May 8, 2024 • 44 mins
Is there a secret to finding the right pharmacy? Absolutely! Kevin shares the importance of finding a healthcare team that's truly passionate about your well-being. Personalized service can make a world of difference, and Kevin shares tips on how to find a pharmacy that prioritizes YOU!
We also dive into the world of medication management, especially for older adults and caregivers. Juggling multiple medications can be confusing, but Kevin sheds light on how to streamline your regimen and avoid unnecessary complications. Technology can be a helpful tool, but we are reminded that human oversight remains essential for accuracy and safety.
Key Take Aways:
1. Find a Pharmacist Who Cares: Look for a pharmacist passionate about your care to ensure the best overall patient experience.
2. Medication Management: Keep an active list of medications and ensure they all come from one pharmacy to avoid polypharmacy.
3. Review Medicare Plans: Regularly review your Medicare plan to ensure it aligns with your current medication needs and saves you money.
4. Dispose of Expired Medications: Safely dispose of expired medications to avoid potential harm and misuse.
5. Advocate for Yourself: Don't be afraid to switch healthcare providers or pharmacies if you feel your care is lacking. Your health is your choice.
Remember, your health is your greatest asset. Find the Pharmacist and their team who will care you the way you deserve.
We encourage you to visit our website now at www.connect-empower.com to explore more information on our guest and to access our resources.
To ask us your questions or to share your story, email us at podcast@connect-empower.com.
Be sure to rate, review and follow the podcast so you don’t miss an episode.
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John & Erin
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kevin (00:00):
again, there's nothing wrong with the big box stores.
(00:03):
they provide an excellentservice and a needed service in
a lot of different ways.
but I would find somebody thatis passionate about your care.
somebody that you can add toyour team, and I call it a team
because it's your, it's yourphysician, it's your pharmacist,
it's, the nurses, that'severything else that have to
come together to provide thebest overall patient care.
so, yes, finding a pharmacistand finding a pharmacy, that is
(00:27):
passionate about your care is,is paramount to your success.
John (00:41):
I'm John,
Erin (00:42):
and I'm Erin.
You're listening to connect andpower.
The podcast that proves age isno barrier to growth and
enlightenment
John (00:49):
tune in each week as we break down complex subjects into
bite sized enjoyable episodesthat will leave you feeling
informed, entertained, and readyto conquer the world
Erin (01:03):
kevin Crumley isn't your average PR director.
Sure.
He spent over 13 years atmountain care pharmacy, making
him a true veteran on the team.
But what really drives him as apassion for ensuring you get the
pharmacy experiences youdeserve.
As a Boise native now, living inMeridian with his wife, Melissa
(01:24):
and therefore kids.
Kevin understands the importanceof community.
That's why he's dedicated tomaking mountain care.
A place where your health needsare met with friendly faces and
expert care.
Please help me welcome Kevin.
Crumley.
John (01:40):
Thank you so much for being here, Kevin.
Kevin (01:43):
Thank you for having me.
John (01:44):
we're excited to have you here.
I think it's such an importanttopic that we're talking about,
you know, medication.
It's, confusing for a lot ofpeople, especially myself.
And, so we want to dive intothat, but before we do dive into
that, we'd love to hear yourstory, life, you know, it's all
about people's stories and what.
Got them into it because you canreally tell when somebody has a
(02:04):
passion for something and I knowthat you do have a passion for
this.
Kevin (02:09):
I got into pharmacy, gosh, 13, almost 14 years ago
now.
I started off, my previouscareer life, if you will, was,
all in pharmacy.
The, in the UPS realms, I workedfor UPS, for a long time, just
managing, developing all kindsof different processes and
(02:30):
procedures.
Just all kinds of differentlogistical stuff.
And then my wife was pregnantwith our 3rd child, and went on
bed rest and couldn't, couldn'twork.
So just to pay the bills, I gota part time job as a delivery
driver for Mountain CarePharmacy, and just was doing
that kind of in the evenings.
and then from there, That turnedinto running the delivery
(02:53):
department at Mountain CarePharmacy, and then, turned into
marketing for Mountain CarePharmacy, turned into, you know,
learning all the ins and outs,and, I, I would say that at the
beginning, I was definitely notpassionate about pharmacy, but
as I've continued to grow andsee all the different people
that we service and that we helpand that You know, empower.
(03:16):
it has become a very big passionof mine.
to the point where now we are 10times the size that we were when
I first started at the pharmacy.
And, we're just looking tocontinue to help as many people
as much as possible.
John (03:31):
That's so awesome.
Yeah, I love hearing that.
You know, a lot of times we justhappen to fall into something
and we don't know.
We're even going to have apassion for it.
But All of a sudden we discoversome things about ourselves that
we didn't know were there.
And it's so great.
Erin (03:46):
If you could really explain what.
what the pharmacy does forpeople, because of course we
know you go there and you getyour medications, but there's
more that they can do for you.
There's different services youcan provide to them if you could
dive a little bit deeper in andshare.
John (04:02):
I was just going to say also maybe the difference
between your pharmacy and whatwe all know is a traditional
pharmacy, right?
There, there's a traditionalpharmacy where we go.
And so sorry, Erin,
Kevin (04:14):
Yeah, for sure.
no, that's a great point becausewe are kind of a nontraditional
pharmacy.
We started off as a hospicespecialty pharmacy, and
transitioned from that into alsohandling a bunch of long term
care, compounding, sterile.
so at this point, we do kind ofa myriad of services that cover,
any and all people that wouldrequire medications.
(04:37):
but a more traditional pharmacy,like your Walmarts or Walgreens
of the world, are.
you know, very much based offof, go in there, drop off your
script, pick up your script,talk to the pharmacist.
If you need to talk to thepharmacist, I'll never talk
about another pharmacy becauseI've been in the world long
enough to know that it's not aneasy job to be in, but what I
(04:59):
would suggest for anybody,whether they're using mountain
care pharmacy or they'reutilizing any other pharmacy is
to find those pharmacies thathave passion for you and passion
for the people.
there are plenty of independent,small.
Locally owned and operatedpharmacies throughout, the
country, not just Boise or notjust Idaho, that, do have that
passion for those patients andare really looking to provide
(05:22):
the best overall exceptionalservice.
what sets us a little bit apartis that, we have, a myriad of
additional services, whetherit's like I talked about
compounding, we can compounded.
Patients medications, dependingon what their doctors are
looking for, where their doctorsare meeting.
try to get his hands on with thedoctors as possible so that
(05:43):
we're understanding why they'represcribing things the way
they're prescribing things.
we offer free delivery.
throughout Southwestern Idaho,we're also licensed in Oregon,
just got, our applicationsubmitted to be licensed in
Washington as well.
So we're looking to expand someof those services and become.
more, more developed, if youwill, for patients that might
(06:06):
not otherwise understand, kindof what they're missing or what
they don't have.
so that's, I mean, that's just alittle bit about us and a little
bit about pharmacy, but I wouldsay, just like anything else in
life, I would go find whether itwas, know, food service or
whatever else I'd go find thosepeople that are passionate about
what they're doing, and arelooking to provide the best
overall.
(06:26):
experience or customer serviceto their patients
Erin (06:30):
Can you explain, in case some people may not know, what
is compounding, what does thatmean?
Kevin (06:35):
Yeah, so, there's a myriad of different kind of
compounds, if you will, that areout there.
anything from creams andointments to liquids or tablets
injectable medications.
Typically what we're looking atwhen we're looking at those
types of things are, doctorswould like to prescribe an
(06:57):
ointment for a rash or somethingalong those lines, and they
found in the past that, this orthat, medication in an ointment,
tends to be their favorite thingto whereas that's not something
that's typically made in themarket by any kind of
manufacturer, they're justlooking to reach out to.
(07:18):
A compounder or a compoundingpharmacy that will, make the
medication the way that theywant to give it to the patient
instead of being boxed in, ifyou will, for a, a specific type
of medication.
so that can go from anythingfrom, supplements to injectable
medications.
So we do a ton of different,Different things for, anything
(07:40):
from, dermatologist to,wellness, nurse practitioner
kind of areas, and kind ofeverything in between.
So, compounding is, one of thoseon the outer, Echelon of what is
pharmacy.
but it is, a very powerful anduseful tool.
we actually started a lot of ourcompounding with the hospice
(08:02):
side of because there's a lot ofjust aren't made and aren't made
specifically for that kind of,population.
So, that's kinda how we startedand we've grown from
John (08:12):
Wow.
so what I understand just tosimplify it for our listeners is
compounding is you get an orderor a prescription from a
physician for a person thatneeds a medication.
And then you guys as a pharmacyhave the way to modify it,
change it or create itspecifically for that person
(08:34):
based on their weight.
Who the you know, whatever theyneed So it can be trimmed down
instead of, you know, going outand buying a generic, Yeah, it's
more of a personalized.
Kevin (08:45):
it's significantly more personalized and it tends to be
a little bit more personalizedfrom the doctor's point of view
as well.
we can't obviously just, go inand change anything and
everything that we want tochange to make it a compound.
