|
medpundit |
||
 |
 |
|
Sunday, April 07, 2002They're being forced to send their prescriptions in to a mail-order firm, AdvancePCS , instead of filling them at the pharmacy of their choice. The mail order firms can offer cheaper prices because they grab large volumes of customers by signing deals like this with insurance companies, employers, and unions. The trend is driving small, independent pharmacists out of business, and it's having it's effect on the chain stores, too. The disadvantage to the mail-order system, and it's a big one, is that there are no pharmacists for the patient to consult when there is a problem. I've had patients tell me the pill they got in the mail is a different color and shape than the one they received last time and they aren't sure if there was an error in the dispensing. I can't tell, either, since the color and shapes of pills vary by manufacturer. Only the pharmacy can tell if there was an error or just a change in supplier. When that happens at a local pharmacy the patient can take the pill back and check with the pharmacist. No such luck with the mail-order firms. Half the time you can't even get a person to answer the phone, only a prerecorded message that has no directions for "speaking to a pharmacist". Mail order pharmacies like Advance PCS also use their captive audiences to practice big brother medicine in the guise of their “disease management” program. They send mailings out once a month suggesting changes in patient medications. When they were owned by Eli Lily it was always a request to change to a medication made by Eli Lily. Sometimes it wasn't even a request to change medicine, but one to initiate a medication. For instance, to start Evista for osteoporosis prevention because the patient was a woman over fifty. When that happened, I began disregarding them completely, and I still throw them away without reading them. I didn't realize until now that they are no longer owned by Eli Lily. I'll probably read the next one they send, but I doubt it will change my therapy. How could it? They haven't examined and talked over the treatment options with my patients, only I have. How can they presume to suggest that they know what's better for them? posted by Sydney on 4/07/2002 08:59:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
|
