I was a patient on Oncology for only a week, but the caring and kindness I felt was as if I had been there for months. On the day of my discharge, I got a call in my hospital room from my pharmacy. The pharmacy received my faxed discharge prescriptions but had to notify me of the price of the medication prior to ordering the medications. My pharmacist knows my insurance situation and knows to process all my prescriptions on my different insurance plans.
When the pharmacist told me the price of the prescription, I realized the amount was going to cost me the same as a week of groceries for my family. I could not afford to spend that amount on a prescription. The physician thought there may be some financial assistance options for this medication; however, that was not possible for this type of medication. I told my nurse about the situation and out the door she went! Less than 15 minutes went by and Erica was back with a solution. She spoke to Case Management and let them know the cost of the medication from my pharmacy. She informed them that the cost was too much for my limited budget. She then called the physician to see if they could put me on a different medication. I was continuing to become anxious and worry about how I could afford this medication and then Erica came back in and told me that she worked with Case Management and this had been taken care of for me!