Safe Pharmacy Practice
Conditions Survey
Final Results
Friday, April 15, 2022
Powered by
Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Date Opened: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Date Closed: Wednesday, March 2, 2022
2044
Total Responses
Complete Responses: 2044
2
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q1: What type of license do you hold with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy?
Answered: 2,044 Skipped: 0
3
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q1: What type of license do you hold with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy?
Answered: 2,044 Skipped: 0
4
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q2: What is your primary pharmacy practice setting?NOTE: Students- Please select your
primary pharmacy workplace outside of your IPPE/APPE. If you do not work outside of your
required school IPPE/APPE, then please select "I am not currently working in/for a pharmacy"
Answered: 1,813 Skipped: 231
5
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q2: What is your primary pharmacy practice setting?NOTE: Students- Please select your
primary pharmacy workplace outside of your IPPE/APPE. If you do not work outside of your
required school IPPE/APPE, then please select "I am not currently working in/for a pharmacy"
Answered: 1,813 Skipped: 231
6
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q3: How many years have you practiced or assisted in the practice of pharmacy?
Answered: 1,813 Skipped: 231
7
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q3: How many years have you practiced or assisted in the practice of pharmacy?
Answered: 1,813 Skipped: 231
8
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q4: Is your primary practice setting located in Oregon?
Answered: 1,813 Skipped: 231
9
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q4: Is your primary practice setting located in Oregon?
Answered: 1,813 Skipped: 231
10
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q5: What county is your primary practice setting located?
Answered: 1,495 Skipped: 549
11
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q5: What county is your primary practice setting located?
Answered: 1,495 Skipped: 549
12
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q6: Before answering this question, please search for your practice site zip code here. Is
your primary practice setting located in an urban, rural or frontier area?
Answered: 1,495 Skipped: 549
13
Aging in Rural and Frontier Oregon. Oregon Office of Rural Health. Published September 2016. Accessed March 10, 2022.
https://www.ohsu.edu/sites/default/files/2018-08/Aging%20in%20Rural%20and%20Frontier%20Oregon%202016.pdf
14
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q6: Before answering this question, please search for your practice site zip code here. Is
your primary practice setting located in an urban, rural or frontier area?
Answered: 1,495 Skipped: 549
15
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q7: What is your primary role in your primary practice setting?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
16
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q7: What is your primary role in your primary practice setting?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
17
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q8: On average, how many hours do you work per shift?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
18
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q8: On average, how many hours do you work per shift?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
19
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q9: On average, how many hours do you work for a pharmacy per week?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
20
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q9: On average, how many hours do you work for a pharmacy per week?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
46
10
18
82
13
27
216
29
71
568
72
224
79
8
17
23
1
8
41
6
21
Q1: Pharmacist Q1: Pharmacy Technician Q1: Certified Oregon Pharmacy Technician
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
<20
20-29.9
30-39.9
40-49.9
50-59.9
>60
Not Applicable
21
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q9: On average, how many hours do you work for a pharmacy per week?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
22
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q10: On average, how many prescriptions or medication orders: Pharmacists- Do you
personally verify (e.g. data verification, DUR, final verification) per shift? Technicians/Interns-
Do you personally process (e.g. data entry, insurance processing, count/label) per shift?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
23
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q10: On average, how many prescriptions or medication orders: Pharmacists- Do you
personally verify (e.g. data verification, DUR, final verification) per shift? Technicians/Interns-
Do you personally process (e.g. data entry, insurance processing, count/label) per shift?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
44
23
10 10
28
10
7 7
161
39
9
24
26
13
8
12
234
41
2
5
16
8
4
7
159
18
2
7
10
4
3 3
54
5
1 1
7
3
6
3
41
7
0 0
19
2 2
12
56
5
0
3
35
2
4
8
12
4 4
6
51
7 7
11
Q2: Community
Pharmacy - Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy- Independent
Q2: Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term Care
Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
<100
100-199
200-299
300-399
400-499
>500
Not Sure
Not Applicable
24
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q10: On average, how many prescriptions or medication orders: Pharmacists- Do you
personally verify (e.g. data verification, DUR, final verification) per shift?Technicians/Interns-
Do you personally process (e.g. data entry, insurance processing, count/label) per shift?
Answered: 1,599 Skipped: 445
25
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q11: I feel that I have adequate time to complete my job in a safe and effective manner.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
26
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q11: I feel that I have adequate time to complete my job in a safe and effective manner.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 392
2
28
89
44
4
16
71
12
9
20
27
3
0
13
85
27
5
6
28
9
5
12
19
3
1
12
248
19
3
13
39
9
2
5
12
7
1
9
249
7
6
7
21
8
7
6
9
10
1
0
1
0 0 0
1
0 0 0
5
21
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
27
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q12: I feel that my employer provides a practice environment that allows for safe and
effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
28
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q12: I feel that my employer provides a practice environment that allows for safe and
effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
3
30
112
44
3
17
64
17
10
21
29
2
0
8
120
20
5
9
28
9
1
6
13
3
0
15
221
16
5
9
37
8
5
7
14
7
1
8
205
6
4
3
19
4
5 5
7
9
1
0
1
2
0 0
2
0 0 0
7
24
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
29
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q13: I feel that my practice environment utilizes sufficient pharmacist staffing that allows for
safe, effective and timely patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
30
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q13: I feel that my practice environment utilizes sufficient pharmacist staffing that allows for
safe, effective and timely patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
12
29
32
8
9
22
5
12
14
15
3
1
24
86
46
3
18
65
17
11
19
23
3
0
8
79
22
2
6
22
2
3
4
11
4
1
16
211
17
7
11
43
9
5
11
15
4
1
16
289
7
6
5
22
11
3
4
12
11
2
1 1 1
0 0
2
0 0
1
11
24
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
31
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q14: I feel that my practice environment utilizes sufficient pharmacy technician staffing that
allows for safe and effective patient care
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
32
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q14: I feel that my practice environment utilizes sufficient pharmacy technician staffing that
allows for safe and effective patient care
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
10
16
34
8
6
17
4
8
13
9
2
1
21
95
36
4
17
32
17
10
18
24
1
0
13
92
14
3
7
29
6
3
5
7
4
1
12
208
30
5
10
45
9
4
10
15
7
1
11
284
10
6
9
46
8
9
6
14
10
2
10
0
1
0 0
7
0 0
1
18
25
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
33
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q15: I feel that my practice environment utilizes automation, professional and technical
equipment (e.g. counting machines, central fill, phone systems) that allows for safe, effective
and timely patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
34
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q15: I feel that my practice environment utilizes automation, professional and technical
equipment (e.g. counting machines, central fill, phone systems) that allows for safe, effective
and timely patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
7
23
33
6
4
20
8
12
8 8
3
1
17
148
42
4
17
66
14 14
23
21
4
1
9
163
19
7
13
40
11
4
9
14
6
1
8
190
13
5
8
33
6
1
5
9
6
0
7
146
9
3
5
9
2 2
3
8
3
2
29
25
9
1
2
8
3
1
5
27 27
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for
a pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
35
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q16: I feel that my practice environment utilizes staff training that is site-specific, thorough
and prepares staff to provide safe and effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
36
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q16: I feel that my practice environment utilizes staff training that is site-specific, thorough
and prepares staff to provide safe and effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
10
23
32
8
6
20
7
9 9
14
22
38
141
41
4
20
58
17
9
15
27
6
0
11
167
27
3
11
33
11
5
14
16
5
1
10
191
17
5
8
38
5
7
6
12
7
0
7
169
7
6
4
25
3
4
7
6
5
2
1
4
1
0 0
2
1
0
2
12
24
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
37
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q17: I feel that my practice environment has an organized workflow that promotes safe,
effective and timely patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
38
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q17: I feel that my practice environment has an organized workflow that promotes safe,
effective and timely patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
13
49
38
6
7
19
7
14
10
12
5
1
35
206
52
8
26
71
20
9
23
31
5
0
15
149
16
3
9
40
9
4
6
18
7
2
5
159
12
4
5
28
7
4
11 11
5
0
9
128
6
5
2
14
1
3
2
5
4
2
0
4
1
0 0
4
0 0
1
10
23
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
39
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q18: I feel that staffing in my practice environment is adequate and results in patients
receiving their medication and consultation in a safe and timely manner.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
40
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q18: I feel that staffing in my practice environment is adequate and results in patients
receiving their medication and consultation in a safe and timely manner.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
7
20
32
8
6
17
10
7
8
12
2
1
25
94
40
3
21
59
8
12
20
21
2
0
6
85
17
3
5
29
9
2
9
10
4
1
16
235
30
8
9
42
9
5 5
15
6
1
11
259
5
4
7
25
8 8
9
12
10
2
12
2
1
0
1
4
0 0
2
17
25
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
41
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q19: Job openings for my workplace are filled in a timely manner.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
42
Powered by
Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q19: Job openings for my workplace are filled in a timely manner.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
3
11
13
4
2
6
4
5
4
5
2
1
18
48
25
7
9
33
11
6
21
17
2
0
13
106
30
5
7
36
9
5
10
11
2
1
25
209
33
7
17
62
10
7
9
26
8
1
12
312
17
3
14
38
6
11
6
20
13
2
6
9
7
0 0
1
4
0
3
8
22
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
43
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q20: I feel pressure by my employer or supervisor to meet standards or metrics that may
interfere with safe and effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
44
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q20: I feel pressure by my employer or supervisor to meet standards or metrics that may
interfere with safe and effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
2
12
218
7
9
4
19
8
3
11
15
10
1
18
213
15
4
7
39
9
7
9
13
6
0
9
106
17
3
13
34
9
4
12 12
3
1
23
100
41
4
19
55
11
10
16
22
2
0
11
56
41
6 6
20
7
9
3
13
3
2
4
2
4
0 0
9
0
1
2
12
25
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
45
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q21: I feel that there are sufficient staff to manage the pharmacy’s workload that allows me to
provide safe and effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
46
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q21: I feel that there are sufficient staff to manage the pharmacy’s workload that allows me to
provide safe and effective patient care.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
0
7
17
24
7
6
15
3
8 8
7
1
2
21
65
36
3
15
40
13
11
17
21
1
0
13
79
29
3
5
28
6
3
8
14
3
1
18
243
27
8
16
56
12
5
13
20
9
1
12
289
9
5
6
32
9
7
6
14
11
2
6
2
0 0
1
5
1
0
1
11
24
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
47
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q22: I am given the opportunity and am able to take meal breaks during the workday.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
48
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q22: I am given the opportunity and am able to take meal breaks during the workday.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
2
36
152
49
10
22
44
19
11
21
34
6
2
29
304
45
8
22
65
18 18
28
32
10
0
4
72
10
2 2
23
4 4
2
5
4
0
4
79
11
3
2
30
2
0
1
5
2
1
4
88
5
3
0
13
1
0
1
4
3
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
49
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q23: I am given the opportunity and am able to take non-meal breaks throughout the
workday.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
50
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q23: I am given the opportunity and am able to take non-meal breaks throughout the
workday.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
1
20
53
24
9
13
21
10
11
13
26
2
1
21
100
36
6
10
52
13
9
28 28
6
1
7
83
21
3
13
34
4
7
5
11
5
1
17
162
19
4
10
40
10
5
2
9
7
1
8
292
22
4
3
27
4
2
4 4
6
1
4
5
3
0 0
2
3
0
1
9
23
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
51
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q24: I feel safe voicing any workload concerns to my employer.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
52
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q24: I feel safe voicing any workload concerns to my employer.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
0
19
60
42
7
13
27
8
12
14
19
44
32
176
44
7
15
63
17
9
15
28
4
0
6
123
15
4
12
32
10
6
10
14
6
1
12
182
9
2
6
34
5 5
8
11
6
0
8
153
11
6
3
19
4
1
6
10
7
1
0
1
4
0 0
1
0
1
0
5
22
Q2: Academia Q2: Ambulatory
Care
Q2: Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2: Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for a
pharmacy
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Not Applicable
53
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q25: If you believe you are unable to practice or assist in the practice of pharmacy safely at
your current practice setting, please select all that apply.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
54
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Oregon Board of Pharmacy April 15, 2022
Q25: If you believe you are unable to practice or assist in the practice of pharmacy safely at
your current practice setting, please select all that apply.
Answered: 1,421 Skipped: 623
2
31
428
19
11
14
61
20
5
16
22
15
3
25
515
39
13
17
101
19
16
21
25
19
1
20
417
13
9
8
21
15
10
19
25
13
2
17
416
34
4
15
39
13
10
6
16
17
1
8
455
28
1
7
8 8
1
2
9
15
0
9
340
24
7 7
42
7
5
4
7
10
1
11
303
20
3 3
13
12
1
4
12
8
0
10
172
13
5
14
31
8
0
6
8
7
1
8
89
11
1
2
10
3
1
3
5 5
3
35
56
64
10
22
56
14
16
22
48
28
Q2: Academia Q2:
Ambulatory
Care
Q2:
Community
Pharmacy -
Chain
Q2:
Community
Pharmacy-
Independent
Q2:
Compounding
Pharmacy
Q2: Health
Center
Pharmacy
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Inpatient
Q2: Hospital
Pharmacy-
Outpatient
Q2: Long Term
Care Pharmacy
Q2: Mail Order
Pharmacy
Q2: Other (e.g.
prefer not to
say, industry,
managed care,
nuclear,
specialty, etc.)
Q2: I am not
currently
working in/for
a pharmacy
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
RPh Staff
Support Staff
Metrics
Non-clinical duties
Vaccines/other services
Breaks
Patient Interaction
Technology
Other
N/A
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Q26 Optional - Please provide any additional comments on this topic that
you think would be helpful to the Board.
Answered: 533 Skipped: 1,511
# RESPONSES DATE
1 with vaccines, testing and consultation etc, 1 pharmacist through out the whole day slows
down our workflow
3/2/2022 8:39 PM
2 NA 3/2/2022 8:00 PM
3 We only have 1 pharmacist per day. There is no pharmacist overlap which causes the
pharmacist to not be able to do job properly. Corporations keep cutting hours while expecting
us to stay on top of everything with less hours and less techs. With increase in volume of
tests/shots/vaccines with little staff, it makes it hard to properly take care of our patients when
we also have 500+ scripts to catch up on
3/2/2022 6:32 PM
4 Adopt better rules for COPT so we can easily work from home. There is a shortage after all. 3/2/2022 4:56 PM
5 Severely underpaid technicians and interns, inaccurate text/call notifications to patients about
the status of their prescriptions, unreasonable verified by promised times
3/2/2022 3:03 PM
6 Answering a survey is a low priority for so many of us pharmacists after working a dumpster
fire every day. There is such a high turnover of staff and so many collapsed or stretched duties
that when coupled with brand new travel agents in multiple disciplines, there is a deep-seated
fear that we are days away from a serious medical error. Doing the job of 2-3 pharmacists and
training up brand new RNs, CNAs, MDs on the phone on correct
treatment/administration/timing/technique with little reprieve as administration sees us mostly
as a cost and not a benefit is deeply discouraging.
3/2/2022 1:43 PM
7 We are having to hire non certified technicians who are in their first year becoming technicians.
The seasoned technicians are stressed trying to train and still keep up with the demands. We
live in a community with a community college. I'd like to see the chain pharmacies find a way
to partnership for better training. Rather than hiring someone off the street let's find a way to
help them get some in class training. I was able to do in person 6 weeks through a major
retailer training program in Houston Instead, under the current climate, we're burning out
potential really good candidates because everyone is overwhelmed .
3/2/2022 12:25 PM
8 As an employee at a chain pharmacy, Walgreens, there is a constant pressure that never
gives up. Metrics about how fast phones need to be answered, an unreasonable number of
vaccine and tests performed daily with little or no extra staff. I worked in a tier 5 pharmacy
where we filled over a thousand prescriptions daily and on a Monday I was all by myself
closing from 4pm to 10pm by myself. I had no other staff beside me other than pharmacy
manager for 6 hours. No breaks, no dinner break, literally running from the front counter to the
drive thru none stop. This went on for months. I asked the store manager and upper
management for aid and they said and I quote, "tough beans" and "every where is short
staffed". I could barely catch my breath because of my mask was soaked with sweat. I finally
called in sick one Monday and they had to close the pharmacy and because I called out sick I
received a written reprimand. Covid has push pharmacist and technicians to beyond the
breaking point. Safety has been sacrificed because there isn't enough staff to complete daily
tasks. Either they need to increase the staff or lower the daily extra tasks. I personally one
day gave over 300 covid vaccines in a 12 hour shift because we were accepting walk ins for all
vaccines. On that day I didn't get a single break. Things have to change and the pay should be
equivalent to the work you do. It is not fair that someone that does a quarter of the work
makes 5 cents less then you do. There should be a way to mandate more pay for more work.
Safety in the chain pharmacy since covid started has been getting worse by the day and now
almost marks 2 year of some the mandates being put in place. More meaningful mandates of
compensation because of pain and suffering should be put on corporations who have made
billions because of the pandemic. This is simply wrong and unsafe on so many levels. Patient
safety and timeliness should be the pharmacies’ number one priority and unfortunately in has
not and does not look like it will change. Covid has changed pharmacies, corporation should
3/2/2022 10:21 AM
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enable them, not line their pockets with more money then we can imagine. This needs to
change now or lives will be lost. Sincerely, Concerned Technician
9 Something needs to change. Corporate people who are not pharmacists have not provided help
or support to pharmacies. Working like this is not safe for patients. Corporate has done nothing
to promote patient safety and continues to require increased Covid testing and vaccines while
cutting technician hours. Open pharmacist positions have not been filled, even with sign-on
bonuses. This means huge pharmacist workloads and is not safe for patients. Please do
something to help the pharmacists and technicians who are left. We are the hardest workers
and genuinely care about our patients.
3/2/2022 10:19 AM
10 I feel my employer is trying to address the staffing shortage we have, but we still don’t have
adequate staffing when employees are out sick or on vacation. We also have trouble taking
breaks due to the lack of staffing. We frequently work late and skip breaks to avoid falling
behind which creates a snowball effect on patient wait times. Providing clinical services (ie
prescribing birth control, covid testing etc), in a retail setting with only one pharmacist on duty
is extremely difficult and stretches the pharmacist and staff too thin
3/2/2022 10:02 AM
11 It is my opinion that everyone in the pharmacy is doing the best they can with a difficult
situation.
3/2/2022 2:18 AM
12 Inadequate staffing at retail pharmacies impedes our ability to assist in compiling patients’
best possible medication list. Pharmacies are unable to return requests for patient fill history in
a timely fashion due to their overwhelming prescription and vaccine volume.
3/1/2022 11:51 PM
13 Retired-provide information on request 3/1/2022 9:12 PM
14 With the BiMart closure most stores meet their narcotic order thresholds early in the month…
some store just 10 days into February. The DEA is extremely slow to correct for this and our
customers are angry and inconvenienced. They are forced to pharmacy hop to fill their routine
monthly prescriptions. This is very stressful for us to have to deal with on top of everything
else.
3/1/2022 5:58 PM
15 Overly-punitive actions on behalf of the board of pharmacy 3/1/2022 9:04 AM
16 My answers to this survey are based on my current employment. I previously worked in a retail
setting for a chain pharmacy and left due to adverse working conditions and the impact the job
had on my mental health and work life balance. I hope this survey results in changes to make
working environments better for others in the community setting.
3/1/2022 8:40 AM
17 more & more clinical services are being put into the pharmacy setting without a corresponding
increase in time, space and labor need to adequately perform these services. pharmacists are
also not being adequately compensated for these services in increased wages.
2/28/2022 7:27 AM
18 As pharmacists, we are continued to be expected to provide superior care and speedy
transactions but are doing so with fewer and fewer labor resources and staff. We have been
pressed into providing just a bottle with pills in it instead of providing a trusted and
comprehensive service.
2/27/2022 9:14 PM
19 Feel like this survey is looking to place blame on employers rather than trying to understand
the true barriers to patient care. Patients post Covid are increasingly more demanding, rude,
and many mentally ill patients have gone without usual treatment over the past two years.
Those factors, along with many exiting the workforce have created a completely nee
environment. I personally work for a large chain pharmacy and feel I am taken care of as much
as possible from my bosses. I feel that the BOP could support more by issuing licenses
quicker for perspective technicians. It would also be helpful if the board handled complaints in
a manner that is more supportive of RPHs. I actually operate in fear due to the Board, not of
my employer.
2/27/2022 8:28 PM
20 Current turn around time for technician licenses has greatly impacted the ability to get
technicians fully trained, as I often have to wait 6-8 weeks before a new employee is licensed.
This makes it difficult to replace a technician when they leave.
