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Posts tagged ‘medications’

A Source for Patient Meds

Obviously, we spend a lot of time in the internet in our office looking up regs, updating the blog and following listservs. As a result, we have several favorite websites. One that I think everyone can benefit from is http://www.needymeds.org/.

On this website, you will find patient assistance applications for just about any drug you can imagine. When patients cannot afford medications, this is the place to go. It not only has the applications but the requirements for qualifying for assistance. Since many of the qualifying criteria involve a percentage of the federal poverty level, information is provided about the federal poverty level. And just to make life heavenly for viewers there is a list of free and discount clinics by area.

You can even realize a savings in your care delivery by using this service. It does not require the skills of an MSW to use this site. If the only need for an MSW your patient has is being unable to afford medications, consult this list first. MSWs provide an invaluable skill to our patients but when they are reduced to filling out forms, I wonder if they are over-utilized.

Many thanks to Dr. Richard Sagall and his crew for all the work that went into this service.

As always questions and comments can be addressed to us at haydelconsulting@bellsouth.com or left in the comment section below.

Top Ten Drugs Linked to Serious Injuries

The Institute of Safe Medicine Practices (www.ismp.org) has compiled data for the first quarter of this year and determined the top ten medications associated with serious injuries.  They are as follows:

  1. varenicline (Chantix smoking cessation aide)
  2. heparin
  3. fentanyl
  4. interferon beta
  5. infliximab (a monoclonal antibody used for autoimmune diseases – Remicade)
  6. etanercept (recombinant DNA drug for arthritis – Embrel)
  7. Plavix
  8. Lyrica
  9. Acetaminophen
  10. oxycodone

In reviewing these medications, note that there has only been a link established and correlation does not equate to causation.  In other words, maybe the underlying reason these medications are prescribed contribute to the risk of serious injury.

Note that the first listed medication is a stop smoking aide.  Your patients along with their prescribers should assess the benefits of stopping smoking against the risks of continuing to smoke.  Also of interest is that acetaminophen made the list.  Acetaminophen is also linked to medication deaths.  It may be that a little restraint is in order when it comes to everyone’s favorite over the counter medication.

Also two medications listed are anticoagulants. If your clinical record audit tools do not already include an indicator for verifying anticoaguation safety, it might an idea to add one or do a focused audit to determine if this is necessary.

I encourage all of you to avail yourself of the wealth of information that ISMP offers at no charge.  The monthly newsletter is current and relevant to any area of nursing practice.  http://www.ismp.org.

For questions or comments, please leave a response below.  To contact us personally, send an email to haydelconsulting@bellsouth.net.