Jeez, Lady! This isn't McDonald's!
An event took place today that both reminded me of why I hate the pharmacy so much as well as why my brother may have snapped that day at Fuddruckers when he exclaimed, "Jeez, Lady! This isn't McDonald's!"
I took a phone call at about 6:30 this evening from a patient who dared to refer to me as "you people". Apparently, Walgreens dropped some sort of ball in that this lady's prescription was not ready. I explained that it was entirely the fault of her insurance company as they were not willing to pay their end of it until they spoke to her doctor. I did tell her the alternative was to simply pay full cash price and forget about the run around the insurance company was putting her through. Imagine her disgust when she found out that price was $140. Now, it really was our fault - and it was an insult that I would even present the option. At this point, I had enough. Enjoy the dialogue that followed:
"I merely suggested it as an option. That is the full cost, though. It doesn't really matter where the money comes from, as long as we get it."
"Oooohhhh. I see. So you don't really care, is that it? Just as long as you get the money, huh?"
"Absolutely. It is basic economics. We live in a capitalistic society. In such societies, businesses exist to make money. Walgreens is such a business. So either you can wait for your insurance company to cover their part, or you can choose to pay for it altogether. It really makes no difference to us."
It was oh so vindicating to finally let one of these jerks have it. Needless to say, I only stoked the fire, and I knew it as I did it. But about 30 seconds later, she backed down and even sincerely thanked me for my patience. Interesting. I guess sticking to one's guns can only serve to gain another's respect.
Anyway, as promised, I will briefly explain why I am going for an MBA rather than a PharmD.
I took a phone call at about 6:30 this evening from a patient who dared to refer to me as "you people". Apparently, Walgreens dropped some sort of ball in that this lady's prescription was not ready. I explained that it was entirely the fault of her insurance company as they were not willing to pay their end of it until they spoke to her doctor. I did tell her the alternative was to simply pay full cash price and forget about the run around the insurance company was putting her through. Imagine her disgust when she found out that price was $140. Now, it really was our fault - and it was an insult that I would even present the option. At this point, I had enough. Enjoy the dialogue that followed:
"I merely suggested it as an option. That is the full cost, though. It doesn't really matter where the money comes from, as long as we get it."
"Oooohhhh. I see. So you don't really care, is that it? Just as long as you get the money, huh?"
"Absolutely. It is basic economics. We live in a capitalistic society. In such societies, businesses exist to make money. Walgreens is such a business. So either you can wait for your insurance company to cover their part, or you can choose to pay for it altogether. It really makes no difference to us."
It was oh so vindicating to finally let one of these jerks have it. Needless to say, I only stoked the fire, and I knew it as I did it. But about 30 seconds later, she backed down and even sincerely thanked me for my patience. Interesting. I guess sticking to one's guns can only serve to gain another's respect.
Anyway, as promised, I will briefly explain why I am going for an MBA rather than a PharmD.
- I hate pharmacy, and being a pharmacist won't change that.
- the pre-requisites for pharmacy school keep changing, and at some universities, are even set up so that one must take pre-reqs at said university.
- Marketing will allow me to tap into my dominant creativivity as opposed to having to force my recessive left-brainedness.
- In the time it would take me at this point to get my PharmD, I could be almost a year into pursuing a PhD. Certainly, my MBA will have long passed.
- The money is actually better on the path I am taking. Not immediately, but over the course of my life, I will have made much more money.
I hope that about explains it. Believe me, a lot of thought has gone into this. 2 months at least to be exact. And as Mike said Saturday night, I have looked at this objectively. For those of you who support, thanks. For those of you who don't, well, that is your problem.
For this week's anthem, I am going with Faith No More's "Midlife Crisis". Enjoy.
posted by Aaron \m/ at 8:31 PM
2 Comments:
So how did it go with the aftermath?
Kristin is extremely cool with everything. So the aftermath has been almost non-existent.
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