Pharmacists are considered a vital part of the health care team in the United States, but they have gotten very little attention in the current presidential debates. The perils of adverse effects from taking multiple medications affect all age groups. For the Medicare population, medication use is even higher — nearly half of Americans aged 65 and older take at least 4 medications each day. Although we are all used to the idea of a pharmacist standing behind the counter, but pharmacists are trained as health care providers, but despite this they are not recognized as health care providers by the Social Security Act and as a result they are not able to bill medicare and other insurance companies for non-dispensing services, such as drug utilization reviews,dosage adjustments for patients with renal or hepatic impairment, and many other aspects of health care. This is despite a report issued by the US Public Health Service entitled “Improving Patient and Health System Outcomes through Advanced Pharmacy Practice” which advocates the expansion of Advanced Pharmacy Practice as pharmacists have been shown to save the health care system $4 for every dollar spent. During the Ashville Project, a study of pharmacist medication therapy management, found that direct medical costs decreased by $1,200 per patient per year and an estimated annual increase in productivity of $18,000 due to reduction of sick time were reported.

Where do each of the candidates stand on the issue of granting healthcare provider status to pharmacists in the Social Security Act?

Question I would want to ask Mr Romney:

There are many thousands of elderly Americans with cognitive impairments from ailments such as Alzheimer’s, and with no family to help them with things like filling out forms. Do you really expect all of these people to be capable of making decisions about which medical coverage plan is best for them? Don’t you see your Medicare plan providing an opportunity for insurance companies to take advantage of citizens with decreased mental capacity in their old age?

If the candidate’s response includes something about “choosing to stay with traditional Medicare” then the obvious follow-up question should be, “Would you then recommend that everyone should elect traditional Medicare just in case they might become senile as they get older?”

Both of you bring up interesting points, and both of these things would make interesting stories. I appreciate your insight.

On Zachary’s point, do you know of lawmakers who are advocating to grant healthcare provider status to pharmacists?

On Dr. Wm. Fensermaker’s point, that’s something I honestly hadn’t thought about. I’ve written some about Alzheimer’s, and my grandmother has Alzheimer’s. As more and more people develop Alzheimer’s, it will be interesting to see how our lawmakers handle (and don’t handle) how to best treat that population in a way that’s respectful and beneficial to the patient without being a significant drain on taxpayers and also caregivers.

Here is my question:
If your administration became aware that there was a reasonable certainty that childhood vaccinations, while saving lives through elimination of communicable diseases, also was responsible for the epidemic of autism, please explain what actions you would take.

My question is: I am currently disabled and on SSI, and my insurance only covers six perscriptions a month while I actually need eleven. I cannot afford to pay for any medication myself. What is going to be done to help me?

I hope all of you submitted your questions via WebMD. You’ve each brought up different but important points in the realm of the health care debate. Thank you for sharing your questions. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail at jcosgrove AT opubco.com. Thanks for your comments!

For President Obama:
Romney may look like a sheep but he is definately a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Please remember that he is planning to hurt the people of this country. You are a kind, sensitive, man. Get your mad on. We love you and are depending on you.

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