There's regulations and rulesand all that fun stuff, of
course.
but a lot of the times it'srelated to, the doctor's
preference and what they've seensuccess for in the past.
(09:06):
And.
where they've seen patientsthrive in the past, where it
might not be something that,this giant drug manufacturer is
going to go out and makethousands and thousands and
thousands of units of thisthing.
But this 1 doctor seems to likeit really well and seems to find
success and send their patientsSo, yeah, there's definitely
limiting factors on some of thatstuff.
(09:27):
but, yeah, the availability ofcompounding is definitely
probably.
in this space.
John (09:32):
So talking about medications, how long from start
to finish?
so if you get a prescriptionover how long before that
patient gets that medication,
Kevin (09:42):
Yeah, great question.
for us specifically, I'd say wehave 2 separate delivery runs
Monday through Friday.
that leave the pharmacy at aboutnoon or about 5.
So if we get the order beforenoon, it leaves at noon should
be delivered between 1 and 4 forthe evening run.
anything that comes in before 5leaves around 6 should be
(10:02):
delivered between 6 and so sameday delivery service.
we do have the availability ofshipping U.
P.
S.
or any of that kind of stuff.
but as far as time is concerned,we try to get it out as soon as
possible with that understandingthat typically when you're
getting those medications oryou're getting those new that,
you know, time is, is essentialfor, the healing process or the,
(10:27):
or whatever else to begin.
so a lot of the stuff, Thatwe'll see, especially for the
hospice patients, is more painrelated, but, you know, more
retail type of patient is moremaybe antibiotic related, stuff
that you really should starttaking fairly frequently, fairly
fast.
Erin (10:44):
I thought that was interesting and many people may
not know, but the pharmacist candeliver medication to your home.
It doesn't need to just come bymail, but you guys are literally
hand delivering it.
Is that, am I understanding thatcorrectly
Kevin (10:57):
correct.
Yeah.
John (10:58):
Yeah.
And so can you explain, some ofthe challenges that.
Maybe an older population mighthave and how you guys can come
up with solutions for some ofthose challenges.
Kevin (11:10):
yeah, yeah.
so honestly, one of the biggestthings that we found, and it's
not just us, it's a, there arenational studies done on this,
but the number one factor forelderly patients going into
assisted living.
Hospice, hospitalization,certified nursing, all of those
different avenues is basicallymedication mismanagement.
(11:34):
so realistically, what we findis that the better the patient
is managed on their medications,the longer they can stay
independent, the longer theycan, stay in their home or,
honestly, even probably survivejust in general, because they're
actually taking the medicationsthe way that they're supposed to
be taking the medication, theway that they're prescribed by
(11:54):
their doctor.
so there's a myriad of differentservices that we can provide for
that.
but 1 and 1st and foremost isour medication management
service.
it, is basically just managingthe patient's medications, and
talking with the doctor andbeing a little bit more involved
with the doctor.
I mean, ensuring that, all themedications are coming from one
location and not, this doctor issending it to that pharmacy and
(12:18):
this doctor is sending it tothat pharmacy, and then those
pharmacies never talk and thosedoctors never talk and the
patient just ends up on allkinds of different medications.
Erin (12:26):
So there's no crossing of pharmaceuticals.
Kevin (12:29):
yeah, so we're trying to avoid, additional, medications
or medication burden thatdoesn't need to be there, while
also ensuring that The doctorsare understanding what other
doctors are prescribing for thatpatient, so that they're not on,
two or three different bloodpressure medications or,
whatever else.
It's relatively frequent that werun into, when we transition
(12:51):
patients over, that they Theyare almost always on multiple
drugs for the same thing becausethey have multiple providers and
they've talked to each providerabout it.
I would honestly say it'sprobably 50 percent of the time
that we run into.
multiple drugs, trying to treatthe exact same condition.
and, if you think about it, ifyou're taking, blood pressure
(13:13):
medication and you're taking itwhen you're supposed to be
taking it and you're getting itfrom two different providers,
how often, do you need to messup on that blood pressure
medication to have a fall andthen be hospitalized and then
be, once you're in that system,it's very, very difficult to get
out of that system and not getThere's nothing wrong with that
system.
We're trying to help thatsystem.
but even something as simple asyour blood pressure medication
(13:36):
can lead to these adversereactions and side effects and
lead you towards, that finaldescent, if you will.
so we try to mitigate that asbest as we possibly can.
Erin (13:48):
So you would encourage the listeners, definitely make sure
that you talk to your doctors,that your pharmacist is the same
place.
Kevin (13:55):
And if they're not, one thing that I've always suggested
to patients is have a full listof the medications that you're
taking, take that with you tothe doctor's office, especially
if you're seeing a new provider,especially if you, have it on
you at all times.
One thing, they're going to askyou when you get to the
hospital.
just in general is whatmedications are you taking,
(14:18):
right?
So if you have a list or youhave, the knowledge base of what
you're taking, you canaccurately describe that to the
physician, and they canprescribe based off of those
things.
But if they come in and thinkthat you're not taking anything,
they're just going to startprescribing this and this and
this And all of a sudden you'vegot 10 extra medications that
you don't need.
And that might actually be.
(14:38):
already being serviced and mightcause you to have additional
issues.
So, that, that's my biggestthing for anybody just in
general is to have an activelist of medications.
whether it's on your phone, inyour wallet, in your purse,
whatever it is, just have anactive list of medications that
you're taking at any given pointin time.
John (14:57):
what I understand so far is the most important things, of
course, is to one, have thatmedication, the current
medication list of all yourmedications.
And if at all possible, makesure they're coming out of one
pharmacy, not multiplepharmacies, correct?
Kevin (15:15):
Correct.
And part of that too is that ifyou're going to one particular
pharmacy, that pharmacy, Isgoing to know you and understand
you and recognize you after aperiod of time, especially those
smaller independent pharmacies,you're the backbone of their
business.
So they take pride in, gettingto know who that patient is, as
opposed to just being a number.
(15:36):
And
Erin (15:37):
do you guys offer pill packets or other ways
Kevin (15:40):
Yeah, I actually don't have one sitting here on me, but
they're basically bubble packs.
It's a week supply in one onebubble pack or blister pack, and
it just comes out in a cardMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday,Sunday, and then it's got four
times a day that you takemedication morning, noon,
evening and bedtime.
and it's just set in there andyou can pop out, the day or the
(16:02):
time that you're on.
and if you're concerned aboutmom or dad or whatever else you
can go in and you can actuallyphysically see that they've been
taking their medications becausethat's one of the biggest,
biggest.
Issues with trying to stayindependent is just not knowing
that you're taking yourmedications and my grandmother
was a case in point for this forsure.
(16:23):
You would ask her, hey, have youtaken your medications yet
today?
Well, yeah, I took mymedications.
Well, then why are there still15 tablets left in this bottle?
And you should have been beingin a refill, you know.
Last week.
so obviously at some point intime, you're not taking your
medications and then you cannever pinpoint back to when they
haven't been taking theirmedications.
Right?
So having that visual cue whereyou can actually look and see,
(16:44):
is very, very handy.
And we don't charge anythingextra for any of our medication
management services.
it's literally just basicallythe same copays that you would
be paying if you're going to abig box store.
same thing for the delivery.
We don't charge for any of thatkind of stuff.
We're just trying to be outthere and help the patients That
otherwise can't or, otherwiseyou're kind of getting missed by
by the.
services that are out there.
John (17:05):
one question I'm curious about.
So say you have somebody thatcomes on service with you,
you're providing them theirmedication and they don't have
anybody around.
They don't have any friends thatare monitoring.
They're not working with a homehealth agency.
Their family lives out of stateor whatever they get.
The medication's delivered.
It's a new medication to them.
(17:26):
They have the medications athome.
They take the medications andthere's an adverse reaction.
And so do they call you?
Do they call their primaryphysician?
if suddenly they're starting tohave something happen they don't
feel good, they pass out, it'smaking them dizzy or whatever.
How do they handle that?
Kevin (17:44):
I'd probably say put that on kind of a scale of, of
concern for yourself, right?
If you're passing out, youshould probably call 9 1 1, get
it figured out.
that's never a good sign.
if you're feeling a little itchyor you're feeling, something
that's just a little bit out ofthe normal, for sure, call the
pharmacist, call your physician,let them know how you're
feeling.
Because they do need to knowthere's additional medications
(18:06):
for almost every different kindof, symptom that's out there,
right?
So if this one medication isn'tworking for you, call and talk
to your pharmacist, call andtalk to your doctor, get the
knowledge to them that it's notmaking you feel good or that it
doesn't seem to be working orwhatever else.
They can't read your mind,right?
If you go in there, you know,and say.
(18:27):
Hey, this blood pressuremedication.
I feel really weird on it.
Okay, cool.
Let's let's switch you over tothis or try that or whatever
else.
There's thousands of differentoptions and thousands is
probably an exaggeration.
