Purpose Statement
Having been invited asked to develop a task force for designing a medication assistance program, the purpose of this paper is to identify stakeholders who will contribute to the development of the initiative. The proposal seeks to directly serve patients by ensuring that they can afford medication. In this case, the manufacturers, prescribers, discharge planners, financial navigators, and patients will partner under the leadership of a facilitator to set a medication assistance program with the potential of effectively filling the medication gap.
Key Stakeholders
Manufacturers
The inclusion of pharmaceutical companies is simply because of the key role they play in providing patients with medication. It is believed that pharmaceutical companies bear the moral responsibility of ensuring that every patient is in a position to afford their products. It, therefore, requires them to at the very least practice fair marketing and honest prices. It would also be necessary to equip prescribers and dispensers with sufficient knowledge of all their products to help them understand the benefits and risks associated with each medication.
Prescribers
It is always unlikely for prescribers to evaluate the ability of patients to pay for their medication and inform the need for exploring alternative medications. Involving them in the development of the medication assistance program will ensure the availability of drugs, which patients are likely to afford, therefore, enhancing adherence and safety. Prescribers will also educate patients on the safe and effective use of medicine. As long as they review proper dosing alongside providers and patients, medication errors are likely to be reduced.
Discharge planners
The discharge tends to be overwhelming for patients and is prone to medication errors. The participation of discharge planners will help patients in making a smooth transition between the hospital and home. They provide comprehensive and clear information such as discharge medication list, the duration of a new medication, and explain changes likely to be made to usual medication. Such details guarantee the patient has a sound medication management plan.
Financial navigators
Financial navigators are expected to speak with patients or their caregivers and evaluate eligibility for help. The inclusion of these stakeholders enables patients to have peace of mind that they can receive the necessary support to access medication. When patients are not able to pay, they will avoid visiting doctors and neglect their health. Financial navigators will, therefore, bring joy to the faces of such patients as they will be enrolled in a program that offers assistance.
Patients
Patients can mention the difficulties they face in paying for prescriptions as this has an impact on the failure to regularly take medications. In this regard, Wheat et al. (2020) showed that medication adherence was likely to decline, and health outcomes worsened with an increasing share of patients’ medication costs. They will also express expectations from the medication assistance program. The interaction between the patient and other stakeholders will decrease the odds of returning to the hospital or experiencing a lengthy stay during admission.
Group Facilitator
A formalized facilitator of the group can help all stakeholders to navigate through the medication assistance program. However, the facilitator needs to be better placed to review both groups and patient financial requirements to make decisions on the appropriate assistance program for different patient groups. The financial navigator is, therefore, a good candidate for the role, but will undergo training on how to optimize assistance programs to ensure that the group is updated with changing requirements for eligible patients’ access.
Conclusion
Involving all the five stakeholders in the stages of development of the medication assistance program will guarantee successful design, an early buy-in, and long-term support. Given these achievements, the group will have managed to improve access to medication and lessened the hustle that prescribers have to encounter to obtain appropriate medications. In this regard, patients will be able to spend less on medications, considering that there will be intervention from charitable organizations. Overall, the program has the potential of improving patient adherence, hence better therapeutic outcomes.
Reference
Wheat, L., Roane, T. E., Connelly, A., Zeigler, M., Wallace, J., Kim, J. H., & Segal, R. (2020). Using a pharmacist–community health worker collaboration to address medication adherence barriers. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 60(6), 1009-1014. Web.