Dear Pharmacy Customer,

Let’s talk about the pharmacy “Drive-Thru”.  We can all admit that, in a perfect world, the convenience of picking up your prescriptions without having to exit your car is an amazing notion.  Unfortunately, we’d also have to admit that we’re not living in a perfect world.  Let’s take a look at what can happen (and, this isn’t even an exhaustive list).

First, you must acknowledge that once you have entered the line at the drive thru, you’re pretty much trapped, and you did it willingly.  There aren’t too many places I’d enjoy being trapped.  Maybe a loving embrace would work.  Personally, I’d opt for a craft store.  But, never would I willingly trap myself in a line of cars at a pharmacy drive thru if I were limited on time or the type of person to get frustrated by unanticipated/unexpected delays.  I’d have to eat my high blood pressure meds while I waited.

Each interaction at the pharmacy is unique.  Many times, people have questions for the pharmacist, or the pharmacist must speak to them before a medication can be purchased.  This can take time as the professionals relay important medication information to the customer.  Mrs. Smith is entitled to ask her questions, and the pharmacist is always willing to answer and clarify Mrs. Smith’s concerns.  If you’re bothered by Mrs. Smith’s desire to understand what she’s taking, how to take it, what it will do to her, and side effects she might experience…maybe you shouldn’t have pulled in behind her.  I mean, she did get there first, right?

Sometimes, there are insurance issues with someone’s prescription.  Mr. Jones didn’t update his new prescription plan the last time he was in, now he wants to do it at the drive thru while picking up his maintenance medications.  It will take a few moment’s to update his info, a few more to rebill his prescription,  a few more to take his meds to the pharmacist and have them rechecked and the new bill attached (and we’re not even sure if the pharmacist is in the middle of something at the moment), then we can finally complete the transactions.  All those “few moments” can add up.  Plus, in Mr. Jones’ scenario, we didn’t even consider the added time if his insurance would reject the claim!  Maybe the meds aren’t covered or only covered in a smaller quantity which isn’t what his doctor prescribed.  Maybe the prescription refill is “too soon”.  Maybe he needed a generic instead of a brand name.  Mr. Jones came to take care of his business.  He didn’t force you to pull in behind him. 

Then, we have sweet Ms Little.  Her child is ill and the pediatrician has prescribed a liquid antibiotic.  Ms Little sits in her car (possibly her child is screaming from discomfort in the back seat) while the medication is mixed for use.  This means water is measured, checked by the pharmacist, added to the powdered antibiotic, mixed, rechecked by the pharmacist and finally delivered to the drive thru window.  We haven’t even considered the possibility that Ms Little wants flavoring added so Baby Little will not fight taking it too much.  This will add several more minutes of waiting while the flavoring recipe is looked up and added to the medication.  1 minute.  2 minutes.  3 minutes.  4 minutes.  It’s hard to predict how long Ms Little’s transaction will take. 

Next, Mr. Big stops by to “drop off” his prescription.  You know…he’s just come from the doctor’s office.  The pharmacy will need some mandatory information before he can drive on his merry way.  Usually, this is quite simple.  As long as Mr. Big has previously picked up prescriptions at the pharmacy and has his current prescription insurance on file, we’re good to go in a couple minutes.  But, what if he hasn’t been to the pharmacy before, and doesn’t have his insurance in the system?  Or, what if he’s been prescribed a drug which is controlled and has to be checked on before the pharmacy can even commit to filling the prescription.  You’ll be sitting in your car behind him while we handle his needs. 

So there you sit.  The convenience of not having to get out of your car and walk into the store doesn’t seem so convenient any more.  You’re frustrated.  You’re agitated.  You’re running behind schedule now.  You’re itching to yell at whoever stands on the other side of the glass when you finally get there.  And, you know who that is?  Possibly me.  I’ve just helped Mrs. Smith, Mr. Jones, Ms Little and her baby, and Mr. Big.  And, I did it as quickly as possible in the constraints and requirements of my job.  I also planned to give you the same personal attention I’d given them.  But, my smile and greeting are met with your frustration.  I suppose there was no way for you to tell my previous customers how they ruined your drive thru experience, so I’m the only option you have.  Guess what?  I’ll stand there and take it.  Heck, I’ll even apologies for your inconvenience.  But, I’ll know (and so will you) that you put the blame on me when you made the decision to not come into the store. 

Sure, there might be a line in the store, but there are also several registers that can be running at the same time.  In my particular case, there are 3 registers inside….and only 1 at the drive thru.  If there is another Mrs. Smith inside, she can be handled at one register while you are handled at another.  You don’t have to wait for her to finish before the rest of the line can move forward.  In the drive thru, you are trapped behind her.  If, for some unknown reason, you find you must leave before you’ve been taken care of, you can easily do so from inside the store.  Not so easy when your stuck between cars in the drive thru.

There are many reasons the drive thru is appealing.  There are also as many, if not more, reasons that it can be more time consuming than parking and coming inside.  In either situation, I’ll still greet you with a smile and ask how I can help you.  The ball is in your court at that point.

Remember to take your happy pill :)