Prescriptions

It probably depends on your state Pharmacy rules.

As a Pharmacy technician in MN we are not allowed to take new prescriptions over the phone. We are allowed to call doctor's offices on refills but cannot take a changed prescription order.

I imagine the rules are similar in most states. I hope this helps:D

I always speak to the pharmacist. I have never once even had a tech to try and take a prescription order from me. As soon as I ID myself and tell them I am calling in an Rx, they say "I will get the pharmacist." I guess you could try faxing your script orders in to the pharmacy if you continue to have problems.

I also have always spoken to the pharmacist. If someone else answers the phone they put the pharmacist on. Also call scripts in on the automated line and never even talk to a human.

My primary job is renewing prescriptions - so, let me tell you how we do it.

An LPN cannot make the judgement to renew them - only an RN can. An LPN can call in orders given to her by an MD or RN.

When I call in scripts, if it's a refill, I usually talk to a pharmacy tech/clerk. If it's a new Rx, the tech usually gives me the pharmacist. Nine times out of ten, I usually leave the information on a voicemail system.

In my job, I have an LPN who checks our Rx request voicemail from pharmacies and patients: she will take down the information, obtain the chart, check to see if it's a medication that I can refill and see if the request is valid. She will send all this information to me. I then review the chart, again see if the request is valid, and see that the patient has been seen within an appropriate interval of time to refill the med, and then I make my decision: how many pills, how many refills with this dispensing. I then call it in to the pharmacy.

I do this all day long: I do about 200 refills a day.

P,

At my clinic, I have 30 physicians that I renew Rx's for. There is a protocol by which I renew them, as I described above. My purpose is, and my position was created, to NOT bother the MD with the requests. The LPN gathers the information and presents it to me, and then I make the decision.

It is not prescribing as it is a renewal of an existing prescription.

The protocol by which I renew has been reviewed and agreed upon by all of my physicians that I work under. Naturally if there is a question about a dosage, etc, I can message the MD and get his/her opinion. But typically, the MD's don't see ANY requests - and they like it that way.

I can't renew any pain meds, except darvocet, and I can't renew antidepressants or sedatives or hypnotics. All other classifications are within my scope of practice.

Being as my background was strictly labor and delivery, since having this job I have learned almost all the medications inside and out. I also get quite a few lunches and other cute things from the drug reps. And it's Monday-Friday 9-5:30pm. No holidays, no weekends, no call. And a good job that is conducive to returning to school.