The last time I was at a pharmacy to inquire about a prescription, I had a rather amusing experience. As I was waiting at the counter waiting to speak with a pharmacist, I could hear the stereo with music that the employees were playing, as it was broadcasting quite clearly and could be heard by those of us standing in line. As I waited, Eminem’s “Crack a Bottle” came on this stereo and began pumping its beat out to the customers. If you’re familiar with this song (Or Eminem in general), you’ll know that this isn’t exactly something you would expect to hear in an environment such as a pharmacy – I can only imagine what the nice elderly woman behind me would have made of the lyrics! The pharmacist standing at the counter soon began to look embarrassed when she realized what was playing and quickly turned the stereo off.
Yes, the world has changed a lot in recent years – and not just in the music that people listen to. With modern technology revolutionizing how we do everything, innovations like pharmacy automation have become the norm and made the industry very different from how it used to be. These days, pharmacists have complex machines to keep track of prescription information, print labels, and keep inventory of medications. This kind of material handling system has made the job of a pharmacist so much faster and more efficient than it was prior to the 1970s, when the process of dispensing medication was incredibly time-consuming. (The history of pharmacy technology is actually pretty interesting if you want to look it up on Wikipedia – OK, I’m a nerd, I freely admit it. ;)) These days, an amazing amount of the prescription process is automated. From the factory conveyors that transport boxes of medication to the machines in the pharmacy that count tablets, there is so much new technology being utilized that we now take for granted. Modern pharmacies are very different from their counterparts of yesteryear – if a a pharmacist in the 1950s stepped into a time machine, they would be shocked to walk into a pharmacy in 2011 and see all of the innovations that today’s pharmacists have at their fingertips…and perhaps a little shocked at the choice of music, too. 😉
I am familiar with some of the pharmacists machines and such being in the medical field. I actually find it very interesting too! Now, the music part- that I did not know about.
I can just imagine what the poor elderly woman thought of the music!
hahhha…That is funny about the music…Although the pharmacies have become more “modern” I am always weary of the fact that maybe some things should be less modern…I mean, I would hate to get the wrong medicine because a “machine” was looking at the label. kwim?
HAH! Funny! I work in a pharmacy and we always have that kind of music on 🙂 Im sure our patients love us for it!