How much of your telephone time does this take.
Rough estimates:
Each day I get about 2 Newcrop refill requests which I deny without looking at them, with the reason "have the patient call".
I probably overhear my receptionist fielding a call from a patient resulting from the denial about every other day - granted I'm in exam rooms not listening all the time.
Every such call from the patient is a welcome opportunity to (re)educate them to ask for the new renewal we previously sent, not old prescription number, otherwise we can count on such pharmacy requests ad infinitum. Or if they are overdue for an appointment, gives us the opportunity to capture an appropriate revenue generating visit. It also allows the few patients who just want refills for life without the expense of ever coming in to decide to move on to someone elses practice and open room for new patients whose expectations are a better match for the service we offer.
I'm guessing some pharmacies ignore my denial without contacting the patient, some contact the patient who remembers our last instructions and solves the issue themself, and a few call us as above.
I'm hoping some pharmacies will reflect that this is a hassle and look for the renewal previously sent instead of just sending a request for an expired prescription number.
