One of the aspects of the pharmacy profession is to educate patients. Educate them on the drugs they take, the interactions they cause and to offer advice when needed. The first two portions are followed religiously, but that can also be attributed to the legal aspects. The last portion, to offer advice when needed, is a highly gray area. It is an area of which I personally would like to explore.
As of late, especially with our current economic troubles, I have been wondering if it is time that we educate our patients on more than just the side effects of their drugs. I have been seeing patient after patient paying ridiculous copays for Nexium and I then ask them if they have ever tried Omeprazole. Most say no, some even say they've never heard of it.
The question then becomes, do I explain the connection between Nexium and Omeprazole? Granted on a chemical level they will not understand it, but it can be easily explained in layman's terms. They could easily save a hundred bucks a month just from that one drug. There's countless other similar situations that this could be applied to.
In my marketing class we have been taught that it is best to educate the company into today's competitive environment. To give them choices, show them all their options and let them make informed decisions. Now I am not suggesting that we let patients decide their medication therapies, but they should be at least be aware of these cost effective options, especially if they are on a fixed-income. So why can't we do that? Why can't we tell the patient paying cash for Lexapro that Citalopram is much less expensive, but will most likely work just as well? That they don't need to pay the $50 copay on Coreg CR when generic Coreg will be covered for a much lower copay.
I think the first hurdle would be to get over the 'MD is god' mentality that a lot of patients have. To me, it appears, that hurdle is eroding under its own weight as it is. Often we are asked second opinions on drugs despite what their doc may tell them.
We all know the Big Pharm is in bed with PBMs. We also all know that it is nearly impossible to bring them down at this moment. Perhaps, though, we could use this to chip away at that formidable facade. Perhaps it would educate the public to the point that maybe a majority will start to speak up for more equality. Then again this is highly idealistic.
Our jobs are to help ensure the health and well being of our patients. If we can help them save money so they can afford their insulin or blood pressure meds, why shouldn't we help them? I know I will be from now on.
5 comments:
The pharmacists where I intern say not to. I don't buy their argument, but I respect their rules when I'm in their house. I had a doctor write for Zithromax and added Culturelle to prevent diarrhea. Of course there's no way the patient's insurance is going to pay for that. I asked the pharmacist if the Acidpohilus in the culturelle was the same thing that makes yogurt. His response was "yeah, but you don't tell the patient that".
My attitude is that patients deserve the best information available in order to make the best decisions for their health. If we don't give it to them, who will?
I'm so glad you passed along the rules of spelling kids' names! I can now understand how they come up with those crazy names. Oh - but when they throw in 2 apostrophes in one name.... they made their own rule with that one. I'm gonna have to share your comment in a post. It's just too good not to share!
And I'm one of those pharmacists who is very open to sharing "penny pinching" tips with my customers. I'm a promoter of them trying omeprazole, etc. My company matches that lovely $4 plan. So I'll advise them of what alternatives to their meds may be on that list. The area I work in is very poor, and the $4 list is a God-send for many of them.
What do you mean, why can't we? I do it all the time. I even have a standard little explanation of isomers. I don't understand why a pharmacist would not help people this way. Are they afraid of upsetting a doctor? If I only ever gave people information on side effects what would be the difference between me and a vending machine with patient leaflets. Just sayin'
Could be that I work with the laziest, most selfish collection of pharmacists you could imagine. They make me question my faith in the profession.
Good luck on that one. Ever try explaining to a woman that Ocella is the EXACT same thing as Yasmin - mfg'd by Bayer and everything and they don't believe you. How 'bout when the authorized generic for Protonix came out. We had countless people saying that the EXACT SAME yellow tab WITH PROTONIX STAMPED RIGHT ON IT was different and didn't work as well. We even went so far as to call the mfg and verify they were identical. In my experience, people want what they want and they will believe what they want to believe. I used to offer this kind of unsolicited advice and got an earful in return. Now I am more than happy to offer it to someone who asks.
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