2/27/2022 8:19 PM
21 Not having enough workspace and too many interruptions without enough help. 2/27/2022 3:56 PM
22 I recently watched an interview on PBS news from a few weeks ago. This pharmacist who was
interviewed said it perfectly. He stated that "If you had a doctor working on a loved one or a
family member performing surgery, would you want the phone ringing in the background while
the doctor’s providing surgery to your loved one? [Would] you want that doctor having
2/27/2022 3:51 PM
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questions thrown at them, having the drive-thru being wrung, having emails pop up at you,
having customers waving at you? So, it’s challenging.” Please feel free to watch the short
video from PBS news: https://youtu.be/4LvlqpGW_hQ Another individual, who, until the end of
last year, was a pharmacy manager at a big drug chain, said, “I felt like I was an octopus
pulled in eight different directions and one of them is having to give vaccines. Now I’m even
concerned that I might give the wrong vaccine at the wrong time. The white coat that I would
wear became so heavy to put on every day in the fear that I might be a danger to my patients
instead of that safety net that they need.” Another said “Having about 30 or 40 vaccines on top
of your daily work with the same amount of people for my store was overwhelming,” said one
former chain pharmacist who now runs an independent drug store in Oklahoma City. “I felt that
I was not living up to the oath that I took as a pharmacist to take care of my patients, but also
to take care of my staff.” ALL of these statements are so true to the word. While I don't
currently practice in Oregon (I'm in NY), I continue to keep my Oregon pharmacist license up in
case of moving back. I do wholeheartedly wish that the New York State board of Pharmacy
was as progressive as the Oregon board of Pharmacy is and has been about patient safety
and work conditions for pharmacists!! Thank you!
23 We are feeling the effects on the inpatient side from over worked outpatient retail pharmacies.
The work load is causing our patients to not get the medications they need to treat acute
infections in a timely manner. It is unacceptable. Patients can't get their medications and are
flooding the hospitals with unnecssary visits!!! Do something to help those poor retail
pharmacist and technicians, before patients die!!
2/27/2022 3:47 PM
24 Unfortunately, PBM reimbursement adversely affects my ability to afford staff that would truly
make me feel comfortable that we are providing superior pharmaceutical care
2/27/2022 1:43 PM
25 PBM regulation priority 2/27/2022 9:08 AM
26 My employer’s top priority is volume and earnings. Work flow conditions and requests for help
are ignored.
2/26/2022 4:28 PM
27 I did not feel that we had a safe practice environment with my employer mandated vaccines for
all employees. This created a situation where we had to hire new pharmacists, new technicians
as well as other new healthcare workers (ie MDs, and RNs') This was all occurring as we
headed into a COVID-19 surge of patients. This was definitely not a safe working environment.
2/26/2022 4:19 PM
28 Employer pressure to do training tasks without time in the workforce metrics force staff to race
through continuing training. Employer sends too much information from too many sources to
follow in a manner to allow compliance with company programs puts strain on pharmacists.
2/26/2022 2:57 PM
29 The culmination of the afore mentioned issues in question 25 is a common place issue in
many retail and independent pharmacies directly contributing to staffing shortages and
degredation in patient care. The retail sphere has a profit motive that far out weighs it's
concern for patient safety and that sentiment is trained into regional "leaders" by their
corporation and its profit only interest.
2/26/2022 2:23 PM
30 Priority is always metrics & false narrative to satisfy corporate meddling. 2/26/2022 11:20 AM
31 Due to lack of time and staffing, it is difficult to consult patients in any meaningful way 2/26/2022 10:58 AM
32 There are too many things being added to the pharmacy staffs to do list including testing,
immunizations, and metrics. Patient safety is being sacrificed in order to do all of the extra
things with less staff than we had before everything was added. Patients are not getting their
medication in a timely manner, and in order to keep up with the workload employees are
working outside of their schedule including before and after opening and closing. My store is
now cutting technician hours so we will get in trouble for going over the budgeted hours but we
also get in trouble for not keeping up with the workload when we are understaffed.
2/26/2022 9:33 AM
33 Currently taking a break from pharmacy, looking for employment other than as a technician
after 20 years. Independent pharmacies that focus on patient care/customer service can no
longer afford to operate within the current system. The large chain pharmacies do not seem to
focus on patient care and definitely not on employee well being, both of which seem like a
safety issue.
2/26/2022 9:30 AM
34 The main problem is the staffing hours are all over the place. There isn't consistency to be
able to write a schedule. Out corporate tells us to hire staff then cuts hours right after.
2/26/2022 6:40 AM
35 Our pharmacy is short staffed and has been for about 9 months. Our script count has 2/26/2022 5:45 AM
Safe Pharmacy Practice Conditions Survey
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increased due to Bi-Mart closing and Walgreens taking over. There is no extra help to be had
within our company and we are struggling. We are frazzled and do not feel we can provide
good patient care for our customers. Some days we are hundreds behind because we do not
have adequate staffing. Because of this, we can't spend time answering our phones and really
helping customers. It's very frustrating.
36 treat hospitals and community the same. whole floors are closed in hospitals because of lack
of staff.
2/25/2022 3:25 PM
37 We really need to figure out how to recruit and retain high quality candidates to the pharmacy
technician industry.
2/25/2022 11:42 AM
38 With multiple pharmacy shut downs in my area it has been difficult to get the patient their
medication when it is billed to another pharmacy. Also, I have never been threatened by
customer as I have in the last 6 months. People verbally and legally intimidating me and my
staff. I have had customers threaten to run over employees in the drive thru, people banging
on our plexiglass. This is the least safe I have ever felt in my 15+ years of pharmacy
2/25/2022 8:16 AM
39 In order to address patient safety pharmacies need to be reimbursed fairly for their services
even if it is "just" and accurately filled rx screened for drug interactions and appropriateness.
Pharmacies should be considered a part of our emergency response network. We supply much
needed services during events that disrupt supply chain issues. Independent pharmacies have
more ability to located backordered product quickly. We take up slack from chains unable to
address the needs of more complex patients which take more time. For example finding
products without certain dyes for patients with color additive allergies. While this takes a great
deal of labor dollars the resulting order may be less profitable. Overtime as we see with BiMart
these individualized activities result in lower profits and potential continued pharmacy closure.
Less access to hight quality pharmacy care can result in overall increased healthcare costs. I
am a former BiMart employee. I take my position very seriously. I treat every patient as I
would want to be treated. My actions resulted in lower profit margins in my work because that
was not my goal. My goal is to provide patient centered healthcare. I am now considering
leaving the field if I am able to get retrained. I hope to enter a career in social work. My salary
will decrease but I hope to truely be able to help my community without the pressure of profit
margins.
2/25/2022 7:02 AM
40 I have a few suggestions. 1st, Pharmacy should close down for half an hour lunch break each
day. 2nd, Each shift should not be more than 8 hours. 3nd, if it possible, all prescriptions
should be sent in electronically. That way it would save us a lot of time and make our work
flow become more efficient.
2/24/2022 11:00 PM
41 I think it would be helpful for the OBOP of pharmacy to examine what a safe pharmacist to
patient ratio would be for inpatient clinical pharmacists and set standards for hospitals to follow
2/24/2022 9:36 PM
42 Once we get behind due to staffing ,it creates more customer calls, which puts entering orders
behind which causes more calls
2/24/2022 9:07 PM
43 Understaffed. 2/24/2022 8:18 PM
44 Masks! Since we do not have direct physical contact with patients I don't feel we should be
wearing masks when the mandate lifts. The drop off window is covered in plexiglass, the
counsel window is covered in plexiglass, the registers are covered in plexiglass, we're
basically in a box now surrounded by, plexiglass. What little interaction we do have with
patients is no more than a few minutes behind, plexiglass.
2/24/2022 7:40 PM
45 We work with a skeleton crew on weekends. Its over whelming most weekends for 2 techs and
2 pharmacists.
2/24/2022 7:26 PM
46 Surveys are one thing, but nothing ever happens. Unless there is enforcement forcing the
pharmacy license holder responsible, the chains will just burn people out and sign up someone
to be the fall guy. Chains have control over payroll, not PIC. It
2/24/2022 7:24 PM
47 Our pharmacy is under-staffed, with no full-time pharmacist and less-than-adequate training for
technicians.
2/24/2022 6:41 PM
48 At my location I work 12hr/shift 2-3 day straight, which is very tiring and towards the end of my
shift I feel exhausted which compromises patient's safety. All my requests to have shorter
shifts and have some overlap between pharmacists are denied. My staff pharmacist showed
symptoms at work and had a positive COVID test next day. Even though I was working with
2/24/2022 6:20 PM
Safe Pharmacy Practice Conditions Survey
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her that day, and according to CDC guidelines I fell into category of an exposure, my superiors
forced me to come to work stating that pharmacy had to be open. I also had two call-outs that
day and had to work by myself with no tech support. When I expressed my concerns that it is
not safe for me to be in a pharmacy for a 10 hour shift alone and I didn't feel comfortable doing
that, I was told to open pharmacy and wait for them to find some coverage; it wasn't done. Due
to lack of support I have to work lots of overtime (50-60hrs/week) which causes a lot of stress
to the point when I had nervous breakdown in a pharmacy when dealing with a difficult patient.
Only after I had such incident I finally got some help. I hear a lot of promises from higher-ups
and little actual support when it comes to staffing or training. When hired I was promised after
2 weeks of general training to have 3 months of additional training as PIC and to be assigned
to a mentoring PIC. None of this was done. Being constantly understaffed, overstressed, and
overworked has affect of my health and mental well-being. I believe there should be a law that
puts restrictions on employers, and regulates the amount of work that a single pharmacist can
do alone.
49 There needs to be a max on how many tranfer pt can go to a pharmacy or how man pt we can
have at one small pharmacy
2/24/2022 4:17 PM
50 Long work hours on top of a large workload is further taxing and increases the risk of mental
fatigue which could result in errors. Creating rules regarding max hours per shift (such as 10
hour maximum) may be a useful tool in increasing patient safety.
2/24/2022 4:15 PM
51 I think after probation period with the board is up the board record should be expunged. Then
maybe there wouldn't be so many staffing issues. I've been trying to find a new job for 3 years
but because of my record nobody will hire me. My offense I feel was minor compared to other I
know about so I can only imagine what others are going through finding work.
2/24/2022 2:39 PM
52 i feel my company gives us the resources to hire appropriately but staff is just unavailable also
extending ditiea to include curbside/mailout and walkup vaccinations have been overwhelming
the staff we have. we have been fortunate to have 1/3 of our ataff willing to take on extra hours
2/24/2022 1:50 PM
53 Change the Oregon law on consultation, other states do not require the pharmacist to use time
unnecessarily because a prescription is marked “new.” If the patient says they have no
questions because the doctor spoke with the them about the prescription or it’s a refill the
pharmacist should not have to sign it out to them each time on a log. Allow certified pharmacy
technicians to take in new prescriptions or transfers verbally over the phone as some states
allow to save the workload on the pharmacist. Also allow technicians to give all immunizations,
not just COVID and flu.
2/24/2022 1:45 PM
54 Walgreens in GP! something needs to change 2/24/2022 1:30 PM
55 It’s a tough environment to both give shots AND provide safe/timely outpatient prescriptions 2/24/2022 1:16 PM
56 NA 2/24/2022 12:41 PM
57 Staffing shortages in a retail setting are extreme. Some locations of my chain have little to no
technicians left. The salary for technicians is drastically to low for the amount of stress and
work that is expected. As the cost of living increases and our paychecks remain the same
while the work load increases is making the shortage worse. Long time well trained technicians
are leaving and new hires are not staying long enough to become well trained. Implementing
central fill, counting machines, and new clinical plans that should make things more efficient
are actually doing the opposite because there is no time train anyone properly on how these
systems need to be managed to optimize them. Without a significant wage increases for
technicians and proper time to train I don’t think this problem will resolve. The only reason I am
still at my job is because I am able to have the flexibility to work part time and still receive
benefits.
2/24/2022 11:31 AM
58 The chain that I work with has multiple stores without any tech. I find myself doing all the
duties by myself. I try my best to take my time and make sure my patients are safe but
there’s backlash from stores saying they fall behind. The focus is too much on phone calls and
things that I cannot do without harming my patients so I choose my patients and make sure
they are safe. I work 12+ hours without any lunch or other breaks throughout the day.
Sometimes it is hard to even use the restroom because that would mean closing the pharmacy
since the RPh is the only person working.
2/24/2022 11:30 AM
59 Why are we monitoring Sudafed sales in Oregon when it is legal to have small amounts of hard
street drug on you ie. meth? This is the biggest waste of my time...adding pointless
regulations like this just take away from me performing my job as a pharmacist.
2/24/2022 11:25 AM
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60 Inadequate competitive options for retention of help and on boarding new help with sufficient
ability
2/24/2022 11:20 AM
61 I feel that I can safely provide quality patient care, but I often work many unpaid extra hours
and sacrifice family time to do so.
2/24/2022 10:52 AM
62 I really think the biggest issue with my company is the lack of adequate technician staffing
whether that's float staff or store staff. At my site, my strong technician quit and we have had
the position remain open since then so far. I think the biggest issue with technicians at our
company is the lack of appropriate training. We have no special extra hours dedicated to
training new technicians. They are supposed to do 'on-the-job' training in the pharmacy and so
you can imagine how this does not work effectively.
2/24/2022 10:40 AM
63 Every pharmacy that I have ever worked in, has trouble keeping adequate staffing and has
completely unrealistic expectation from their employees. This was BEFORE Covid! Now, with
increased cleaning expectations, constant sick calls and ever increasing patient load, it’s
really scary.
2/24/2022 10:24 AM
64 My employer consistently governs with a "do more with less" strategy. In the same month they
will increase responsibilities and duties while simultaneously cutting hours. We are being
heavily communicated to (not open communication, but one way only) about meeting goals
and metrics, and those goals are constantly increasing. To say "here is an extra duty" but to
avoid providing additional resources to accomplish the additional workload is asinine.
Sometimes it feels like it is a grand experiment to see how far they can push their employees
before they snap. One of the most frustrating corporate ideas is the gift cards they would like
us to give out at every opportunity. Years ago the Oregon BOP passed rules forbidding the act
of incentivizing transfers and around the same time tried to adopt rules to limit "work place
distractions." This was commendable and in the interest of patient safety, but while my
employer follows the letter of the law they completely disregard the spirit of the law. We are not
allowed to offer incentives to transfer, but everyone understands the loophole and instead will
have their doctor send a new prescription to our pharmacy so that they qualify. If it were a one
time deal it would be problematic enough, but they have structured it so that people can ask
for giftcards at every transaction, requiring additional steps from pharmacy staff, more
documentation, and more time that is desperately needed to accomplish the workload we did
not have the time to complete in the first place. The gift card situation is a HUGE distraction in
the pharmacy that has nothing to do with patient care and robs us of valuable time. We have
voiced repeated concerns to management about the situation but those concerns fall on deaf
ears. Unless the board prohibits giftcards from being issued by the pharmacy I feel this
situation will only get worse.
2/24/2022 10:21 AM
65 During the worst of Covid the corporation I work for had me (as the only pharmacist on staff)
doing tests every 15-30 minutes with multiple vaccinations every hour plus trying to verify all
scripts for the day. The pharmacy I work at has been short staffed for over a year with our 2
technicians working 60+ hour weeks. At one point we were 21 days behind in our work queue
because corporate was, and still is, more interested in vaccinations and testing than getting
prescriptions out to our patients. Thankfully, our new PDM pushed for reduced hours, testing
and vaccinations so we are finally caught up. But now corporate is breathing down her neck
about all the overtime being paid for in her district because we still don’t have sufficient staff to
cover the hours we are open.
2/24/2022 10:06 AM
66 Main issue is understaffed for the work load 2/24/2022 9:50 AM
67 I work in home infusion pharmacy. The lack of understanding from the board of pharmacy and
others of how our setting functions is detrimental when rules are put in place. We follow both
retail and compounding rules. Retail rules put in place have made our setting have made so we
lack support that is needed. We need more staffing. We also need a way to bill for clinical
services that are provided, so that we are able to increase staffing. Otherwise we could go
under. The board of pharmacy has overstepped in making rules without considering different
pharmacy workflows.
2/24/2022 9:05 AM
68 It doesn't feel like the BOP is here to assist or protect pharmacists. It is as if there are
designed to police pharmacy practice and often decline to answer questions about the law and
suggest RPHs consult an attorney rather than help us understand and do things correctly. We
should be on the SAME team with the SAME goals of patient care and safety but that is not
the impression given. While the the primary focus of the BOP should be to protect patients if
they also looked out for pharmacists they would be more successful in that mission.
2/24/2022 8:12 AM
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69 I have been working for Safeway since December 2021 and in that short time they care more
about vaccines and covid tests. Safeway just signed up to give covid test's and we don't have
time to do those and be able to fill prescriptions. We don't have 2 pharmacist everyday, so
doing those tests are going to cause us to fall behind. We also need more cashiers, but
Safeway says we don't do enough prescriptions per day to have 2 fulltime cashiers. So what
happens is a technician ends up being a cashier for the day instead of processing
prescriptions. I would like to see better staffing in pharmacies so that way customers can be
helped quickly and efficiently.
2/24/2022 7:24 AM
70 most concerns are from non pharmacy duties vaccinatons (primarily covid), birth control,
adherence, insurance billing etc. These duties require lots of tech time in data input which
takes away from other duties filling, input etc. This causes delays in regular patients receiving
their prescriptions which causes people to get hostile which adds more stress on staff which
leads to more mistakes. just a vicious cycle
2/24/2022 7:17 AM
71 Lack of support staff and other techs at the site is counter productive. A corporation should not
be able to pull covering techs from a site to go elsewhere when said site is down a vital staff
member.
2/24/2022 7:00 AM
72 A well staffed oharm. Cashier + 2/24/2022 12:30 AM
73 Pharmacists are required to staff as technicians in order to make up for short staffing in those
departments while keeping up with our own work. Being constantly pulled away is very
distracting and increases the potential for errors. Mandatory overtime ranges from 1-4 hours
per night causing significant staff burnout and exhaustion. Staff is asked to come in earlier, but
is still staying way past shift. Management says there is, “No good solution.” to our staffing
issues which has been going on for months.
2/23/2022 11:26 PM
74 Too many sick calls and not enough people that can come work on short notice 2/23/2022 11:08 PM
75 I feel that it is completely unfair that pharmacists have nobody backing them for their
complaints in the situation’s. It feels as though the parent companies are not liable,
responsible in anyway and have no repercussions for providing an unsafe work environment.
2/23/2022 10:51 PM
76 This is site specific to my current location. Other stores in my same chain are struggling a lot.
I feel lucky we have managed the workload as a cohesive team and weathered the storm that
is pharmacy very well. This has more to do with my technicians and staff pharmacist and me
advocating heavily than offers for help/mitigation of workload from my employer. I will say that
overtime has been paid for pharmacists working more than 40 hours, which is not normally the
case. Labor budgets have not been held to, we’ve been able to use whatever hours we need to
get the job done. This is also not the case with other chains.
2/23/2022 10:38 PM
77 Low paid and inadequate staffing led to many technicians quitting or calling out sick daily. The
working environment is toxic with frustrated staffs and customers. Everyone is exhausted.
2/23/2022 10:27 PM
78 Personnel shortages, extra work load caused by the pandemic (vaccines, boosters, testing,
etc), a major wildfire, the closing of BiMart, impossibly difficult patient expectations, etc have
greatly impacted workload and safety of retail pharmacy in our area for the past 2+ years. I do,
however, believe my employer has tried to address the issues as soon as they are aware of a
problem. They have dropped any emphasis on metrics, tried everything possible to hire staff,
even formed a team to help catch up work backlogs during dark hours. There just are not
enough resources to do all of the things. In particular, so many experienced staff have left
retail pharmacy. Without experienced staff, everything is slower, more difficult and requires a
higher level of supervision. Time, however, seems to be the solution. We are finally seeing
better staffing levels and those staff are getting trained, most patients who are interested have
been vaccinated and boosted, workload from the Bimart closure is settling down, and it finally
feels like we may be reaching the end of the chaos. I believe the problems were relatively
transient (2 years) and are now getting dramatically better.
2/23/2022 9:40 PM
79 Don't have a voice in staffing levels. If complain just label a trouble maker or not a team player
with a bad attitude
2/23/2022 9:37 PM
80 The covid booster shots took many pharmacies in our area by surprise and contributed to the
difficult challenges we faced during the last several months. This survey seems ill timed, as
things are starting to return to normal.
2/23/2022 9:30 PM
81 New USP800 standards have increased workload significantly, but our technician staffing has
not increased. We were already understaffed with respect to technicians, and now this has hit
2/23/2022 9:14 PM
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a critical level. Pharmacists are doing many things that technicians would normally do in
addition to the high pharmacist workload. This increases the interruptions to pharmacist work
that requires concentration and deep thought and is resulting in an increase in errors.
82 We are being driven into the ground with an ever increasing workload. Vaccinations are the
bane of our work now. They are not being given to protect the community but are forced on us
for the larger profit gap for our employers. The community pharmacist role is no longer a
enjoyable profession largely in part from lack of intervention by the OBOP. You are doing too
little too late!
2/23/2022 9:11 PM
83 The staffing issue was very bad for about 3 months, but we are well staffed now. 2/23/2022 9:05 PM
84 As of now, with high amounts of people coming into the hospital, there are not enough
technicians to help deliver all the meds that need to be taken on time. Almost every shift there
are medications that are late to patients. This creates lots of stress for technicians and unsafe
care for patients.
2/23/2022 7:36 PM
85 Get rid of Action OI (use to compare other workplace metrics) to reduce staff. 2/23/2022 7:22 PM
86 Lack of Pharmacy technicians will be a crisis for pharmacy’s for years to come. They need
better pay to keep them in this field of work.
