Pros
Pay check comes every two weeks on schedule.
Cons
If you are a pharmacist considering a position with Curascript/Accredo in Indianapolis, run away! Run as fast as you can ...and don't look back! Of course when they recruit they say and show all the right things. I would say there may be positions out there that are worse, but besides Wal-mart, I have not seen any. All pharmacists in a production role, which is most except the few supervisors, punch a clock and have an attendance point system so that if one is more than 5 minutes late to their shift...tisk tisk....you get a attendance point. Imagine junior high school and you have the idea. Maybe that was great for 7th graders but when you are a well educated professional it is quite debilitating to not only morale but also professional flexibility. Such flexibility would lend to cooperation amongst peers to switch shifts, cover lunches, work extra nights during maternity leaves or any number of things where a professional environment generally benefits from some healthy cooperation. All staff pharmacists are required to utilize a tracking system for each activity. Take a call, verify an order, your computer goes down and need to reboot for 3-5 minutes...all have to be clock coded in the phone system that is used to track everything. Need to go to the bathroom for 5 minutes? Well you must punch in the correct clock code at your station before leaving and upon returning. Counseling a patient who has terminal cancer? Well the call can't last longer than 7:30 seconds or you are outside of goal. These metrics are tracked and reviewed with each pharmacist monthly based on their monthly average performance. There is no discussion of the quality of care, or the angry vehement customer who threatened you with a lawsuit. The sad thing is the company has signs up with reminders about the company values called "The Express Way." Amongst these are such things as Integrity, Collaboration, Alignment, Mutual Respect. Yet, the daily reality could not be more evasive and uncooperative. Imagine the juxtaposition illustrated in the recent movie called "The Hunger Games" between the government video played during the introduction touting how great the society was but in reality the people in the districts were kept under the control of a suppressive police state and you will have the idea. If that sounds melodramatic, lets review a few specific examples. Company policy states that if an employee calls in sick the day after a paid holiday then they forfeit holiday pay. This creates a police state that pre-supposes a criminal mentality onto employees. The assumption here is that if someone has a sick day immediately following a holiday they are automatically trying to unjustly work the system by playing hooky. The feedback from management is that they would consider waving the policy on a case-by-case basis if someone provides a doctors note. Most people in their mid 20's to mid 50's who are relatively healthy, they don't go to the doctor when they need a sick day because, as a generally healthy person, when they are under the weather, they simply get some rest, and take some Tylenol and Vitamin C. By the time the next day rolls around they generally feel well enough to return to work rather that flying off in a panic to the nearest emergency room or doctors office and paying a $50 co-pay just to prove you weren't lying to the company. Concerning annual reviews and raises there is a performance rating where that is based on a curve called a 20/70/10 split. That is to say that no matter how great anyone might happen to be performing in relation to the goals set forth, 20% of people get a commendable review while 70% are limited to only a acceptable and 10 % get a review suggesting that improvement is needed. Sounds like a disconnect to me. Vacation time is limited to only 10 hours per day among the entire staff pool. Roughly 15 staff pharmacists work in a variety of tasks in the Indianapolis facility. Getting any reasonable time off while working for this outfit is a long shot at the least. There is a formal company policy that states, "It is forbidden for any employee to contact the State Board of Pharmacy or any other regulatory agency without specific authorization from management." Now as a pharmacist I know I have an obligation to protect public health and am responsible to the state BOP where I am licensed. I am not sure, but I think such a policy might just be illegal. That is why we have "whistle blower" laws in this country. If this review were not limited in length, then this list could go on much longer. As our Pharmacist In Charge (PIC) recently said repeatedly and openly in a group meeting with many staff present while speaking on the topic of Curascript adopting the Accredo name...."We don't care what people call our company, we just want to get paid!" That pretty much sums up the culture here.
