Statutory declarations and pharmacists

This man was standing at the counter. 

Me: hi can I help you?

Man: hello I just need a quick signature from you

Me: let me just finish this off and I'll attend to you in a sec.

After a sec I'm free, I attend to him

Me: yes?

Man: yes just sign down the bottom please (shoves an unfilled statutory declaration form in my face)

Me: this is a stat dec. we don't sign stat decs anymore.

Man: yes you do. Someone did it for me last week. 

Me: I don't sign stat decs because pharmacists have been removed from the stat dec list.

Man: are you sure? Ok then ......

He later comes back and asks my assistants for my name because apparently he called somewhere and they said pharmacists are still listed and I told him we weren't so he wants to make an official complaint. 

My question is: 

a) who are you gonna make that complaint to and 

b) complain that I didn't fulfil this voluntary service?

He demanded me to sign his papers without asking if I was willing to. And even if we were still eligible to sign, it's voluntary meaning I can say no and I don't need to explain to you why if I don't want to. 

People always get upset when I say no which I don't understand. I don't know you, you're not a customer of our store, work is busy and you want me to drop everything and sign your papers without getting paid a cent. On what grounds do you have the right to be 'upset'. Always waste my time. So many pharmacies in the area and you go and pick the most busiest one ......... Expect to be turned away!

Dr prescribing Desyrel

There's this doctor in the area that writes whatever the patient tells her to write even though she's never heard of it. 

Overseas patient comes in with a script for Desyrel. Haven't heard of it, checked all our medical resources and supplier - nothing comes up. A quick google search brings up a Trazodone, an antidepressant that is not available in Australia.

Call the doctor to let her know it's unavailable in Australia and that she'll need to prescribe an alternative. 

Dr: yeh I thought it wouldn't be available in Australia but I thought I'll try. I don't know what it is, the patient was using this when they were overseas and they just asked me to write a script for it.

Me: it's an antidepressant. Do you want me to send them back to see you for an alternative?

Dr: don't worry about it. They insisted on getting that one, just send them to another pharmacy and see if they can find it. 

Are you serious dr? 

a) You are prescribing random medications you haven't heard of it 

b) you didn't even check your resources to see if it's available in Australia

c) no duty of care - didn't even go and seek an alternative for your patient 

Feel sorry for the patient, it's like they got no choice but to see this doctor even though she's quite pathetic because she's one of the few doctors in the area who speak their language 

Clueless doctor does not know formula of cream yet still prescribes it

Sometimes doctors do not know what they're prescribing. If I was the patient, I'll be a bit concerned of who I'm seeing. My advice is to doctors - if you don't know what it is, or what you're prescribing, don't prescribe it. Refer the patient to another doctor that may know, or prescribe an alternative medicine that you do know, or seek help from another doctor or pharmacist.

A customer drops in a script that said:

Compounded acne cream with clindamycin or erthromycin 50g


First of all, the doctor writes 2 active ingredients. Secondly, there's no strength. Thirdly, no ingredients has been specified.

So I call the doctor to clarify what she means.

Me: Hi doctor. Just need to clarify what ingredients and strength for this acne cream?
Dr: Oh I don't have a formula. Ain't you a compounding chemist?
Me: No we're not. But depending on the ingredient, we can make some extemporaneous preparations. You just need to let me know what ingredients are required.
Dr: Oh I don't know. Just send them to a compounding chemist. They will know.


Really? So I call my contact at a compounding chemist and asked all my pharmacy colleagues. They have no idea what the doctor is talking about.

All I could do is, give the script back to the patient, and told him the doctor wants him to go to a compounding chemist to get it made. Good luck.

But why would a doctor prescribe a cream she doesn't even know what the formula is????!!!!

Biaxsig lady

Elderly people just need to calm down sometimes. An old ethnic lady comes in with a script from for Biaxsig 150mg. 

After I dispense it, she takes out an old packaging of Biaxsig 300mg from her bag and starts comparing to the Biaxsig 150mg. She looks at it, glares at me and throws the packet of 150mg back at me and starts yelling in her language. 

I got some help from other customers who spoke her language and it turns out she wants the 300mg but she thinks I gave her the wrong one. Contacted the doctor (who tells me he thinks she's a nutcase anyway) to change it to 300mg. She's still yelling, complaining about me until someone told her it's because the doctor wrote 150mg then she stopped and started to complain about the doctor. 

Ok fine so problem solved. I dispense the 300mg. She opens the box. The printing on the blister pack is now black instead of blue which she got before. She yells again. Oh dear. She asks me why is it black and not blue. I said - the company changed their packaging which I have no control over. But the words and milligrams are all the same. In the end she didn't want it because she thinks its different. 


I should've got a texta and coloured it first ...

Man thinks Advantan Cream should be OTC

Man: Do you have Advantan Cream?

Me: Yes we do.

Man: Can you please tell me the prices? I know it comes in 2 sizes.

Me: No actually it only comes in one size and that's 15g. $20 for the 15g

Man: Oh I see I see. I need to the doctor for a prescription first right?

Me: That's right. It's a prescription only medicine so you need to the see the doctor first.

Man: Yeh I don't know why they have to do that. It's just a cream nothing special, why do they have to make it difficult. Anyone can you use it.

Me: Actually no, the reason why it's on prescription is because NOT everyone can use it. Depends on the area you're using it on, the severity of the problem, the age of the patient ..... It's a potent cream - that's the reason you can't buy it just like that.

Man: Oh reallyy.......... but I know how to use it. 

Me: Just go see the doctor.

Mr Know It All. First you thought the cream comes in 2 different sizes and then secondly you think it shouldn't be on prescription because you know how to use it.