Medication Access

Medication Access

Access to expensive medication is still an issue in the healthcare delivery system, especially for patients who do not have insurance coverage for prescription medications. However, healthcare providers are in a position to help patients access medication. There are various ways of ensuring patients access medications which are expensive. To begin with, the prescriber can advise the patient to get the generic form of the prescribed medication which is likely cheaper than the original drug. While this is an alternative for medication access, not all drugs have generic forms and hence need other ways to ensure patients access medications (Staff, 2021). Other ways include referring patients to programs that offer assistance for patients from low socioeconomic status. These programs facilitate waivers for expensive medication to ensure the medications are affordable. Alternatively, other programs offer free medical services and medication to needy patients, such as the disabled, the elderly, and those from low socioeconomic status.

The second option is using prescription coupons that aid in subsidizing the cost of medication. Through the application of the above-outlined strategies, patients can access medications affordably. However, healthcare providers should be able to determine the treatment cost for the patients to anticipate the need for strategies to lessen the cost. The treatment cost can be determined by reviewing the terms for the insurance company to know whether the patients have prescription coverage (Li & Chapman, 2020). If not, healthcare workers should look at the standard market price of the prescribed drugs and opt for the cheapest form for affordability.

References

Li, M., & Chapman, G. B. (2020). Medical decision making. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Health Psychology, pp. 347–353. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119057840.ch84

Staff, G. (2021, June 9). Access to medication. GHLF.org. Retrieved November 17, 2022, from https://ghlf.org/issues/access-to-medication/   

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

---

Some of the patients may not have prescription coverage. Discuss some low-cost measures to help patients have access to medication. How can you or the staff determine Rx cost for the patient? Citation and reference required.
Length: A minimum of 250 words, not including references
Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA from within the last 5 years
EXample:
Not having prescription coverage can be a major barrier to access to medication, as many prescription drugs can be quite expensive. There are a few measures that can be taken to help make sure that patients have access to the medication they need, even if they do not have prescription drug coverage. Health disparities in controller medication use are pervasive. Identifying the sources of these disparities is a critical step toward generating intervention approaches to enhance disease management (McQuaid, 2018). One option is to provide discountsor coupons for prescription drugs. Many pharmaceutical companies offer coupons or other discounts on their websites. Patients can also check with their local pharmacy to see if they offer any discounts on prescription drugs. Another option is to help patients apply for assistance programs. Many pharmaceutical companies help through assistance programs for patients who cannot afford their medications. Patients can also check with their local social services office to see if they qualify for any assistance programs (Shover et al., 2019). Finally, patients can ask their doctor for generic alternatives to brand-name medications. Generic medications are often much cheaper than brand-name medications and are just as effective. By taking some of these measures, patients who do not have prescription drug coverage can still have access to the medications they need (Beshears et al., 2021). Patients or staff can determine the cost and coverage of the prescription by checking with the patient’s insurance company to see what medications are covered under their plan, looking up the cost of medications on websites such as GoodRx.com or RxPriceQuotes.com, calling the pharmacy to find out the cost of the medication, or asking the patient if they have any discount programs or prescription assistance programs that they can use (Al-Hanawi et al., 2021