Right?
But there's there's there'smultiple options for almost any
kind of symptom that youactually have.
John (18:44):
Great.
Erin (18:45):
Well, that brings me to generic versus brand drugs,
right?
How do you choose?
And can I, as a client go, Iprefer to have a brand name
versus generic.
Is it based off of whatinsurance covers?
Kevin (18:57):
Yeah.
Yeah.
The fun the fun.
I word right insurance.
it is.
Yeah.
It is 99 percent of the time,yes, based off of what insurance
will cover.
You always have that right, to,request the brand drugs.
that doesn't necessarily meanthat the insurance will cover
the brand drugs.
basically, generics have to besomething like 95 percent as
(19:20):
equal to brand drugs, formularyas possible.
so they're very, very, veryclose to what the brand drug
actually is.
and honestly, at this point, themajority of insurances will only
cover brand name drugs if thereisn't a generic drug available.
so that's not to say that youcouldn't say, I want the brand,
whatever it is and specificallyasked for it.
(19:44):
It just means that.
Most of the time, your insuranceisn't going to pay for it.
most of the time, it's probablynot worth the extra cost to do
that because it is so similar tothe generic.
and, is it really worth it?
Is it really not?
Honestly, for, if it were mespecifically, I would be with
the generics all day, every daybecause they are so similar and
(20:06):
the cost seems to besignificantly lessened.
Erin (20:09):
That's good to know.
Thank you.
I, I never knew
John (20:11):
myself.
I even do that at the store.
If I'm going to get a simpleaspirin or whatever.
I look at the ingredients andsometimes they're identical to
one that costs half the price.
Right?
And so for our older population,if they are on a fixed income,
maybe they don't have a lot ofmoney to spread around.
They need to understand thatjust because, you think that
you're going to have moresuccess on, the name brand
(20:34):
that's, yeah, that's notnecessarily,
Kevin (20:36):
Advil or whatever.
yeah,
John (20:37):
that's not necessarily true.
So, so
Kevin (20:40):
And that'd be a great point, honestly, John, to just
interrupt you a little bitthere.
Grab both of those bottles andwalk up to the pharmacy counter.
Any pharmacist in the world isgoing to tell you exactly the
difference between the two.
And if there's zero difference,any decent person in the world
would probably tell you to buythe cheaper of the two versions.
Because you're not wrong,Tylenol is the same as
(21:01):
acetaminophen.
If you're going to buy thedifference, you're literally
just buying the name.
It's no different than, it'sprobably a little bit different
than, going to Costco orsomething and getting a big bulk
supply But, as far as themedication is concerned, it's
all regulated, right?
So it has to be so close to whatthe brand is.
there is almost zero differencebetween the generics and the
(21:22):
brands.
John (21:23):
yeah, totally makes
Erin (21:24):
That's good to know.
Cause I mean, how do you know ifyou don't ask?
John (21:27):
don't have.
No, I want to, I'd like to justtouch base quickly on this too.
Medications, right?
When, when somebody is going toa physician, maybe they've been
prescribed a certain type ofmedication.
Maybe it doesn't work with him.
The doctor needs to make achange, make a switch because
they're having adverse healthissues with the other one.
How does that, do they have tosend the medication back to you?
(21:51):
Is there somebody that picks itup?
yeah, I, yeah, I'm a littleconcerned with, you know,
sometimes what will happen isthey'll leave that many, they'll
keep that medication.
They paid for that medication.
They're a little bit concerned.
What if I run out of money?
At least I have that.
Right.
So how do you advise people thatare older to help?
Kind of keep in check with someof those medications and to make
(22:13):
sure they're not keeping aroundmedications for long periods of
time
Erin (22:16):
And do they expire,
John (22:18):
right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
All those.
Kevin (22:19):
Oh, for sure.
Yeah, it's like anything else,right?
It's food and drugadministration.
So it's the same kind of thingas food.
there's expiration dates, on allmedications.
Nothing's going to last forever.
And oftentimes, the longer thata medication has, kind of been
sitting there, the lesseffective it actually is.
So.
yeah, you're not wrong.
we see it all the time from thefrom our aspect.
(22:41):
I mean, it was probably four orfive months ago.
I saw was something from 1993 orsomething like that.
Come back in from a patient.
So please, please, please don'tbe taking medications from the
mid nineties.
you will not find success with
John (22:56):
We're eating food that's been sitting in the fridge and
it has an expired date on it.
Erin (23:00):
That's you.
How about from the early 2000s,I must confess, I've had this
drug and it just keeps movingwith me.
I don't ever use it.
It just keeps moving with me.
Kevin (23:09):
Get rid of it, Erin.
wine.
It's not getting better withtime.
this is, this is different.
but great question as far as,take back services, right?
Most pharmacies aren't actuallyset up to receive medications
back.
There's different rules andregulations that the FDA puts
on, what are called, I can'tremember what they're called.
They're called like med takeback programs.
(23:32):
But basically, if you, if youapply to be one of these take
back.
Locations, you have to take backany medication at any point in
time.
Basically be open 24 7.
Oftentimes, what happens withthese places is they end up
being places like policestations.
I've seen people that do themedication take back programs,
(23:54):
like out in front of.
You know, Walmarts and thosekinds of things.
a simple Google search ofmedication take back near me,
will let you know.
But oftentimes, yeah, your localpolice station, fire station,
those kinds of things will takethose medications back for you.
there used to be a thoughtprocess to just flush stuff down
the toilet.
I think they've gotten away fromthat as much as possible as far
(24:14):
as destroying medications isconcerned.
We don't want to, dose everybodyup on the water supply.
so, yeah, definitely take a lookat the medication.
Take back or just a simpleGoogle search should get you the
information you need for thatstuff.
But, yeah, get rid of it, Erin.
There's no reason to
Erin (24:28):
And don't flush it down the toilet.
John (24:30):
No.
Kevin (24:31):
don't flush it down the toilet.
Erin (24:32):
Well, I've also heard too, for your pill bottles, like
scratching off your name or yourinformation too, you know, so
somebody doesn't get a hold ofit.
John (24:40):
How about some of these controlled medications?
high potency pain medicationsand different things like that.
If somebody is prescribed, abunch of those, and then all of
a sudden they pass away onhospice or something, how is
that taken care of?
how is that process controlled?
So that medication doesn't getinto the wrong hands.
Kevin (24:59):
Yeah.
so it used to be that thehospice agencies would destroy
those for you.
Nowadays, they are only requiredto show you how to destroy them
or tell you where you candestroy them, without actually
destroying them themselves.
So, Similar kind of situation.
I would definitely anytime youhave extra controls in the
(25:20):
house, any of those narcotics,you're not wrong.
I would get them out as soon asyou possibly can.
You never know who's runningaround kids, grandkids, is even
as diligent as you think youmight be keeping those under
wraps or keeping those undercontrol.
There's never a situation thatyou wouldn't be able to get that
medication again.
(25:41):
you know, if you absolutelyneeded it, right?
So I hear it all the time frompeople.
Well, just in case, you know,somebody breaks their arm or
something, well, you're notgoing to give them a tablet of
something or some oxycodone orwhatever else in that situation.
Take it back to the medication,take back program, get rid of
it, get it out of your house.
honestly, that's one of thebiggest areas of diversion that
(26:02):
there is right now is justgrandparents and parents and
people like us that are justleaving those medications in
their med cabinet.
And then somebody comes in, itdoesn't even have to be somebody
you're related to.
A friend comes over from 1 ofyour kids, and they're looking
through your medication cabinetand they grab it.
When was the last time you sawthat medication from the early
2000s there?
And, you know, would you.
even know if it was missing atthis point?
(26:24):
Right?
so think about those kinds ofthings.
Get them out of your house.
If you broke an arm or somethinglike that, the emergency room
will still be open.
They'll still give you moremedication.
I mean, I had my appendix out,right?
Two years ago, I didn't take anycontrolled substance.
I got to the emergency room,they dosed me up and all of a
(26:44):
sudden I was feeling a lotbetter.
it's very infrequent that youshould ever be trying to dose
yourself in those types ofsituations either, right?
if it's above something that'sover the counter, there's a
reason that it's a prescription.
They want people that have theeducation, have the knowledge
base to, prescribe those thingsand to educate people on those
things to be giving themedications to the patients.
(27:07):
so don't ever think, hey, I.
I was a marketer for a pharmacy,so I should know exactly what's
going on and should be able totake this, medication.
No, never, never a good idea totry and self dose yourself, for
anything that's above probablyan OTC kind of item.
Erin (27:23):
There is a new term I discovered having you on the
show.
I've never heard of it.
It's called polypharmacy.
Kevin (27:31):
Mm
Erin (27:31):
And I do believe that's where you're treating the same
condition with multipledifferent drugs.
And I didn't know if you couldtalk about that a little bit
more or.
Help us understand it
Kevin (27:46):
Yeah.
so that would just be again backto that same type of situation.
