Blog

DRUG ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS AND PATIENT RESPONSIBILITIES ON DRUGS

Author: LEENA MOHAMMED

ABSTRACT:

Medicine plays an important role in preventing diseases and help prolong life. Medicine helps a lot in health practices to maintain and reinstate health by treatment and prevention of sickness. Launched programs helped in providing medicines at affordable price, collection of information in an organised manner on adverse drug reactions during development of medicine and especially after invention of medicine have been easily made accessible for public use. Inspections were done to stop the entry of preserved drugs from other parts of the world, purity and safety of drugs was checked and many more. Patients play a vital role in healthcare. They get proper access from the hospitals and nursing homes.

PRESCRIPTION OF DRUGS

INTRODUCTION:

“I’m of an that opinion that the greatest present you can give to your family, society and yourself is a health”. Medicines fully make you strong as a person because it deals with life and death matters. You cannot get more serious than life and death issues. And if you can do that, you can do anything and easily handle anything in life. The aim of the medicine is to prevent disease and prolong life.

Medicine helps a lot in patient care through correct identification, prediction, prevention, treatment, and promoting their health. Medicine helps a lot in health care practices to maintain and reinstate health by prevention and treatment of sickness. Medical science has made such tremendous progress.

DRUG – It is a chemically active substance which is formulated into a dosage form in order to treat, prevent and reduce the diseased conditions.

EXCIPIENT– It is an inactive substance which is used as a solvent or media or added substance and used to change response characteristics of drug and also to improve stability of dosage forms.

Furthermore, in this article we will learn about the Drug assistance program and patient responsibilities on drugs.

1.  HOW CAN WE HELP PATIENTS GET PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE?

PRESCRIBED DRUGS AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE TO PEOPLE

Drug assistant program:

Many of the drug companies, programmes and non-profits offer drug assistance programs (DAP) which includes:

• Low-cost medicine (for those who cannot afford medicine).
• To determine a possible illness, we need to gather information that includes physical examinations and interviews.
• We need to recognise, systemise, and care for important signs and symptoms and not try to analyse patient’s specific problems.

TECHNIQUES OF PHYSICAL EXAMINATION:

• INSPECTION
• PALPATION
• PERCUSSION
• AUSCULTATION

INSPECTION:

Its use is to differentiate the usual from unusual findings. Body parts are examined to point out colour, symmetry, movement, structure, texture and pulsation.

PALPATION:

It is the inspection of body using sense of touch.

PERCUSSION:

It requires tapping body with finger tips and assess border and steadiness of body organs to locate fluid in body cavity.

AUSCULTATION:

It is significant to know usual sound to distinguish from unusual sound. It requires hearing sounds through stethoscope. Various body systems like cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal have characterized sounds.

METHDOLOGY:

• In the year 1968, at 16^th world assembly, 16.36 resolution was called for “collection of information in an organised manner on adverse drug reactions during development of medicine and particularly after invention of medicine have been easily made accessible for public use”. This led to formation of WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring (PIDM)
• In the year 1848, Drug Importation Act was passed by Congress and required US custom service inspection to stop entry of preserved drugs from other parts of the world.
• In the year 1902, Biologics Control Act is passed to ensure purity and safety of drugs like serums, vaccines and similar products used to prevent diseases in human.
• In the year 1906, Food and Drugs Act was passed by congress on June 30 and signed by president Theodore Roosevelt. It prohibits interstate commerce in misbranded and adultered foods, drinks and drugs. 

RESULTS:

The launched laws gave incredible results

• It led to minimal adverse reactions on the patients.
• The drugs are legally purchased from the FDA-certified foreign supplier and come up with safe access to drugs at low cost.
• In the drugs no unnatural substances are built on and microorganisms that evolve opposition to biological control agents are rare.
• There was a reduction of threat of food borne illness within retail establishment.

CONCLUSION:

Drug assistance programmes helped people to overcome the problems and get proper treatment. There was an immediate reward because of appropriate education and treatment for the people. These programmes turned out to be beneficial.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF PATIENT:

DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP

• Patients have a vital role to play in health care.
• Choose a relevant health care provider.
• Patient can call all these liabilities, but they are not mentioned in any law.

1)  Choose an appropriate health care provider.

2)  Use health care resources responsibly.

• Should take medicines as advised.
• Should keep distance from other normal persons, in case of known contagious diseases.
• Should not ruin any government or private hospital property.
• Should not use offensive words to healthcare workers.
• Should meet the monetary commitments like payment of bills of hospital or nursing homes.
• Patient should inspect the hospital bill and put questions for explanations if required.
• It may be with regards to the charges or methods of payments, and for assuring that the financial responsibility of patient’s health care, and are fulfilled as rapidly as possible.
• Patient should convey to doctor or nurse if he/she are concerned about a treatment, or if patient feels he/she cannot, or will not, follow a certain treatment plan and to be responsible for the outcome if he/she refuse treatment or do not follow directions.
• Patient should help in controlling the noise and number of visitors to him/her.
• Patient should not possess any weaponry, treacherous objects, illegitimate drugs, alcohol and drugs not prescribed by patient’s physician.
• Patient must avoid consulting the doctor while he/she is a drug and alcohol abuse.
• It is obligatory on the part of a patient to keep a check on his/her appointment and if they fail to do so it is recommended to reach out to the healthcare provider or healthcare facilities.

3)  Keep an error-free history of his or her personal medical details.

• Such as early stage of pregnancy, any diseases like HIV, AIDS, Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, alcohol utilisation.
• Accurate presentation of present grievances, long-ago illness, earlier hospitalizations, medications, previous surgeries, allergies, noticed menace in care, unexpected changes in patient’s condition and other issues relating to his or her health.
• A patient is responsible for disclosing unexpected changes in the condition to the healthcare provider.
• A patient should not hide his or her conditions from the healthcare provider.

4)  Participate in health care selections and ask questions if he or she needs more details.

• Such as if only medication is enough or surgery is obligatory for that disease condition, expenses involvement in surgery, drawbacks and success rate in surgery, duration of hospital stay, how to put a stop to further spread of the infection in the society.
• Patient and his or her family are in charge for asking questions when they do not understand what have been told about patient’s care.

5)  Follow directions for medication and other treatments.

• Patient should stick to advised diet appropriate for his or her illness.
• Patients should not quit treatment himself or herself, medicinal course is for sustained period such in Leprosy or Tuberculosis, and hence prevent developing emergence of a new resistant strain of the bacterium.
• Patient should not get escaped from the hospital or asylum.
• Patient should accept results consequences of treatment.
• Patient and his or her family are responsible for the consequences if patient do not act in accordance with the care, service or treatment plan.

6)  Patient should provide his or her concerns about health care professionals to regulatory organisations.

• In case of any authentic negligence noticed by patient or relative of patient, they should register a complaint to the regulatory organization.
• Patient should esteem the rights of others who are seeking health care.
• Patient should make healthy decisions about his or her way of living and habits.

PATIENT CARE

REFERENCES-

1. https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-history/milestones-us-food-and-drug-law#:~:text=1906,signed%20by%20President%20Theodore%20Roosevelt
2. https://www.who.int/teams/regulation-prequalification/regulation-and-safety/pharmacovigilance/health-professionals-info/pidm