I just got off the phone with a caregiver (I’ll call her Jane) who had first called me yesterday. Jane was given my name by the local fiscal court to whom I had offered help if they could not assist patients in affording their medications. The fiscal court’s medication assistance budget has been slashed dramatically with funds being redirected to help those addicted to heroin. (Side note: heroin affects us all).
Jane’s loved one (I’ll call him John) has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. His medication copay for one month is $85. He is going through a divorce, has been displaced, is out of work, and cannot afford the copay.
- The primary care physician and psychiatrist were unable to help with free medication samples
- Because he has Medicare he is ineligible for the manufacturer’s patient assistance program
- The fiscal court was unable to help due to budget cuts
- The local charitable pharmacy is only open a couple days a week and only takes on 10 new cases per day, and they were number 11 in line.
- She estimates she has made approximately 200 phone calls in the past week to resolve this issue
- Desperate, Jane called an unknown pharmacist
She explained John’s basic situation to me. Jane stated that he has finally found a medication that is working, but now John cannot afford it and has one pill left. She has been searching for a solution for a week. I was able to contact a local independent pharmacy who was able to offer an affordable price on an alternative dosage form of the same medication. Upon my suggestion, Jane contacted the prescriber to see if he would be willing to change John’s prescription from the long acting brand-name-only medication to the same medication in a shorter acting formula. Within an hour, the change had been sent to the pharmacy and John had his medication.
When speaking with Jane today, she was incredibly grateful. She stated John slept peacefully last night and now has enough medication to get through his transition. She also admitted that their next step was a hospitalization. Jane feels that she was able to get help for John through guardian angels.
My life’s journey is to use my skills as a pharmacist to help people live the healthiest, highest quality life possible.
SyneRxgy Consulting is a patient-centered “Personal Pharmacist” concept company that helps patients and their caregivers, doctors, and institutions provide a “5 Star” disease state and medication management system.
