Hrmm.... how do drugstores do it?

[Dookus]

I was thinking about drugstores today (see my other thread) and for the first time in my 42 years, the thought occurred to me:

How the hell do they do it?

I have NEVER gone to get a prescription filled and was told: Oh, we're out of that. Try next week.

There must be many many thousands of fda approved drugs available. Does a store keep them ALL in stock? At all dosages? Don't drugs degrade over time?

Any pharmacists in the house?

[lazarus]

1. happens to me a lot

and it's important medicine, too. Ritalin. They seem to think it's not something they'll need much of, I guess.

On edit, Wellbutrin, as well. :shrug:

[ThoughtCriminal]

2. Many many years ago, I delivered for a local drug store

On rare occasions I would be sent to another drugstore in town to pick up prescription for something we did not have. The pharmasist would then recount it and put it in a new bottle with our label.

[fishnfla]

3. Believe it or not

There are thousands of different drugs like you say, but when it comes to prescription drugs, you know the ones Drs write out, there are only so many, maybe 150 "popular" drugs for all the most common maladies. Most Drs write scripts for the same diseases and use the same meds is what I'm trying to say.

[REP]

4. Happens To Me

I take an ARB for my kidney disease and I take 150% of recommended max dose per my doctor, so I need the "big" (50 or 100mg) pills. One time I went to refill it and was given 600 25mg pills because they no longer carry the 50s! I take 14 different pills in the morning, so switching to 25s was literally more than I could swallow.

I'm allergic recently to many antibiotics, so I often get something no one has heard of, and often have to go to another pharmacy to fill it.

[dmr]

7. That's a major problem

and I feel for you, especially if you are already taking other meds.

The pharmacist knows that best way to assure a patient remains compliant with his meds is to give the strength prescribed, or near the strength prescribed - sometimes, believe it or not, drugs do become unavailable to the pharmacy or the pharmaceutical company stops manufacturing specific strengths.

If they don't keep your strength in stock, it doesn't mean the pharmacy can't special order your strength from the vendor if it's available, and have it for you the next day. Call ahead and speak to the pharmacist.

[REP]

8. My Pharmacy Rocks

I'm a very happy Kaiser patient, and the staff at the pharmacy I use are terrific. That one time I did get the 25s, but they ordered 50s for me from the hospital (I take fewer pills in the evening, and taking 2 instead of 1 isn't a big deal). This time, they gave me 100s. For some reason, they've stopped ordering 50s for the whole Kaiser system, and I think I got the last of them.

I take 60mg Lasix twice a day, and recently became aware of it being available in 40s (I take 3 20s), and since that would also cut down on the size of the handful I swallow, I think I'll ask about that, too. Cozaar, Lasix and Elavil are the only ones I take multiple pills of, but anywhere I cut down the number is a help!

[Angel]

5. Where I work

we call other stores for the customer if we are out of something they need that day. If they have enough to hold them until the next day we special order it for them. Ritilan and such drugs are ordered once a week.

[dmr]

6. Fast movers

Many of the analgesics, antimicrobials, hypertensive and cardiac meds that are fast movers are easy to keep in stock. Even when one drug is available in different forms and dosage strengths, there are always still the fast moving strengths/forms. These are usually ordered daily. Other meds are seasonal, like antitussives. Others depend upon your patients, for instance if there are many who are HIV+. The pharmacy will keep a bulk bottle or two of other drugs of varying strengths and forms. If the pharmacy is out of stock, they have a list of pharmacies to 'borrow' from, as well as the vendor who will make a delivery later in the day or the next day. One of the problems pharmacies have is not running out of the medication but with them going out of date - sometimes the pharmaceutical company will accept returns of bulk bottles that have not been open. The only time you may have a problem obtaining a drug is if there is a back order, or national shortage of that particular drug. When that happens, the pharmacist will call your physician and recommend alternative drug therapy.

Edit: I spoke too fast - another problem with the pharmacy being out of stock with fast moving meds, is because other patient(s) depleted the stock - some days, some drugs move faster than usual. Pharmacies use a min/max system of ordering - for instance the maximum stock amount of captopril may be 10 bottles of 100 tablets, but won't reorder until it reaches the minimum of maybe 3 to 5 bottles of 100 tabs.

[rock]

9. Let me just say two words

poisson distribution.

[Dookus]

10. What's this....

got to do with fish?