Hello There! Today we are going to be discussing how you can partner with your physician to protect your health in this changing medical landscape.
I realize that not everyone reading this has access to health insurance or has a physician they work with due to not having health insurance. There is a free clinic directory that you can google to find a free healthcare clinic near you. As I am speaking from the POV of an Essex County, NJ resident, there are numerous free clinics here that you can access basic care such as what I will be discussing here. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or difficulties as I will advocate for you. Nurses are advocates, and I take that aspect of my career very seriously.
First and foremost, my friends, what over the counter medications can and should you be stocking up on? Nurse Kim’s recommendations for your home pharmacy:
-Acetaminophen (brand name tylenol)
-Ibuprofen (brand names include Advil/Motrin)
-Naproxen Sodium (brand name Aleve)
-Low dose aspirin (81mg)(note also that any aspirin, even low dose, SHOULD NOT be given to children under 18 years of age as it can cause Reye’s Syndrome, resulting in brain and liver damage)
-Multivitamin
-Vitamin D3 (most Americans are VitD deficient)
-Vitamin B12 (most Americans are B12 deficient)
-Any over the counter medications that you rely on regularly (for example, I take a daily OTC allergy pill and an daily OTC proton pump inhibitor for GERD. I will stock up on these medications).
Now, on to what you should be discussing with your physician.
-What medications do you take regularly. Are there OTC (over the counter) equivalents. (Not supplements, legitimate medications that provide the same results as their prescription counterparts. IE: I use an OTC proton pump inhibitor for GERD instead of a more expensive, prescribed version, but the therapeutic effect is the SAME).
-Are there lower cost medications I can switch to in case of loss of insurance.
-How many months can the physician prescribe your medication to you in advance that your insurance will pay for OR that you can pay out of pocket for in case of disruption of supply chain.
-What vaccinations should I have updated. For many adults, we need boosters of the childhood vaccines we had as teenagers. You can determine this by reviewing your vaccine record with your doctor. Your doctor may want to do bloodwork to run a “titres” panel. This kind of panel determines how many antibodies your immune system has left for these childhood diseases and if you require a new vaccination.
-tDap vaccines, covering Tetanus, diptheria and pertussis (whooping cough) usually needs to be updated every 10 years
-Ask your physician if you are eligible for adult vaccines such as
-RSV
-Pneumococcal pneumonia
-Shingles
-Ask your physician if they think that you require the following adult vaccines (necessary in certain lines of work_
-Hepatitis A and B
-Mpox
General good sense guidelines are to receive your Influenza and Covid19 vaccine every year to protect against seasonal infection.
If you are ineligible for certain vaccines due to age, my strong recommendation would be discussing with your doctor paying out of pocket for them. Based on insurance reimbursement or lack of reimbursement, there are many different vaccines they can choose from that have many different price points. Most of the time, if you are getting vaccinated and are below the recommended age, insurance will not cover the vaccine. But you can still pay out of pocket for it if you choose to do so.
-Discuss having comprehensive labwork to determine if there is anything lurking in your system. Bloodwork can tell us a lot, and can give clues as to where you may be headed healthwise. Come up with a plan of action with your doctor to address things that are off in your bloodwork and what you can do to make them better.
-Discuss any imaging studies your doctor thinks may be necessary and schedule them as soon as you can. These include xrays, mammograms, MRI’s, CT Scans, etc. So that nagging back pain you have had for the last five years? It is time to talk about it and address it. If you do not have health insurance, many radiology centers have sliding scales for patients that do not have insurance. Again, please reach out to me if this is a situation that you are encountering. I will advocate for you.
I say these things to you my friends with some urgency behind them. As a nurse, I am fearful for our already unstable healthcare system. But we can do things to protect ourselves and our loved ones. In the end, when we come together, we are strong and powerful and we can overcome this with good sense, patience and Optimism of the Will!
I have a medical supply cabinet currently very small but growing.