Drug Topics- August 11, 2008

14 DRUG TOPICS AUGUST 11, 2008 www.drugtopics.com Letters Get off your feet A bout Jim Plagakis’ June 16 article, “Pharmacy: Not a job for sissies,” oh, Jim, I feel your pain! Literally. I’ve been a community pharmacist for 30 years and carried two pregnancies to term while standing on that rubber mat. Did I use the ever-present stool? Never, unless I was working by myself some evening or weekend shame that it took something like MS to force me and my employer to take a little better care of me. Why couldn’t pharmacies be designed more ergonomically, so ALL employees could sit most of the time, in comfortable chairs, with good back support? If a single chain did that, wouldn’t that be a HUGE recruiting feature? Even better than MONEY? Drug Topics does an annual survey of pharmacists. Wouldn’t it be interesting if you also surveyed the working conditions that pharmacists have to endure. It might give young people considering this career pathway something besides dollars to think about. Laurie Liljegren Woodinville, Wash. garth122@comcast.net P.S. The photograph of me shows my current set-up, with feet on a bottom drawer of Rx vials! John McCain or Barack Obama? Washington state pharmacist Laurie Liljegren practices with feet propped up. and the pharmacy was “dead.” Did I have leg, back, and foot pain? Absolutely. Why didn’t I use the stool more often? Simple. Because there is only one stool. No one else sits. When we are busy, it will get in everyone’s way. And my biggest reason was the same as yours: Not wanting to be seen as lazy or as a whiner. Now, at age 53, I have been stricken with multiple sclerosis. Now, all of a sudden, I CAN’T stand all day. Nerve pain, muscle spasticity, and poor balance would surely result in a fall if I tried. My employer has accommodated me as well as possible within the confines of a retail pharmacy. They allowed me to bring in and use my own stool, which has straighter legs than the stool we keep back by the sink. Therefore, it’s less likely to trip other pharmacists and technicians walking by. And they got me a cordless phone with a headset, so I don’t have to get up to answer the phone. I do have to drag my stool a few feet when I want to use a computer or listen to voice messages on our telemanager system, and I still have to walk to our cash register area to counsel patients. I’m fortunate that my pharmacy does NOT have a drive-thru, and my schedule never requires me to work 100% alone. It’s a Regarding your July Instant Poll that asks pharmacists who they would vote for in the presidential election, it’s pretty pathetic that John McCain is ahead! As Senator Obama has said, “You want to do the same thing time and again and get a different result.” The current Administration has just about destroyed this country as we knew it, and pharmacists want more of the same. It is no wonder that the retail industry has basically been destroyed. L. Lazarus, R.Ph. ltlazarus@hotmail.com The element I don’t understand is how folks cannot see the socialist nature and the naivete of Sen. Obama. The mark of a successful leader is wellhoned wisdom from experience. I do not agree with Sen. McCain 100%, but I see his wisdom, and honesty makes up for any of his flaws. Also, if we had used his strategy in Iraq three years ago, we would have been out of combat roles by now and George Bush would have been a hero. Be that as it may, we now are about to win there. We need not pull defeat from the jaws of victory by electing Obama. James W. Haney, R.Ph. MBA Greenville, N.C. JWHaney@cvs.com Printed and e-mailed letters should be brief and include the writer’s name, address, daytime phone number, and date of the issue you are referencing: Editor, Drug Topics, 24950 Country Club Blvd., Suite 200, North Olmsted, OH 44070-5351. E-mail address: drugtopics@advanstar.com. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. http://www.drugtopics.com

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Drug Topics- August 11, 2008 Contents Latebreakers Letters DEA Proposes Rule To Allow Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances Merger, Medicare Reform Could Mean Broader E-Prescribing Adoption New Combination Pill Approved for Type 2 Diabetes New Eczema Guildlines Promote Use of Emollients, Then Topical Corticosteroids Agencies Flush Original Strategies in Favor of Promoting Drug Take-Back Programs JP at Large: You Laughing at Me? Pharmacists Find Themselves at Mercy of Prior Authorization State Law Requiring PBM Transparency See Some Gains, Some Losses Global Counterfeiting Still Growing, Says U.S. Commerce Official FDA Saftey Page: Prophylthiouracil Still Confused with Purinethol (mercaptopurine) New Products Bring Lice Treatment to a Head NACDS Marketplace Showcases New Product that Fill Unmet Needs Update on Respiratory Tract Infections Execs Share War Stories About Adopting Technology in their Stores New Products Advertisters Index Classified Viewpoint: Medicare Part D Revisions sorely needed

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