A pharmacy technician cried while explaining how his current job as a pharmacy technician has impacted his mental health.
“This has by far probably been the hardest year [I’ve ever worked], not only for myself, but for all these patients that are coming in,” said Caden Mixer in a video with over 442,000 views.
In his video, he explained how a lack of access to affordable medications without delays has had exponential consequences for those who need them, something that’s weighed on him inside and outside of work.
Mixer’s experiences working in healthcare
“There’s 30-year-olds with diabetes and they don’t know how they’re gonna get their insulin because it’s a hundred dollars,” Mixer said. “And they thought it was gonna be $30 because that’s what GoodRx said, and that’s what the doctor said. But when they get to the pharmacy, it’s not $30. It’s $100.”
Mixer also emphasized the fact that medication delays have become rampant in the healthcare industry. “There’s been people [who try] for days to get antibiotics from the doctor and there’s so much going on that they can’t get it… We’re trying to get it from the doctor. The doctor’s trying to get it to us. And…there’s a disconnect and people don’t understand. I don’t understand. We don’t understand why there’s a disconnect, but there is,” he said.
Despite insulin prices being at their lowest level in a decade, they still remain high enough to warrant payment difficulty. You can now pay around $260 for a package of five generic insulin lispro KwikPens instead of $400 for a package of five Humalog KwikPens. But that price can still be a barrier to access.
The entire situation creates strain for patients and staff: “People are mad at us because they think we’re the problem. People are mad at the doctor because they think they’re the problem. But we’re all trying to work together to try to get this medicine for you, and we can’t. We just simply can’t,” he added.
Additional local problems add to the issue
For Mixer’s pharmacy, recent changes in town have only added to the stress. Another local pharmacy closed, leaving his pharmacy with too many transfers to work through.
“We are trying to take them in so we have a stack of transfers like this, and people are coming in, ‘where’s my medicine? I need my seizure medicine, I need my antibiotics, I need this, I need that,’” he said. “But we’re trying so hard to work through all these pages and pages of prescriptions, and over the weekend, so many people have been coming for all of this medicine.”
Why are there so many medication delays?
There are delays to hundreds of medications across the U.S., many of which are essential for chronic disease management. There’s a current shortage of two forms of Epinephrine, for instance, the life-saving medication that treats anaphylaxis.
Alongside that, manufacturing delays and sudden spikes in need can contribute to increased delays. The government shutdown, for one, can contribute. The FDA cannot examine manufacturing facilities unless they’re critical. They also have to shorten their staff. Administrative offices will run with fewer staff members, making it harder to get approvals for basic requests.
Limited time, energy, and hands
Limited staffing and a lack of time make it harder to connect with patients, Mixer added. That makes it harder to actually connect with people coming in to pick up medications, change prescriptions, or those letting the pharmacy know that they no longer need the prescription.
That’s the case for many grieved family members who come in to let them know a loved one passed, something that weighs on Mixer as he fulfills orders in his 10-hour working day.
“Twice, three times today, there’s been people [who] come in…,” Mixer said. [This gentleman came in and said]… I lost my wife a week ago, and I keep getting notifications and I need to change the phone number.”
More customers will come in within the same day with their own losses, Mixer explained. “ I passed him off to my pharmacist. She took care of him, and then another lady come[s] in. She said, ‘it’s not been easy. I just lost my husband and I don’t know what to do’… I [saw] her eyes turn red and [she] started to cry, [but I’m just] her cashier. At that point, I’m just cashing out… the medicine.”
A pharm tech’s workload
In a response to The Mary Sue, Mixer clarified a little bit more about his workload.
“We usually fill about 300 prescriptions on a busy day,” he said, “which doesn’t seem like much, but running around in circles makes it a little more tedious and demanding. We have to stretch ourselves across the entire pharmacy. There’s really no training on how to deal with influxes other than customer service modules. We have had to learn new ways and new work flows to be able to handle long lines of customers.”
He added that he feels as though managers and higher-ups are paying attention to pharmacy technicians’ concerns and have taken proactive steps to send support technicians from their district.
He also emphasized the fact that all pharmacy technicians and those in the healthcare industry want to do is help. “We want to see people happy and get what they need. Sometimes there are other forces working against us and we just need the time and grace to get the job done. I always tell my customers [to] stay vigilant and keep on top of us but at the same time please allow us the time to work on it. We can’t solve an issue as soon as you walk up to the counter.”
Mixer has noticed that it’s a difficult time of year for many people picking up prescriptions and is especially empathetic toward them. “This is a hard [time] of year for people in between insurances and policies. A lot of people are stuck in the middle and don’t have coverage until a certain date or just lost coverage at the end of the month.”
He has plans to stay in the career despite its emotional difficulty, but may move away from retail pharmacy in the future.
@cadenmixer Can I trauma dump on you real quick? #pharmacy #tech #fyp ♬ original sound – caden mixer
Corporate Greed—a compelling motive?
The entire situation has shut Mixer, alongside his other coworkers, down. Other commenters pointed out how cruel the system itself is, saying, “when insulin was made it was suppose[d] to be free for everyone. The inventor wanted it free because it saved lives. Corporate greed has ruined humanity.”
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