2/23/2022 7:13 PM
87 I work for a mail order specialty pharmacy out of state. Oregon does not allow pharmacists
who work at a site that is not licensed to ship to Oregon to participate in prescription
processing or verification remotely. This slows the process for Oregon patients since only
certain pharmacists can verify order entry on these prescriptions
2/23/2022 6:50 PM
88 Most of these problems have been exaggerated due to the pandemic and other natural
disasters that had happened at the same time (ie. wild fires). Since the pandemic started the
shear volume of responsibility has increased to an unsafe level at every pharmacy. Not just
one specific chain or type from what we have heard and experienced.
2/23/2022 6:29 PM
89 I don’t work retail but the amount of work given to retail pharmacists is ridiculous! It affects my
job because they send work over to us that they should be able to handle, and it is definitely
not safe. Our patients are greatly affected with meds going missing, meds not being filled, no
counseling provided. It is not sustainable and there is a downhill effect on the entire clinic.
2/23/2022 6:00 PM
90 The requirement to constantly do more with less help and be timed on how long it takes to get
patients in and out of our pharmacy is crazy and stressful. Makes too much room for errors to
occur, and when they do occur its not the company held responsible its the
individual/employee. Yet this is the standards and requirements we are held to by the company
we work for.
2/23/2022 5:57 PM
91 The staffing issues that Oregon pharmacies are experiencing are a direct result of Covid-19
vaccine mandates. Stop ignoring the elephant in the room. Many pharmacy techs and
pharmacists have either been terminated or forced to resign due to the Covid-19 vaccine
mandate. My previous employer in Oregon terminated me after refusing to honor my request
for religious exemption from Covid-19 vaccination (even if they did "honor" my request I would
have been placed on unpaid leave). This is the crux of the issue and the reason for the staffing
crisis. Oregon legislature needs to represent their constituents by protecting them from
unlawful medical discrimination. I've since relocated to Montana (a state that recently passed a
law which prevents discrimination based on vaccination status) and I don't plan to return to
Oregon unless a similar law is passed/upheld. I would like to note that Montana is not
experiencing the staffing crisis that Oregon is. This is because the "crisis" is a self-inflicted
wound.
2/23/2022 5:36 PM
92 Recently have 4 new employees still in training but getting so much better. 2/23/2022 5:14 PM
93 We have grave difficulty finding quality applicants in this area and being able to provide wages
that are attractive.
2/23/2022 5:03 PM
94 Staff shortages in retail pharmacies and reduced open hours in rural areas has impacted LTC
nursing home residents as LTC pharmacies often collaborate with retail for emergency new
order fills. I see a trend in reatails ability to dispense, which impacts senior living residents and
their access to critical new medications- this creates a patient safety concern.
2/23/2022 4:20 PM
95 Lots of technology but it does not work correctly 2/23/2022 3:28 PM
96 Our workload increased immensely and suddenly when BiMart shut down. The only other retail 2/23/2022 3:28 PM
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pharmacies nearby are Rite Aids (one is severely behind, patients wait for days for prescription
fills, and the other is closed most of the time) and another small independent store in the same
boat as us. We do not have the staff to keep up with the increased work load and it's very very
difficult to hire technicians with any amount of experience. We could hire a new technician but
there is no time/staff available for adequate training.
97 Pharmacy practice has become inhumane to pharmacists 2/23/2022 3:23 PM
98 I’m not sure what can be done but the way insurance and PBMs work together to squeeze
pharmacies has created a dangerous and untenable situation. Combined with the fact we have
more people taking more drugs which requires more staff that the current profit margins can’t
support it is going to result in increased morbidity and mortality for patients because they will
not be able to get their medications in a safe and timely matter. Our healthcare system is
broken.
2/23/2022 2:54 PM
99 Leadership focuses on quantity over quality, has created a hostile and inefficient workflow and
work environment, and the staff feel unsupported and without concern of staff or patient safety.
2/23/2022 2:53 PM
100 My co-workers in retail were drowning. This survey should have happened months ago. 2/23/2022 2:46 PM
101 I work in a cancer center. There are services that are basic that are not being offered and
would result in safer and better outcomes
2/23/2022 1:54 PM
102 Unnecessary Computer overrides - by pharmacist? Making less time for noticing significantly
clinical ones to keep up dispensing metrics. Placing LEAST capable person @ initial customer
pt of contact w no prob solving skills.
2/23/2022 12:28 PM
103 Training is not given uniformly to all our techs, only the young favorite techs 2/23/2022 12:27 PM
104 I enjoyed my job before Covid. The mandates (which were fine for 2 weeks) have affected
patient care. Patients can't understand counseling with masks on and barriers.Major RX chains
aren't answering phones due to being overburdened with tasks and low help. Dr offices aren't
answering phones and taking way to long to respond to concerns and refills. Administering
shots can not be done with proper consulting, informed consent, with the loads we have had.
Dr offices and other providers are filling prescriptions now with out proper standards and
knowledge and aren't held accountable. Mail order leaves patients confused and often over
prescribed. PDM's are robbing the pharmacies. The board seems to keep making decisions,
rules, that affect retail pharmacy the most-the publics trusted and 1st resource available. This
harms the public. To be told the board is there to protect the public has become a complete
joke.
2/23/2022 12:25 PM
105 I think it's a bad idea to take away the Technician check technician program; it works in my
facility quite well. Discontinuing this program adds more to the pharmacists duties that can be
done by a technician.
2/23/2022 12:23 PM
106 My company 1. Under utilizes the pharmacy clerk position by not having any. 2. Would there
be any value to bring back the pharmacist to tech ratio? 3. Company utilizes service
companies to maintain the database who regularly delete or inactivate files because a dr has
an additional address that doesn’t match npi or DEA databases or delete active insurances
without the ability to reactivate. 4. Other locations inability to answer their phones is having a
negative impact on our store due to the increased call volume. 5. Some dr offices are now not
answering their phones. 5. Inability to get transfers in a timely manner is causing an increase
in lag time to get patients their medicine. Random pharmacy closures is causing an
inconsistent increase in volume at our store making scheduling a more difficult task.
Pharmacies are not ‘accepting new patients’ making it harder for patients to fill prescriptions
from urgent care. Drive thrus are backing up on to major roads causing traffic issues.
2/23/2022 11:47 AM
107 Employer is very non-communicative on changes in procedures or policies. Often find out
through the grapevine. Communication from management is very poor.
2/23/2022 11:44 AM
108 Pharmacy is seen as the most accessible of health care settings. However, as more duties are
allowed, employers are expecting pharmacists to perform these new tasks while completing all
old expectations and at the same or faster speed with less staff. It's become unreasonable and
is leading to mistakes. Not to mention the toll on staff mental health.
2/23/2022 11:28 AM
109 Too many techs to 1 rph to keep track of 2/23/2022 11:20 AM
110 The facility itself is not adequate to handle the increased staff due to increased volume. The
privacy area for vaccines is inadequate. The turnover of support staff means we always have
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new persons trying to cashier, and their training is also being done mostly by new people so
pharmacist is constantly interrupted by questions from cashiers. Computer system and other
devices used to perform job functions often do not work properly. Company seems to tolerate
abuse of employees by patients/customers requiring more of pharmacist time to resolve. I do
not believe this to be the company I work for as much as the entire industry. Pharmacist are
being treated quite badly all over the state. Unacceptable, unsafe, unprofessional.
111 N/A 2/23/2022 10:50 AM
112 We're in a tough situation. There are not enough staff to help. I think the public would be
shocked to see how many different tasks a single pharmacist handles currently vs having the
time to focus on patient safety. Pharmacies do NOT need to be offering immunizations. That,
in itself, is the largest drain on pharmacy personnel time. When pharmacies are 3 and 4 days
behind in filling prescriptions, that's a huge issue. We literally just do what we can to make it
through the day. There is no possibility of getting ahead and being proactive. It's very, very
frustrating.
2/23/2022 10:49 AM
113 n/a 2/23/2022 10:46 AM
114 Consolidate pharmacies to have more personal for better work enviroment 2/23/2022 10:31 AM
115 All pharmacies are over worked and of course the techs are way under paid. Data person has
to deal phone calls non stop all day plus type all rx's and handle all insurance problems.
Pharmacist over see everything. They too are too over whelmed. I retired 5 years early just to
get out of such a stressful situation. I was worried about my Heath.
2/23/2022 10:25 AM
116 It’s very frustrating that my current and past employers tell us to slow down and focus on
patient safety, and that errors are on the pharmacist—yet when concerns are brought up due to
staffing/etc, those pharmacists are told they are too slow/some other excuse and driven out or
fired, then replaced by cheaper new grads desperate to pay student loans (the price of which
are insane for pharmacy school—another concern the BOP should comment on). So
essentially, we voice our opinion and get fired. Or keep working and pray no mistake is made.
If we slow down, then we get in trouble for metrics and driven out/fired.
2/23/2022 10:18 AM
117 I think the timing of this survey is unfortunate. Vaccines have waned. At the height of covid
and flu vaccinations from February 2021 through the end of 2021 and even a bit beyond our
workload was unsustainable. I frequently wondered what the board of pharmacy was doing in
their efforts to support pharmacists and technicians in Oregon. We need help to make sure our
situation does not return to that again. Please do something to help us. The safety of the staff
and patients will depend on how this gets addressed going forward.
2/23/2022 10:04 AM
118 My employer laid off employees due to the pandemic then we experienced Covid surge and
they were scrambling to fill shifts and we are still short.
2/23/2022 9:56 AM
119 THE RATIO OF TECHS TO PHARMACISTS NEEDS TO BE INCREASED. THE IDEA THAT
THE BOP HAS TO ENFORCE A LAW ON SUCH A BUSINESS DECISION TAKES AWAY
FROM MY PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT. TELL ME WHAT OTHER PROFESSION LIMITS
THE NUMBER OF SUPPORT PERSONNEL BY A RATIO. THIS IS NUTS
2/23/2022 9:55 AM
120 We are can only work on business hours.. we would like to start early before customers come
and pick up their prescriptions…and Doctors will send ADHD medications ahead of time..3 to 4
months and that takes our time to reschedule everything…I hope that will change! I should be
every month..we won’t get paid ahead by doing early prescriptions..beside under-staff..patients
will bounce back and forth to pharmacies in order to get their drugs faster. Our phone system
is not very efficient..filling their prescriptions over the phone is a struggle..it still direct the call
to us ..which is a waste of time.
2/23/2022 9:47 AM
121 I chose none applicable on most because I am in clinical pharmacy and do not have face to
face with patients
2/23/2022 9:32 AM
122 N/a 2/23/2022 9:26 AM
123 Pharmacists are burnt out and no one is helping, just adding more responsibilities with less
staff and less pay
2/23/2022 9:11 AM
124 This survey was based on my previous employer. I left chain retail because of these working
conditionas after developing stress-induced medical conditions
2/23/2022 9:06 AM
125 I'm deeply concerned about employers taking advantage of remote work for positions that need 2/23/2022 9:04 AM
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to be in person. While I am supportive of persons protecting their health, I remain deeply
concerned about employers taking advantage of loose rules regarding remote work and the end
result on patient care.
126 I also help very part time at a retail environment and the answers would be dramatically
different for that environment.
2/23/2022 9:03 AM
127 COVID testing and COVID vaccination duties are on TOP of what we already do. Nothing else
is (or could be) taken away, and it seems endless. A COVID team needs to be hired to deal
with the crisis at the very least. We are swabbing noses and delivering vaccines and manning
clinics to draw up doses sometimes on weekends or holidays and since I am at the pay cap at
our facility, no extra pay is given for the extra hours. It is extremely arduous even to get gas
money when you drive your personal car for these events which can be 50 to >100 miles away.
2/23/2022 8:59 AM
128 We are in a lot better shape than many other pharmacies in our area. 2/23/2022 8:57 AM
129 Mist have better closing procedures, if they get a license they shud be open during posted
hours
2/23/2022 8:57 AM
130 If you want survey to be anonymous, consider not requiring county. 2/23/2022 8:55 AM
131 I don’t understand why he majority of pharmacists are either 84 hrs/2weeks or 64hrs/2weeks
only. We need more pharmacist overlap during the day
2/23/2022 8:50 AM
132 In the work setting, the focus is on performance matrix measures, numbers and decreasing
times so by default, patient care ( consult time, safety reviews sacrificed). The environment
and focus have flip flopped making the work day at times, hazardous and unpleasant.
2/23/2022 8:45 AM
133 Our staff is very new and not a lot of time to train. Our pharmacy is very small and we are
walking all over each other all day.
2/23/2022 8:44 AM
134 As an independent in a frontier community it is the inability to find staffing. The staff we have
is great and we have a workflow that allows for safe work even being short handed
2/23/2022 8:43 AM
135 Since so many pharmacy closed there are only one FT RPH with floating rest and they are
doin best they can but too short staff and everyone just felling burt out but a wonderful team
doin best we can.. Tired of the customers complaint on things we cant change. Some days we
have close pharmacy bc there is only 1 RPh so they can eat.. It horrible in all retail So hard
find people who wants to work there for burning out those who are working
2/23/2022 8:37 AM
136 Better pay for the technicians with the workload and performance straining to breaking points.
Allow more hours and team to disperse the work instead relying on one to two techs to perform
the majority of the work. Place value on their work instead of denying vacation requests,
burning them out faster. In essence more pay for those that are performing in the daily
workload not metrics. Not one tech cares about metrics when we are struggling to perform
safely in the daily workload.
2/23/2022 8:34 AM
137 12-hourshift is too long 2/23/2022 8:33 AM
138 In regards to the retail setting, the lack of store pharmacists has a big impact on how much we
can do as well as having to reach chain metrics such as At Home COVID-19 tests. Since our
store only has one pharmacist (our PIC) most days it is hard to manage a reasonable amount
of vaccines as well as have him available for counsel, approvals, talking to providers. Because
of that we don’t do walk in vaccines and limit them to at max 10 a day.
2/23/2022 8:32 AM
139 I've been voicing my concerns for YEARS- they don't listen! Staffing keeps getting cut, tech
pay isn't competitive. Management doesn't care
2/23/2022 8:31 AM
140 I used to work for a chain pharmacy in Oregon. The only reason I left Oregon to practice in
another state is I was tired of the workload put on me. I now work for an independent pharmacy
out of state and have a much better quality of life. Chain pharmacies do not staff their
pharmacies with enough personal to be safe. They do not pay their employees enough.
2/23/2022 8:28 AM
141 A system that looks into shared workload would be better. Some pharmacists are doing more
than double the work of other pharmacists at my work site which causes fatigue.
2/23/2022 8:27 AM
142 My setting in a retail pharmacy. We have a major influx of new patients from pharmacy’s
closing. We don’t have enough staff to keep up with the workload, have time to train new staff,
which leaves everyone overwhelmed and stressed. We are getting new people to start
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however, there isn’t time for training. People are trying to figure out stuff by asking questions
every time a problem arises but then it slow down workflow for us and for patients as well.
143 We cannot keep going forward assuming that patient safety is a secondary concern. Some
strict rules for production maximums would allow pharmacists to tell patients they can only do
X, Y, and Z because the Board allows 200 verified prescriptions and 20 immunizations per day
MAX (or other similar things). Employers won't protect us, so the Board must protect the public
and we will then tell the public we have been given limits.
2/23/2022 8:21 AM
144 I understand that there is a shortage in tech help. But shortages should only span a month and
if the employer cannot hire adequate help, someone needs to regulate them to make the
choice to close the pharmacy until adequate help is sufficient to properly and safely run the
pharmacy. It should be illegal to continue to operate a pharmacy with this level of shortage.
Companies have refused to hire clerks, would not pay them competitive pay so our site is left
without help for >6 months. I have been staffed solo so while breaks are allowed we have to
close the pharmacy. I am terrified on weekends when I have my menstrual cycle because no
one is available to relieve me for bathroom breaks and when I close the pharmacy I get build
up of a line and customers yelling at me. My periods are impacted by the vaccine. We can’t
pick up the phones anymore as there are no help. How long will the board allow a pharmacy to
run with these working conditions
2/23/2022 8:20 AM
145 Patient safety has been a low priority for Walgreens for years, second only to stagnate wages
and stressful work conditions that have resulted in a max exodus of trained and talented staff.
The problems have been magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic and most recently, the
acquisition of all Bi-Mart pharmacies. Pharmacists are regularly working alone for 10-14 hour
shifts, with only a 30 minute lunch break. During this time, they are responsible for overseeing
all technicians, as well as monitoring as many as 800+ prescriptions. Medication errors have
skyrocketed, incorrect vaccines have been administered, and burnout has resulted in staffing
shortages that leave patients without access to medications for hours to days on end.
Additionally, district supervisors encourage unsafe practices in order to boost metrics and
revenue, including extending operating hours but reducing budget hours, staging prescription fill
processes, and reducing an already short training period for new licensed pharmacists.
2/23/2022 7:55 AM
146 Why are Technician hours / staffing always being cut, but yet workload and duties increase,
without wage increase?
2/23/2022 7:48 AM
147 Technician pay has lagged and as a result we have had significant turnover the last couple
years which has hurt efficiency
2/23/2022 7:42 AM
148 The board has become more of a source for punishment than support for pharmacy workers. It
would be nice to see the board be more supportive and less punishment oriented when we
need answers to questions. It’s got to the point where we are scared to call and ask questions
for fear of repercussions.
2/23/2022 7:25 AM
149 Employers make every effort, but struggle, to provide staff, equipment, and a safe
environment for everyone. It is our government that has allowed uncontrolled greed of the
insurance companies via very low reimbursement and "claw-back" in the form of DIR fees that
create unsafe practices in pharmacy settings.
2/23/2022 7:21 AM
150 technicians are not getting paid fairly, so they quit. leaving pharmacists to do technician work,
such as being first-line option for answering phone calls on refill requests, billing insurances.
this takes away pharmacists from practicing at the top of their license and importantly-
providing better care for the patients.
2/23/2022 7:15 AM
151 Maintenance on necessary office equipment like printers is lacking. Getting new equipment
such as printers and installing pneumatic tube systems not being done
2/23/2022 6:59 AM
152 No concern by my employer to staff adequately. I am told I will be subject to disciplinary action
if I do not take a lunch break but have worked 12 hour shifts with no ancillary staff. Have been
informed that I will not get a bonus as I have finally refused to do vaccinations due to being
severely under staffed.
2/23/2022 6:55 AM
153 Last minute scheduling 2/23/2022 6:49 AM
154 there are no technicians to fill open job positions nobody wants to work we are under paid ! 2/23/2022 6:43 AM
155 The vaccines have taken away the ability to do our jobs. To safety get patients their
medications in a timely manner. The focus and priorities of the pharmacy are out of order.
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Because of this there is a shortage of staff and the desire to work in the pharmacy is low.
Therefore this shortage is making it unsafe to get life saving medications at the pharmacy.
156 Any rules or supportive/guidance statement that we can utilize to influence the corporations to
provide better staffing will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
2/23/2022 6:26 AM
157 Thank you 2/23/2022 6:13 AM
158 Staffing is a huge concern. My Hospital has not been able to fill positions that have been open
for long periods of time. This leads to open shifts that are filled by techs that are doubling or
working > 50 hours a week. we will have 100+ open sifts per schedule cycle, Month. This is
not safe and causes burn out and techs to leave the industry. We need the board to set
staffing rules for hospitals eg. # of scripts to number of techs. or something similar
2/23/2022 6:12 AM
159 Great pharmacy environment 2/23/2022 6:06 AM
160 Unsafe working conditions is one of the reasons I left Walgreens about a year ago. Now I work
in managed care and have no workplace safety concerns.
2/23/2022 5:56 AM
161 No time off if sick due to lack of staffing 2/23/2022 5:55 AM
162 My workload is IV chemotherapy. 60+ IVs with two techs is a busy day. With the recent
holidays that number grew to almost 90. That is too much for one pharmacist. Plus, keeping 6-
7 RNs happy is stressful. RNs
2/23/2022 5:50 AM
163 As more responsibilities are put upon the pharmacist in terms of meeting metrics,
vaccinations, MTM's, performing clerical & technician duties and the increase in pharmacists
providing additional clinical functions such as Prescriptive Authority, etc due to the changing
environment in the Healthcare Field there needs to be an increase in guidelines for staffing
ratios to ensure corporate businesses comply with appropriate staffing models. In pharmacies
with corporate management the focus is financial with meeting metrics, budget, etc and part of
this is management of labor, and as pharmacists salaries are higher in comparison to other
staff, the corporate expectation is to do more with less staff and minimize increases in annual
compensation. All of these issues lead to inadequate staffing, less access to provide patient
care at the top of your license, and burnout of staff as well as decreased interest in the
pharmacy profession.
2/23/2022 5:25 AM
164 When BiMart pharmacies closed it put an enormous strain on all retail pharmacies across the
state.
2/23/2022 4:47 AM
165 The primary problem with chain pharmacy staffing, i.e. CVS/Kroger/Walgreens, is that
decisions about staffing levels and pay are made at the corporate level, with the primary
concern being increasing profits by limiting labor costs. I personally am concerned it took this
long for the Board to take an interest in the problem.
2/23/2022 4:34 AM
166 Product Verification Expectation= 500 to 700+ Rx's/hr. Data Verification Expectation= 175 -
200 Rx's per hour. Employee Evaluations based on these Performance Standard Expectations.
Treatment and Satisfaction and Scheduling based on Employer Assessment of Employee
Performance per Metric Data. Metric Data is sent out on a daily basis for Performance for all
RPh's and Techs to view at once, to include Data Verification metrics, # of Phone Calls taken
per hour, and for Technicians, also Data Entry and # of Phone Calls per hr.
