Diffusing Difficult Patients

We are pharmacists. We are not lawyers. We are not real estate agents. However, that does not mean we are void of negotiating. Whether we are explaining a co-pay to a patient, signing an agreement with an employer, buying a pharmacy or making a staff schedule, there are parts of the pharmacist’s day where we just have to pull up our pants and negotiate.

See what your colleagues say. Take our weekly doctor poll.

Fortunately, the tick season will soon be over. A case from Dr. Robert Dickson’s clinic illustrates why this will be helpful.

Dr. John Crosby spoke with an anonymous doctor about a choice to stop about 300 patients on long-term opioid therapy cold turkey after taking over an existing practice.

A case at a walk-in illustrates what can happen when an impatient patient seeks multiple opinions over too short a time.

The act of having someone in charge, responsible for the overall pharmacy operation, gives everyone structure, which is a foundational element of humans to build anything. Once this is established, the operators of any dispensary have someone to go to with problems, instead of living in the anxious environment of not knowing if or when their concerns will be resolved.

Educators can challenge students without resorting to intimidation, wrote the authors of an article in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

We all want to get to better places, don’t we? What those better places look like will differ from one person to the next. Everyone has uphill dreams. Sadly, though, many have downhill habits that interfere with achieving those dreams. This is where good leadership becomes so valuable. The leader must define where the team is going and then help them get to that place.