Friday, May 23, 2014

Bob Rivera:
You were a medic in the Army, and you say you are better equipped to make a determination on the ratio of technicians to pharmacists in retail drug stores - I don’t think so. I never claimed to have more knowledge than you in this matter.  The determination of three technicians to one pharmacist rather than 6 to 1 was made by the pharmaceutical associations in the state, not by me. I was merely a purveyor of information. You acted shamefully at the reporter when you interfered with me trying to get this article published.  
Your response has clearly indicated that you are thinking with your emotions rather than your intellect.  You are unable to see the real problem of having too many technicians to one pharmacist.
Maybe this will help.

Try to recall the old Lucille Ball episode where she and Ethel started working in a candy factory. The conveyor belt started slow but when the belt started going faster, they could not keep up with the machine. This is an analogy of what could happen when you have six techs feeding one Pharmacist instead of three. The pharmacist is forced to rush and is prone to making mistakes – mistakes that could have dire consequences.  The pharmaceutical association realizes this but the retail drug companies are only thinking about money – not people. You should not take this personally; you should think about the public and how it affects them – especially seniors who may not have the ability to check their prescriptions before taking their medication.   

2 comments:

  1. First, I was a HOSPITAL CORPSMAN in the NAVY, not the Army. Second, as a Corpsman, I HAVE SEEN what a Pharmacist does and is capable of doing. having six techs does increase the workload for the Pharmacist, but should not decrease his efficiency unless of course the pharmacist is incompetent to begin with. Of course the Techs also need to be competent. That was not a problem in the military. Now are you admitting that the military system works better than the civilian system? Are Military Pharmacists more capable? I honestly don't believe that because many will go on to the civilian population and work in those same places you seem to be worried about. Having six qualified techs does not pose a danger, anymore than that and the civilian pharmacist may be over burdened with something known as work. Granted, they have large student loans to pay out, but so do many others.

    Changing the subject for a side note: This month Esther paid for an ad in the Reporter which I mistakenly left out of this months paper. I offered my apologies and promised to run the ad for the next two months. It was my mistake and I take full blame for it. This was my first month taking over the Advertising Managers position as well as the Art Director. Mistakes will be made, I happened to make this one. again, my apologies to Esther.

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  2. I have a daughter and a granddaughter who are both pharmacy techs. They agree with the state pharmaceutical association. My granddaughter's best friend is a pharmacist and she also agrees. I have no opinion one way or the other, because I am neither a pharmacist nor a pharmacy tech. I'm just passing on information that comes directly from 2 pharmacy techs and a pharmacist..........all of whom live and work in NJ. Who is right or wrong I don't claim to have a clue, but IMHO, I would think they would know more about this than a medic...........military or civilian, since they are the ones directly involved.

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