Hang On To Your Pharmacist

To the Editor:

As a longtime employee of a local pharmacy, I have seen many changes in the pharmacy practice over the years. The constant push of pharmacy benefit insurers to entice or require mail order prescriptions, however, is the most troublesome. Virtually every day we receive complaints from our patients that they do not want to deal with mail order pharmacies for their prescriptions. They are concerned about losing a pharmacist with whom they have a trusting and personal relationship, who will help them understand which medications they are taking and to reassure them as to why they must be taken — this type of service you simply cannot get with a mail order pharmacy. Just as you “see” your doctor, you should also “see” your pharmacist.

Connecticut General Statutes Section 38a-544 states: “No medical benefits contract on a group basis, whether issued by an insurance company a hospital service corporation, a medical service corporation or a health care center, which provides coverage for prescription drugs may require any person covered under such contract to obtain prescription drugs from a mail-order pharmacy as a condition of obtaining benefits for such drugs.”

If you are unsatisfied with your mail-order, call Governor Jodi Rell or Jerry Farrell, commissioner of Consumer Protection, and tell them your story!

Governor Jodi Rell email address is Governor.Rell@ct.gov; phone. 800-406-1527.

Jerry Farrell’s email address is Jerry.Farrell@ct.gov; phone, 860-713-6050.

Cathy Dahlmeyer

15 Sunnyview Terrace, Sandy Hook                      January 27, 2010