Oftentimes when you seesomething like that, it's
because you're going to multipledifferent pharmacies and
multiple different providers,and that they're just not
talking to each other.
that would get back to that.
Make sure that you have thatmedication list.
Make sure that you are trying toget all your meds to one
pharmacy.
Make sure that you are,avoiding, paying cash for
(28:10):
different items.
If you have that prescriptioninsurance, that's another way.
That's a safety net.
that's in there.
if you're going to multipledifferent pharmacies and the
prescription comes back as beingfilled too soon or being, some
other medication that's similarto that has been filled
somewhere else, those are keysthat we see on the insurance
(28:30):
side of things that are tryingto let the pharmacy know that.
they probably shouldn't betaking this medication.
oftentimes what we're dealingwith is technicians or billing
people that aren't paying asmuch attention to that stuff.
so again, that goes back to getthat local pharmacist that Cares
about you and cares about what'sgoing on, to avoid that poly,
(28:51):
that multiple medication, forthe same exact condition.
Because oftentimes, like I said,it comes down to it's multiple
providers, multiple pharmaciesthat just don't communicate with
each other.
That's causing.
Bulk of those issues.
John (29:07):
one of the things I'd like to ask is it better to go
through a smaller pharmacy or alarger pharmacy, big box?
or do they all pretty muchcharge the same thing?
Because I know that, sometimes,we don't know the answers to
those.
And so we just assume, well,since it's a big, huge corporate
chain, we'll go there becauseit's gotta be cheaper.
Kevin (29:26):
it's a great question.
I'll say that we're part of abuying group that allows us to
buy medications that arerelatively low price.
Obviously, we can't still buythem for what, Walmart or
Walgreens or whoever else buysfor, but we're part of a group
that allows us to contract asimilar copay basically, rates
(29:46):
as some of the big box stores.
now that's not to say that theydon't have, I know for a while
there, Walmart was doing liketheir 90 top generics for 3 or
something along those lines,right?
nobody can compete with that.
They just buy.
10 million units of something ata ridiculously low price and
then they're constantly updatingthose things.
that's not to say that if it'sgoing through insurance that
(30:08):
it's not going to have a verysimilar copay with us that it
does with the big box store.
Additionally, one thing that Iwould always recommend as far as
the money side of things isconcerned is be talking to your
Medicare representative on anannual basis.
It's something that we harp onvery huge here at the pharmacy.
It's 1 of our biggest billingcustomer service tactics is to
(30:32):
take a look at What thoseMedicare patients and Medicaid
patients are on and really diveinto have they updated their
service any given point in time.
And since they've basically beenon Medicaid, and we work with a
couple of different.
Medicaid partners that areexcuse me, Medicare partners
that help us with this, but alot of it just goes back to
constantly checking in on yourhealth care, right?
(30:56):
if it was your money that wasinvolved and you had all your
money in the stock market, areyou ever just going to leave it
all sitting in the same placefor the next 50 years and never
look at it?
No, you're going to go in.
You're going to.
Do some research about it.
You're going to trust an advisorthat's going to make sure that
your money's there in a whileit's the same kind of thing with
your insurance find a goodMedicare insurer that is going
(31:20):
back and looking at your plan ona yearly basis that can say okay
These are the medications thatyou're on if I put you on this
plan, it would cost you thismuch And there's there's a
couple of them out there thatare specific to here in the
valley, but there's.
There's so many good ones outthere that if you just, just pay
(31:40):
attention to it, don't just siton the same plan forever and
ever and ever.
I just transitioned mygrandfather into a brand new
plan.
He's been on Medicare for gosh,15, 20 years and he had never
looked at his plan.
And all of a sudden his co paysare costing him a ton of extra
money, because he's, all of asudden he went from not taking
any medications to now he'staking, Eliquis and he's taking
(32:02):
this really expensive inhalerand he's got all these new
medications.
Well, the plan that he was onand signed up for had him at
zero medications.
So they're going to try and dowhat they can, to.
Lower those costs, but you'renot signed up for the plan.
That's best for you andunderstands the medications that
you're taking now.
So if you get on to those plans,I would just say, please,
(32:23):
please, please keep on those.
Look at those.
The majority of the Medicaidplans out there have additional
coverages and services for overthe counter medications for all
kinds of different health carethings related things.
that if you're not knowledgeableabout call your Medicare
provider, get a hold of them,figure it out.
(32:44):
Like, there's no reason to bespending extra money on
medicine.
I promise you there's there's somany different plans that you
can be on that medicine shouldbe the last thing that you worry
about spending money on.
John (32:54):
Thank you for talking about that because, I, for one
think that sometimes, as you getto that, Page of medic where you
qualify for Medicare, you getthat.
Then you might pay for asecondary policy.
And a lot of us we have, we'retrying to think, gosh, I just
want to figure out how I'm goingto make dinner tonight or get
from this side of the room tothat side of the room.
And knowing that it's importantthat you review your policy
(33:17):
based upon your needs each yearis something that's probably out
of sight, out of mind typething.
And so, you It's so, it is.
So thank you for bringing thatup because it's so important for
people to be aware of that.
And, and the people that maybeare their children or
grandchildren or whoever that'shelping them navigate those
things and do that.
Kevin (33:39):
And that's where it goes back to get that team together,
find that team that's going tobe your care team.
And that can include people thatare, you know, that aren't, you
know, aren't necessarily skilledor, or educated in that
workspace, but that are going togo and try and work for you,
whether that's a family memberor a neighbor or whatever else
it is that kind of helps youalong in some of those aspects.
(34:01):
I'm fortunate enough to havethose resources built in just
with the community that I workin.
but if you ever have questionsabout it, please just reach out
to whoever you think you canreach out to.
most people are genuinely nicepeople and will try and get you
to the appropriate answer.
you know, you're smiling becauseyou know exactly what I'm
talking about, John, especiallyin the community that we're in.
(34:22):
if I was to ask.
Anybody in our community, forservices on, personal care or
something along those lines, Icould find dozens of different,
people that would help out inthat area.
So I would just say, don't bequiet about it.
just be vocal, be, a proponentfor yourself, but find that team
that can really, Really help youand assist you in that
John (34:42):
Yeah.
That's what it takes.
so many people, that I've heardof too, that they become really
reclusive.
So it is important to have thoseconnections, to have those
teams, to have a plan.
we're all about that with ourcompany here, just educating
people on the importance ofthat, because it's going to save
you money.
It's going to save time and itcould save your life really
honestly.
Erin (35:00):
What advice would you have for someone that is taking care
of a family member or someonewhen it comes to medications?
Kevin (35:07):
Oh, gosh.
there are resources out therefor you.
Like I said, I keep saying itand I'll say it over and over
and over again, find thatpharmacy or that pharmacist.
That's going to be.
of value to you.
just because grandma or grandpaor mom or dad or whoever else
has been getting theirmedication from Fred Meyer or
Walmart or whatever for 15years, doesn't mean that that's
(35:28):
where they have to get it forthe rest of their lives.
So, find those resources andfind those people that are, you
know, passionate about helping.
Gosh, caregivers for medication.
it's going to be daunting.
I mean, the first time you go inthere, I don't know if you guys
have ever done this, but thefirst time you go in there and
see all the different beds thatthey're taking, if they haven't
(35:49):
been keeping it under control.
It's going to be very daunting,and if they haven't been
destroying their medications,you're not going to be sure
what's going on or what whatthey should be taking or
anything else.
So get a hold of the physician,get a hold of the pharmacy, get
a hold of whomever else you can,and and figure out what the
patient or your loved one shouldactually be on.
would be a great first startingstep that way.
(36:10):
You can look at each individualbottle and each individual drug
and say, no, they don't needthis.
Throw it away.
No, they don't need this.
Throw it away.
and we can get down to kind ofthe nitty gritty of what the
patient should actually betaken.
But that would be my advice isjust get a hold of the people
that should know, get a hold ofthe physicians, get a hold of
the pharmacy, and go from there.
But it just goes back to thatcare team.
John (36:32):
Yeah.
Erin (36:33):
That sounds great.
John (36:34):
what about, technology?
Is there any type of technologyout there that can help support
medication management that yourecommend people
Kevin (36:43):
Yeah.
I mean, there's that's a goodquestion.
you know, technology is gosh,it's great when it works and
it's terrible when it doesn'tright.
So things like setting alarms onyour phone are always a great,
indicator.
there's definitely a lot of thatstuff out there right now, as
far as technology is concerned.
And The thing that I would sayis a lot of it can cost a lot of
(37:07):
money and still requires a lotof manual, input.
whereas if you, for instance,like our bubble pack or our
Mediset packs, They're very,rudimentary, if you will.
but you can still physically seethem and you can see what's
going on and you can set alarmson mom and dad's phone and then
you can check back on them.
whereas there's definitelydifferent medication dispensing
(37:30):
systems that are out there, butthen you still have to go out to
the.
home and pack everythingyourself and make sure that the
alarms are set and that it's alldialed in appropriately and
everything else.
