Our pharmacists are changing lives for the better
At Express Scripts® Pharmacy, our specially trained pharmacists go above and beyond when dispensing medication to provide exceptional patient care. Whether they’re checking a prescription for interactions or safety concerns, reaching out to your doctor on your behalf, or answering a question about your medication, our pharmacists are 100% focused on you and here for you, 24/7.
Here are just a few of the ways our pharmacists are making a difference, one patient at a time.
Helping patients take charge of their own health
When a patient called and was confused about her multiple medications, Christina Wilson-Smith was there to help. Our registered pharmacist, who has been with Express Scripts® Pharmacy since 2007, had the patient grab all of her prescription bottles, as well as a permanent black marker, so she could write on the bottle cap or prescription label. For 30 minutes, the two of them went over each medication, one by one.
It turned out that the patient was flipping the dosing for her cholesterol medication and blood pressure medication. She also didn’t have any of her heart medication on hand. She assumed it was the same medication as another one she was taking because the names sounded similar.
Read more about her story.
Supporting a patient after a new diagnosis
Mike Martinelli reached out to a patient after he saw she recently had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and was prescribed a medication to control her blood sugar. The patient was feeling overwhelmed and explained that when she picked up testing supplies at her local retail pharmacy, the pharmacist there didn’t have time to show her how to test her blood sugar.
Martinelli scheduled a time to call the patient back the next day, when she wouldn’t have any distractions. When they spoke the next day, he walked her through the testing process, step by step.
Read more about his story.
Helping patients afford the medications they need
Edward Dannemiller was checking in on a patient who was three months late to fill her inhaler prescription. The patient opened up to Dannemiller and told him that she had been out of work for a year and a half and was struggling to pay for her inhalers. As a result, she had been taking half the number of prescribed inhalations to stretch out the time between refills.
Taking fewer inhalations can mean less effective treatment of lung function, and it was affecting the patient’s quality of life.
Dannemiller quickly got to work, looking at the patient’s pharmacy benefits and ways to save money. He realized she could save $200 a year if she switched to home delivery through Express Scripts® Pharmacy. She’d also save several trips to the pharmacy.
Read more about his story.
Putting patient safety first
Something just didn’t sit right with Eric Vermilya when he was reviewing a prescription. One of his patients had a medication dosage that is based on kidney function. Kidney function can decline as a person ages, and this patient was 84. Vermilya knew that too high of a dose can lead to potentially fatal bleeding and too low of a dose increases the risk for blood clot formation.
Vemilya called the patient’s doctor’s office and asked for recent lab work, as well as more information about the patient’s health, to help him better evaluate the appropriate dose. Based on the information he was given, Vermilya determined the dose was too high and recommended a lower dose.
Read more about his story.
Posted date: January 06, 2023