2/23/2022 4:13 AM
167 N/A 2/23/2022 3:46 AM
168 Na 2/23/2022 2:46 AM
169 To many vaccine goals,ie. mandatory flu goals per season which seem unrealistic. Right now
is Pfizer pneumococcal goals of 1 per day. Then next month will be another vaccine rollout that
will have goals to meet, etc..Im all for helping patients with there needs, but it is bottom line for
this chain pharmacy. If you dont make your goals on script count they cut staff pharmacist
hours to 32 and manager to 38 hours. They also cut down tech hours. How can you build more
scripts with less hours? They have now cut all staff hours twice within the last year and a half.
Im lucky to still have my staff pharmacist this long, and this person is again applying to other
practice setting.
2/23/2022 1:46 AM
170 I currently work at a very rare pharmacy environment. Where I feel respected and valued. I
recently left a hospital setting where although I loved the job and duties required, it was NOT a
healthy or safe work environment. Understaffed, poorly managed, and we were not given the
breaks and support we needed. I feel fortunate to of found my current employment but this
2/23/2022 1:10 AM
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opportunity is extremely rare and on a large scale the issues in pharmacy are real and need to
be addressed.
171 No 2/23/2022 12:00 AM
172 Retail chains don’t pay their pharmacist well so they never stay. On top of that, the
environment is unsafe to practice in. Lack of pharmacist overlap leads to pharmacist fatigue,
especially when they’re pulled in all directions (ex: verifying a typed prescription while a tech is
asking a question while a patient is waiting consultation while someone is checking in for a
vaccine)
2/22/2022 11:51 PM
173 Underappreciated and overworked seems to the constant, especially in these past couple
years. We can only schedule at or under our budgeted ours which always seem to be under
estimated. Then you throw in the occasional call out (which has been happening more often
since COVID) and that just adds more fuel to the fire. Now, add closing pharmacies and their
upset customers calling your store demanding to know what’s going on and when they can get
their Rxs and no one at your pharmacy even knew that pharmacy was closed and you work for
the same company. All these means for communication an no one who knows what’s going on
can bother to call or send an email letting us know what to tell their customers.
Communication? …
2/22/2022 11:46 PM
174 Help us 2/22/2022 11:43 PM
175 Frequent internet based phone system problems. Unable to hear or be heard frequently. Other
broken or poorly operating technology that makes staff work hard at things that should be a
given to run a pharmacy smoothly and safely. Lack of support by non-pharmacy management:
demands to “just fill the rx” without consideration of the circumstances. This all puts
unnecessary stress and pressure on pharmacy employees.
2/22/2022 11:37 PM
176 Adequate staffing is everything. If you have enough people on shift, everything can run
smoothly. It's especially difficult if 1 pharmacist has to work over 12 hours without another
pharmacist.
2/22/2022 11:28 PM
177 practice in ca bear or boder. health providers medford, grants pass fail to inform patients that
they may have trouble accessing non emergency non electronic c2 meds in ca putting them at
risk of going back up to Brookings and getting their script filled at Fred Meyers ( long wait
times, no rx coverage) or Rite Aid(shortened store hours). believe me, lots of unhappy patients
who often forgo pain treatment, yet get the antibiotics
2/22/2022 11:27 PM
178 A general feeling that the board of pharmacy is not acting in our best interest. Margins are so
low that volume and vaccinations and labor are the controlling forces that drive our industry
right now.
2/22/2022 11:25 PM
179 Retail chains are having trouble keeping the best pharmacists for the job due to stress and low
pay for pharmacists and technicians. No one wants to be a technician for such low pay and
during the training they realize the stress is not worth the pay. It takes months to hire new
technicians and most of them do not make it past training. Pharmacists and interns are tasked
with not only doing their jobs as a clinician but also having to perform technician tasks due to
technician and pharmacist shortages. On top of all the daily workload, we have to answer all
questions from phones and in person regarding covid-19 vaccines and testing without any
additional help. I feel like all of the staff are significantly burnt out due to working extremely
hard over the years in the pharmacy and not being properly compensated. Instead, it feels like
we are doing more work with less staff and seeing our pay decrease by roughly 15%. We have
worked hard throughout the pandemic and it feels like we are underappreciated and
management can never find and train staff proactively to avoid staff shortages. Until proper
pay for pharmacist and technicians can be obtained, I do not see retail pharmacy being a safe
place to practice and provide optimal patient care. It's sad to see bakeries being more staffed
than a pharmacy.
2/22/2022 11:20 PM
180 We need refrigerators- can't get 'em 2/22/2022 11:16 PM
181 Please address PBMs 2/22/2022 11:16 PM
182 The most unsafe I have seen pharmacy in my 13 years of practice. Technician shortages due
to low pay. Never time anymore for maintenance duties, like pulling expired drugs.
2/22/2022 11:15 PM
183 2 years of On the job training should suffice for certification instead of taking the exam. Too
much work load and not enough time to study.
2/22/2022 11:03 PM
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184 The fucking phone system is antiquated and crap. It bounces holds to other departments in the
store and we cannot update our phones with location-specific information.
2/22/2022 10:41 PM
185 Todays pharmacy expectations are unattainable, growing work flow requires added staffing hrs
and staff. From my experience employers are not willing to hire more staff to meet the growing
demands.
2/22/2022 10:29 PM
186 Regarding my pharmacy: I wish this survey was sent months ago. It was absolutely horrible.
The work load was tremendous with vaccinations and prescriptions transferred from other
pharmacies. We had staff out due to COVID, plus we had to send our staff to other
pharmacies to cover their short(skeleton) crew. Our team was so exhausted, driving home
about to cry. We have finally slowed down, fortunately, however our affiliates are in dire straits.
With Bi-Mart and other pharmacies closing it’s becoming a nightmare for businesses who
remain open. Some pharmacies do not answer their phones, because they are so short
staffed. Patients can’t get through, so they just call their doctor and have them send in all new
prescriptions because it’s impossible to have things transferred because they can’t talk to
anyone! I Have have talked to many patients who have expressed their frustrations. There are
cities that have only a couple pharmacies still operating, and can barely answer their
phone,and have patients waiting for an hour in drive up, only to find something missing or a
problem. These people get furious! It’s not their fault, and certainly not the fault of the
pharmacy employees. If this survey was sent earlier, some of my questions would be very
different. I believe that big chains, should have a ratio of employees to prescriptions
processed. I realize this is a very complex issue, however, there is much that can be learned.
Foremost, during this difficult time, I understand that many people who cannot easily seek
health care, will also not get much needed prescriptions. Thank you. This survey monkey app.
won’t let me view or edit my comments, so I apologize for duplicate or disjointed sentences.
2/22/2022 10:29 PM
187 Working 50 plus hours a week from almost every tech is breaking our staff and is exhausting .
Can’t hire techs for any help and always feeling like nobody cares how hard we work to keep it
together . All out techs have no time for anything other work and we might loose good
employees this way. Im the top tech in the pharmacy and Im about to throw in the towel for
being over worked . It’s time to make a change as a company to save employee that’s actually
like their job. We shouldn’t be aloud to work over a certain amount of hours a week . Unstaffed
pharmacy need better operating hours . raises to those have suffered the past 2 year of hell!
2/22/2022 10:16 PM
188 Patients do not wear masks in pharmacy and it provides an unsafe work environment for staff
and other patients in pharmacy. Even with signage and free masks. Employers do not want
staff asking patients to wear masks
2/22/2022 10:04 PM
189 For all the reasons written in question 25 are why I do not feel comfortable in a retail practice
setting at this time. Corporate offices are trying to offset the high price of medications and the
low reimbursement rates from insurance companies by cutting staffing costs. Pharmacies are
understaffed and overworked which, in my opinion, leads to poor patient care, longer rx wait
times and and increase in the likelihood of mistakes occurring. The current climate of the retail
industry is not the setting I went to school for 7 years to be in. I want to be able to take care of
patients; know them by name without needing to look them up in a computer first and be an
accessible healthcare provider. I hope this survey will change what retail pharmacy has
become. Best of luck to those reviewing these surveys; I truly hope they are informative and
actionable. Thank you for your time and efforts!
2/22/2022 9:57 PM
190 Pharmacists do not feel like we have support from chain retailers OR the board of pharmacy.
The board is there to protect patients, prosecute pharmacists, not support the profession.
2/22/2022 9:49 PM
191 living and working in a rural area, it appears that we are overlooked compared to some urban
areas. It is very difficult to get extra help (i.e. float RPhs or Float CPhT) when needed.
2/22/2022 9:47 PM
192 Pharmacy should be closed during rph lunch break by board rule! Enough staffing is very
important for patient safety and pharmacy staff’s healthy work environment as well.
2/22/2022 9:42 PM
193 All of my answers are based on the fact I work night shift at the hospital. Day shift and
evening shift usually have adequate staffing but there are only 4 technicians staffed on nights.
We need at least one more tech and we have voiced this to our manager. We work 10 hour
shifts and the workload is a lot. We barely get everything done in time. And because we are
constantly on the go, we rarely get a full 30 minute lunch break. There’s just too much to do.
2/22/2022 9:39 PM
194 I am making arrangements to leave the profession altogether due to unsafe pharmacy staffing
and expectations.
2/22/2022 9:34 PM
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195 We miss Kevin and Elaine 2/22/2022 9:34 PM
196 To many phone calls and clients and not enough workers! New workers don’t have enough
training.
2/22/2022 9:32 PM
197 The extra load of administering vaccines especially during the pandemic has really interfered
with the work flow of getting prescriptions to patients and adequate time to counsel.
2/22/2022 9:31 PM
198 I am still waiting to be trained by my company, and for my 500 hours toward certified
Pharmacy Technician might be over a year, to test, due to lack of staffing a second
pharmacist. I am looking at over 6 months to be able to qualify to be a certified Pharmacy
Technician. I am eager and ready to learn, but can not financially wait.
2/22/2022 9:30 PM
199 Please help our patients get medications timely manner by tell company to hiring more staffs
and pay them well . Many patients go days with their medications because they cannot get a
hold of pharmacy. Corporate only cares about metrics and prescriptions volume not care about
patients safety and get medication on time. We are as pharmacists and technicians are burn
out and exhausted. We cannot don’t time for break and cannot even go pee or take a sip of
water.
2/22/2022 9:30 PM
200 It is getting better 2/22/2022 9:29 PM
201 This is such a wonderful profession. I was proud to provide focus patient centered health care.
That feels so long ago and so out of reach now. I feel like I can’t catch my breath. I refuse to
rush despite the pressure for fear of harming someone. I have stepped away from the bench. I
cannot do it full time anymore. It doesn’t feel like i am providing care anymore.
2/22/2022 9:27 PM
202 As before (the last survey regarding pharmacist workload issues) the assumption is that
pharmacists are at the same level of power as the employer and as such can negotiate at a
level playing field. Well, honestly it is if a woman sexually harassed by a C E O of her
corporation should have felt comfortable telling the Individual to stop. The staff has no agency.
It is a matter of feeding your family or loosing your job. How would most humans respond? I
love my profession. I am absolutely genuine in my response. However, I have told my son (
who is really smart and one of the most generous humans I know) not to consider pharmacy
as a career. Thank you O B O P for considering my comment. May this and other comments
shock the board and others into real action. Sincerely, a pharmacist that has reached the end
of their rope BEFORE COVID.
2/22/2022 9:18 PM
203 With my experience any pharmacy work load that exceeds 220 prescriptions daily should have
more than one pharmacist on duty, and not be reliant on that sole pharmacist.
2/22/2022 9:16 PM
204 Anticoag clinic 2/22/2022 9:08 PM
205 It is unacceptable of corporate to put money before patients and employees. This has to stop
with corporate.
2/22/2022 9:07 PM
206 Na 2/22/2022 8:54 PM
207 Our company has a online vaccine appointment portal that allows people to make vaccine
appointments every 15 minutes 7 days a week not realizing that due to lack of staff the
pharmacist is all by himself on weekends. Completely unable to manage vaccines,
prescriptions and endless people picking up prescriptions. With the pharmacy closures in our
area our pharmacy has tripled its volume since last November. We are barely able to get
prescriptions filled let alone spare one of the two pharmacists we have to do vaccines. All of
our pharmacy staff have been working upwards of 50 hours a week or more just trying to keep
up with the workload. Tripled prescription volume with the same amount of staff with the
expectation todo any and all vaccines every 15 minutes is completely unreasonable.
2/22/2022 8:50 PM
208 As long as corporate members are on the board, work conditions will not improve. Technicians
deserve much better compensation and all staff deserve adequate breaks. And the board
should also help protect Pharmacy staff from abusive patients. Workload far exceeds staff
capacity in Central Oregon and patient safety is at risk. We cannot be chastised into providing
better care when there is not enough time or staff. Happy employees = happy customers.
2/22/2022 8:48 PM
209 Finding CPhT available and willing to work has been extremely difficult during and post COVID
apocalypse. Many other professions either shutdown or are forgiven to have lack of labor
support. However, the public has no patience or forgiveness for the overwhelmed fatigued
pharmacy staff.
2/22/2022 8:48 PM
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210 Fred meyer pharmacy is negligent. As a pregnant female I was denied breaks, a place to sit,
no access to a fridge or microwave. Pharmacist staffing was cut in half and work load was
increased ie more vaccines, more clinical assignment’s and are script volume continues to
grow annually. It’s a conflict of interest to have Wassim Ayoub at the OBOP.
2/22/2022 8:43 PM
211 Labor hour cut to meet profit margin. Scheduling long pharmacist hours with inadequate break
and meal time.
2/22/2022 8:41 PM
212 Recent closures from Rite Aid have strained our resources and we still aren't able to keep up
with the patients that are leaving them. Its very fristrating that their inadequate staffing is
adversely affecting our pharmacy.
2/22/2022 8:39 PM
213 In my experience with past jobs I definitely believe myself to be in the minority having adaquite
staff at my current job. This is the only job I have ever had where my employwr seemed to be
concerned primarily about staff working conditions and patient safety.
2/22/2022 8:38 PM
214 We have needed help throughout the entirety of this pandemic. Vaccination rollout was poorly
handled, and I’m appalled that the vaccine has driven profits for some health care settings.
2/22/2022 8:37 PM
215 Something is constantly being added on without additional help. You want something mailed?
Sure, we can mail that to you and take time away from filing RX. You want something
delivered, let me do that and spend the 10-15 minutes doing that for you away from filling
these urgent RX. You want curbside pick up, sure! There are only two of us here and the
pharmacist is doing a vaccine and I have a line of customers at the register. When does it
stop?
2/22/2022 8:35 PM
216 Since the COVID pandemeic, it has been nearly impossible to obtain adequate help in the
pharmacy. Only recently have I been able to hire sufficient technician help to be safe and
effective. Hopefully this will continue to improve.
2/22/2022 8:33 PM
217 Continue to allow work from home. For rph and techs too 2/22/2022 8:31 PM
218 The expectations are unsafe, unfair, unachievable. Lack of staff and workload are completely
out of control.
2/22/2022 8:29 PM
219 When are you going to lift the mask mandates.Can we not wear masks at our desks.Provide
more hand sanitizers to employees.Are we going to get paid hazard pay for working during the
corona virus.
2/22/2022 8:16 PM
220 It is crazy unsafe out there. How have we allowed big business to dictate how we practice?
How is this the first time I’ve been asked about this? Please take this seriously and really do
the hard work. Without mandates on safe staffing ratios, big business will just continue to
squeeze every last dollar out of the business with no regard to safety or patient care.
2/22/2022 8:14 PM
221 Pharmacy chains have obsolete dispensing software that does not allow technology checks ,
barcode scans to verify RXs and rely on Rph checking NDC'S etc for accuracy , no software
engineering to match a medication vial with a patient leaflet electronically , often 20 -30
consults per 4 -5 minutes , bare minimum instruction for patients . I'm leaving OREGON state
to find safer work environments after Gov Kate Brown forced mandates on healthcare workers
and pharmacists creating a shortage and a division amongst healthcare workers themselves ,
their communities and quality of care Oregonians now receive due to corporate and
government pressures and mandates . I will happily hang my Oregon license up after 31 years
in pharmacy and search a safer work environment in another state .
2/22/2022 8:09 PM
222 routine need to have overtime 8-12hrs/wk per R.Ph. to keep up with demand for filling
prescriptions. Lots of technician turnover and re-hiring/re-training.
2/22/2022 8:07 PM
223 Finding employees is at its most difficult in over 20 years! 2/22/2022 8:05 PM
224 Never ending phone calls. The phone is always ringing. 2/22/2022 7:57 PM
225 Inadequate education, training of technicians 2/22/2022 7:55 PM
226 The lack of adequate staffing is not allowing us to take a lot of things that are important to get
done and settled from day to day. Would be more helpful to have another staff member to help,
etc.
2/22/2022 7:55 PM
227 Fortunate to work where technician and non-licensed staffing levels are good. Due to pharmacy
closures and covid vaccination efforts, our daily prescription count has increased by about
50% without an increase in pharmacist staffing.
2/22/2022 7:53 PM
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228 Na 2/22/2022 7:40 PM
229 My role is unusual: pharmacy administrative specialist responsible for drug shortages,
inventory management, revenue integrity, month-end accounting closing, and added on top of
this has been managing COVID-19 vaccine receipt and distribution across an 8-hospital
system. Nothing is directly patient-care related, but my responsibilities are more than one
person should have to bear.
2/22/2022 7:40 PM
230 None 2/22/2022 7:38 PM
231 With respect, I think the boards previously released statement on safety is completely
ineffective. The only action that will solve this situation is mandatory limits on number of Rxs /
technician hour.
2/22/2022 7:37 PM
232 Slow system and process of flow. some automation not available and creates extra steps 2/22/2022 7:31 PM
233 From a clinical perspective, working remotely for a telephonic based clinic has improved work-
life balance and decreased stressors during the pandemic. Our clinic maintained effective
management of our patients working remotely.
2/22/2022 7:29 PM
234 Corporate does not care. New grads and old pharmacists are being paid very low with no
chance of raise. The workload has tripled since the pandemic and RPH get pay $50an hour?
Unsafe work environment and damaging to my mental health
2/22/2022 7:18 PM
235 State Board(s) of Pharmacy and Dep’t(s) of Health have failed and/or are missing in their
leadership/inspection position. If you are perplexed or at a loss to understand this comment,
please review your Mission Statement.
2/22/2022 7:16 PM
236 Pharmacy staff wages are godawful low. And we need a better pharmacist to tech ratio, say 4
techs per pharmacist ( and interns don't count towards ether one of those).
2/22/2022 7:16 PM
237 Due to the closure of Bimart in our area and the subsequent overflow from Walgreens we are
continuing to struggle to maintain against the pressures of over three thousand rxs per week. I
know it is unrealistic but I would like to see another option for a pharmacy in our area to come
in and take off some of the load.
2/22/2022 7:12 PM
238 Opiates are often filled early with no documentation or review or reason 2/22/2022 7:11 PM
239 Way more work than can possibly ever get done, and pressure to work so quickly that there's
not enough adequate time to even the no and do a safe and good job. Retired and lost
employees are not replaced and we are told to be work more efficiently. The problem is the
executive director of Kaiser.
2/22/2022 7:11 PM
240 Lately communication with doctors offices and other pharmacies to resolve safety issues has
been a huge problem. Over 2 hours on hold to talk to a provider about drug interactions or to
transfer a medication from another pharmacy. This has been the biggest barrier over the last
6+ months.
2/22/2022 7:10 PM
241 Inadequate staffing is the elephant in the room. Not being addressed or discussed. Techs need
to be paid a living wage. C-suite just cares about profit margin and pleasing shareholders.
2/22/2022 7:10 PM
242 Our employer has no clue or doesn't care about the safety of our staff and members in regards
to staffing. Our managers are feeling the brunt of having to cut hours and schedule a skeleton
crew just to satisfy budgets created by those who have never stepped into our workplace.
Pharmacists are doing tech work which cuts into our roles to consult due to short staffing and
this needs to stop. Just because other workplaces are suffering staff shortages, pharmacies
should not be suffering the same. Please enforce some rules to eliminate the stress of working
in a pharmacy. We need more staff, better equipment (automated counters that constantly
need pampering, better computer systems)
2/22/2022 7:10 PM
243 We are in a hard to staff area but we always are short staffed & given max
technician/pharmicist hours even though we cannot get caught up. Another major issue is our
chain does not hire clerks, they expect technicians to work drop off, fill & pick up, lots of times
with 3 techs.
2/22/2022 7:07 PM
244 Inadequate space to efficiently process and fill the qty of prescriptions required on any given
day.
2/22/2022 7:06 PM
245 I have recently changed employers so I feel I have a much better work load than I did, so I 2/22/2022 7:05 PM
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tried to answer honestly with that it mind, but had I been evaluating my old employer my
answers would have been much harsher
246 I exited retail pharmacy in 2018 due to workplace pressure that made my practice as a
pharmacist unsafe. I voiced concerns to management but they were ignored. I felt I had no
choice but to quit. I can't imagine what it is like now with the pandemic. I'd like to return to
retail pharmacy work to help out, but I am afraid of being put into unsafe working conditions. It
breaks my heart because although I love teaching, I miss retail pharmacy, and teaching does
not pay very well
2/22/2022 7:00 PM
247 We are forced to concentrate on MTM to decrease DIR fees which makes it difficult to
concentrate on the patient in the store.
