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Archive for the ‘Assistance Resources’ Category

Precision XTra Advanced Blood Glucose Monitor

I just came across an eBay store seller that lists glucose meters and test strips for well below retail value.  I have not done business with this seller so cannot vouch for their credibility, but they have been around for awhile and are a top rated seller with 100% positive feedback on over 540 sales to date.

If you do not have insurance to help cover the cost of your testing supplies check out BloodGlucoseMeters.biz.

I was recently contacted by a concerned representative from Medtronic MiniMed.  The representative (whose name I will not use) asked me to pass along the following information for Medtronic pump users who may have recalled infusion sets.  Her post indicates Medtronic was deeply concerned about the safety of their clients and the company caught the problem before any adverse events occurred.  I felt it only fair to allow Medtronic to respond to my previous posts voicing my own concerns, using their own words:

Thank you so much for the conversation today.  I’m enclosing the link you can place on your website to inform folks that Lot 8 Quick-sets have been recalled.  It contains instructions of what to do with them and background information.

One thing to note is that the Lot 8 situation was discovered by Medtronic through an employee with diabetes, and not through any patient adverse events. When that occurred, we assessed the situation as quickly as possible, worked with our medical advisors, changed the manufacturing process, and contacted the FDA about the voluntary recall.  We distributed the recall letters along with a supply of corrected infusion sets so that patients had the products they needed right away, and asked them to return their product (the process for doing so it documented on our website).  We also sent a follow up note from our then-president, Chris O’Connell to customers (we have a new president now and her name is Katie Syzman – she’s the first female president at Medtronic, which is very nice).  From an inside perspective, there was a lot of care and compassion from our employees who worked hard do the right thing and act quickly for our customers.  There were many late nights during the month of July!

The website link for more information about what to do with any recalled infusions sets is http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/lot8/

The famous childhood actor, Jerry Mathers, who starred in the 1950s hit family show “Leave it to Beaver” has type 2 diabetes. Now an adult, he is using his celebrity to help other people battling diabetes.

To raise diabetes awareness, Mathers is traveling with the Partnership for Prescription Assistance bus, a mobile patient assistance advocacy initiative. Mathers and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance will in Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, and Burlington on October 13, 2009.

A big thank you to Abby Mann for sending us the following great alternative resources for patient assistance programs including a link to their own site for possible assistance:

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Xubex: Offers a free diabetes kit and reduced cost lancets and test strips.  www.xubex.com

Abbott: Offers a free diabetes kit, which I do believe is renewable….free lancets and test strips.  http://www.abbottpatientassistancefoundation.org/diabetes_care.asp

Medical Angels:  I found on the internet a New Jersey based program that is trying to go national.  They offer reconditioned DME’s, from what I understand, to anyone who expresses need.  I asked them if they are able to ship, and they said yes they are able to ship and will consult a person on the cheapest way to do so.  I was under the impression that they sometimes have insulin pumps, but I had a client of mine tell me that when she called they told her no (but I don’t know if that meant just of right now they have none or if they never recondition pumps), but even still diabetics might be able to benefit from this service.  For more information, call Jim Ressler at 201-461-9595 or an email address for a staff person there is: paddy@premierhhc.com

My organization is not affiliated in any way with any of the links I offered above; I thought perhaps these would be just something useful to refer people to.  Our organization offers free of charge PAP assistance- finding PAP’s, helping people fill them out, and answering questions for them, but we only have funding to help people in upstate New York from Broome, Tioga, and Delaware counties….  but I will offer us, the Rural Health Network, also as a link if you’d like to add us.

Have a great day!

Abby Mann

Health Care Access Associate (AmeriCorps)

Rural Health Network of SCNY

Whitney Point, NY 13862

healthcareaccess@ruralhealthnetwork.org

www.RuralHealthNetwork.org

DES MOINES, IOWA — Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 22, 2009. A new Iowa Medication Voucher Program to help lower-income Iowans has been created with funds paid by two pharmaceutical benefit manager companies for alleged consumer fraud violations, Attorney General Tom Miller said Tuesday.

“This program will use $420,000 paid by the companies to provide thousands of lower-income Iowans with a 90-day supply of certain medications for an out-of-pocket cost of just $3 per prescription,” Miller said. “The program will pay the remaining cost of the drugs.”

To use the program, eligible Iowans will need to obtain a voucher, present it with a prescription to a participating Iowa pharmacy, and pay a $3 co-pay. Details are available below or at www.iowapdc.org on who is eligible, what drugs are covered by the program, where to obtain vouchers, and which pharmacies are participating.

You can read the entire article on HeartlandConnection.com