Friends:
The inspiration for today's blog post comes from our Pilar Murphy, Pharm.D., Public Health Resident at the Perry County Health Center in collaboration with Sowing Seeds of Hope. As the original home to Samford University (Howard College then) our university holds the town of Marion and its people in especially high regard. The Perry County Health Department is a wonderful melting pot for interdisciplinary teaching and learning among several academic divisions of Samford University. We are very proud to serve and transform the lives of the very fine people of Perry County.
Read below, in Dr. Murphy's own words, how MSOP continues to transform lives across Alabama and the world.
"DC, 48 year old African American male presented to Sowing Seeds of Hope (a faith-based organization located in Perry County that operates hypertension and diabetes clinics in conjunction with Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy) in mid-January holding a coupon for an expensive antiplatelet medication. He simply asked “Can you help me get this medicine?” Upon interviewing the patient I learned that he had a heart attack and 2 stents placed at a hospital in New York in May 2010. He was able to fill the prescription for the first month, but had not taken his prescribed medications since June 2010 due to cost. He recently moved to our area to join family, and had only been taking aspirin once daily. The patient said that he felt fine at this visit, but knew that he needed to be taking his medications. Due to the recent MI, I knew all the medications the patient should be receiving, and he was not taking near enough medicines. Unfortunately, the patient did not know the names or strengths of any of the other drugs he had been prescribed. I searched online for the pharmacy he used in New York and spoke with the pharmacist in New York explaining our predicament. She gave me the list of medications the pharmacy had on his profile.
While DC was at my office, I asked if I could check his blood pressure to see how he was doing and it was elevated (172/116 mmHg). Although the patient felt fine and was having no symptoms, I insisted that he go see the physician at our Rural Health Clinic, and wrote a letter for him to take with him describing the situation, which drugs we could help him acquire through patient assistance, and the ones that were on the $4 list at a local discount retailer.
The patient returned to our office with prescriptions for the medications, and I proceeded to sign him for patient assistance (a needs based drug procurement system for the poor). Sowing Seeds of Hope was able to purchase his first fill of his medications outside of his expensive antiplatelet medication, as he had used all of his funds for the physician’s visit.
This patient now comes by at least once a month to have his blood pressure monitored, and we have recommended dosing adjustments to his blood pressure medications that have been taken by the physician, and he is now better controlled on a combination of medications recommended by our pharmacy team. He continues to receive his expensive antiplatelet medication through the patient assistance program and is on the way to a longer, healthier lifestyle.
I felt like I helped save a life that day.
Pilar Z. Murphy, Pharm.D.
Samford Univ. Pharmacy Practice Resident
Site: SSOH/Perry Co. Health Dept."
We'd love to show you the good work being done in Perry County and our other clinical outreach sites. Let us hear from you!
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