Saturday, August 29, 2009

Wrong pills

I really hate it when movies get pills wrong. There's a billion dollar budget and they can't pay someone a few dollars to call the pharmacy and check whether the pills look right or not? Nothing will pull me out of a movie faster than the moment the character pours some pills in his hand, and the pills are the wrong form, shape or color. This can ruin the whole film for me. I have casually polled my peers and they agree. C'mon Hollywood! Get it right!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Concept-of-the-day: when you take your blood pressure pills and your readings are lower, your blood pressure is not cured. Your pills are working and you need to keep taking your pills to maintain those low readings.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Famous Pharmacists

You may not have known that these people were pharmacists...

President Hubert Humphrey
Author Agatha Christie
Founding Father Benjamin Franklin
Sir Isaac Newton
Author O. Henry
Playwright Henrik Ibsen
Benedict Arnold

From http://www.who2.com/famouspharmacists.html

The first professional pharmacies are said to have been in Baghdad in the 13th century. As a practice distinct from that of medicine and healing, modern pharmacies developed in the 18th century, and by the 20th century had expanded to include general merchandise and even food counters. Below we list several famous people who spent time behind the pharmacist's counter, a sampling that includes apprentices to apothecaries, clerks for chemists, and owners and operators of the family drugstore.

Before he opened his printer's shop in Philadelphia, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN -- what didn't that guy do? -- was engaged to be a clerk for a mercantile store. For a short time he sold a variety of items, including herbs and medicines. Later, of course, Ben became famous for his many inventions and statemanship, and for dispensing healthful advice through his Poor Richard's Almanac, including "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Italy's great poet DANTE joined a Florentine apothecary guild in 1295 or 1296. It's doubtful he ever had to mix compounds or sell toothpaste, however. Dante probably joined the guild because in those days a guild membership was required in order to participate in city politics.

A good student from England's Grantham Grammar School, young ISAAC NEWTON served as an apprentice in an apothecary shop in Woolsthorpe. He lived at the shop and for a short time was even engaged to the shop owner's daughter. The job and the romance ended when Newton went off to Cambridge University and started his brilliant career in mathematics and physics. We can only wonder what kind of a druggist he would have been.

American short story writer O. HENRY (the pseudonym of William Sydney Porter), considered one of the finest in the game and very popular in his day, had an unusual career path. Before he became a writer in New York, Porter had had several odd jobs in Texas and had spent three years in prison for embezzlement. And before that he worked for his uncle as a licensed pharmacist in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The great Norwegian playwright HENRIK IBSEN joins the ranks of those who spent their teen years surrounded by drugs. In 1844, at the age of 16, he became an apprentice in the coastal town of Grimstad pharmacy. After his apprenticeship Ibsen worked as an assistant pharmacist, leaving in 1850 to study in Christiana (now Oslo).

Minnesota Democrat HUBERT H. HUMPHREY served as the Mayor of Minneapolis, a U. S. senator and the vice president of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson, a pillar of the party for his stand on civil rights and social reform. His long political career came after Humphrey had a brief career as a pharmacist in his dad's drugstore. Forever a friend to pharmacists, Vice President Humphrey was named Pharmacist of the Year by the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 1966 (Humphrey himself attended a college of pharmacy in Denver). Since 1978 the American Pharmaceutical Association has given the annual Hubert H. Humphrey Award to pharmacists who are also known for their public service.

BENEDICT ARNOLD is one of the most infamous figures in United States history, a smart military tactician who fought for the colonists before he switched sides and fought for the British. Before the Revolutionary War, Arnold was the owner of his own apothecary shop in New Haven, Connecticut. As a teenager he learned the trade as an apprentice in a shop owned by his relatives Daniel and Joshua Lathrop -- when he wasn't running off to fight wars, that is. As a young man he toured Europe, then returned to Connecticut and opened his own shop, with his sister Hannah as his assistant. Once the Revolutionary War started, he apparently abandoned his apothecary business so he could go down in history as a traitor.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Customer Quote of the day: "Those people at W**m**t are nice enough but they are just not very smart, not like you are." That's why I cost more than $4.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Quote of the Day

"I need an early refill on my Soma because some chick called me a crackhead and punched me in the face in the Walmart parking lot. All in front of my 9 year old daughter. I called the cops right away and they came right away and they already had her mugshot and asked me if that was her and I said yes and they arrested her and my neck is killing me all because this lady just hauled off and punched me in the face for no reason."

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Quote of the Day

Quote of the day: I was eating at a restaurant and started to cough, then started to choke and I had to be Heimlisch Removered.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Healthcare Reform #1

Many of my patients/customers complain about the proposed Healthcare Reform everyday. I hear this one ALOT, "I don't want restrictions on my healthcare". Valid enough concern. Most people deal with healthcare restrictions already. The HMO tells us what drugs they will pay for, how many tablets they will pay for, and when they will pay for it. The HMO tells us which doctors, which emergency room and which hospital they will pay. And we comply with those restrictions in exchange for the medical coverage. So we have shown that formularies and networks are acceptable limits for us. So what's the problem again?

Welcome!


Ever wonder what goes on behind the counter at the pharmacy while you wait for your prescriptions? Come with me and I will tell you. Whatever happens that seems blogworthy, I will tell you. Sometimes good, sometimes not, sometimes hilarious, sometimes not so much, but I will tell you. I may just share a topic that is on my mind. Whatever it is, read it and feel free to comment. See ya on the interweb.