Has your pharmacist called you recently? There are several thiings in play here, so I will go through them and try to clarify.
Some of the phone calls are mandated by corporate. If it looks like you are due for a refill and you do not order the prescription, your prescription infornation appears on a ''noncompliance'' list, or late to refill list. Noncompliance just means you didn't pick up your medication and we are checking to see if there is a reason, such as a hospitalization, an oversupply of medication, a change in doseage, or a discontinuation of the medication. When we call you, you can help us clean up your profile and make sure we have all the current medication information, which helps avoid potential errors in filling your prescriptions.
You may receive phone calls, or notifications via email regarding refills that are due. These are usually automated. There are also robo calls that tell you when your prescription is ready or delayed. These calls can be helpful, but if they annoy you, you can opt out of receiving these calls. Just let us know.
Your insurance company may ask us to call you if it looks like you have been started on a new medication. Typically, we check your profile to see if you have had the medication within the last 6 months, but if we are not sure, we will go ahead and call you to see if you have any questions or concerns.
There is a ''new'' thing called Medication Therapy Management (MTM) that is offered as a benefit through an increasing number of insurance plans, both governmental (Medicare and Medicaid) and private. MTM is not really that new, but it has taken awhile to get the ball rolling. Some pharmacists have focused on MTM more heavily than others, and so are training the rest of us to provide this service. MTM is intended to help avoid some of the problems involved in multiple medication therapies. Some patients have an extensive list of medications and health conditions, and it is these patients who are targeted to receive the MTM benefit. If you are eligible for MTM, your insurance company will let us know, and we will flag your profile so we know that you are an MTM patient. Once a year, your insurance will pay for a Comprehensive Medication Review (CMR). This is essentially the same thing as a ''brown bag session'', where the patient brings in all of their current medications and OTC products in their original containers, and the pharmacist goes over them and addresses any questions or concerns.
MTM's were developed as a way to help patients stay healthy and avoid unnecessary problems with drug therapy, and hopefully reduce costs by avoiding hospitalizations or other adverse events. Pharmacists have been providing these services for years as part of the prescription processing and dispensing process. Now, we are able to bill insurances for the services we provide. MTM also provides a framework for us to use when counseling you on your medications, so that we remember to address everything and are consistent each time we counsel.
Please feel free to call us with any questions or concerns. We will call you if we have any questions for you about your medication or insurance or any other concerns we may have. We will also call your doctor , or ask your doctor's office to call you, if we see a problem with your medication.
You need to look at your healthcare as a partnership between you and your providers. You have a responsibility to take charge of your healthcare, know what your medications and therapies are, and raise any questions or concerns with your pharmacist or doctor. If you do this, we can help you by providing you with our expertise and concern.
The healthcare system gets more and more complicated as time goes on. The good thing is that we have options to treat some of the problems that in the past were often a death sentence. Unfortunately, it is increasingly necessary that you take a hand in your own care. No longer is it ok to take what your physician or any other healthcare provider says as gospel. So call us, and ask us questions! The phone line goes both ways. We will be waiting for your call!
BP
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