2/22/2022 6:59 PM
248 Vaccines and covid tests take priority over over getting prescriptions safely to patients. 2/22/2022 6:57 PM
249 New Technician's need time for training not to be rush. Staff needs to be able to have time to
make sure the safety of filling a prescription than just getting numbers done
2/22/2022 6:56 PM
250 This survey should have ended when I said I was retired and not working. Future surveys
should be formatted so I don't have to answer unnecessary questions
2/22/2022 6:55 PM
251 Though my current workplace (urban outpatient) allows for arguably sufficient staffing, etc., my
prior workplace (rural chain pharmacy) did not have adequate staffing due to too many
nonclinical duties and vaccinations, leading to feeling rushed all the time and lack of breaks.
2/22/2022 6:51 PM
252 How allowing wait time metrics to be tied to manager bonuses can possibly be legal is beyond
my understanding. We are berated to no end over these metrics, including unfavorable shifts
being given to pharmacists as punishment for not making wait time metrics.
2/22/2022 6:50 PM
253 I feel that for right now it you should help technicians get there licenses easier 2/22/2022 6:49 PM
254 Immunization function is not feasible in retail setting. This is a function of pharmacy that has
gone haywire!!!
2/22/2022 6:49 PM
255 Oregon Pharmacy Licences Are Mainly a Burocracy 2/22/2022 6:46 PM
256 I think as a technician we are put to do more than is capable. We are just barely getting by and
especially at my pharmacy we have 1 pharmacist that is amazing and on that is incompetent. I
have no idea how is even a pharmacist
2/22/2022 6:46 PM
257 The answers to the questions asked speak well. 2/22/2022 6:43 PM
258 In the case of my employer, I feel that the lack of staff is primarily due to the lack of qualified
applicants.
2/22/2022 6:39 PM
259 Retail chains have cut pharmacist staff to the bone, to the point that it is impossible to keep
up with workflow, counsel patients appropriately, complete the myriad of clinical tasks
expected of us, and keep the pharmacy Board-compliant. Pharmacists need to be given fair
hours and fair wages to compete these tasks, and to help combat fatigue and burnout that
have become a critical issue in this profession. If pharmacist working conditions are not
drastically improved, I do not see how safe practices can become the norm.
2/22/2022 6:38 PM
260 At this time, I feel the largest problem is finding quality technicians that stay and show-up for
their shifts. This seems to be due to poor compensation in combination with the immense
amount of stress and workload put on the shoulders of technicians. For instance, I know of
one technician that refilled the automated dispensing machines by themselves for an entire
hospital because someone else who normally partnered with them had to call out. Redundancy
is extremely important in safety checks and thus staffing redundancy should also be at the
forethought of managing entities especially as large as a hospital. If these aren't addressed
then it will be difficult to retain qualified and experienced technicians, which is important since
they are much less prone to making errors.
2/22/2022 6:38 PM
261 Volume of work . With closings of stores the increased volume has been difficult to provide
service as quickly as patients are used to. We are having to change their expectations.
2/22/2022 6:32 PM
262 Very grateful to practice in a rural independent pharmacy. Cash flow due to pbm’s is making
life very difficult for all of us. My career spans 40 years. I have watched the antics of this
group destroy this great profession. Very disheartening!!
2/22/2022 6:32 PM
263 I have retired early due to the stress of work overload. 2/22/2022 6:30 PM
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264 Overworked and under paid. Not enough reliable staff, and to much focus on vaccines, tests,
and masks which takes away from time spent on accurately filling prescriptions in a timely
matter
2/22/2022 6:21 PM
265 AN 2/22/2022 6:14 PM
266 Regional and senior leaders care more about metrics than patient care . Their pressuring to
meet metrics pushes people to take unsafe shortcuts for fear of discipline if they don’t meet
the numbers
2/22/2022 6:13 PM
267 Medications are being coming more complicated with more interactions or dosing specific
requirements. it takes time to lean about new medications and new workflows. That time is
rarely provided by employers. Patients get short changed because interventions pharmacists
could identify, or medication narrowing does is not maximized as there is not enough time
provided to really review med profiles.
2/22/2022 6:12 PM
268 Please lower the age requirement for technicians to 16 years. The wages for most chains
cannot compete with other businesses' compensation.
2/22/2022 6:11 PM
269 Our new priority has become administrating vaccines and Covid-19 tests. Our pharmacy and
many like ours will have 300-400 prescriptions that need to be filled, but we're stuck giving
vaccines and tests. So now I've got dozens of pissed off patients who called their
prescriptions in for refill 7 days ago and their not done. I don't have enough staff to answer the
phones because it's either help the line of 20 of people in front of me or answer the phone.
Take a guess which one we choose? We've already had to alter our hours of operation due to
pharmacist shortage, which pisses off patients and pisses off the OBOP. We get yelled at and
mistreated by corporate and patients. The shortages aren't just in OR either. It's become
increasingly evident that pharmacists and technicians are getting tired of this garbage. Why
OBOP is even bothering to do a survey beats me. You'll never do anything about it.
2/22/2022 6:08 PM
270 WE HAVE BEEN SEXUALLY AND VERBALLY HARASSSED BY THE MANAGER! AND
CUSTOMERS!
2/22/2022 6:07 PM
271 I work in the clinic not in the actual pharmacy 2/22/2022 6:03 PM
272 As a Pharmacist I have been told by my district Pharmacy Manager, when calling in sick with
an illness, 1. I am responsible to find my own coverage when I am sick. 2. A single sick day
(one in a row without a previous sick day taken in over a year) requires a note from a doctor. 3.
If I am unable to do 1 or 2 I am required to come into work sick or not. I actually kept screen
shots of the text messages from the district manager telling me this. I reported it to the Oregon
Bureau of Labor and Industries, but they stated they could only take action if I was punished
for not showing up. I, however, went to work sick from fear of punishment. During a period of
time around 4 months, previously in my career, I was literally the only person employed in my
retail chain pharmacy. This pharmacy averaged about 1600 prescriptions per week and as a
pharmacist I was the only human in the pharmacy from 9am to 8pm. Things got so bad one
day someone called the police because they were unable to get a hold of anyone in the
pharmacy. The police officer showed up to my pharmacy I was the only one there, many
people in line and waiting around the area, many people trying to get through on the phone
lines. This was before COVID. The suggested staffing from the company was 1 pharmacist per
day and 12 hours of pharmacy technician. During this time there was an opening for a
pharmacist and 2 technicians at that pharmacy. Those positions stayed open for 4 months,
then I left the company. In another instance during a time while I was a pharmacy manager, my
colleague had requested I sit in on a meeting with my district pharmacy manager to discuss
some mental health issues they had been going through. During this meeting the District
Pharmacy Manager made it clear that "there is no such thing as a mental health day" and that
they could not take a sick day due to mental health. I reported this as well, but unfortunately
this former colleague quit shortly after that meeting. I'll go ahead and name the "mental health
sick day is not real" district manager because he is no longer in Oregon and is now a Vice
President of Pharmacy at Rite Aid Chris Mellon. Just sad.
2/22/2022 5:58 PM
273 Lack of centralized medical records/information. Unable to get patient history. 2/22/2022 5:57 PM
274 When I worked in pharmacy we were pressured to make decisions that were profit based and
not safety based. Techs are overworked and underpaid. It is the last profession to recognize
professionals to assist doctorates . Technicians are grossly underpaid for doing the
pharmacists job. We ARE smart and educated but do not get paid what we are worth and there
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is little room for advancement. This is why I left pharmacy after 36 yrs to work at a shipyard in
data entry.. I get paid more and it's way less stress!k
275 I feel sorry for anyone that is currently working in a retail pharmacy setting. It doesn't take a
"rocket scientist" to see that the system is broken! I have been a pharmacist for almost 30
years and many of that was in a retail setting. It has progressively gotten worse and continues
to decline for customer satisfaction. Rite-Aid is providing a new low to our practice, but some
of the other chains shouldn't give themselves a pat on the back either. The labor models that
these stores are using are extremely short in staff and while the closure of Bi-Mart and COVID
has increased this pressure, it would be foolish to not recognize that we were already heading
down this path over the past several years.
2/22/2022 5:46 PM
276 I have given notice. I can no longer take the verbal abuse, name calling, bullying, physical
threats, and worse, have to answer to be board and be under investigation every time a
disgruntled customer files a complaint full of lies, and I feel like a criminal trying to defend
myself over perceived customer service issues. Every day I work, I fear for my life. Not sure
when the next person is going to explode. I wish you all would take certain areas into
consideration. Customers are losing it and we are in the receiving end. I am done.
2/22/2022 5:44 PM
277 The metrics just keep getting greater and the staffing fewer and fewer with more and more
patients. This is a broken system. We need to return pharmacies to being healthcare facilities,
be able to focus on patient care, and get rid of the fast food mentality.
2/22/2022 5:43 PM
278 When am I going to stop taking ridiculous surveys and see some change in this industry. I
know pharmacists who have walked out mid shift and will never return to pharmacy. How am I
supposed to want to continue being a pharmacist when the board of pharmacy won’t do
anything. I’m sick of feeling unwanted by my employer and the board of pharmacy. What are
you doing all day? Maybe make some change before there’s no pharmacists or technicians at
all. It’s so disappointing waking up and going to work every day knowing nobody gives a shit
about us. I’m about a week from quitting pharmacy and working at McDonald’s because at
least they care about their employees.
2/22/2022 5:42 PM
279 I think CPhT’s need to be able to handle more responsibilities. We should be able to administer
vaccines more openly a freely exactly how RPh’s are able to. Oregon needs to step up it’s
game like other states are allowing. Be more progressive, a leader in what’s new. I’m also a
contract technician here in Oregon so I work at 5 different hospital inpatient pharmacies and I
see a lot of what’s wrong with different places and they’re all different.
2/22/2022 5:41 PM
280 Allow for more time to finish ce 2/22/2022 5:40 PM
281 Company policies over complicate the filling process making it so I must focus on
documentation of tasks unrelated to patient care. Additionally some policies intentionally
bypass safety measures put in place to prevent medication errors. My company has
acknowledged that 20% of all medication errors are the direct result of this policy but has done
nothing to address the bad policy and instead has decided to focus on the punishment of
pharmacists for errors that occur while following company policy
2/22/2022 5:39 PM
282 Because of staffing shortages, we are unable to cover vacations/days off/sick days. We all
work overtime every week, and are asked to go to other stores before/after work to help. We've
had 2 staff out with covid, in the last month. Because we're in the back of a retail store, and
company policy discourages asking customers to wear masks, we are constantly having
customers refuse to wear them while in line, sometimes becoming angry and occasionally
verbally abusive. I have not seen other pharmacies enforcing the mask mandate in a health
care setting, and have been told by management that we cannot "refuse care" to people who
refuse to wear masks. This creates extreme anxiety and unsafe conditions for those
customers who are immunocompromised and those who are getting vaccinated.
2/22/2022 5:37 PM
283 I’m not currently working as a technician due to workplace practices. 2/22/2022 5:35 PM
284 Thank you. I fear for patients because of permanent staffing issues. 2/22/2022 5:34 PM
285 I don't practice in a dispensing pharmacy, however occasionally need to collaborate with a
dispensing pharmacy (eg clarify a prescription sent by myself or other provider, resolve
prescription barriers/issues by telephone, etc). It has been increasingly difficult to reach
someone due to long call wait times, pharmacies not answering phones, or finding someone
who can help with simple requests (eg take a verbal order to update a quantity on a
prescription, etc).
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286 Pharmacy that I work for needs equipment like pump repeater to help with the workload 2/22/2022 5:31 PM
287 I work at the VA, and I hope that I never need to go back to retail. The demands placed on
retail staff are unsustainable.
2/22/2022 5:30 PM
288 The only healthcare field where professionals are expected to serve patients and corporate
interests at their own emotional, mental and physical expense.
2/22/2022 5:29 PM
289 Covid shots appointments were over 120 shots per day(within 6 hours windows) with no extra
help
2/22/2022 5:28 PM
290 Being able to work from home has allowed my pharmacy to run more effectively due to space
limitations at the physical location. The restrictions put in place to remain at home are too
substantial unless we hire an absurd amount of pharmacists. Please reconsider your
guidelines. I
2/22/2022 5:25 PM
291 The metric demands need to go away. 2/22/2022 5:22 PM
292 My location is well taken care of and practices very safe and timely patient care. I am
concerned only in that other locations in my chain are not set up this way and lean on my staff
and time constantly in order to barely get by. The reasons for this are mostly due to the quality
of technicians that are hired due to the low rate of pay compared to other jobs like fast food for
example. Industry standard needs to rise to pay both technicians and pharmacists better so
they can retain top talent for the stress load we are under.
2/22/2022 5:18 PM
293 Patient expectations aka 10-15 min wait time is unrealistic 2/22/2022 5:16 PM
294 The board of pharmacy needs to mandate more pharmacist and more technician hours based
on number of prescriptions filled. Right now we are SERIOUSLY understaffed. Patient safety is
at great risk. We are doing the best we can with what we’ve got, but it’s not nearly enough and
patient care and safety (which is what the board of pharmacy needs to address) is suffering
greatly. Patient care abs safety have been on a downward slide for quite a while. Please help
us provide adequate care by mandating a minimum number of man hours (pharmacist and
technician) based on number of prescriptions filled. We’re drowning.
2/22/2022 5:16 PM
295 na 2/22/2022 5:15 PM
296 My pharmacy is one of the few in Jackson County that can keep up with the work, I believe it
is because it is very well managed. Other pharmacies are making their patients wait for their
medications.
2/22/2022 5:13 PM
297 I would have checked all of the options in question 25 if I was still practicing. All of those
questions were applicable at the time I retired 8 years ago and it appears that things have
gotten worse. Now as a customer I can see that pharmacies are just overloaded with work and
lack of employees to do the work. Waiting 45 minutes in line just to get a refill is unacceptable.
I have always been against mail order but I may be forced into it. Like I said these were all
problems 8 years ago when I gave up hoping for a better work environment.
2/22/2022 5:02 PM
298 not enough staff and to little technicians 2/22/2022 5:01 PM
299 This lack of staffing and pushing pharmacy staff to the point of exhaustion is nothing new. It is
more apparent during COVID but it has been happening for year. Employers have always
asked us to do more and more with less, creating a dangerous environment for patients. Many
Walgreen pharmacists in Central Oregon were very vocal to upper management about this and
they do not seem to care. It goes beyond the employers though, they are also strapped
because of low reimbursement rates from PBMs. Employers can't adequately staff when they
lose money for health care services. It goes far beyond COVID. I filled this survey out based
on me still working at Walgreens. I have recently left. I'll chat about this anytime if it helps to
make changes -Andy Schlicht 320-761-1751
2/22/2022 4:57 PM
300 Pharmacist shifts should not be longer than 8 hours. 2/22/2022 4:56 PM
301 It is hard to get good new employees for non-technical support staff. 2/22/2022 4:55 PM
302 Walgreens 2/22/2022 4:54 PM
303 Please implement new rules and save this profession 2/22/2022 4:53 PM
304 I am not sure how we would get more pharmacy technicians to get certified and or joing the
phqrmacy practise. It is about time to think about ways to incentivice technicians or expedite
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their certification process.
305 The sheer amount of verbal abuse endured by the pharmacy staff creates a rather unsafe work
environment
2/22/2022 4:48 PM
306 The lack of technicians is putting stress on pharmacists and technicians are choosing to work
at fast food chains where they get very similar if not more pay for less abuse from patients via
phone and at the counter. Please help change the way technicians perceive this very important
and valuable role.
2/22/2022 4:48 PM
307 New rules such as licensed professionals must sell Sudafed makes our workload higher and
takes away from professional duties.
2/22/2022 4:43 PM
308 I believe my staff can use more training besides CEs 2/22/2022 4:42 PM
309 Please help us. We need some kind of protocol that outlines certain # staff per number of
prescriptions.
2/22/2022 4:41 PM
310 More pharmacies should remain 24 hours 2/22/2022 4:39 PM
311 Our pay is too low 2/22/2022 4:38 PM
312 We allow our pharmacist to work a hybrid remote shift but not technicians. I think if we allowed
technicians to work remotely like all other call centers we could hire more technicians. Also we
only have full time employees. Offer part time.
2/22/2022 4:38 PM
313 Lack of technicians to fill open positions 2/22/2022 4:37 PM
314 the current operational practice does not allow for safe pt care. The board is not licensing
rapidly enough to meet the demands. Our staff is overworked and there are to many
parameters put in place to work against pharmacists. The Board investigates pt claims and
make the pharmacists take additional time to respond to pt complaints that are unfounded. If
the board would like to see the current operations they may want to start doing in-person visits.
It seems the BOP has lost touch with the current practice.... i.e. pharmacist and technicians
have been working in the Covid environment from the start and the board has not stepped into
a pharmacy.
2/22/2022 4:37 PM
315 No masking would increase communication efficiency. 2/22/2022 4:35 PM
316 If something can be done to decrease mandatory counsels (like a dosage change that is not
really a dosage change -- ie worded differently) it would be helpful
2/22/2022 4:35 PM
317 Most of questions in this survey are not applicable and do not address the real issues that has
lead to unsafe work environments in Oregon pharmacies. Please allow me to clear this up for
you. In Oregon pharmacist are walking off the job due to unsafe practice environments and
most that I know of are leaving Oregon all together or pursuing a different career choice. In my
opinion and the current situation cannot be blamed on the chains and supermarket corporate
leadership. The blame falls solely on the current Oregon Board of Pharmacy, poor/horrific
under reimbursement from health plans/PBMs, and unethical practices of pharmacy benefit
managers. Even if we could hire more staff there is no way to afford additional FTE under the
current reimbursement in Oregon. The amount administrative burden, unnecessary regulation,
lack of support, and outdated practice standards the current Oregon Board of Pharmacy staff
are promoting is not reflective of today's practices and cause public harm by standing in the
pharmacists and their patients. We spending far too much time trying to protect our licenses
and understand memorize game of thrones novel that is the OBOP OARS that no patient is
able to spend time with a pharmacist. How can we increase staff when you cant afford them?
Even the chains and supermarkets are unable to afford the FTE needed to staff appropriately
for their standards of care! Five years ago we used to limit the number of prescriptions to 120
per pharmacist per shift. I left my old position in November because due to poor
reimbursement and VERY high administrative cost we were told by corporate that we had to
check 300 prescriptions between 2 pharmacist and 2.5 technicians. That is insanity, and does
not include the additional clinical services, and compliance activities that have to be
completed. Pharmacist are being punished and fined by the OBOP for trivial and foolish
reasons. OBOP holds us accountable for the unethical practices and working environments we
are forced to work in due to large corporate pharmacy chains, and pharmacy benefit managers.
I hope you read this and understand that OBOP is just as big of problem and poses just much
of safety risk as pharmacy benefit managers in Oregon. We need to de-regulate Oregon's
outdated and archaic OARs. We are qualified health care providers and not high school
2/22/2022 4:35 PM
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teenagers. When you current OARs are similar to a game of throne novel how can any of us
hope to ever be compliant. We would ask for help understanding the OARs but unfortunately
not all of us can utilize tax payor dollars to pay for a lawyer to play babysitter for us any time
we have a question. Better yet lets propose another 56 pages of temperature monitoring rules
even though our current OARs are already to bloated with requirements. Why don’t you try out
follow CDC guidelines and the pharmacist professional judgement or did you forget that
pharmacist have to go to school for 8 years in order to practice pharmacy in Oregon?
318 I work for a small chain and firmly and STRONGLY believe my positive responses is unique in
pharmacy today. Large corporations are providing terrible working conditions. I can attest to
several patients leaving their current pharmacies and willing to drive 30+ minutes just to avoid
their previous larger chain pharmacies.
2/22/2022 4:33 PM
319 N/a 2/22/2022 4:32 PM
320 We are under paid and understaffed 2/22/2022 4:31 PM
321 I have found at least 2 shots almost given to minors that were adult vaccinations. My
daughters included. The pharmacist grabbed the wrong vial and was using it. I was able to stop
them before it was injected. On top of rx requirements from corporate and vaccines. We are
car salesmen now not healthcare workers. I have also seen wrong RXs get out.
2/22/2022 4:30 PM
322 My role is not in patient care/in a pharmacy. I work in healthcare IT industry. 2/22/2022 4:28 PM
323 If the BOP really cared about the safety of patients they would care about the toxic pharmacy
environments and standards emposed on pharmacist by employers and their henchman
directors. start passing laws to protect pharmacist and the profession.
2/22/2022 4:26 PM
324 I am concerned that the Board thinks central fill and automation is an always helpful solution.
In my experience it ends up pulling staffing from the store, I.e. pulls staff from patient contact
without providing a sufficient increase in efficiency or accuracy. Furthermore, I am excited that
the board is initiating this survey and am hopeful the board realizes in their goal to promote
patient safety that poor staffing is one of the most important issues to address. Not increasing
requirements for checking. Not adding new rules and regulations regarding what can and can’t
be done. Not increasing audits. If the board truly promotes patient safety the board must take
responsibility for understanding that pharmacists are professionals who also care about patient
safety number one. The board needs to focus on how to improve pharmacy staffing if the
board wants to increase patient safety. Be this a grant to increase technician interest, or some
way of improving the turn around time for background checks and licensure through the board.
