Speed Talking Docs

Thursday after Christmas.

Busier than usual.

We just got a call back from a doctor’s office.

Our original message for them was left on 12/19/07, they were just now returning the call. The doctor had left a million-miles-a-minute message on the voicemail, a new prescription for a patient of ours. Well, it wasn’t new, really. The patient had been taking lisinopril 40mg po BID. The doctor called in linopril40mgpoqdnumbersixtynorefills. We called back and asked if they really wanted to change it to once daily dosing, as the patient had been taking it twice daily for quite some time. The quantity of sixty didn’t match up with the once daily dosing, either, since doctors rarely call in a two-month supply.

We had loaned the patient 10 tablets to get her through, as she was out of medication and we wanted to clarify the prescription before we filled it with once-daily dosing. It took them 8 days to return our call. I don’t understand why things like that take so long. How would the patient like it if it took us 8 days to call in a message to their doctor about a dose irregularity? I know it was around the Christmas holiday, but this woman’s hypertension doesn’t take a break. Neither did my pharmacy, unfortunately.