So, yes, technology isdefinitely a positive thing in a
lot of ways.
especially since it allows usto, get that information from
those doctors and those kinds ofthings.
But as far as, actually aidingin giving people their
(37:52):
medications, I'm not sure it'sthere yet.
I think there's some really coolthings that are coming.
but I'm just not sure that I'mnot sure it's there yet.
It doesn't it, you know, there'sstill way too much manual and
potential for human error kindof things that are going on
right now with some of thosesystems.
So,
Erin (38:10):
be those little robots that are going to bring it to
you,
John (38:12):
right at the right time with a glass of water.
Erin (38:16):
Here you go.
John (38:17):
Yeah.
Kevin (38:18):
when it gets to that point, I'm all in.
Let's do it.
John (38:22):
Well, you know, I've been excited.
You've your wealth of knowledgeand I appreciate all the
information that you've sharedwith us today.
So, so thank you for your time.
Kevin (38:31):
Yeah.
Erin (38:32):
there any other tips or anything maybe that we didn't
discuss that you feel are superimportant?
Kevin (38:38):
no, I think we hit pretty much everything that I would
suggest.
One thing that I just I feellike I've gone back to a couple
different times is that itdoesn't have to be with our
pharmacy.
It doesn't have to be, in Boiseor in Idaho find that pharmacy
or find that pharmacist that'spassionate about your care, that
you will find a lot of success,In your treatment and your care.
(39:00):
If you just find those peoplethat want to help you as best as
possible and that don't let youjust be another number.
It's something that happens inour realm.
Sometimes we allow patients tobecome numbers and to become.
just different fills ordifferent appointments or
different, whatever else it is,find those good, those good
(39:21):
people.
And if you don't feelcomfortable with the people that
you're with, go to anotherperson.
There's nothing that says thatjust because I've seen this
doctor since I was 25 years old,that you have to continue seeing
that doctor.
If you feel like your care isnot there, you feel like their
passion is no longer there.
Find those people that arepassionate about your care and
about your success.
Erin (39:43):
well, I'd say what you said is very powerful and aligns
with us.
You need to advocate foryourself.
You need to know what's best foryou.
And if at any point you're notcomfortable or you don't feel
you're getting the service thatyou need for your life, it's
okay to leave.
It's okay to search elsewhere.
And we encourage you to do so.
(40:03):
So thank you for saying that.
On to my
John (40:06):
favorite question.
your life, your choice.
Erin (40:09):
Well, that's not my favorite question.
Kevin (40:11):
Oh, look, that's a weird question.
Erin (40:13):
I was like, wow.
John (40:14):
your life, your choice is our tagline and going back to,
being able to advocate foryourself, you know, and not
being just a number.
So on to Erin's favoritequestion,
Erin (40:24):
So your favorite place you've traveled to or someplace
that is on your adventure listof where you want to go.
Kevin (40:35):
gosh.
so I actually majored inpolitical science when I was in
college.
so we had the opportunity.
With some of my kids to go backto Washington, D.
C.
for a soccer tournament.
And I tell you what, I think wespent probably two or three days
going to different museums anddifferent, that kind of thing.
I could spend years, I mean,legitimately like years being in
(40:58):
that space and going to all thedifferent locations and things
and spaces.
it was fantastic and I would, Iwould do that again in a
freaking heartbeat.
It was awesome.
John (41:08):
So a history history guy you loved
Kevin (41:11):
Yeah,
John (41:11):
that history and being part of it very cool
Erin (41:14):
It is cool.
I lived right outside of DC andso it is a lot of fond memories
of the amazing things that arethere to do.
Kevin (41:20):
Oh, yeah.
So you know what I'm talkingabout.
You could go, I mean, you couldliterally go to something new
every single day for, I mean, itseems like forever.
John (41:28):
Yeah.
Yeah.
We were just in London and, itwas neat to, to see a lot of
their history and thearchitecture and the bill old
buildings and just sit there andgo, wow, I'm staying in a place
that's been here for 300, 400years,
Kevin (41:42):
Mm hmm.
Yeah, we don't have a lot ofthat around here,
John (41:44):
No, no.
Kevin (41:45):
especially not in Idaho.
Erin (41:48):
Well, maybe the rocks, right?
The city of
Kevin (41:50):
you go.
John (41:51):
Yeah.
well, well, thank you for yourtime today.
And yeah, it's, it's been funand you're an amazing guy.
Erin (41:59):
Thank you, Kevin.
Kevin (42:01):
Awesome.
I appreciate that.
John (42:02):
Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Connect
Empower.
We want to express our gratitudeto you for being part of our
community, and we hope today'sepisode has provided you with
valuable insights andinspiration to enhance your life
and that of a loved one.
Erin (42:17):
We are more than just a podcast.
We are a community dedicated toenhancing the lives of our aging
adults and their support system.
We encourage you to visit ourwebsite now at www.
connect empower.
com.
Explore more information aboutour guests from today's episode
and to access our freeresources.
John (42:38):
resources.
Our mission doesn't end at theconclusion of this episode.
We invite you to take action nowby sharing the knowledge you've
gained today with someone whomay benefit from it.
Whether it's a family member,friend, or colleague, your
influence can spark positivechange.
Erin (42:53):
Remember, Subscribing to our podcast ensures you never
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So hit that subscribe button andstay connected with us.
Your commitment is the drivingforce behind our mission and
together we can create amovement for a brighter future
as we age.
John (43:13):
I'm John.
Erin (43:14):
I'm Erin.
Until next Wednesday.
again, there's nothing wrong with the big box stores.
(00:03):
they provide an excellentservice and a needed service in
a lot of different ways.
but I would find somebody thatis passionate about your care.
somebody that you can add toyour team, and I call it a team
because it's your, it's yourphysician, it's your pharmacist,
it's, the nurses, that'severything else that have to
come together to provide thebest overall patient care.
so, yes, finding a pharmacistand finding a pharmacy, that is
(00:27):
passionate about your care is,is paramount to your success.
John (00:41):
I'm John,
Erin (00:42):
and I'm Erin.
You're listening to connect andpower.
The podcast that proves age isno barrier to growth and
enlightenment
John (00:49):
tune in each week as we break down complex subjects into
bite sized enjoyable episodesthat will leave you feeling
informed, entertained, and readyto conquer the world
Erin (01:03):
kevin Crumley isn't your average PR director.
Sure.
He spent over 13 years atmountain care pharmacy, making
him a true veteran on the team.
But what really drives him as apassion for ensuring you get the
pharmacy experiences youdeserve.
As a Boise native now, living inMeridian with his wife, Melissa
(01:24):
and therefore kids.
Kevin understands the importanceof community.
That's why he's dedicated tomaking mountain care.
A place where your health needsare met with friendly faces and
expert care.
Please help me welcome Kevin.
Crumley.
John (01:40):
Thank you so much for being here, Kevin.
Kevin (01:43):
Thank you for having me.
John (01:44):
we're excited to have you here.
I think it's such an importanttopic that we're talking about,
you know, medication.
It's, confusing for a lot ofpeople, especially myself.
And, so we want to dive intothat, but before we do dive into
that, we'd love to hear yourstory, life, you know, it's all
about people's stories and what.
Got them into it because you canreally tell when somebody has a
(02:04):
passion for something and I knowthat you do have a passion for
this.
Kevin (02:09):
I got into pharmacy, gosh, 13, almost 14 years ago
now.
I started off, my previouscareer life, if you will, was,
all in pharmacy.
The, in the UPS realms, I workedfor UPS, for a long time, just
managing, developing all kindsof different processes and
(02:30):
procedures.
Just all kinds of differentlogistical stuff.
And then my wife was pregnantwith our 3rd child, and went on
bed rest and couldn't, couldn'twork.
So just to pay the bills, I gota part time job as a delivery
driver for Mountain CarePharmacy, and just was doing
that kind of in the evenings.
and then from there, That turnedinto running the delivery
(02:53):
department at Mountain CarePharmacy, and then, turned into
marketing for Mountain CarePharmacy, turned into, you know,
learning all the ins and outs,and, I, I would say that at the
beginning, I was definitely notpassionate about pharmacy, but
as I've continued to grow andsee all the different people
that we service and that we helpand that You know, empower.
(03:16):
it has become a very big passionof mine.
to the point where now we are 10times the size that we were when
I first started at the pharmacy.
And, we're just looking tocontinue to help as many people
as much as possible.
John (03:31):
That's so awesome.
Yeah, I love hearing that.
You know, a lot of times we justhappen to fall into something
and we don't know.
We're even going to have apassion for it.
But All of a sudden we discoversome things about ourselves that
we didn't know were there.
And it's so great.
Erin (03:46):
If you could really explain what.
what the pharmacy does forpeople, because of course we
know you go there and you getyour medications, but there's
more that they can do for you.
There's different services youcan provide to them if you could
dive a little bit deeper in andshare.
John (04:02):
I was just going to say also maybe the difference
between your pharmacy and whatwe all know is a traditional
pharmacy, right?
