a wholesale price of $320 for a 20-mg twin pack? That's just two doses. There is not a pharmacist alive, with any
sense at all, who will keep Diastat in stock."
"Isn't that a pharmacy's duty?" he demanded, "To be adequately stocked?"
That was enough for me. "Man, who do you think you are talking to? I have been doing this for a long time, and I'm not going
to let anyone question me like that."
A silence, then this: "I am Dr. Michael Stewart, from Michigan. My brother needs these drugs, and I want to leave for Ohio
by noon tomorrow. My brother has Humana insurance, and I want to pay only his co-pay."
"What you want and what you get may be two different things, Michael."
A long silence. "That's Dr. Stewart."
"That is going to get you even less." I was swiftly punching numbers into the calculator.
Like a smart rat, his tone changed. I might have been his last resort. "Can you guarantee that you will have these drugs by
10:00 tomorrow morning?"
"I won't guarantee anything."
"But you said..."
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