Category: Health

Health
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Skipping Prescriptions Due to Costs

A new study from the National Center for Health Statistics has found that 8% of Americans don’t take their medicines as prescribed because they cannot afford them.  Nearly 20% of prescriptions never get filled. Approximately 15% of respondents reported asking their doctors for a lower-cost alternative, and 2% admitted to having bought prescription drugs from another country.  With 82% of Americans being prescribed at least one prescription medication, the numbers can become alarming for anyone.   In previous blog posts we have discussed the lengths people will go to save money, such as spending less ongroceries or entertainment, relying more […]

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Health
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Getting Help from a Patient Advocate

Illness can strike anyone at any time. Even a well-prepared person can feel lost and confused when trying to navigate the US healthcare system. For those unable to find their way, there is assistance available from local community action agencies and patient advocates.  The resources available to each community can differ, however the Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) is a national non-profit organization that offers patient services with a mission to “safeguard patients through effective mediation, assuring access to care, maintenance of employment and preservation of financial stability.” Founded in 1996, PAF’s primary purpose has been to provide direct services to […]

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Clinics, Health, Vaccinations
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Measles: Symptoms and Available Resources

Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. However, measles can still infect people when brought in from foreign visitors or unvaccinated Americans while traveling abroad. The recent outbreak at a popular vacation spot in southern California can have far-reaching effects, though these effects are easily countered with the proper medical precautions.   Measles is a virus that presents with high fever, cough, runny nose, and red/watery eyes. Two to three days after initial symptoms, tiny white spots may appear inside the mouth followed by a rash covering the face, neck, body, arms, legs, and feet appearing one […]

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Health
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Americans Still Taking Risks with Needed Medications

Plus: How to lower your drug costs Americans take a lot of medicines – and many resort to risky behaviors to afford them. That’s according to a recent national telephone poll by public-education project Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs.  Forty-four percent of Americans take an average of 4.5 prescription drugs; 16 percent say they take 7 or more. To afford those medications, more than half (57 percent) of those polled reported taking steps in the last year—some of them potentially dangerous—to curb high drug costs. That included not filling a prescription (17 percent), skipping a scheduled dose (14 percent), and […]

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Health
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Staying Healthy This Cold and Flu Season

Children going back to school and a cold wind starting to blow are signifiers of the impending cold and flu season. This year’s may seem particularly daunting due to exotic diseases appearing in the news and the spread of enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) affecting hundreds of families throughout the United States. With all of this in mind, NeedyMeds wanted to give our readers some helpful tips to keep themselves and their children healthy, along with resources available for those in need. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough and sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough […]

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About Us

Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.