There, there's a traditionalpharmacy where we go.
And so sorry, Erin,
Kevin (04:14):
Yeah, for sure.
no, that's a great point becausewe are kind of a nontraditional
pharmacy.
We started off as a hospicespecialty pharmacy, and
transitioned from that into alsohandling a bunch of long term
care, compounding, sterile.
so at this point, we do kind ofa myriad of services that cover,
any and all people that wouldrequire medications.
(04:37):
but a more traditional pharmacy,like your Walmarts or Walgreens
of the world, are.
you know, very much based offof, go in there, drop off your
script, pick up your script,talk to the pharmacist.
If you need to talk to thepharmacist, I'll never talk
about another pharmacy becauseI've been in the world long
enough to know that it's not aneasy job to be in, but what I
(04:59):
would suggest for anybody,whether they're using mountain
care pharmacy or they'reutilizing any other pharmacy is
to find those pharmacies thathave passion for you and passion
for the people.
there are plenty of independent,small.
Locally owned and operatedpharmacies throughout, the
country, not just Boise or notjust Idaho, that, do have that
passion for those patients andare really looking to provide
(05:22):
the best overall exceptionalservice.
what sets us a little bit apartis that, we have, a myriad of
additional services, whetherit's like I talked about
compounding, we can compounded.
Patients medications, dependingon what their doctors are
looking for, where their doctorsare meeting.
try to get his hands on with thedoctors as possible so that
(05:43):
we're understanding why they'represcribing things the way
they're prescribing things.
we offer free delivery.
throughout Southwestern Idaho,we're also licensed in Oregon,
just got, our applicationsubmitted to be licensed in
Washington as well.
So we're looking to expand someof those services and become.
more, more developed, if youwill, for patients that might
(06:06):
not otherwise understand, kindof what they're missing or what
they don't have.
so that's, I mean, that's just alittle bit about us and a little
bit about pharmacy, but I wouldsay, just like anything else in
life, I would go find whether itwas, know, food service or
whatever else I'd go find thosepeople that are passionate about
what they're doing, and arelooking to provide the best
overall.
(06:26):
experience or customer serviceto their patients
Erin (06:30):
Can you explain, in case some people may not know, what
is compounding, what does thatmean?
Kevin (06:35):
Yeah, so, there's a myriad of different kind of
compounds, if you will, that areout there.
anything from creams andointments to liquids or tablets
injectable medications.
Typically what we're looking atwhen we're looking at those
types of things are, doctorswould like to prescribe an
(06:57):
ointment for a rash or somethingalong those lines, and they
found in the past that, this orthat, medication in an ointment,
tends to be their favorite thingto whereas that's not something
that's typically made in themarket by any kind of
manufacturer, they're justlooking to reach out to.
(07:18):
A compounder or a compoundingpharmacy that will, make the
medication the way that theywant to give it to the patient
instead of being boxed in, ifyou will, for a, a specific type
of medication.
so that can go from anythingfrom, supplements to injectable
medications.
So we do a ton of different,Different things for, anything
(07:40):
from, dermatologist to,wellness, nurse practitioner
kind of areas, and kind ofeverything in between.
So, compounding is, one of thoseon the outer, Echelon of what is
pharmacy.
but it is, a very powerful anduseful tool.
we actually started a lot of ourcompounding with the hospice
(08:02):
side of because there's a lot ofjust aren't made and aren't made
specifically for that kind of,population.
So, that's kinda how we startedand we've grown from
John (08:12):
Wow.
so what I understand just tosimplify it for our listeners is
compounding is you get an orderor a prescription from a
physician for a person thatneeds a medication.
And then you guys as a pharmacyhave the way to modify it,
change it or create itspecifically for that person
(08:34):
based on their weight.
Who the you know, whatever theyneed So it can be trimmed down
instead of, you know, going outand buying a generic, Yeah, it's
more of a personalized.
Kevin (08:45):
it's significantly more personalized and it tends to be
a little bit more personalizedfrom the doctor's point of view
as well.
we can't obviously just, go inand change anything and
everything that we want tochange to make it a compound.
There's regulations and rulesand all that fun stuff, of
course.
but a lot of the times it'srelated to, the doctor's
preference and what they've seensuccess for in the past.
(09:06):
And.
where they've seen patientsthrive in the past, where it
might not be something that,this giant drug manufacturer is
going to go out and makethousands and thousands and
thousands of units of thisthing.
But this 1 doctor seems to likeit really well and seems to find
success and send their patientsSo, yeah, there's definitely
limiting factors on some of thatstuff.
(09:27):
but, yeah, the availability ofcompounding is definitely
probably.
in this space.
John (09:32):
So talking about medications, how long from start
to finish?
so if you get a prescriptionover how long before that
patient gets that medication,
Kevin (09:42):
Yeah, great question.
for us specifically, I'd say wehave 2 separate delivery runs
Monday through Friday.
that leave the pharmacy at aboutnoon or about 5.
So if we get the order beforenoon, it leaves at noon should
be delivered between 1 and 4 forthe evening run.
anything that comes in before 5leaves around 6 should be
(10:02):
delivered between 6 and so sameday delivery service.
we do have the availability ofshipping U.
P.
S.
or any of that kind of stuff.
but as far as time is concerned,we try to get it out as soon as
possible with that understandingthat typically when you're
getting those medications oryou're getting those new that,
you know, time is, is essentialfor, the healing process or the,
(10:27):
or whatever else to begin.
so a lot of the stuff, Thatwe'll see, especially for the
hospice patients, is more painrelated, but, you know, more
retail type of patient is moremaybe antibiotic related, stuff
that you really should starttaking fairly frequently, fairly
fast.
Erin (10:44):
I thought that was interesting and many people may
not know, but the pharmacist candeliver medication to your home.
It doesn't need to just come bymail, but you guys are literally
hand delivering it.
Is that, am I understanding thatcorrectly
Kevin (10:57):
correct.
Yeah.
John (10:58):
Yeah.
And so can you explain, some ofthe challenges that.
Maybe an older population mighthave and how you guys can come
up with solutions for some ofthose challenges.
Kevin (11:10):
yeah, yeah.
so honestly, one of the biggestthings that we found, and it's
not just us, it's a, there arenational studies done on this,
but the number one factor forelderly patients going into
assisted living.
Hospice, hospitalization,certified nursing, all of those
different avenues is basicallymedication mismanagement.
(11:34):
so realistically, what we findis that the better the patient
is managed on their medications,the longer they can stay
independent, the longer theycan, stay in their home or,
honestly, even probably survivejust in general, because they're
actually taking the medicationsthe way that they're supposed to
be taking the medication, theway that they're prescribed by
(11:54):
their doctor.
so there's a myriad of differentservices that we can provide for
that.
but 1 and 1st and foremost isour medication management
service.
it, is basically just managingthe patient's medications, and
talking with the doctor andbeing a little bit more involved
with the doctor.
I mean, ensuring that, all themedications are coming from one
location and not, this doctor issending it to that pharmacy and
(12:18):
this doctor is sending it tothat pharmacy, and then those
pharmacies never talk and thosedoctors never talk and the
patient just ends up on allkinds of different medications.
Erin (12:26):
So there's no crossing of pharmaceuticals.
Kevin (12:29):
yeah, so we're trying to avoid, additional, medications
or medication burden thatdoesn't need to be there, while
also ensuring that The doctorsare understanding what other
doctors are prescribing for thatpatient, so that they're not on,
two or three different bloodpressure medications or,
whatever else.
It's relatively frequent that werun into, when we transition
(12:51):
patients over, that they Theyare almost always on multiple
drugs for the same thing becausethey have multiple providers and
they've talked to each providerabout it.
I would honestly say it'sprobably 50 percent of the time
that we run into.
multiple drugs, trying to treatthe exact same condition.
and, if you think about it, ifyou're taking, blood pressure
(13:13):
medication and you're taking itwhen you're supposed to be
taking it and you're getting itfrom two different providers,
how often, do you need to messup on that blood pressure
medication to have a fall andthen be hospitalized and then
be, once you're in that system,it's very, very difficult to get
out of that system and not getThere's nothing wrong with that
system.
We're trying to help thatsystem.
but even something as simple asyour blood pressure medication
(13:36):
can lead to these adversereactions and side effects and
lead you towards, that finaldescent, if you will.
so we try to mitigate that asbest as we possibly can.
Erin (13:48):
So you would encourage the listeners, definitely make sure
that you talk to your doctors,that your pharmacist is the same
place.
Kevin (13:55):
And if they're not, one thing that I've always suggested
to patients is have a full listof the medications that you're
taking, take that with you tothe doctor's office, especially
if you're seeing a new provider,especially if you, have it on
you at all times.
One thing, they're going to askyou when you get to the
hospital.
just in general is whatmedications are you taking,
(14:18):
right?
So if you have a list or youhave, the knowledge base of what
you're taking, you canaccurately describe that to the
physician, and they canprescribe based off of those
things.
