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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

What's going on at work

While I've been busy running and sweating and taking classes, work has been buzzing in the background, too. This has been a pretty good year for my store. 

- I successfully pursued and added a new line of specialty business that has made up for some big losses due to contract changes
- My sales are the highest in my district fiscal year to date, which is kind of crazy since I'm only a pharmacy: no front end. So my little shoebox-sized pharmacy brings in more dollars than the huge store on the corner that sells sundresses, wine, vitamins, and school supplies.
- My pharmacy volume is up 36% year over year.
- I have been battling a competitor for a certain specific type of patient from a specific provider, and I finally got the upper hand. This competitor has locations in Mississippi, so getting licensed in Mississippi was a big part of overtaking them; the truth is, though, they hurt themselves by being dishonest with the client. Because Medicare gets to make whatever rules they want, the limited drugs covered under Medicare part B are reimbursed at the generic rate, regardless of whether you dispense brand or generic. So if the doctor requested brand, the competitor would report, "Oh, brand is not covered for that patient." Well, that's not true. Brand IS covered, but the pharmacy looses some money on it. But those are not the same thing! Once the client realized what was going on, they were understandably annoyed, and I finally started getting the bulk of the referrals.
- With my newly increased hours (this spring), I've been able to get out and do more clinical work. This week I did an inservice on PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV) for some of the doctors, which was a great way to collaborate and share ideas on the topic.

But we have had major challenges, too.

- Turnover. Gah. Nothing but. I loose pharmacists like crazy over here. I train them well, then they get promoted! And one tech had a baby and decided to leave the workforce.
- I am so over my manager. He has no idea what I do and therefore only bothers me with the most trivial and trifling of tasks, ignoring the fact that I am doing better than any of the other stores he manages. He's completely out of touch with the business. Luckily, the way our company works...no way is he going to be around forever if he doesn't change.
- Every single piece of equipment in my pharmacy has broken this month.
- Contracting is always an issue. We lose huge dollars and loyal customers over contracting changes.

Anyway, I'm surviving, busy, and still enjoying my job, so that's a plus! How's your work?


5 comments:

  1. Yay. Do you have a 340B contract which accounts for your high sales vs the other stores in the area? Is your pharmacy a specialty pharmacy? Pharmacy is exhausting and demanding. Good job.

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    1. Because the facility in which I'm located is not 340B eligible, it's not a big contributor to my sales (I do have other 340B contracts, but they are not high-volume accounts). Most of my sales come from much more aggressive and personal marketing plus high-dollar drugs. We aren't designated or contracted as a specialty pharmacy, but I do have access to a large number of limited distribution and high dollar drugs.

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  2. Yay! Nice work. I hope your manager shapes up or is shipped out.
    PrEP is fascinating! I read about it some time back and have heard it compared almost to the birth control pill in terms of impact.

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  3. I've been having a great year in terms of hours, but unfortunately, that sets me up for a bad year next year -- they basically set budget every year expecting you to do the same as last year plus x%, and that can only last so long... I hate that aspect of doing well. Glad your work is going well, extra impressive given all the other stuff you have going!

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  4. Wow, way to go lady! That's awesome that your store is doing well! I hope that your manager gets ushered out soo, though. It's awful to have a bad manager that just makes life more difficult for you when you are already really busy!

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