I very much look forward to the result of this survey which I have faith the board will make
public as well as what the board hopes to do with the findings to improve patient safety. Again,
because this was quite long, I do not see central fill or robots as great patient safety improvers
as they inevitably lead to staff being pulled from the pharmacy to pay for them.
2/22/2022 4:26 PM
325 Patient safety is more important than metrics. Provide enough staff to help customers
effectively, and you make them happy; they will give better surveys.
2/22/2022 4:25 PM
326 My particular location does 75%-80% new prescriptions and may not take into account the
increased workload to compensate the workflow. It is also mostly dependent on the pharmacist
to operate the phones as well.
2/22/2022 4:24 PM
327 We just need more people. We pay well 2/22/2022 4:23 PM
328 Less complicated rules to allow tech to work from home when not able to go into pharmacy 2/22/2022 4:21 PM
329 Lack of regular raises, dwindling benefit packages yet increasing need for retail pharmacists .
There should be incentives to help attract and keep what seems to be a valuable commodity.
The profession is hailed for its attributes and contributions to local communities yet the
employees are treated like cannery workers on a line . There needs to be change if retail is
expected to thrive
2/22/2022 4:21 PM
330 There are too many other things that are required to do that are time consuming and it is
known by corporate that they are being done on days off by the pharmacy manager in order for
them to get done.
2/22/2022 4:20 PM
331 Pharmacies are too busy, not enough staffing, very stressful and overwhelming environment to
work in.
2/22/2022 4:19 PM
332 Lack of margins from payers had really compounded the issue of being able to provide 2/22/2022 4:19 PM
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adequate clinical care and time to patients as pharmacies can not afford to staff at the levels
required due to reimbursement rates from PBM's, Medicaid, Medicare. So it is not just the
employer squeezing but the demands put on the employer to stay in business at rates that are
unacceptable to patient care. This is across healthcare but even worse in pharmacy because
of the payor contracting practices.
333 The root of the problem is PBMs gutting reimbursement rates so in order to remain profitable
most chains have to cut labor. CVS and Owns their own PBM and manipulates the markets to
the disadvantage of pharmacies that don’t, they also own a large share of insurance
companies confounding their market control. Walgreens is in a similar boat. Until these
oligopolies are broken up and regulated the pharmacy profession will continue to deteriorate. It
doesn’t help that they have large presences with multiple state boards and massive lobbying
power.
2/22/2022 4:18 PM
334 I work outside retail and as an ambulatory care pharmacist in chronic disease state
management at an FQHC.
2/22/2022 4:17 PM
335 Need to get rid of masks!!! We do not touch people or get very close at all. Pharmacists can
wear one when giving vaccines but otherwise it is not needed. Hard to hear people through
mask and plexiglass. Plus people are angry and sick of wearing them!!!! I'm tired of getting
yelled at about it!!!
2/22/2022 4:17 PM
336 Extra workload with covid without added staff or pay. 20 plus covid injections a day. Curb Side
without added staff or reimbursement. Many prescriptions filled at negative reimbursement.
2/22/2022 4:17 PM
337 My pharmacy has worked hard to develop work-flows using one simple principle: If a
pharmacists must do something, then that is what a pharmacist must do; Everything else
needs to be done by technicians. I am sick of hearing about pharmacists working too hard,
when they spend most of the day doing the work of technicians. Employers should be
intelligent enough to recognize that it is stupid to have a row of pharmacists counting pills
when techs could do the same thing for a lot less money. When techs are doing what they can
do, then the work-load of a pharmacist is realistic even given higher script counts now then
when I began in the 1980s.
2/22/2022 4:17 PM
338 I believe some employers expect the current level of staffing for support positions
(technicians) to be able to keep pre-covid standards while adding a large amount of
vaccinations and testing to the workload, bit not increasing available scheduling hours to be
able to justify hiring more technicians to help with the work load.
2/22/2022 4:15 PM
339 If I hadn't retired a year ago, I would have answered disagree or stongly disagree to most of
the questions instead of not applicable. I was employed by Bi-Mart which has exited the
pharmacy business. They treated pharmacists much better than most employers, but were
unable to be profitable because of PBM and expecially Oregon's Corporate Activities Tax. In
the last 2 years Newberg has lost 3 of its 7 pharmacies. Board of Pharmacy has done too little
too late.
2/22/2022 4:15 PM
340 I quit retail pharmacy because my answers would be inverse of these. Metrics driven, short
staffed, no breaks, no patient care. Just numbers, not even safety for the patients or staff was
considered.
2/22/2022 4:14 PM
341 Pharmacy Technician pay is a big factor in the inability of employers to obtain and keep staff,
but the ratio of techs to pharmacists is an even larger problem at some of the larger chains.
One Pharmacist cannot adequately supervise and check the work of more than 2 technicians.
2/22/2022 4:12 PM
342 There are 3 main reasons staffing and patient care at pharmacies is so poor. 1)
Reimbursement from third parties, especially Medicare Part D DIR fees, do not allow enough
profit to sufficinetly staff for the workload. 2) Oregon's Gross Receipts Tax has further eroded
profits for pharmacies. 3) Onerous regulation from the Board of Pharmacy and legislature
places an undo burden on the daily workflow, thus reducing time for patient care.
2/22/2022 4:12 PM
343 We are short staffed, but no fault of staff or employer, but lack of applicants for clerical and
technicians.
2/22/2022 4:11 PM
344 I work remote technical support for our hospital system so this survey is not applicable for me.
I am supported in my role and do not feel any safety concerns. I appreciate you doing this
survey. Our local retail pharmacies are are really struggling and I am concerned for the staff.
We have 2 pharmacies that have shut down in our community so those pharmacies that are
left to take on the burden of all the patients are overworked, stressed, constantly being yelled
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at by their customers because they do not understand the struggle to obtain medications and
get authorizations and transfer prescriptions and get responses from providers, etc. They are
doing a phenomenal job and probably sill making mistakes as it is just a very unsafe
environment due to the constant stress and pressure they are under. The staff need to be
recognized and praised for everything they are doing to take care of our community. I try to
say thank you every time I go there but it just isn't enough.
345 Retail seems like literal hell. 2/22/2022 4:10 PM
346 How automation is too dusty. There is a concern of pill dust cross contamination. Also, the
machines do not operate correctly with all of the pill dust
2/22/2022 4:10 PM
347 Our staffing is shrinking by the day. We have a severe shortage of technicians throughout the
company I work for. There are also places where the pharmacist has zero staffing on the
weekends for support and we are running the entire pharmacy alone, from open to close. Not
only is it mentally and emotionally frustrating to have no help, but easy to get distracted,
overwhelmed and make errors.
2/22/2022 4:08 PM
348 we really need more pharmacists interns and technicians 2/22/2022 4:08 PM
349 As A retail pharmacy we need to concentrate back on filling prescriptions instead of offering
vaccinations. We do not have adequate staffing to be doing vaccinations.
2/22/2022 4:07 PM
350 The vaccines really impacted our ability to do our primary job of filling prescriptions. A
separate specific person should be tasked with only the precessional of vaccines. Every
vaccine done in our pharmacy took the data entry person away from typing up prescriptions.
We had were running a constant 800 RX’s everyday to type up . Couldn’t get ahead. Vaccines
should be offered at doctors offices and health clinics. Not pharmacy’s
2/22/2022 4:07 PM
351 I like working at the pharmacy 2/22/2022 4:05 PM
352 Too many board regulations. I think most of the problems we face in pharmacy are due to
overregulating every aspect of pharmacy. Mandatory counsels do not benefit patients in 99%
of circumstances and pharmacists should be able to use their professional judgement in other
situations. Opening independent pharmacies requires specialists due to the immense number
of laws that the board enforces more harshly than any other health profession. Pharmacy
suffers from a lack of entrepreneurship and over abundance of corporate oligopolies that do not
focus on quality and instead focus on metrics. There needs to be safe guards for independent
pharmacies against overwhelming regulation and chokehold contracts that manipulate
pharmacist behavior into actions that produce the best results for the benefit managers. If
more pharmacist were able to open up their own practices we would face less of these
systemic issues that stem from a clear lack of diversity in the market.
2/22/2022 4:05 PM
353 NA 2/22/2022 4:04 PM
354 Some shift sites are better than others with regard to meal breaks. Some shift locations have
specific lunch coverage and others do not (or the timing is poor; like working 6hrs then getting
lunch).I do know the pharmacy management is working on break coverage and has improved.
There were times this last year where pharmacists were doing tech duties bc of lack of
staffing. Normally, in the shifts I am scheduled I do not even have time to complete CE which
is required by employer. Sometimes I don't take breaks or stay late due to the workload. Lack
of techs has drastic effect on workload and workflow. This was all before covid19, but was
definitely exacerbated by covid19. Not idea when all surrounding departments are stressed for
time and staff as well.
2/22/2022 4:03 PM
355 Inpatient hospital pharmacy is dedicated in patient care and does not overburden employees to
maintain safe practices and efficiency.
2/22/2022 4:01 PM
356 My employer is one of the higher paying do technicians, but they still are generally underpaid
for the type of work they do and the demands made upon them. They could make similar
wages doing so many other less stressful jobs.
2/22/2022 3:58 PM
357 Pharmacists and technicians have had to take on more and more duties the past two years
with little support from upper management and with the expectation to just absorb these
additional duties with inadequate support and training. We’ve reached a breaking point with
many staff members quitting and still very little help from the employer.
2/22/2022 3:58 PM
358 I believe retail chain practice has been diluted to a customer service oriented business instead
of focusing on providing quality patient care.
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359 Recently started at Mosaic Medical Pharmacy which is amazing. I worked at Walgreens before
this and it was absolutely unsafe. I felt my license was at risk working at Walgreens, and the
pressure to meet certain metrics, with inadequate staffing, was unsafe. I am so thankful that I
was hired at Mosaic, because I now know what it is like to work for a company that
appreciates its employees, and correctly staffs the pharmacy.
2/22/2022 3:57 PM
360 Na 2/22/2022 3:56 PM
361 In most pharmacies, there is 3 to 5 techs needed to type, bill, request, and fill medications.
But typically there is only 1 pharmacist to review, verify, and consult on all those meds. How is
1 pharmacist supposed to process what 3 to 5 techs input/output?? That ration is absolutely a
recipe for disaster.
2/22/2022 3:56 PM
362 I mainly practiced in Colorado but still hold my Oregon license. The issues are universal for
retail pharmacy regardless of state. I have been retired for 2 years but keep up with current
conditions from coworkers.
2/22/2022 3:56 PM
363 Extremely heavy workload not enough staffing. Push for higher volume and not able to keep up
with phone calls, rxs, patient demands,
2/22/2022 3:54 PM
364 Turnover is very high so when we get people trained, they then leave to work at another
pharmacy that is less stressful and busy. We are paid such a small amount compared to other
pharmacy no one stays because of the workload. If my schedule allowed I would have left 7
years ago once I was trained.
2/22/2022 3:54 PM
365 The workload varies significantly throughout the year. During peak Covid vaccinations our
prescription wait times and my ability to focus on other essential tasks suffered. As
vaccination rates drop our pharmacist staffing feels adequate. Technician staffing could always
be better. First we need more tech hours. And more importantly better pay to attract and retain
competent techs. We nearly always run short due to sick calls, no shows and lack of coverage
for leave.
2/22/2022 3:54 PM
366 Over the years, I have brought up to my supervisors the idea of taking a paycut myself in
order to pay technicians more (to reduce turnover) or to increase tech hours for my store, but
the idea has always been quickly dismissed. I don't know what else to do that is within my
power to help fix this staff shortage problem. I have decided to switch careers and go into
computer programming as I don't feel safe practicing retail pharmacy anymore.
2/22/2022 3:53 PM
367 I have worked in ambcare and tele clinical consultation for last 10years but I have seen my
peers suffering under warehouse style working conditions. No time to eat, rest or go to the
restroom. I am thankful everyday I do not have to work in that
2/22/2022 3:53 PM
368 Adventist Health Telepharmacy, Roseville California 2/22/2022 3:52 PM
369 Inability to hire qualified staff to fill staff positions leaving me as a float as the main tech 2/22/2022 3:52 PM
370 When giving more than 20 vaccines per day we needed additional staff. The pharmacy hired
nurses and that helped. Overtime has been required to keep up with tasks,especially when
shot volume was over 40 per day.
2/22/2022 3:52 PM
371 Great job OBOP 2/22/2022 3:52 PM
372 even before the bi mart pharmacy closures the pressure was too much. frequently I worked as
the only RPh with 1 or 2 technicians for multiple days in a row. Customers do not care that you
are not adequately staffed. Over all quality of the facility I work in is very poor. Everything from
poor phone lines to tepid hot water. District/regional managers are out of touch with front line
employees. We have recently gone to central fill... while this has "helped" ease the filling
process the product leaves much to be desired. we have found vials with more broken tablets
than whole ones, hair in multiple vials etc so central fill just makes us look like there is zero
value. as a 25+ year veteran pharmacist THIS IS NOT WHAT I SIGNED UP TO DO!
2/22/2022 3:50 PM
373 The state makes it too expensive to acquire licensure. Outrageous costs. 2/22/2022 3:49 PM
374 Inadequate pay for the staff that does show up 2/22/2022 3:46 PM
375 Government intervention is the biggest cause of unsafe conditions. The State of Oregon does
more harm than good
2/22/2022 3:46 PM
376 The chain I work for had a record year in sales, yet we run around doing the absolute minimum 2/22/2022 3:45 PM
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to fill as many Rx as we can. DUR's are a joke, counseling is a joke, oral contraceptive
prescribing is a joke, etc.
377 Providing pediatric vaccines (covid) caused stress for the pharmacists, techs, and customers.
Many children scream and cry loudly making it difficult to care for other patients who need
consultations in an already compromised consultation environment due to masks (hearing /
seeing faces). Pediatric vaccinations require on average double the amount of time in providing
them. Some days were chaos with kids.
2/22/2022 3:45 PM
378 Help the pharmacy professionals 2/22/2022 3:42 PM
379 We could use another pharmacist. Often there is only one pharmacist on duty and there is high
demand for vaccinations and consultations
2/22/2022 3:40 PM
380 There are times when staffing becomes an issue, due to illnesses scheduled time offs, or
when other pharmacies in area are closed due to staffing issues. Most of the time we have
sufficient staffing to adequately care for patients in a safe manner.
2/22/2022 3:37 PM
381 Please encourage companies to pay technicians a living wage. Pharmacy technicians are
essential to proper pharmacy functions and are barely compensated fairly. Many of my
technician friends and I are having to work 2 jobs to make ends meet.
2/22/2022 3:36 PM
382 I have left retail pharmacy after 12 years. Although my former employer offered a $50,000
retention bonus, I declined because conditions are terrible and I have no faith that the chain
would improve them. My replacement quit after 1 month, and told me he "was taking a break
from pharmacy." He was a twenty year veteran. To my knowledge, that position has been
unfilled for the last 3 months.
2/22/2022 3:36 PM
383 Labor laws around hours are not safe for the pharmacist position in most settings. Over 8
hours in a workday for most people at most sittings is dangerous. Many are working through
breaks and meal periods as some companies are somehow able to classify these pharmacists
as salaried. In most settings the pharmacist is required to be there for certain time periods, so
the line is very blurred here for certain pharmacists in these salaried positions. Fixing current
labor laws to not exceed 8 hours in a workday without overtime pay and making it clear what a
salary position versus an hourly position is for a pharmacist is a start. There may be some
exceptions where a hospital or 24 hour facility could negotiate 10 hour shifts without overtime
through a union, but in general this is unsafe. Also, standing for long periods of time for anyone
is unhealthy and this needs to change in many settings. But the issues I raise here, mental
focusing ability and standing in place have plenty of data that would actually support an
environment with reduced hours and varied physical positioning.
2/22/2022 3:36 PM
384 Hours allowed are based too heavily on metrics/numbers. Each pharmacy has a different
situation to deal with(customer base, phone calls,language barriers,staff experience/work
speed etc. I feel it is unfair to have one set rule to base hours allowed when there are many
different factors that can vary the functioning /flow of a pharmacy. Obviously a store with little
turnover more experienced staff will run a lot more smoother than one that has a majority of
new techs and older customers that need more one on one attention (detailed counseling and
longer phone service). There are a lot of unfair aspects and expectations that increase stress
and increase risk of errors.
2/22/2022 3:36 PM
385 Non pharmacists should not be in charge of pharmacies. They simply don’t understand what all
goes into providing good pharmaceutical care.
2/22/2022 3:35 PM
386 I have over heard pharmacists talking about extended work hours. The last time they had work
hours like that the pharmacists were exhausted and made mistakes.
2/22/2022 3:35 PM
387 Make it to where we no longer have to wear masks at work!!!! 2/22/2022 3:33 PM
388 The Board contributes to ALL of these issues extensively in some form or another either
directly or indirectly.
2/22/2022 3:33 PM
389 Help! 2/22/2022 3:32 PM
390 If we could get rid of half of the Rules laws and regulations like Idaho did, it would be a lot
easier to do our jobs. A sage work place is one thing. Too much regulation needs to be
addressed as well.
2/22/2022 3:32 PM
391 This problem has been overlooked far too long. The big chains are in a race to the bottom
when it comes to patient care/safety in the name of maximizing profits/efficiency. The board
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needs to take strong action to correct these problems and protect patients
392 I work in CCO adminstration. In the future can you create a choice for Health Benefit
Administrators??
2/22/2022 3:32 PM
393 The Board staff is getting in the way of patient safety. Stop intimidating pharmacists and let us
practice as medical professionals or pay my student loans so I can go do something else
2/22/2022 3:30 PM
394 we dont get paid enough from krogers 2/22/2022 3:30 PM
395 The lack of applicants at our location has been out biggest problem. We have staff willing to
pick up extra shifts here and there but we just need more applicants.
2/22/2022 3:30 PM
396 The board adds additional pressure and unnecessary stress on the pharmacy teams. Their
investigative staff are aggressive and adds additional burdens on the pharmacists. The
administrative requirements of the boards to adopt technology that would make pharmacy
working conditions better are prohibitive to actually adopting the technology. The BOP is also a
part of the problem and needs to look at their staff and how they interact with the pharmacists
and the rules they write. Pharmacists don't want to work in Oregon because of the board staff.
2/22/2022 3:30 PM
397 Inadequate technology to do the job timely and well 2/22/2022 3:30 PM
398 There aren't any techs to hire! 2/22/2022 3:29 PM
399 I ask for help from the board of pharmacy to provide baseline standards for pharmacy
companies such as instituting a pharmacist:tech ratio or cannot have more than X number of
orders without X staff, or some means of regulating the number of orders flowing through the
pharmacy. Staff are overworked, we have low morale, and are burning out Due to an adequate
staffing. We’ve had openings for over a year that have not been filled and the remaining staff
here are looking to leave since they are losing sleep and their families due to the stress of the
work environment. We are at a critical point in pharmacy and I strongly request the boards
assistance in creating a safe and better work environment so we can adequately take care of
our patients.
2/22/2022 3:29 PM
400 Pay techs more 2/22/2022 3:28 PM
401 Need some incentivizing for pharmacy technicians to take the job. We cannot convince people
to get into the profession due to poor conditions as pharmacy technicians.
2/22/2022 3:26 PM
402 As the PIC I have to try to make the best of a bad situation and it is getting exhausting. I am
not allowed to have enough staff to see to the needs of the patients in a safe and effective,
non-rushed manner. I fear that we miss things and the patients will come to harm. It is difficult
to get the corporate leadership to understand the level of staffing that is needed.
2/22/2022 8:07 AM
403 Some state boards allow technicians to help ease the workload on pharmacists by allowing
them to take in new prescriptions verbally. Our pharmacists are overworked and can use extra
help. Helping give vaccines to patients has greatly helped the workload on the pharmacists.
Technicians should be approved for all vaccine types, not just COVID and flu. Also,
technicians should be allowed to verbally take in new prescriptions as some states allow. The
consultation law in Oregon is extreme, making the pharmacist go to each patient and then
initial a paper after each one. If the patient does not want a consult or says they have had the
medication before, the pharmacist should not have to be forced to give a convict anyways
simply because the prescription is marked “new.” Other states don’t have such extreme
consultation laws and free the pharmacists up more.
2/22/2022 5:18 AM
404 I feel the pharmacy profession has been in the frontlines accessible and available for the
public with very little support from the board and our employer. Secondary to mandate, we had
no second tech. I close and open alone, the bring fourth more work load like testing now before
hiring sufficient staff to do it?? It’s the only department where I see the pharmacist is a rph,
clerk and tech. Even a restaurant doesn’t allow the cook to be the hosts, waitress and cook?
Yet here we are. There’s no enough employees and our hours are the same. If the chains
refuse to hire enough staff to support a safe environment for patients they should not be
allowed to remain open. Throughout pandemic, never seen my dr check me in instead of her
MA to get height and weight. Zoom care PA never have to check in patients upon arrival or
even when they are dispensing drugs. Somehow, maybe our board can help learn from the
PAs? They seem to be more professional industry? Also, nurses seem to have more support
than pharmacist . Not sure when and how our profession became unprofessional and work
environment so hostile. Pharmacy just appears and is ran unprofessionally. We are so
2/21/2022 8:51 AM
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desperate and burned out I am positive if we didn’t have student loans to pay most of us would
be out by now. The way it’s being ran, it appears that perhaps we can really do without
pharmacy and just hand over our responsibilities to the PAs since they appear more
professional and better staff better outcomes to the patients and their work setting appears
more encouraging and has the publics best interest. Pharmacy department across the
healthcare system just appears to be poorly ran to the public and it’s very transparent. It’s not
healthy and very much embarrassing
405 Employer hires poor workers. Employer underpays me. Employer has poor leadership.
Employer makes paid time off most difficult. Employer needs better workflow.