But if they come in and thinkthat you're not taking anything,
they're just going to startprescribing this and this and
this And all of a sudden you'vegot 10 extra medications that
you don't need.
And that might actually be.
(14:38):
already being serviced and mightcause you to have additional
issues.
So, that, that's my biggestthing for anybody just in
general is to have an activelist of medications.
whether it's on your phone, inyour wallet, in your purse,
whatever it is, just have anactive list of medications that
you're taking at any given pointin time.
John (14:57):
what I understand so far is the most important things, of
course, is to one, have thatmedication, the current
medication list of all yourmedications.
And if at all possible, makesure they're coming out of one
pharmacy, not multiplepharmacies, correct?
Kevin (15:15):
Correct.
And part of that too is that ifyou're going to one particular
pharmacy, that pharmacy, Isgoing to know you and understand
you and recognize you after aperiod of time, especially those
smaller independent pharmacies,you're the backbone of their
business.
So they take pride in, gettingto know who that patient is, as
opposed to just being a number.
(15:36):
And
Erin (15:37):
do you guys offer pill packets or other ways
Kevin (15:40):
Yeah, I actually don't have one sitting here on me, but
they're basically bubble packs.
It's a week supply in one onebubble pack or blister pack, and
it just comes out in a cardMonday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday,Sunday, and then it's got four
times a day that you takemedication morning, noon,
evening and bedtime.
and it's just set in there andyou can pop out, the day or the
(16:02):
time that you're on.
and if you're concerned aboutmom or dad or whatever else you
can go in and you can actuallyphysically see that they've been
taking their medications becausethat's one of the biggest,
biggest.
Issues with trying to stayindependent is just not knowing
that you're taking yourmedications and my grandmother
was a case in point for this forsure.
(16:23):
You would ask her, hey, have youtaken your medications yet
today?
Well, yeah, I took mymedications.
Well, then why are there still15 tablets left in this bottle?
And you should have been beingin a refill, you know.
Last week.
so obviously at some point intime, you're not taking your
medications and then you cannever pinpoint back to when they
haven't been taking theirmedications.
Right?
So having that visual cue whereyou can actually look and see,
(16:44):
is very, very handy.
And we don't charge anythingextra for any of our medication
management services.
it's literally just basicallythe same copays that you would
be paying if you're going to abig box store.
same thing for the delivery.
We don't charge for any of thatkind of stuff.
We're just trying to be outthere and help the patients That
otherwise can't or, otherwiseyou're kind of getting missed by
by the.
services that are out there.
John (17:05):
one question I'm curious about.
So say you have somebody thatcomes on service with you,
you're providing them theirmedication and they don't have
anybody around.
They don't have any friends thatare monitoring.
They're not working with a homehealth agency.
Their family lives out of stateor whatever they get.
The medication's delivered.
It's a new medication to them.
(17:26):
They have the medications athome.
They take the medications andthere's an adverse reaction.
And so do they call you?
Do they call their primaryphysician?
if suddenly they're starting tohave something happen they don't
feel good, they pass out, it'smaking them dizzy or whatever.
How do they handle that?
Kevin (17:44):
I'd probably say put that on kind of a scale of, of
concern for yourself, right?
If you're passing out, youshould probably call 9 1 1, get
it figured out.
that's never a good sign.
if you're feeling a little itchyor you're feeling, something
that's just a little bit out ofthe normal, for sure, call the
pharmacist, call your physician,let them know how you're
feeling.
Because they do need to knowthere's additional medications
(18:06):
for almost every different kindof, symptom that's out there,
right?
So if this one medication isn'tworking for you, call and talk
to your pharmacist, call andtalk to your doctor, get the
knowledge to them that it's notmaking you feel good or that it
doesn't seem to be working orwhatever else.
They can't read your mind,right?
If you go in there, you know,and say.
(18:27):
Hey, this blood pressuremedication.
I feel really weird on it.
Okay, cool.
Let's let's switch you over tothis or try that or whatever
else.
There's thousands of differentoptions and thousands is
probably an exaggeration.
Right?
But there's there's there'smultiple options for almost any
kind of symptom that youactually have.
John (18:44):
Great.
Erin (18:45):
Well, that brings me to generic versus brand drugs,
right?
How do you choose?
And can I, as a client go, Iprefer to have a brand name
versus generic.
Is it based off of whatinsurance covers?
Kevin (18:57):
Yeah.
Yeah.
The fun the fun.
I word right insurance.
it is.
Yeah.
It is 99 percent of the time,yes, based off of what insurance
will cover.
You always have that right, to,request the brand drugs.
that doesn't necessarily meanthat the insurance will cover
the brand drugs.
basically, generics have to besomething like 95 percent as
(19:20):
equal to brand drugs, formularyas possible.
so they're very, very, veryclose to what the brand drug
actually is.
and honestly, at this point, themajority of insurances will only
cover brand name drugs if thereisn't a generic drug available.
so that's not to say that youcouldn't say, I want the brand,
whatever it is and specificallyasked for it.
(19:44):
It just means that.
Most of the time, your insuranceisn't going to pay for it.
most of the time, it's probablynot worth the extra cost to do
that because it is so similar tothe generic.
and, is it really worth it?
Is it really not?
Honestly, for, if it were mespecifically, I would be with
the generics all day, every daybecause they are so similar and
(20:06):
the cost seems to besignificantly lessened.
Erin (20:09):
That's good to know.
Thank you.
I, I never knew
John (20:11):
myself.
I even do that at the store.
If I'm going to get a simpleaspirin or whatever.
I look at the ingredients andsometimes they're identical to
one that costs half the price.
Right?
And so for our older population,if they are on a fixed income,
maybe they don't have a lot ofmoney to spread around.
They need to understand thatjust because, you think that
you're going to have moresuccess on, the name brand
(20:34):
that's, yeah, that's notnecessarily,
Kevin (20:36):
Advil or whatever.
yeah,
John (20:37):
that's not necessarily true.
So, so
Kevin (20:40):
And that'd be a great point, honestly, John, to just
interrupt you a little bitthere.
Grab both of those bottles andwalk up to the pharmacy counter.
Any pharmacist in the world isgoing to tell you exactly the
difference between the two.
And if there's zero difference,any decent person in the world
would probably tell you to buythe cheaper of the two versions.
Because you're not wrong,Tylenol is the same as
(21:01):
acetaminophen.
If you're going to buy thedifference, you're literally
just buying the name.
It's no different than, it'sprobably a little bit different
than, going to Costco orsomething and getting a big bulk
supply But, as far as themedication is concerned, it's
all regulated, right?
So it has to be so close to whatthe brand is.
there is almost zero differencebetween the generics and the
(21:22):
brands.
John (21:23):
yeah, totally makes
Erin (21:24):
That's good to know.
Cause I mean, how do you know ifyou don't ask?
John (21:27):
don't have.
No, I want to, I'd like to justtouch base quickly on this too.
Medications, right?
When, when somebody is going toa physician, maybe they've been
prescribed a certain type ofmedication.
Maybe it doesn't work with him.
The doctor needs to make achange, make a switch because
they're having adverse healthissues with the other one.
How does that, do they have tosend the medication back to you?
(21:51):
Is there somebody that picks itup?
yeah, I, yeah, I'm a littleconcerned with, you know,
sometimes what will happen isthey'll leave that many, they'll
keep that medication.
They paid for that medication.
They're a little bit concerned.
What if I run out of money?
At least I have that.
Right.
So how do you advise people thatare older to help?
Kind of keep in check with someof those medications and to make
(22:13):
sure they're not keeping aroundmedications for long periods of
time
Erin (22:16):
And do they expire,
John (22:18):
right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
All those.
Kevin (22:19):
Oh, for sure.
Yeah, it's like anything else,right?
It's food and drugadministration.
So it's the same kind of thingas food.
there's expiration dates, on allmedications.
Nothing's going to last forever.
And oftentimes, the longer thata medication has, kind of been
sitting there, the lesseffective it actually is.
So.
yeah, you're not wrong.
we see it all the time from thefrom our aspect.
(22:41):
I mean, it was probably four orfive months ago.
I saw was something from 1993 orsomething like that.
Come back in from a patient.
So please, please, please don'tbe taking medications from the
mid nineties.
you will not find success with
John (22:56):
We're eating food that's been sitting in the fridge and
it has an expired date on it.
Erin (23:00):
That's you.
How about from the early 2000s,I must confess, I've had this
drug and it just keeps movingwith me.
I don't ever use it.
It just keeps moving with me.
Kevin (23:09):
Get rid of it, Erin.
wine.
It's not getting better withtime.
this is, this is different.
but great question as far as,take back services, right?
Most pharmacies aren't actuallyset up to receive medications
back.
There's different rules andregulations that the FDA puts
on, what are called, I can'tremember what they're called.
They're called like med takeback programs.
(23:32):
But basically, if you, if youapply to be one of these take
back.
Locations, you have to take backany medication at any point in
time.
Basically be open 24 7.
