Walgreens POWER (pharmacist, salary, live in)

[floatpharm]

Originally Posted by Sam.Morgan

I have actually been involved in the pilot and it pisses me off when we are told to say "nothing negative about POWER!!!". It sucks, but may be getting better......slowly.

PM and we will discuss further.

Sam

Hi Sam. I am a pharmacist that works betwen 2 stores. I work 32 hours and am paid hourly and my position will be cut. If I put in the questionnaire that you have to submit that I am willing to work more hours, do I have the same chance of getting a full time staff pharmacist position as somone that is already working at one store as staff when we interview or will they have first choice? I wonder if it would be a good idea to put in an application at the CPO even if its going to take me 2 hours to commute just in case I dont get to stay in my city. I only need 3 more years to go for full retirement. Please reply, floatpharm.

[FLrph]

We underwent POWER in November 08. It all sounds great on paper. It is not good at all. Power itself works fine now.. the call center is terrible.. gives patients misinformation consistantly. Even those of us who are secure in not being laid off (14+ years with company), are worried because they essentially are telling us not to look in the bags after the techs fill the rx. They also don't want you to check the hard copies. We are expected to counsel every patient and check product at out window. At stores who do 600 + a day, that is next to impossible. They want the RPH's to ring register and not "cross" the line to the filling spots. Be ready, those of you who are just starting, they will cut your hours so drastically you will be busier than ever. Forget having more time for customers! Not one of my Pharmacist friends likes this system. The morale is dead low and there are many RPH's leaving the company. It's very sad because I once loved this company. They actually cared about their employees. Now, they just care about the bottom line and you are fully replaceable. Anyone with many years with the company may want to take the severance package, since the offer has an expiration date. If you think that you can find another job, it's worth it. I ended up finding another job, but missed out on the sev. pckg. It's only going to get worse. Don't believe them when they say "it will get better"!

[justarph]

can someone post the nature of the interview and skills test you had to have under power to keep your job ? What do the interviewers ask etc.......

I have to go thru this soon...any heads up would be great

any more general info is welcome too

thx

[Mayreau]

You guys are getting screwed. You should be telling your patients about the downside to POWER. If you leave without warning them, then WAG wins and you are collecting unemployment. WAG pharmacists ought to be creating a publicity nightmare for the company. Its your job they are playing with!

[justarph]

Today is the last day to take the severence package offered..... at 5pm it's gone ! (for us out west)

I don't have another job lined up, so I don't feel comfortable taking the $$ and then looking for a job, since I feel the need to be responsible for my family and keep a job. Wonder how long it would take to find one ? Who is hiring in AZ ?

[StarReporter]

I'm a reporter with the Arizona Daily Star doing research for a story about power. Today I interviewed a spokesperson from Walgreens HQ in Deerfield. Now I'd like to talk to any pharmacists or techinicians who are familiar with the program's impact in Arizona or Florida. Please email me directly at volante@azstarnet as soon as possible this afternoon and include a phone number at which you can be reached today. Or just call the number below.

Enric Volante
Senior reporter
Arizona Daily Star
www.azstarnet.com
520-573-4129

[Mayreau]

Arizona Board of Pharmacy Minutes about Power; Note the WAG spin doctors at work.

