From a Specialty Pharmacy Liaison - Recently, I've been working with a patient diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis to help get her back on her medication. Due to the high cost, she had stopped taking her medication when she ran out of financial assistance. She had been using a co-pay card to help afford her medications, but her mail order pharmacy made a billing error and used up her co-pay card in just a couple of months. Like many patients, she didn't know what to do once her co-pay card was depleted, so she stopped taking her medication altogether.

This patient had been off her medication for almost a year before I began working with her. I called her specialty pharmacy multiple times to make sure she was set up to get her meds and the cost. I even reached out to her co-pay card to ensure she had the right amount left on her card to ensure it was run correctly.

 Recently she had sent her doctor a financial assistance form from Prescription Hope to fill out to help her get her medication. Unfortunately, after some research, I realized it still wasn't going to be covered by her commercial insurance. I was able to send a message to the team here at Shields that helps with PA's. Once they got the PA approved, I contacted the patient's doctor to get the script sent to her mail-order pharmacy.

The other day as I was preparing to head home, I gave her a call to let her know that I had completed the prior authorization for her medication and her co-pay card. During our conversation, she was so happy and relieved to see that she no longer had to worry about not getting her medication. She even told me that I was an angel and that I would save lives, which meant the world to me. 

During our call, I also noticed that her birthday was coming up, so I wished her a happy birthday and let her know I hope she has a great day. She mentioned that I had just given her the best birthday present that anybody could ever give her. 

This story is the reason I came to Shields. This story was one of the first patients I was able to help, and it just made me feel so good.