I'm Back!!

  I know it's been forever since I last posted.  For some reason I couldn't access my account but it seems to be fixed now.
  The world of pharmacy hasn't changed much since my last post. Unless of course we want to talk about certain large chains and certain large PBMs not getting along. We all know the story. Personally, I can see the point of both parties. However, let's face it, neither party is going to be "ruined" by the decision not to play ball with each other. The ones caught in the middle are the patients. Thousands upon thousands of patients now have to find a new pharmacy. The PBM acts like its no big deal, but it is. I know I have patients that I have interacted with for years that now have to establish a new relationship with a new pharmacist. That can be unsettling. It's not that I'm any better at my job than any other pharmacist, but it's the point that these people have, at times, poured out their soul to me. We have laughed and cried together. I've seen their children grow up and get married and their families have become my patients. Over the last few weeks I have had to say good-bye to patients who have become my friends. They know it's not my fault and I know it's not theirs. We are all caught in the corporate whirlwind of money and greed. Every person I have had to say good-bye to has had the same look on their face. They don't know how to solve the problem, they really don't want to go anywhere else, but they also can't afford not to use their insurance. I know that feeling. I've had to change physicians before due to insurance issues. The medical professionals in our lives create an intimate relationship that a third party shouldn't be able to come between. Whether that third party is the PBM or the corporation who ultimately gets their money.
  So, am I upset about the decisions that have been made concerning my relationship with my patients? You're darn right I am! Is there really anything I can do about it? No, there is not! Like my abandoned patients, I will go on to forge new relationships with new patients and, hopefully, since I live in a small town, I will still see the ones who had to leave.