2/21/2022 12:11 AM
406 Things were terrible and unsafe prepandemic. My employer has no meal policies. If two
pharmacists work, we get a lunch, but there is pressure to not take breaks. If you're alone, you
must make time and there is no way to redirect customers well. Now, since pandemic, it has
become downright unsafe and awful, both from personal physical and mental health to patient
safety and health.
2/20/2022 9:36 PM
407 There needs to always be a ratio of having a technician on duty at all times and never a
pharmacist by themselves
2/20/2022 1:23 PM
408 Pharmacy Interns(Foregin pharmacy graduate) urgently need training on vaccine administration
since they did not have been trained on it outside USA, and they will be a great help in their
pharmacies with increased demand for vaccination. There is no distinction offers this training.
Neigther the American Pharmacist Association nor Oregon board of Pharmacy does this
training for Foreign Pharmacy Graduate as interns. Also, all Pharmacy schools in Oregon do
not offer such training, but do offer it only for their students.
2/20/2022 8:59 AM
409 Corporate will tell us they are sending us help to cover a shift but then they don't so we are not
even given the opportunity to find our own coverage until it's too late. They also don't
approve/deny our vacation request till the last minute. And it's usually a denial, so we never
get to plan or even use our earned vacation time for the year. And they don't always post our
open shifts for people to pick up so we end up covering our own staffs shifts pushing us to
work full 8 to 12 hour shifs 7 days a week sometimes. And often times they only schedule a
floater for 4 hour shifts so we get 3 a day or only partial coverage for the day and are expected
to cover our own shift or not get it off
2/20/2022 8:17 AM
410 The only treason I disagree with the hiring of employees in a timely manner is the nationwide
shortage of technicians. It has nothing to do with my employer wanting and trying to hire new
employees.
2/19/2022 7:39 PM
411 I may have filled out the survey differently during the height of Covid vaccinations mid last
year. Currently my pharmacy is calm
2/19/2022 7:10 PM
412 I frequently work alone in pharmacies. No techs, no clerks, just me as the float pharmacist. I
am expected to type and fill all the prescriptions, ring people out at the register, answer phone
calls, accommodate appointments & walk-ins for all vaccines, and do multiple MTMs a day.
Plus all the extraneous tasks like pulling expired & recalled drugs, taking out the trash,
submitting the next days order, general cleaning & restocking. Most stores I go to are multiple
days behind because we can’t keep up so I spend most of the day getting screamed at by
customers too & have been physically threatened on the job as well. I’ve had patient
complaints because I went to the bathroom & for asking someone to wear a mask in the
immunization room. I’ve also worked through 2 miscarriages for this company. I’m tired of
being asked to do the impossible for the ungrateful.
2/19/2022 4:35 PM
413 for the most part, safe place; have been unable to find a COPT to replace one that recently
retired from full-time work; however, he is willing to fill in on 2 saturdays a month to relieve the
one COPT
2/19/2022 4:02 PM
414 None 2/19/2022 11:46 AM
415 Over scheduled Ambulatory with IV's and chemo's at the same time but only one technician to
make everything that day including inpatient and ER IV's making it potentially unsafe for
patient's when ambulatory over books even though they have 5 nurses that day to handle the
load we only run IV rooms with 1 Technician
2/19/2022 10:19 AM
416 Rate of pay does not reflect the critical nature of the role nor the training and education
required to perform said role safely. Lack of pharmacy technicians due to no applicants and
due to multiple consistent callouts per week creates an unsafe environment for both patients
2/19/2022 1:00 AM
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and staff. There is greater risk of errors in medications released to patients as seen by our
metrics. There is greater risk for staff due to constant berating by patients who are needing
their meds and not receiving them.
417 They keep extending our hours open but reducing the labor we can use. It’s not possible to
keep stretching farther. When I started 19 years ago we filled 300 with 3 pharmacists, had 5
techs, and cashiers. We were open 9-7 weekdays and 9-6 on Sat. Now we have 1 RPh, and
sometimes only 2 techs to fill 350 in a day. We are suppose to be open 8-8 weekdays and all
weekend. It just doesn’t work.
2/18/2022 9:31 PM
418 i am very disappointed in how my new employer is handling the staffing concerns that we have
after the closing of 2 of the 5 pharmacies in our town of 10k ! i have expressed my concerns
and am asking for special consideration to their requests for no overtime, but am met with
attitudes from the corporate office that are so out-of-touch-with -reality that I have considered
other places of employment. I remain here out of great concern for my community. We simply
cannot have another pharmacy close here !
2/18/2022 7:00 PM
419 Everything I answered was for my present job. If I had continued in my previous job (grocery
store pharmacy) I would have been very worried about my mental and physical health. I was
routinely working 14 hour days with no real breaks. I am extremely happy with my situation,
but feel for many of my retail compatriots
2/18/2022 6:26 PM
420 We are performing under pressure and pushing ourselves at the same wages prior to Covid 19.
A wage increase needs to be discussed
2/18/2022 6:24 PM
421 Hi turnover of support staff, constantly in training mode 2/18/2022 6:08 PM
422 The only thing that will decrease the workload and increase patient care is to limit the number
of prescriptions a pharmacist is required to check per hour. Pharmacy owners are in it to make
money, not to allow extra time to help a patient. The law that says a pharmacist will only take
on a workload that is safe, is not effective because as long as patients aren’t dying the
situation is deemed as safe. The board must put in a law on a prescription limit per pharmacist
in order for anything to change.
2/18/2022 1:58 PM
423 I have been working for different independent retail pharmacies in southern Oregon for the last
4 years. Prior to that I worked for chain retail corporations for 2-3 years. There is a grand
canyon of difference between the work environments of the two. When I worked for Safeway
(even before the pandemic) both pharmacist hours and tech hours were cut to the bone so we
had the bear minimum staff we needed to get the work done at all, certainly not in a safe or
effective manner. While not having enough hours to get the work done I was told by corporate
to cut 30 more tech hours. I refused and told my DM he could come fire someone personally if
that was the decision but I wasn't going to do it and I never heard about it again. I fear this is a
tactic used by chain corporations to pressure pharmacies into operating at unsafe staffing
levels - especially pressuring younger graduates with less experience or confidence to say no
to their employer in order to maintain patient safety. While I was at Safeway my direct superior
Paul Wachter (who is not a licensed pharmacist in Oregon by the way) would tell me to do
things that I was not comfortable doing. Of course never in writing because the company
LOVED pushing responsibility and liability onto the individual, but I remember the time he
called me on my cell phone at work and told me to fill a fentanyl script for an opioid naiive
patient because the patient was complaining to corporate. Overall in my time with Safeway I
felt that I had no support from the company, and in fact they would do anything and everything
to increase the profitability of my store - even sacrificing patient safety. I couldn't take it
anymore and quit after a little over a year in the PIC position. I never reported anything or told
many people out of fear of retaliation - I'm sure you're aware that pharmacy is a very small
world, especially in southern Oregon.
2/18/2022 11:24 AM
424 Can’t find people to even interview for a position. Tech’s working 50+ hours a week to keep
things going. Many clinical services suffering due to pharmacists having to do tech work due
to technician shortage.
2/18/2022 7:52 AM
425 I hope someone will be the voice for all of pharmacy personnel who has no voice in big
corporations
2/17/2022 11:24 PM
426 Current problems interfering with pharmacy workflow and safety :. Extreme increase in rx
count, staff burn out and shortage due to increase workload demand, hostility from patients
due to long wait times and mask wearing requirements. It is exhausting, and sometimes
frightening, being yelled at for trying to enforce a mask mandate to customers. This is going to
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be VERY difficult when the indoor mask mandate is lifted. The noise in busy pharmacies has
reached unsafe levels, with staff and customers all speaking side by side at the counter, staff
on multiple phone lines, phones constantly ringing, refrigerator alarms, store pa
announcements and and music blaring... Patients can't hear us and we can't here them.
Privacy is not even possible when you have to shout to be heard. Patients nod they they
understand, say they don't need counsel just to get out of the pharmacy quicker. Mask burnout
is a real thing. It's uncomfortable and exhausting to wear one for 10+ hours per day. I
understand masking up for direct patient contact like vaccines but once the indoor mandate is
gone retail employees and customers should not be burdened with this. I challenge you to
come and work side by side with us, day after day, and explain to a customer in the store why
they will need to wear a mask to stand in the pharmacy line but not in the grocery line... In the
same building.
427 District Manager holds unpaid mandatory conference call each week. Pharmacist manager is
required to attend on their regular day off to discuss vaccine and company target goal which is
metric. This is not professional conduct for healthcare personnel. California law prohibits such
act. I hope Oregon can protect pharmacist from unpaid calls or metric stress.
2/17/2022 10:10 PM
428 Decisions no longer seems to be made based on patient care or clinical benefit, it is purely
money/ profit and having metrics that must fit no matter what practice variation exist
2/17/2022 10:06 PM
429 Pressure to complete mundane tasks through OutcomesMTM to prevent dir fees etc but not
actually adding value to patient adherence
2/17/2022 9:49 PM
430 Pharmacists SHOULD be able to get mandatory breaks and scheduled lunches. If there is no
pharmacist overlap, then pharmacies should CLOSE for lunch. Please protect pharmacists and
technicians. We are overworked and burnt out, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ultimately, patient safety will be negatively affected.
2/17/2022 9:42 PM
431 ask us what we think about the boards mask mandate 2/17/2022 7:41 PM
432 I have floated to stores that do not have a full time PIC and I worry that some of these stores
lack the leadership and staffing to remain compliant with BOP requirements. Managers have
been leaving my company at a very high rate and I worry that the new PIC's are inexperienced
and unprepared to handle the current demands in pharmacy.
2/17/2022 6:54 PM
433 Unreasonable metrics 2/17/2022 6:39 PM
434 We have been required to work 13 hour shifts throughout Covid and I feel my ability to provide
safe work has been compromised. I do not have the mental or physical capacity to continue at
that level.
2/17/2022 6:11 PM
435 Wages are too low for pharmacy staffing. 2/17/2022 5:54 PM
436 in my experience this site does not reflect the current norms. I was previously at a large chain
community pharmacy where any breaks were discouraged, vaccines were out of control,
metrics ruled the pharmacy, and we were chronically understaffed. I am extremely grateful for
the position I hold due to the ability to practice safely during these times
2/17/2022 3:56 PM
437 I am filling this out in regards to the previous pharmacy I worked at. I've been gone for 3
months now and can not believe I stayed as long as I did. We are supposed to be in the
medical field. We are supposed to care for our patients. I can guarantee that is not happening
at most of the local pharmacy's in my area.
2/17/2022 3:46 PM
438 Shifts longer than 8 hours promote errors and is NOT an ideal employment standard. Stores
are focused on finances and not staff or safety. The reports of staff abuse and inability to fill in
a timely manner have been escalating for years. Vacant positions are not filled because of
poor pay, shockingly poor workplace causing "burnout" and resignations. Corporate do
NOTHING to address the problems. Additional workload has been added to pharmacies without
any additional staff or change in store design or workflow. Numerous associations have been
pointing out these and other deficiencies for years now without any change. Pharmacies are
closing and staff leaving the profession resulting in failure to provide necessary care. PBM are
remotely practising medicine WITHOUT a license - non-payment and underpayment plays a
key role in the failure pharmacies and healthcare without consequences or malpractice
litigation.
2/17/2022 3:17 PM
439 The requests to meet clinical metrics such as completing MTM interventions such as CMR
and other targeted reviews on the fly (i.e., when patient picks up meds) which is not logistical
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with the time given for counseling and number of patients in line/staffing etc. Especially a CMR
which should take at a minimum 20-30 minutes of review time with patients on multiple
medications as well as additional time for documentation, provider communication, etc. These
"CMRs" completed during patient Rx pick-up and billed to insurance as "completed" is
fraudulent in my opinion, and although we aren't directed to be fraudulent...our supervisors
simply say "it's completely possible to complete these interactions during Rx counseling if
you're prepared) but their pressures and expectations directly contradict reality and the limited
staffing doesn't allow for adequate prep-time to supposedly facilitate this ridiculous method.
These problems are all pre-COVID related issues, but we continue to be understaffed and
under-supported being asked to complete multiple other clinical and non-clinical tasks while
somehow managing to safely and effectively review and dispense prescriptions. It's absolutely
ridiculous and it does nothing to promote our profession forward or support the clinical services
we offer if we can't deliver them effectively or efficiently. All we end up doing is providing sub-
par clinical service and sub-par dispensing/counseling services and both patients and
practitioners are suffering because of these practices. It's undermining our healthcare system
completely. Not to mention how many prescribers I speak with on a regular basis that are
under the impression the pharmacist is reviewing these medications with their patients when it
reality they may get read the directions on the bottle and asked if they have questions at the
most. I feel like we are all struggling but not feeling confident or comfortable enough to speak
out because we're treated as dispensable.
440 As a direct result of the working conditions faced during this ongoing health crisis, I developed
mental health issues which forced me to leave a role that I excelled at (RXM) and take a pay
cut with my company to become a staff pharmacist. The workload is immense, the pressure
from corporate was too great, and I was left feeling like my pharmacy was a danger to the
public. I know I am not alone in these thoughts, as I have read many articles from pharmacists
across the US detailing the same conditions. It is time that the BOP steps up and stands up
for the pharmacists and technicians in this state to ensure we can safely maintain our work
environments for our patients.
2/17/2022 3:10 PM
441 Working over 8-10 hrs few days in a raw makes it very difficult to focus and perform duties
safely. After 8 hrs, I am physically and mentally exhausted and same task takes me 3 times
longer to perform. As a result we are falling behind and may start cutting corners to speed up
and make the metrics. When I'm trying to ask to reduce hrs per shift and have overlapping
shifts with a second pharmacist, the answer I'd that our volume is not large enough (300-350
rxs per day) in addition to other clinical and non-clinical daily duties to have more pharmacist
per day.
2/17/2022 2:44 PM
442 The lack of pharmacists on staff could be partly resolved by increasing the number of
technicians on staff. As it is now, I'm often performing many technician tasks in order to take
care of patients in a timely manner. This takes away from my pharmacist duties and results in
more pressure to get things done faster. Patient expectations are generally unrealistic.
Pharmacies would work better in a closed environment. Pharmacists are interrupted way too
often. The lack of concentration is a huge barrier to getting prescriptions and vaccines done
safely and in a timely manner.
2/17/2022 2:23 PM
443 Stop adding so many duties to pharmacy staff!! Allow cashiers to do methcheck. Allow techs
to give vaccines. Remove having pharmacies give vaccines under 11 ( very time consuming
due to children throwing fits). Minimize phone lines within a pharmacy ( causes too many
distractions). Only allow vaccines by appointment to help with daily workflow.
2/17/2022 2:00 PM
444 There is a giant lack of understanding from patients as well that perpetuates this cycle. There
is also issues recieving things from providers in a timely manner that can hinder the process
as well. Most companies these days are focused on doing more with less. They are cutting
pay and hours and conditions get frightening fast. There is a lack of compassion, and
especially in the corporate environment, a lack of caring. They wantore profits and it doesn't
matter how. Unfortunately, 2ith how bent over a barrel we are with insurances as well, this also
is unlikely to end soon. There needs to be a change. Our profession is being degraded before
our very eyes.
2/17/2022 1:40 PM
445 Not enough technicians to hire in the market to fill all positions timely. 2/17/2022 11:38 AM
446 Printed patient education on drugs too generic and need major improvements. 2/17/2022 11:34 AM
447 Lack of appropriate training and treatment of staff. Changing job duties that are outside the
scope of hire. Useless metrics used to shame employees with no constructive feedback.
General lack of humanity towards patients and staff.
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448 I am retired, I volunteer at a vaccine clinic 2/17/2022 10:40 AM
449 I am shocked the OBOP allows chain pharmacies to disregard patient safety for profit. 2/17/2022 10:17 AM
450 Vaccinations and non-clinical tasks (3rd party mainly) are taking more and more time with little
to no added help
2/17/2022 9:54 AM
451 Drug shortages/backorders and provider unwillingness to adapt has been a problem at my
hospital inpatient workplace. A significant amount of time has been spent trying to
communicate shortages to nursing staff and the pharmacy is criticized for putting patient care
in jeopardy when we are unable to provide medication that is unavailable from any source.
2/17/2022 9:38 AM
452 I think that some pharmacies should go back to having clerks to ring up patients so that
pharmacists and technicians can focus on the pharmacy aspects of the job. Also the computer
programs are not user friendly. Our employer just went to central fill for some sites and it made
our on site process more time consuming when we are trying to get caught up. PBMs and
insurances should be doing more to help pharmacies from closing and losing money.
2/17/2022 9:35 AM
453 12 HOUR DAYS AS THE ONLY PHARMACIST WITH 1/2 HOUR LUNCH BREAK IS ROUGH 2/17/2022 9:00 AM
454 Inadequate computer systems that do not provide for safe working conditions. No
magnification of computer systems that lead to eye fatigue, eye strain, and increased risk of
errors due to unacceptable font size. Poor lighting or harsh lighting and no magnification
devices provided to help with properly identifying pill imprints, lot numbers, etc. How many
errors are caused by inadequate technology that places patients at risk and increases
pharmacy error rates? No pharmacy employee should have to work in a situation where they
can't properly see, through no fault of their own, such small print that mistakes are occurring.
We wouldn't expect a surgeon to operate in dim light with no magnification, why are pharmacy
personnel being asked to take unnecessary risk?
2/17/2022 8:17 AM
455 1) multiple technicians with leave of absence, both continuous and intermittent, and
accommodations for reduced work schedules limit ability to keep up with volumes as we are
unable to replace these positions or take disciplinary action against those who overuse/abuse
their FMLA. 2) company questioning that our standards for accuracy/safety are too high and
asking us to reexamine our expectations
2/17/2022 8:09 AM
456 My specific pharmacy is being impacted by local pharmacy closures and the complete inability
of my competitors to fill a prescription in a timely fashion or even answer the phone. Low tech
wages prevent me from being able to hire talent and my current employees are burnt out.
2/17/2022 5:34 AM
457 Retail pharmacy customer mask wearing in the building and at pharmacy counter and lobby
area is not enforced when they drop general mask mandates. Lots of customers there for
shots etc for healthcare needs plus pharmacy staff that is supposedly healthcare and needs to
wear masks but hundreds across counter and in store do not?
2/17/2022 1:29 AM
458 LTC does not have as hard of a time as retail right now. It's almost impossible for us to
satellite to retail pharmacies right now for filling in a timely manner, let alone getting through to
them on the phone. Retail is struggling bad.
2/17/2022 12:01 AM
459 staffing only tied to script count not other tasks which also must be completed, resulting in
pharmacist doing clerk or tech duties and not enough time to perform additional services such
as MTM etc as they should be everything is rushed do not feel patients are getting the best
care
2/16/2022 11:44 PM
460 I am looking for a new career. 2/16/2022 11:37 PM
461 Co-workers cry daily. It’s been terrible. 2/16/2022 11:26 PM
462 I have to spend a lot of extra time dealing with angry patients, who are angry for things outside
of my control (being behind because of staffing, being mad because we don’t have COVID
tests). So I can’t spend my time filling prescriptions.
2/16/2022 11:10 PM
463 Increased qualified staffing would resolve most issues 2/16/2022 11:08 PM
464 We need more technicians! 2/16/2022 10:52 PM
465 Regulations set such has med b and now pa from my corporate requirements prevent patients
from getting medication in a timely manner and are focused more on making money than
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providing a safe effective service for patients all pharmacy’s closeting early instead of some
opening later put more strain on ers and urgent cares
466 It has been a literal nightmare. We are on average 800 prescriptions behind . It seems silly
techs aren’t able to data entry from home.
2/16/2022 10:28 PM
467 Someone needs to stop by the West 11th CVS in Target (Eugene,Or) for observation. This
pharmacy is extremely unsafe and understaffed needs immediate attention.
2/16/2022 10:25 PM
468 It seemed evident that our upper pharmacy management was more interested in pushing us to
absolute above maximum work load than trying to supplement staff and relieve these insane
working conditions that we went through. An ineffective and poor scheduling system for
vaccinations using multiple platforms that don’t communicate with each other resulting in
multiple overlap appointments causing stress and anger at the pharmacy. Sometimes we
would have up to 5 people schedule at a single time slot. This was one of many things that
caused stress and tuff working conditions. They would tell us we are looking to hire more
support staff, ie techs and clerks. That never happened. All our open tech shifts are being
filled by pharmacists.
2/16/2022 10:17 PM
469 Lack of quality career technicians 2/16/2022 10:11 PM
470 Workload is way too high for staffing. Wages have not increased while CEO income grossly
increasing. No time to call on drug interactions/clarification, little patient privacy for actual
consultation.
2/16/2022 10:06 PM
471 Inability to find and hire new pharmacists and technicians to provide adequate staffing
shortage by the leadership of chain community pharmacy
2/16/2022 9:58 PM
472 I believe Covid test should NOT be administered in/around/near the pharmacy. 2/16/2022 9:46 PM
473 I've decided I'd like to leave the field of pharmacy but don't want to leave my pharmacy even
more short staffed.
