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PATIENT2PATIENT NEWSLETTER
January 2004
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Please visit our Web site at: www.Patient2Patient.net - "Because
Information is the Best Medicine!"
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In This Issue:
* From the Director
* Quotation of the Month
* Subscription Discounts
* Patient2Patient In the News
* Sponsorships
* Feature Article - "Finding Alternative Ways to Afford Medications"
* Some Interesting Medical Facts from 2003
* Humor
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~ From the Director ~
In our December newsletter I mentioned that after a relatively stable
period I recently found myself facing many new medical conditions that
required, among other things, a host of new medical visits.
And just as surely as spring follows winter, many of the appointments
ended with prescriptions for new medications. While I'm enrolled in a
prescription drug plan, I was staggered by the additional monthly costs:
Over $400.00 each month and climbing as part of my co-payments. One of
the medications, in the dosage that my doctor wanted to prescribe, was
going to cost over $1200.00 per month.
As patients know, facing our disease or condition is difficult enough
without all the additional worry and anxiety caused by additional
problems such as drugs and other medical costs, insurance problems,
employment and legal questions, finding support (both emotional and
physical) for patients and caregivers, etc.
But there is help. Some of you may not realize that one of the key
areas covered in our Patient2Patient WebGuides are those Internet
resources and sites that assist patients in finding medications (and
other services) on a free or discounted basis.
So for our Feature Article for this month we are providing a brief
outline of some of the best Internet sites and resources that you can
use to help find the medications that you need.
And, as additional "food for thought," we have included a series of
intriguing 2003 medical facts taken from the AMA's online newsletter,
www.amednews.com.
I wish you a Joyful, Fulfilling and Healthy New Year!
Andrew Robinson, J.D.
Executive Director
Patient2Patient
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~ Quotation of the Month ~
"Clear your mind of can't."
--Dr. Samuel Johnson
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~ Subscription Discounts ~
If you are a member of a disease-related organization or group, take
advantage of the group discounts offered by Patient2Patient's when
purchasing any of our Medical WebGuides.
Patient2Patient WebGuides provide quick access to the best and most
current information on the Internet for your condition. Our Alzheimer's
and Parkinson's disease WebGuides contain more than 200 interactive
pages, organized into more than twenty topic areas, including sites
offering the latest news and treatment information and valuable
caregiver resources.
The way our group discounts work is: The individual members of eligible
organizations can receive a discount on a one-year WebGuide
subscription. In addition, your organization or group will receive a
percentage from the sale to benefit its ongoing work.
For information, contact Andrew Robinson, Executive Director at
ajrob@Patient2Patient.net
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~ Patient2Patient In the News! ~
Patient2Patient recently signed a licensing agreement for use of its
ongoing series of Medical WebGuides with the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association, a 100,000+ member association. www.NRECA.org.
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~ Sponsorships ~
Ideally, we'd like to create a WebGuide for every existing disease. So
if you know of an individual, organization or group that may be
interested in sponsoring a Patient2Patient WebGuide, please contact
Andrew Robinson, Executive Director at Sponsorship@patient2patient.net.
You'll be helping thousands of patients in need of critical and credible
health information.
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~ Feature Article - Finding Alternative Ways to Afford Medications ~
There are a number of useful Web sites that help individual patients to
find discounted or free prescription medications. Oftentimes, the Web
site's sponsors are the very pharmaceutical companies that manufacture
the drugs being sought. Look closely at the eligibility requirements -
some of the programs apply to patients of all ages while others only
apply to patients over the age of 55. Below are a few of the best sites
that we have found:
BenefitsCheckUpRX
http:www.benefitscheckuprx.org
The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) knows only too well that many
seniors cannot afford their medications. So with support from a variety
of sponsors (including commercial companies like Pfizer and Lucent
Technologies), the NCOA has developed the Web site, BenefitsCheckUpRx,
which provides access to financial assistance programs for purchasing
your prescription drugs. It lists programs that help those 55 and older
get low- or no-cost medicine
. Helps you determine eligibility for programs
. Programs for all 50 states
. Run by the National Council on the Aging, a senior advocacy
group
. Links more than 3,500 groups and individuals dedicated to
helping seniors
. This portion of NCOA site is supported by commercial sponsors
Together-RX
http:www.together-rx.com
Together-Rx is a prescription savings program that provides discounts on
more than 150 widely prescribed medicines to eligible Medicare
enrollees. The available drugs are manufactured from the eight
participating pharmaceutical companies: Abbott Laboratories,
AstraZeneca, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company,
GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen Pharmaceutical Products, Novartis, and
OrthoMcNeil Pharmaceutical. You can apply for a Together-Rx Card from
this site with its easy-to-download application.
. Discounts on more than 150 widely prescribed medicines
. Specific to eight pharmaceutical companies
. Only eligible to Medicare enrollees
. Founded and maintained by eight pharmaceutical companies
HelpingPatients.org
http:www.helpingpatients.org
This site is sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer's
Association of America (PhRMA), a pharmaceutical and biotechnology
advocacy organization comprised of 48 member companies. The site assists
patients of all ages to obtain free medications produced by the member
companies. In 2002, the PhRMA member companies provided 5.5 million
patients with free medications.
The site allows you to enter anonymous background information about your
age, income, etc. when determining your eligibility for this and similar
drug assistance programs. They also provide a toll free assistance
number: 1-800-901-2716.
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~ Intriguing Medical Facts ~
The following facts are all taken from the American Medical News Site
[http://www.amaassn.org/amednews/site/facts03.htm], which is the online
newspaper of the American Medical Association:
. 1 in 5 adults cannot afford to buy some or all of their
prescribed medicines.
. One-third of patients follow doctors' treatment recommendations
regularly
. 46,000 U.S. adults die each year from diseases that vaccines can
prevent.
. 38% of health professionals get annual flu shots.
. Asthma is the No. 1 reason for school absenteeism.
. The biggest U.S. health problems are related to eating, drinking
and smoking.
. 60% of Mississippians are overweight.
. One-third of diabetics may be undiagnosed.
. 90% of adverse drug reactions go unreported.
. Only two states have laws requiring doctors to write legible
prescriptions.
. Only 20% of insurance claims are paid properly the first time.
. Administrative costs account for 40% of the price of an
individually purchased health plans.
. Only 5% of those who are eligible to donate blood do so.
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~ Humor ~
You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five
miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today, and we don't know where the
hell she is.
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Feel Good!
The Staff of Patient2Patient
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We welcome your comments about this newsletter and our WebGuides -
Feedback@patient2patient.net.
(c) Copyright 2003 Patient2Patient, LLC.
296 Eleventh Street, NYC 11215.
You are welcome to forward this issue to someone you know, in its
entirety (without cutting).
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