The PBM did it???

[steveysmith54]

Anyone else getting annoyed and tired of associations like APhA and even youtube pharmacists (yeah they exist) blame understaffing, poor work conditions in chain pharmacies, decreases in wages on PBM reimbursement? I do believe ridiculous reimbursements have put a lot of independent pharmacies out of business. Having said that, higher reimbursements will not make CVS and Walgreens substantially staff their pharmacies better, pay their pharmacists more, or employ more pharmacists. I still believe that our profession has been destroyed (80%) by greedy academic institutions and the self proclaimed "pharmacy leaders", the former APhA presidents who sold out and helped open new schools, and mislead students on "evolving clinical roles". To me, blaming the problems in our profession primarily on PBM reimbursement is like smoke and mirrors, a way to deflect blame, and pivot from what matters the most.

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[Seriously Serious]

We just need to keep talking potential pharmacy students out of this fly trap of a profession. If we can create a labor demand again, the corporate giants will bend.

 

[Gombrich12]

We just need to keep talking potential pharmacy students out of this fly trap of a profession. If we can create a labor demand again, the corporate giants will bend.

That's why you see the chains going ahead with plans to replace pharmacists with techs because they know when word gets out pharmacists make 35-40/hr there will be a shortage again.

 

[Seriously Serious]

That's why you see the chains going ahead with plans to replace pharmacists with techs because they know when word gets out pharmacists make 35-40/hr there will be a shortage again.

I do not know about you, but I have rarely come across career technicians. Most are either students or people looking to make a jump into a completely different field. Pharmacy sucks just as much for techs as it does for pharmacists - why work for CVS when Chick-fil-a pays the same down the road.

 

[Gombrich12]

I do not know about you, but I have rarely come across career technicians. Most are either students or people looking to make a jump into a completely different field. Pharmacy sucks just as much for techs as it does for pharmacists - why work for CVS when Chick-fil-a pays the same down the road.

Fast forward 10 years to 2030, say a shortage has developed to the point where starting wages are now $70/hr on average nationally. What do you think the CEOs of these companies are going to do? Pay pharmacists a bunch of money or start using super techs that get paid $30-35/hr? To a high school grad that should still be decent money in 10 years and I imagine that is what will happen.

 

[Seriously Serious]

Fast forward 10 years to 2030, say a shortage has developed to the point where starting wages are now $70/hr on average nationally. What do you think the CEOs of these companies are going to do? Pay pharmacists a bunch of money or start using super techs that get paid $30-35/hr? To a high school grad that should still be decent money in 10 years and I imagine that is what will happen.

Right, because acquiring "super techs" is so easy.

Increasing pay for super techs versus paying pharmacists more is literally the exact same issue in either scenario (increase in labor costs). I'd rather increase pharmacist wages by $10/hr than a technician wage $10/hr because not only does the technician not have the background/training/education, they may be in nursing school 6 months into the job.

 

[Sine Cura]

If techs are that "super" to be worth being paid $30-35/hr chances are they would be working in other vocations

Imagine being paid what pharmacists are paid in the U.K. or Japan and working in wretched retail.

 

[M0df]

These covid vaccinations are well reimbursed but it has barely impacted salaries and staffing levels at retail locations in any positive meaningful way.

They are looking to hire staff at salaries covered by 2-3 vaccinations but expect them to do 10-15 shots an hour.

 

[steveysmith54]

These covid vaccinations are well reimbursed but it has barely impacted salaries and staffing levels at retail locations in any positive meaningful way.

They are looking to hire staff at salaries covered by 2-3 vaccinations but expect them to do 10-15 shots an hour.

Pharmacy is one of the few professions where wages for new grads were higher in 2011 than 2021. Not to mention the workload.

 

[awval999]

I do not know about you, but I have rarely come across career technicians. Most are either students or people looking to make a jump into a completely different field. Pharmacy sucks just as much for techs as it does for pharmacists - why work for CVS when Chick-fil-a pays the same down the road.

They exist. They work in the hospitals bro.

 

[Seriously Serious]

They exist. They work in the hospitals bro.

That's cool. We're talking about retail tho.

 

[Sine Cura]

Let's say 100 shots a day @ $40 a shot on average. An extra $4000 you wouldn't get filling ibuprofen liquid, antibiotics, APAP liquid all day

An 8-hour tech shift at 20.10/hr = $160.80. An (extra) 8-hour pharmacist shift @ 61/hr = $488.00

 

[PharFromNormal]

Let's say 100 shots a day @ $40 a shot on average. An extra $4000 you wouldn't get filling ibuprofen liquid, antibiotics, APAP liquid all day

An 8-hour tech shift at 20.10/hr = $160.80. An (extra) 8-hour pharmacist shift @ 61/hr = $488.00

Is $40/shot the dead net profit after all allocated costs? Acquisition, allocated overhead, allocated waste, allocated cold chain costs, etc?

 

[Sine Cura]

I dunno, just going off this: Medicare COVID-19 Vaccine Shot Payment | CMS

Commercial claims (only seen CVS Caremark tbf) getting $28ish returned


Other costs are opaque at a chain.