Problem
You answer the phone in your community pharmacy, and the patient is very upset and confused. She said she received a voicemail from the pharmacy, and she has no idea what it means: "Good afternoon, Ms. Smith. This is your pharmacy calling. We just wanted to let you know that unfortunately, we will not be able to fill the prescription that you dropped off this morning. It is currently locked as a TPR needing a PAR completed, as it is an NDC-nonformulary on your third-party plan. We've contacted your doctor and will let you know when he gets back to us. Have a nice day." Often, a pharmacy technician finds themself serving as "the middleman" for a patient, acting as a liaison between the patient and their physician, their insurance company, or even other pharmacy staff. This sometimes results in situations in which the pharmacy technician has to explain or resolve a problem or concern that they did not initiate. How would you resolve this patient's concern? What could have been done to prevent it? Note: TPR = third party reject; PAR = prior authorization request; NDC = National Drug Code; NDC-nonformulary = that specific medication is not covered by.