AGENDA ITEM 19 – Walgreens POWER project The following individuals were present to discuss Walgreens POWER project: Phil Burgess ( National Director of Pharmacy Affairs), Dan Luce (Corporate Manager of Pharmacy Affairs), Joe Leyba (Pharmacy District Manager), and Matt Cook (Operations Director at Tempe Mail Order Facility). Mr. Burgess and Mr. Luce gave a brief overview of the project. Mr. Luce stated that the mail order facility would serve as the centralized facility for filling prescriptions. Mr. Luce stated that the centralized facility would type new prescriptions, data review new prescriptions, handle phone calls, and resolve insurance issues for the retail stores. Mr. Luce indicated that in the store two-thirds of the prescriptions would be filled. Mr. Luce stated that the pharmacists at the store would be responsible for counseling all patients. Mr. Luce stated that the staff at the store would have a decreased workload with fewer distractions. Mr. Luce stated that the pharmacy staff would be able to spend more time with the patients and there would be increased pharmacist interaction. Mr. Luce stated that they are proposing that pharmacy technicians licensed with the Arizona Board would be able to enter prescriptions at home. The technicians that would be selected to work at home must be a high quality performer and had demonstrated work experience as a technician. Mr. Luce stated that the all computer equipment would be provided by Walgreens. Mr. Luce stated that the computers will not contain any hard drives or installed software. Mr. Luce stated that all ports will be disabled so that no printer can be attached to the system. Mr. Luce stated that the technician at home will enter only prescription data and will not be able to search the patient database. Mr. Luce stated that the patient is matched to the profile at the store before the script is sent to the technician at home to enter the prescription. President McAllister stated that Walgreens is requesting to deviate from R4-23-1104 (4) which would allow pharmacy technicians to enter data remotely.
Mr. McAllister asked the respondents if the pharmacists at the store would counsel every prescription filled. Mr. Burgess stated that by eliminating the mundane tasks the
pharmacists would be able to counsel the patients on all prescriptions, which would include new prescriptions, refills, and offer assistance in the OTC area. Mr. Burgess stated that at the store level the pharmacist would not be dealing with prior authorizations, phone calls, or insurance issues. Mr. Milovich asked if they would be reducing staff at the store or cutting hours that the stores are open. Mr. Burgess stated that the stores would be re-evaluated for any changes required in staffing. Dr. Smidt asked if the technicians would be located in Arizona. Mr. Burgess replied yes. Dr. Smidt asked about the supervision of the technicians. Mr. Burgess stated that the technicians would be doing limited data entry. Mr. Burgess stated that the technician would be supervised by the pharmacist who reviews the completed prescription. Mr. Burgess stated that the technician would not have any access to any product. Mr. Burgess stated that they would supervise through technology and would have a full audit trail of the technician’s activities. Mr. McAllister stated that he feels that they are meeting the intent of supervision by using technology. Mr. McAllister stated that the Board may need to broaden the definition of supervision. Mr. Van Hassel asked if the project would be rolled out to all Arizona stores or would it be rolled out to select stores. Mr. Burgess stated that the project would be implemented through out Arizona. Ms. Galindo asked about the program that they implemented in Florida. Mr. Luce stated that the program has been implemented in about 350 stores in a year. Ms. Galindo asked if they found any glitches when they implemented the project in Florida. Mr. Burgess stated that in some stores the volume decreased and the pharmacists still did not counsel the patient. Mr. Cook stated that they have initiated a program to retrain pharmacists on how to counsel patients. Dr. Smidt asked if prescriptions would still be routed to other stores for entry and data review. Mr. Luce stated that in states where the POWER project is implemented they would not be using the balancing program where prescriptions are off loaded to less busy stores. Dr. Smidt asked how insurance issues would be handled. Mr. Luce stated that there would be a special team at the centralized facility. These individuals would be experts on various insurance plans and they would handle the insurance issues. Mr. Milovich asked if there were any requirements that the technicians enter a certain number of prescriptions daily. Mr. Burgess stated that they have not set maximum levels. Mr. Burgess stated that they have statistics from the mail order facilities, but the home environment may be different. Mr. Haiber asked if the remote technician would only be entering new prescriptions.
Mr. Burgess stated that the technicians would enter data on new prescriptions. Mr. Haiber asked what would happen if the technician was unable to enter the prescription because of missing information. Mr. Cook stated that the store personnel or individuals at the centralized facility would resolve the issues. Mr. Van Hassel asked how e-prescribing would impact this program. Mr. Burgess stated that e-prescribing would impact the program because there would be no need for data entry. Mr. Wand stated that there are some concerns about working parents at home. Mr. Burgess stated that as part of the program, the technicians must sign a contract. Mr. Burgess stated that the contract indicates that the company and State Board of Pharmacy could visit the home site. On motion by Dr. Smidt and seconded by Mr. Haiber, the Board unanimously agreed to grant the request by Walgreens to deviate from R4-23-1104(4) which would allow pharmacy technicians to work at home entering prescription data based on experimental and technological advances.

[floridapharmer]

Here's the scoop from inside:

WAG is disguising this move as a way for the rph to have more contact with the patient. BS... its strictly bottom line. Once your budget is sliced (like never before) you won't have time to do all the extra things they have in store for you. As a rx mgr in a southwest wag we were never given an option to take a severance but instead we get to deal with all the complaints coming from every angle (staff and customers). Talking with other rxms from east coast that do the same 450-500 average they are faced with only 3 techs during the day (open mid close shifts). The safety of the customer's rxs is non existant...we were told that the rph remotely verifying the data doesn't check for the name, that will be the responsibility of the pharmacist now cashier by asking questions to the patient. But if a patient refuses to talk to the rph that will be an opportunity for a rx to be sold that the name of the patient matching to the image will be missed. After the am rph leaves at 4pm it is brutal and there is now way you can "consult" on each and every rx especially through the drive thru with the new crappy quality of the new phones.

Rumor that they just come in and tell your techs or rphs that they didn't meet the grade and they loose their job is true. They also are doing this re-interview to cover their legal A.. since they got sued in Miami. So some RPH or senior tech who worked 20 years and busted their A.. and never called out sick had to go through the insulting process of having to prove their worth! What a stab in the back, slap in the face etc.. and I as a rxm am supposed to keep moral up while they decide who is going to lose their job. WTF

We have had full power for several weeks now and the error incidents have skyrocketed ....it seems as if they in the orlando building are held to different standards? I can go on for pages....good luck to all

[Want2Muv2AZ]

For Pharmacy technicians, if you choose to move to the power facility, do you get to keep your current wages? Does anyone know by what year every state will be converted?

[oldrph]

As an old-school Wallyworld rph in IL, I would be VERY interested in any info on the re-interview and skills test content, and what type, if any, buy-outs were offered. The Chicagoland rph union is currently in negotiations with WAG (as the contract expired May 31st, and has been extended twice), and the company INSISTS that IL is nowhere near power implementation (which we KNOW is not true) so they will not provide any info on power conversion or the central fill location...yet the company insists on putting 12 hour shifts in the contract and wants the right to place whatever rph they want in any store they want (currently a right they do not have). It doesn't take a genius to see that all the company's demands are leading to the implementation of power