2/16/2022 9:38 PM
474 Survey should have been delivered when vaccine surge first happened, when pharmacies were
really busy with vaccines and with a work load to do.
2/16/2022 9:22 PM
475 It takes way too long to initially license a pharmacy technician 2/16/2022 9:21 PM
476 Retail pharmacies, Walgreens in particular, had metrics for everything in the pharmacy. As a
technician I am responsible for working the counter, drive thru, answering phones, giving
vaccines, administering Covid tests, making 50+ phone calls daily offering med sync and
pickup reminders, filling rx’s, putting up the warehouse order, and basically keeping the
pharmacy from burning down. Logging about 20,000 steps per day.All while the pharmacist
gets to stand at the computer all day
2/16/2022 9:12 PM
477 Staffing issue and increased work load have significantly impact my ability to safely and
adequately provide patient care. It also negatively impact my mental and physical health.
2/16/2022 8:59 PM
478 I work inpatient hospital setting. I have worked in retail setting before and if I had to answer the
same questions for retail my answers would have been totally different. Some/ most retail
settings are not safe! Staff (pharmacists and techs) are treated like slave labor. Pharmacists
treated the worst. It’s horrible in retail. We all know it is. It’s unsafe, demeaning, thoughtless
about the staff or patients. Something has to change. PBM’s must be stopped. Pharmacists
are brilliant people snd should be treated as such. Not like disposable garbage!
2/16/2022 8:44 PM
479 Retail chains do not allocate enough labor to do our jobs safely and do not pay technicians a
wage that is sufficient for their level of skill and training. This leads to high technician and
pharmacist burnout and the inability to staff vacant positions. Performance bonuses are
offered to pharmacy managers, district pharmacy managers and even store managers to
increase our prescription count beyond a point that we can safely handle. Meanwhile we are
told that corporate cannot afford to pay technicians more. These staffing shortages are
severely impacting patient safety. It is no longer a matter of if we will make critical errors, but
when.
2/16/2022 8:11 PM
480 Significant increase in ex’s due to closure of multiple area pharmacies. 2/16/2022 8:02 PM
481 safety for employees. I have been assaulted by customers. our staff needs more protection
such as bank teller protection, especially in the high C2 dispensing locations. it’s becoming
increasingly dangerous.
2/16/2022 8:01 PM
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482 The past year has been unbelievably stressful and miserable in retail pharmacy. I have on
many, many days been the only person in my pharmacy and expected to give dozens of
vaccines that were scheduled online without my consent. We gave so many vaccines that we
could not fill medications, and patients suffered and took it out on staff. I legitimately feel that
many of us who survived this time in the pharmacy without quitting will suffer from PTSD.
2/16/2022 7:46 PM
483 Very toxic work environment, especially when salary pharmacist regularly perform “shift work”.
Lack of patient safety from leadership and more focus on profits and reducing FTE if it is not
directly creating profit.
2/16/2022 7:23 PM
484 Technicians are fleeing retail pharmacy for less stressful jobs with better hours. 2/16/2022 7:19 PM
485 I have left retail pharmacy for the hospital setting. I am on one hand unhappy about this
situation, as I felt that serving my community directly was my calling. Yet at the same time I
am grateful for the opportunity to expand my professional skills in a new direction. I wanted to
serve my communities as a retail pharmacist and pharmacy manager because I cherish the
direct interaction with patients. I have left retail pharmacy because the profession is
unmanageable and is literally falling apart due to the short sighted, profit driven behaviors of
retail chains. It used to be Walgreens and rite aid that were horrible employers, and other
companies (Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons, Costco, Target) were decent places to work. Now, in
my opinion due to the first two corporations being left unchecked, now almost all of the decent
places to work have followed the bad example of the bigger chains and are actively cutting
staffing and overburdening pharmacists to the same degree. Add to this the fact that these
large corporations have successfully run almost all the independently owned pharmacies out of
the marketplace and you have the current, extremely unhealthy and potentially dangerous
situation. I feel the board of pharmacy has been implicitly involved in the creation of this
situation. You start literally every conversation concerning work conditions with the statement
that you are not here to protect pharmacists. I feel this statement has been used to justify
inaction which has allowed our profession to decline in quality under your watch. I do not feel
this statement or the sentiment behind it admonishes you in any way from your responsibility
to proactively monitor our profession and act in meaningful ways to ensure the professional
environment remains safe. In addition, the board actively promotes an agenda that
overburdens retail pharmacists under the guise of expanding the profession. An appropriate
analogy is building a higher and taller building that appears grand and sophisticated upon an
unstable foundation. You have failed to shore up the foundational activities of our profession
and have instead focused on expanding our professional duties in a manner that encourages
the propagation of chaotic and unsafe retail workplaces lorded over by absentee management.
All the citizens of this state now experience difficulty managing their medical needs because
you've allowed corporations to walk you down the primrose path that has enriched a small
number of executives and shareholders that do not even reside in our state. You've let the
enrichment of these few people take away from the safety and wellbeing of the public and you
still act as though you've done a service to our communities. Healthcare in America is a mess
and will continue to be an expanding and worsening mess until you and the other regulatory
boards stop turning a blind eye to the significant detrimental impact unchecked greed can have
on the delivery of Healthcare goods and services and start acting appropriately to keep these
selfish interests in check.
2/16/2022 7:06 PM
486 though I am not working at this time, ...as a customer, I find the pharmacist rarely seems to
have time for much patient interaction.
2/16/2022 6:56 PM
487 Too much emphasis on metrics is by far the worst contributing factor 2/16/2022 6:51 PM
488 Pharmacy is in a difficult position as a business. Lack of profitability and appropriate
reimbursement is a big issue which usually results in cutting labor costs to remain profitable.
Therefore this puts more pressure and workload on existing staff.
2/16/2022 6:47 PM
489 Na 2/16/2022 6:37 PM
490 The retail pharmacy I work in has gone from 1000-1100 prescriptions per week to 1600-1800
per week in the last 2 years. We have no additional pharmacists and the addition of 1 CPhT for
approx. 24-32 hours per week. Our pharmacy is one of the few we know of that is caught up at
the end of the day because as a crew, we stay until the work is done each day, no matter what
that takes. The pharmacists easily work 5 -10 hours a week that are not compensated, and
more if a member of the staff is out for vacation, medical, etc. I mention this because my
company has weekly conference calls to cover upcoming policies, metrics, and current items
of business. The last few months these conference calls are calling on pharmacy managers to
2/16/2022 6:23 PM
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cut hours in the pharmacy. The pharmacists are doing so many tasks at once it is bound to
lead to an increase in errors and the company would like us to cut hours.
491 Company focus too much on metrics and not patients care, also staff has been reduced
significantly compared to five years ago
2/16/2022 6:19 PM
492 Too many requirements. Fills, vaccines, not enough staff. We cannot keep up 2/16/2022 5:57 PM
493 Chain pharmacies are making huge profits by understaffing. Metrics were bad enough before
COVID, then they add COVID vaccinations with no additional help. Employees can't take it so
they quit, and the chains take their time filling the spots. Pharmacists are pressured into
working overtime without pay - because we actually care about the well-being of our patients.
The staffing problem is entirely the creation of chain pharmacies not adequately staffing
pharmacies and not offering equitable pay (ESPECIALLY techs! but pharmacists too). One
small thing - it would be helpful if the pharmacist didn't have to drop everything to personally
offer counseling to every patient with a new prescription - the law has good intent, but it is
incredibly disruptive to workflow and doesn't actually result in more patients asking
for/receiving counseling.
2/16/2022 5:52 PM
494 Kaiser Central Oncology in Portland, OR practice poor practice where it is unsafe for employee
managed by Jason Knudsen pharmD. We are to meet deadlines that is nearly impossible to
meet and techs have been injured on the job due to this lack of management.
2/16/2022 5:49 PM
495 Pharmacies have been seriously struggling for over the last year; why is the board only
addressing this now?
2/16/2022 5:46 PM
496 Staff must work overtime every day in order to keep up with workload. If a worker calls in sick,
there is no replacement. Workers are pressured to return to work when not fully recovered from
covid.
2/16/2022 5:45 PM
497 We are tired of pizza breaks and stale cookies as incentives. We need more staff and we need
people who can handle clerical work so we can focus on tasks related to our license. Vaccines
and tests are swamping us. My pharmacist works with no breaks at all. They are often solo on
their shifts and they look exhausted. Mistakes get made due to this. Please stop allowing
tests and vaccines in big pharmacies... We can't keep up.
2/16/2022 5:37 PM
498 Not given adequate shift changes, was placed in an IV sterile compounding role consecutively
for months, I’m now waiting for surgery for nerve damage in my wrist. When speaking up to
management, nothing was done, until I got HR involved.
2/16/2022 4:51 PM
499 The phones ring off the hook and it’s been stated you have to answer the phone by the second
ring. And they want people that are assembling prescriptions to take phone calls to. That is a
medication error waiting to happen
2/16/2022 4:50 PM
500 I previously worked for Walgreens and we were overloaded with meeting metrics instead of
helping patients right in front of us. To many tentacles - such as Covid testing, covid shots,
covid clinics off sight.
2/16/2022 4:45 PM
501 Not enough help, overworking staff, and zero help coming from corporate leaves us struggling
to provide any kind of patient care. We are burned out. Adding Covid vaccinations and the
lengthy paperwork/insurance to the process compounds the problem. A pharmacy filling more
and more prescriptions every day with other pharmacies shutting down means inadequate
patient care for the thousands of incoming patients and little patient care for the existing
patients. We need help. We need mandatory breaks. We need the unobtainable matrixes gone.
We need to be able to be patient-centered healthcare centers not fast-food restaurants slinging
the latest products that will make a corporation more money. I WANT to take care of my
patients without the constant threat of job loss if we don’t fill enough prescriptions in a day and
if we don’t bring in even more patients to add to the already overwhelming workload. Our
patients deserve better then to be treated as numbers on a corporate spreadsheet. They
deserve pharmacists and technicians who are at the top of their game not exhausted from
overwork and overwhelmed by the metrics. They DESERVE better!
2/16/2022 4:42 PM
502 Higher management hired anyone they could, 5 people within a month with no experience or
experienced staff to train them and only 1 pharmacist to staff the pharmacy with over 600 rx's
per day. All experienced staff quit due to mismanagement from store and corporate entities.
PIC finally quit due to fear of liabilities beyond their control.
2/16/2022 4:39 PM
503 One rph for 700-1000 rxs in 10 hours and sometimes only 3 techs is beyond unsafe. Those 2/16/2022 4:29 PM
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who do work usually don’t get breaks and some don’t get lunches. Over 1000 to fill is extreme
and hard to catch up from. The amount of hours required to work to partially meet demand is
unsafe and unreasonable.
504 The amount of work being done by 1 pharmacist & a few techs everyday is just too much.
When Walgreens is pushing Covid shots & testing along with other vaccines they want us to
push. Not to mention all the phone calls we have to make, the metics we need to meet. Oh
and did I mention they cut our pharmacy Technician hours down so we have even less hours
to work now & more too do!
2/16/2022 4:17 PM
505 I got of retail after 3 year of absolute hell in retail. I remember working 6-7 days per week to
keep my store open. I NEVER took a 30 minute lunch or 10 minute breaks. I once counseled a
patient with while I had a bloody nose bc they couldn’t wait for their prescription any longer. I
was thankfully able to get out of retail after three years of torture. After 6 months I saw a hair
dresser that noticed I had all of this new hair growth. Did you come out of a stressful situation
she asked? I said oh I quit my retail pharmacy job. RETAIL PHARMACY WAS CAUSING MY
HAIR TO FALL OUT. I remember wishing I could be a tech bc at least they were able to clock
out for 30 minutes and go to the back. The expectations are unrealistic and unfair to any
human. I felt like I was in a country that didn’t have workers rights. I have a doctorate and yet I
felt this way. I know mandated lunches are a start for pharmacists but I am absolutely certain
pharmacists are working through their lunches to catch up. I hope conditions improve for my
retail pharmacists. I have heard work has gotten worse since Covid testing and Covid vaccines
started. I can’t even imagine. And you want them to prescribe birth control on top of that?
2/16/2022 4:08 PM
506 I think I big misconception is that pharmacists just verify scripts. At my location I was often
the ONLY employee in the pharmacy for a 12 hour shift and thus responsible for EVERY single
task. On top of the short staffing challenges we have taken on full burden of the covid
pandemic having to vaccinate more customers than we have capacity for while still trying to
manage the workload of the entire pharmacy. I feel like there is a ton of pressure to push out
scripts and vaccinations without regard to the safety of the pharmacy staff or the patients. My
personal level of stress had increased to the point it had started to affect my life outside of
work. I have seen no indication of improvement in workload from my employer or the board and
don't feel like pharmacist voices are heard. I really hope this survey can serve as a wake up
call to the terrible work conditions in pharmacies.
2/16/2022 4:03 PM
507 CE burden. My work already provides cultural training, yet I have two do extra CE as a
requirement for Oregon. Patient safety requirement CE is vague at best. Again we are required
to review patient safety yearly in our employment. I agree with CE, but putting specific
reqduirements that need to be done as apposed to not be able to target the CE that best fits
my needs in taking care of patients.
2/16/2022 4:01 PM
508 I feel the mask mandate is causing more problems than safety, employees and patients can't
safely communicate with mask. drug names are hard enough then to muffle someone with a
mask. Most patients you can tell no longer listen to you counseling.
2/16/2022 4:01 PM
509 Regarding the metrics, corporate has recently and probably temporarily backed off, beginning
when the board started looking into the safety issue. I still believe the OBOP should require a
district pharmacy manager to hold an Oregon pharmacist license in good standing in order to
be held accountable for the consequences of ill-conceived corporate initiatives.
2/16/2022 4:01 PM
510 I think you should also focus on the pay that the abused and burnt out pharmacy staff are
making. Not worth what we are being put through.
2/16/2022 3:56 PM
511 A current issue we have dealt with in rural locations has been the permanent or temporary
closure of other pharmacies. These pharmacies leave their own patients without options,
provide no to little notice and continue to put the burden on pharmacies still trying to practice
safely. They have often brought in additional staff to fill prescriptions without providing
sufficient time for patients to obtain their prescriptions. They also create issues for other
pharmacies trying to fill these prescriptions which are filled at the other pharmacy, which won’t
answer phone calls to return prescriptions to allow for insurance billing. This creates further
burden on the pharmacies continuing to operate and attempting to assist patients.
2/16/2022 3:55 PM
512 I work as a remote specialist but my specialty pharmacy employer does not provide a safe
environment with adequate PPE training staffing etc.
2/16/2022 3:54 PM
513 Operating at 30% staffing for almost a year and no end in sight. The company response was
“nobody is applying”
2/16/2022 3:52 PM
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514 The increased demands - vaccines, covid testing, amount of phone calls about these things -
severely limit my ability to fill prescriptions. Tech vaccinating is nice but that still comes back
on me, and corporate is pushing every tech to get certified, even if they're not an appropriate
choice in my eyes
2/16/2022 3:50 PM
515 My answers are based off of the questionnaire at this time. If this was given at an earlier date,
my answers would have been different. I only speak for my pharmacy. That being said, I also
float due to lack of personnel at other locations. I do enjoy learning more while helping other
pharmacies.
2/16/2022 3:50 PM
516 I think that you should have not mandated proof of vaccine and then you wouldn't be dealing
with such a big staffing shortage. I was an amazing technician for nearly 8 years and I was
never asked to show proof of my personal health information until now. My personal health info
is none of my employers or the pharmacy boards business. Thank you.
2/16/2022 3:43 PM
517 One pharmacist on duty from open to close with only 4 hours of overlap with another another
pharmacist
2/16/2022 3:38 PM
518 I am satisfied with support from my employer. 2/16/2022 3:38 PM
519 You need to do something to help pharmacy staff. We are drowning. Companies are taking
advantage of staff, and they need more protections. Pharmacies should be adequately staffed
and paid so they can focus on prescriptions and patients and not pleasing store managers and
ringing up groceries and those stupid metrics.
2/16/2022 3:37 PM
520 Special rules need to be had for infusion centers regarding patient load to technicians staffing. 2/16/2022 3:35 PM
521 My location has never had pharmacist lunch breaks on weekends prior to COVID. The
increased volume makes a bathroom break almost impossible due to over 50 foot walk to the
employee restroom and only one male restroom for all store employees. When I have voiced
my concerns (2 times thus far) I have been written up for doing so. Non pharmacy
management have more say on how the pharmacy is to run than I do. To a point we have had
management breach the pharmacy (already reported) due to not listening to a technician that
they weren't allowed access to the pharmacy when no pharmacist was on duty. I know the
situation is bad but I find myself wanting to leave pharmacy after 12 years of being a
pharmacist due to not wanting the harm or death of a patient on my conscious. Currently
looking at reorganizing my finances to do so.
2/16/2022 3:31 PM
522 I love giving vaccines--I just wish my employer would not schedule so many of them in one
day.
2/16/2022 3:27 PM
523 Our hospital pharmacy management department will not deal with an impaired pharmacist on
staff 02/13/22
2/16/2022 3:26 PM
524 The Board should mandate AND enforce pharmacist non-meal breaks especially when working
alone or longer than 10 hours. Also consultations on every prescription should be changed to
OPTIONAL of the patient's choosing, that way the pharmacist can spend adequate time with
patients that actually DO want to receive one. Most people are just picking up refills, and it is a
waste of time for the pharmacist to walk back and forth ALL DAY just to release a refill. This is
not efficient and prevents one from performing meaningful consults.
2/16/2022 3:26 PM
525 Clarification by the Board for "inappropriate dispensing" as it relates to ivermectin prescriptions
similar to that provided for hydroxychloroquine would be supportive. Reimbursement is
abysmal and negatively impacts the ability of independent pharmacies to staff appropriately.
2/16/2022 3:25 PM
526 #1 Curbside is a huge PIA; not enough staff to deal with it and customers are not prepared. #2
Pharmacists and Staff need to be rid of the masks once and for all. Infectious viruses and
bacteria have been floating around in the air long before covid showed up. #3 E-script mistakes
are pathetic and prolific. Sooo much time is wasted contacting ill-trained staff at prescriber's
offices and then waiting forever for an answer.
2/16/2022 3:24 PM
527 State run by thoughtless leaders who don't think things through, who are focused on image
more than reality
2/16/2022 3:16 PM
528 None 2/16/2022 3:09 PM
529 None 2/16/2022 3:07 PM
530 Patients have to wait 2 to 3 days for a new prescription. Patient also have to wait in line for 2/16/2022 2:55 PM
Safe Pharmacy Practice Conditions Survey
40 / 40
hours to pick up their medication’s. We are unable to answer our phones do to inadequate
staffing. The situation is bad for staff and for customers.
531 Not enough staff and Bi mart closing has made it difficult. Pharmacist is cashier, technician,
vaccinator and lastly pharmacist.
2/16/2022 2:55 PM
532 Due to the conditions in retail pharmacies, we are receiving numerous inquiries about
opportunities to work in our health system. I am very concerned at the working conditions that
currently exist in some of these pharmacies and the impact on patient care.
2/16/2022 2:54 PM
533 our motto: scripts, scripts, scripts! 2/16/2022 2:51 PM
The Oregon Board of Pharmacy serves to promote and protect public health, safety and welfare by ensuring high standards in
the practice of pharmacy and through effective regulation of the manufacture and distribution of drugs.
Oregon Board of Pharmacy
800 NE Oregon St., Suite 150
Portland, OR 97232
Phone: 971-673-0001
Fax: 971-673-0002
pharmacy.boa[email protected].gov
www.oregon.gov/pharmacy
April 2022
Dear Oregon Pharmacists, Interns, Certified Oregon Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Technicians:
In February 2022, the Oregon Board of Pharmacy distributed a workload survey to all Pharmacists,
Interns, Certified Oregon Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Technicians licensed in Oregon. The
intent of the survey was to capture vital feedback from licensees on pharmacy practice conditions in the
state. Capturing this data is important as safe pharmacy practice conditions have been identified as a
concern by the media, licensees, state regulators and national pharmacy organizations. For example, in
2021, the American Pharmacist Association and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy
Associations jointly conducted a national survey and reported “patient demands, negative/abusive
relationships with employers, unrealistic workloads, and inadequate staffing are negative contributors
to patient safety.”
1
The full results of Oregon’s survey are included in this report, with respondent
comments included separately (see Appendix I).
The survey was sent to 8,492 Pharmacists, 783 Interns, 6,626 Certified Oregon Pharmacy Technicians
and 1,901 Pharmacy Technicians for a total of 17,802 licensees. The board received 2,044 responses, a
completion rate of 11.5%. Moving forward, the data from this survey will be used to inform discussions
regarding safe pharmacy practice in the state. The Board looks forward to working with a broad array of
stakeholders to ensure Oregon’s pharmacy professionals are working under safe practice conditions and
always in the best interest of the public health and safety.
Sincerely,
Joseph Schnabel
Executive Director
Oregon Board of Pharmacy
1- Full survey results can be accessed here:
https://www.pharmacist.com/APhA-Press-Releases/apha-and-naspa-release-initial-
findings-from-the-2022-national-pharmacy-workplace-survey
