Pharmacy is a form of essential healthcare—one that lack of access to maims or kills individuals every day. And yet, policy makers, industry leaders, and others with the power to help address issues in pharmacy have struggled to both acknowledge and understand this for decades. Meanwhile, our country has witnessed a mass erosion of patient access to pharmacy care, which is quickly approaching a level of #Pharmageddon as thousands of communities are left without a local pharmacy, whether chain or independent. This isn't just about prescriptions (which, alone, can be life-saving or life-sustaining), but also vaccinations, blood pressure checks, the administration of long-acting injectable medications for treating or preventing chronic conditions (think: HIV PEP and PrEP), access to life-saving over-the-counter medicines like emergency contraception and naloxone, and so much more that local pharmacies offer their patients.
Our state and federal legislators, as well as other governmental bodies, rely heavily on stories from patients and providers to (1) identify issues affecting our nation’s healthcare system and (2) find meaningful solutions to those issues. This is especially true in our industry, where little to a complete lack of transparency, among other systemic issues, has allowed Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) abuse to grow out of control while few people (including legislators!) are aware of it.
As a self-taught mail order "expert," I'm passionate about making sure that key stakeholders in the arena of healthcare reform understand that mail order pharmacies, as they operate now, are NOT a safe and efficient alternative to the rapid spread of pharmacy deserts across our nation (because, in my experience, they aren't). Your response to this form will be kept confidential and used to educate myself and others about the ins and outs (and tragedies) of mail order pharmacy. You can choose to remain anonymous and select whether you're comfortable with me following up with you about your comments and/or sharing your story as a blog post on the Mail Order UNCOVERED website. If, in the future, I encounter an opportunity to share your story on a large or public scale (e.g., with federal legislators or in an Op-Ed), I will contact you for permission before doing so. Thank you in advance for your contribution!
While my goal through this form is to collect stories specifically about patients' mail order-related experiences, there are several other ways that your personal accounts about struggling to access pharmacy care or challenges you've faced related to your health insurance can contribute to the insurance reform movement. Click here for more info!
In health,
Hildie R. Hoeschen, RN, MSN, BA / Creator of Mail Order UNCOVERED