community
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE March 3-9, 2010 Page C-3
AARP offers online tool to help manage medications safely, effectively
By Velma Sullivan
how important it is to get all supplement Medicare must Rx Snapshot — an initiative vider about the risks and ben-
of your prescriptions filled often pay a percentage of the of AARP’s Create The Good, a efits of their prescriptions.
People age 65 years of age
at one pharmacy. Your phar- cost of their own medicines. network of independent vol-
and older consume more pre-
macist can serve as a central unteers active in neighbor-
• The opportunity to consid-
scription and over-the-coun-
point to maintain a list of all
One in three older Ameri-
hoods across the country — is
er generics as money-saving
ter (OTC) medicines than any
of your medications, and he
cans cut dosages so medicines
an easy way to help seniors
alternatives.
other age group, according
or she can screen for drug in-
will last longer, and nearly one
record the medications they I encourage you to visit
to the National Institute on
teractions to avoid potentially
in four adults age 65 and over
www.createthegood.org to
Aging.
harmful situations.
skips doses of medication
are taking and assist them in
or does not fill prescriptions
talking with their health care download the Rx Snapshot
When two or more drugs
In addition to concerns over because of cost, and suffers
professional about how they toolkit and either call older
are mixed in the body, they
the number of prescriptions worse health as a result.
might better manage their relatives and loved ones or
may interact with each other
seniors take and at how many
medications. organize a community group
and produce potentially dan-
different pharmacies they get
For these reasons, and to help neighbors fill out the
gerous side effects. This is an
the prescriptions filled, the
many others, AARP created a
The toolkit provides se-
information in the toolkit
especially troubling problem
cost of medications is a big
free online tool that Michigan
niors with:
so they can ensure they are
for seniors because 90 per-
concern for seniors. Many
residents can use to help older • A way to keep updated re- managing their prescriptions
cent of them take medication
seniors pay for their prescrip-
family members, friends or cords of their medications. wisely.
on a daily basis. On average,
tions out of pocket and even
neighbors manage their medi-
Velma Sullivan is a volun-
seniors take more than four
Velma Sullivan
those who have insurance to
cations safely and effectively.
• Tips to having a conversa-
tion with their health care pro- teer for AARP Michigan.
prescription medications at
once, plus two over-the-coun-
ter medications.
Additionally, seniors tend
to be more sensitive to drugs
than younger adults are, due
to changes in organ function
and, in some cases, loss of
muscle tissue that can cause
the drug to be more concen-
trated in the blood. They may
also be more susceptible to
certain side effects.
Compounding the problem,
about one-third (35%) of sen-
iors use more than one phar-
macy to get their prescrip-
tions filled. I cannot stress
Lower
health
costs,
with no
copay
By Peter J. Pitts
It’s unlikely that Wash-
ington will pass meaningful
healthcare reform anytime
soon. Yet healthcare costs are
still exploding, making qual-
ity care unaffordable for too
many Americans and putting a
financial burden on us all.
Surprisingly, though,
there’s a smart move that
health insurers can make that
will lower costs for consum-
ers and insurers alike, and im-
prove patient health: Reduce
copays on prescription drugs.
High drug prices lead many
Americans to skip doses or
quit prescriptions entirely. Yet
NOW - SUN, MARCH 7
prescription drug prices aren’t
rising — it’s patients’ out-of-
pocket costs, or copays. Over
the past several years, insur-
ance companies have become
increasingly reluctant to foot
SAVE
the bill for brand name medi-
cations.
Indeed, since 2000, copays
have increased four times
faster than prescription drug
prices.
ON FAVES
OUR CUSTOMERS’ 5-STAR
FAVORITES
Patients respond to higher
copays by skipping their meds
more often. In 2003, research-
25% - 5O% OFF STOREWIDE
ers at Oregon University stud-
ied the effects of introducing
a $2 to $3 copay for prescrip-
TAKE AN EXTRA 15% OR 1O% OFF
†
tion meds among 17,000 pa-
WHEN YOU USE YOUR MACY’S CARD. †EXCLUSIONS APPLY; SEE BELOW.
tients. Adherence to treatment
dropped by 17 percent.
Some insurers are even
refusing to cover new pre-
scription drugs. According to
a study from Wolter Kluwer
Health, insurers’ denial rate
for brand name meds was 10.8
percent at the end of 2008 — a
21 percent jump from the year
before.
Abandoning treatment — a
practice known as “non-ad-
herence” — has serious con-
sequences for patient health.
For instance, people with hy-
pertension who neglect their
meds are over five times more
likely to experience a poor
clinical outcome than those
who do not. Heart disease
patients are 1.5 times more
likely.
It also results in higher
medical costs, as patients who
go off their meds often end up
in the hospital. Minor condi-
tions that might have been
controlled by inexpensive
meds can sometimes balloon
into life-threatening illnesses
that require surgery or other
costly treatments.
This makes sense. After all,
a daily cholesterol-lowering
drug is far less expensive than
emergency heart surgery.
As Congress figures out
what to do next on health-
care reform, private insurers
can act now to control their
own costs and vastly improve
medical outcomes by lower-
ing copays. State lawmakers
and insurance regulators, too,
should look to copay reform
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to help make healthcare more
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super buys, furniture, mattresses, floor coverings, rugs, previous purchases, special orders, selected licensed depts., special purchases, jewelry trunk shows,
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extra 15% savings
cans. opening a new Macy’s account. EXTRA SAVINGS % APPLIED TO REDUCED PRICES. EXTRA SAVINGS VALID THROUGH 3/7/2010. the fi rst 2 days with more rewards
Peter J. Pitts is president of
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to come. Exclusions apply; see left.
departments and gift cards; on furniture, mattresses and rugs, the new account savings is limited to $100; application must qualify for immediate approval to
The Center for Medicine in the
receive extra savings; employees not eligible.
Public Interest and a former
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FDA associate commissioner.
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