Oftentimes, what happens withthese places is they end up
being places like policestations.
I've seen people that do themedication take back programs,
(23:54):
like out in front of.
You know, Walmarts and thosekinds of things.
a simple Google search ofmedication take back near me,
will let you know.
But oftentimes, yeah, your localpolice station, fire station,
those kinds of things will takethose medications back for you.
there used to be a thoughtprocess to just flush stuff down
the toilet.
I think they've gotten away fromthat as much as possible as far
(24:14):
as destroying medications isconcerned.
We don't want to, dose everybodyup on the water supply.
so, yeah, definitely take a lookat the medication.
Take back or just a simpleGoogle search should get you the
information you need for thatstuff.
But, yeah, get rid of it, Erin.
There's no reason to
Erin (24:28):
And don't flush it down the toilet.
John (24:30):
No.
Kevin (24:31):
don't flush it down the toilet.
Erin (24:32):
Well, I've also heard too, for your pill bottles, like
scratching off your name or yourinformation too, you know, so
somebody doesn't get a hold ofit.
John (24:40):
How about some of these controlled medications?
high potency pain medicationsand different things like that.
If somebody is prescribed, abunch of those, and then all of
a sudden they pass away onhospice or something, how is
that taken care of?
how is that process controlled?
So that medication doesn't getinto the wrong hands.
Kevin (24:59):
Yeah.
so it used to be that thehospice agencies would destroy
those for you.
Nowadays, they are only requiredto show you how to destroy them
or tell you where you candestroy them, without actually
destroying them themselves.
So, Similar kind of situation.
I would definitely anytime youhave extra controls in the
(25:20):
house, any of those narcotics,you're not wrong.
I would get them out as soon asyou possibly can.
You never know who's runningaround kids, grandkids, is even
as diligent as you think youmight be keeping those under
wraps or keeping those undercontrol.
There's never a situation thatyou wouldn't be able to get that
medication again.
(25:41):
you know, if you absolutelyneeded it, right?
So I hear it all the time frompeople.
Well, just in case, you know,somebody breaks their arm or
something, well, you're notgoing to give them a tablet of
something or some oxycodone orwhatever else in that situation.
Take it back to the medication,take back program, get rid of
it, get it out of your house.
honestly, that's one of thebiggest areas of diversion that
(26:02):
there is right now is justgrandparents and parents and
people like us that are justleaving those medications in
their med cabinet.
And then somebody comes in, itdoesn't even have to be somebody
you're related to.
A friend comes over from 1 ofyour kids, and they're looking
through your medication cabinetand they grab it.
When was the last time you sawthat medication from the early
2000s there?
And, you know, would you.
even know if it was missing atthis point?
(26:24):
Right?
so think about those kinds ofthings.
Get them out of your house.
If you broke an arm or somethinglike that, the emergency room
will still be open.
They'll still give you moremedication.
I mean, I had my appendix out,right?
Two years ago, I didn't take anycontrolled substance.
I got to the emergency room,they dosed me up and all of a
(26:44):
sudden I was feeling a lotbetter.
it's very infrequent that youshould ever be trying to dose
yourself in those types ofsituations either, right?
if it's above something that'sover the counter, there's a
reason that it's a prescription.
They want people that have theeducation, have the knowledge
base to, prescribe those thingsand to educate people on those
things to be giving themedications to the patients.
(27:07):
so don't ever think, hey, I.
I was a marketer for a pharmacy,so I should know exactly what's
going on and should be able totake this, medication.
No, never, never a good idea totry and self dose yourself, for
anything that's above probablyan OTC kind of item.
Erin (27:23):
There is a new term I discovered having you on the
show.
I've never heard of it.
It's called polypharmacy.
Kevin (27:31):
Mm
Erin (27:31):
And I do believe that's where you're treating the same
condition with multipledifferent drugs.
And I didn't know if you couldtalk about that a little bit
more or.
Help us understand it
Kevin (27:46):
Yeah.
so that would just be again backto that same type of situation.
Oftentimes when you seesomething like that, it's
because you're going to multipledifferent pharmacies and
multiple different providers,and that they're just not
talking to each other.
that would get back to that.
Make sure that you have thatmedication list.
Make sure that you are trying toget all your meds to one
pharmacy.
Make sure that you are,avoiding, paying cash for
(28:10):
different items.
If you have that prescriptioninsurance, that's another way.
That's a safety net.
that's in there.
if you're going to multipledifferent pharmacies and the
prescription comes back as beingfilled too soon or being, some
other medication that's similarto that has been filled
somewhere else, those are keysthat we see on the insurance
(28:30):
side of things that are tryingto let the pharmacy know that.
they probably shouldn't betaking this medication.
oftentimes what we're dealingwith is technicians or billing
people that aren't paying asmuch attention to that stuff.
so again, that goes back to getthat local pharmacist that Cares
about you and cares about what'sgoing on, to avoid that poly,
(28:51):
that multiple medication, forthe same exact condition.
Because oftentimes, like I said,it comes down to it's multiple
providers, multiple pharmaciesthat just don't communicate with
each other.
That's causing.
Bulk of those issues.
John (29:07):
one of the things I'd like to ask is it better to go
through a smaller pharmacy or alarger pharmacy, big box?
or do they all pretty muchcharge the same thing?
Because I know that, sometimes,we don't know the answers to
those.
And so we just assume, well,since it's a big, huge corporate
chain, we'll go there becauseit's gotta be cheaper.
Kevin (29:26):
it's a great question.
I'll say that we're part of abuying group that allows us to
buy medications that arerelatively low price.
Obviously, we can't still buythem for what, Walmart or
Walgreens or whoever else buysfor, but we're part of a group
that allows us to contract asimilar copay basically, rates
(29:46):
as some of the big box stores.
now that's not to say that theydon't have, I know for a while
there, Walmart was doing liketheir 90 top generics for 3 or
something along those lines,right?
nobody can compete with that.
They just buy.
10 million units of something ata ridiculously low price and
then they're constantly updatingthose things.
that's not to say that if it'sgoing through insurance that
(30:08):
it's not going to have a verysimilar copay with us that it
does with the big box store.
Additionally, one thing that Iwould always recommend as far as
the money side of things isconcerned is be talking to your
Medicare representative on anannual basis.
It's something that we harp onvery huge here at the pharmacy.
It's 1 of our biggest billingcustomer service tactics is to
(30:32):
take a look at What thoseMedicare patients and Medicaid
patients are on and really diveinto have they updated their
service any given point in time.
And since they've basically beenon Medicaid, and we work with a
couple of different.
Medicaid partners that areexcuse me, Medicare partners
that help us with this, but alot of it just goes back to
constantly checking in on yourhealth care, right?
(30:56):
if it was your money that wasinvolved and you had all your
money in the stock market, areyou ever just going to leave it
all sitting in the same placefor the next 50 years and never
look at it?
No, you're going to go in.
You're going to.
Do some research about it.
You're going to trust an advisorthat's going to make sure that
your money's there in a whileit's the same kind of thing with
your insurance find a goodMedicare insurer that is going
(31:20):
back and looking at your plan ona yearly basis that can say okay
These are the medications thatyou're on if I put you on this
plan, it would cost you thismuch And there's there's a
couple of them out there thatare specific to here in the
valley, but there's.
There's so many good ones outthere that if you just, just pay
(31:40):
attention to it, don't just siton the same plan forever and
ever and ever.
I just transitioned mygrandfather into a brand new
plan.
He's been on Medicare for gosh,15, 20 years and he had never
looked at his plan.
And all of a sudden his co paysare costing him a ton of extra
money, because he's, all of asudden he went from not taking
any medications to now he'staking, Eliquis and he's taking
(32:02):
this really expensive inhalerand he's got all these new
medications.
Well, the plan that he was onand signed up for had him at
zero medications.
So they're going to try and dowhat they can, to.
Lower those costs, but you'renot signed up for the plan.
That's best for you andunderstands the medications that
you're taking now.
So if you get on to those plans,I would just say, please,
(32:23):
please, please keep on those.
Look at those.
The majority of the Medicaidplans out there have additional
coverages and services for overthe counter medications for all
kinds of different health carethings related things.
that if you're not knowledgeableabout call your Medicare
provider, get a hold of them,figure it out.
(32:44):
Like, there's no reason to bespending extra money on
medicine.
I promise you there's there's somany different plans that you
can be on that medicine shouldbe the last thing that you worry
about spending money on.
John (32:54):
Thank you for talking about that because, I, for one
think that sometimes, as you getto that, Page of medic where you
qualify for Medicare, you getthat.
Then you might pay for asecondary policy.
And a lot of us we have, we'retrying to think, gosh, I just
want to figure out how I'm goingto make dinner tonight or get
from this side of the room tothat side of the room.
And knowing that it's importantthat you review your policy
(33:17):
based upon your needs each yearis something that's probably out
of sight, out of mind typething.
And so, you It's so, it is.
So thank you for bringing thatup because it's so important for
people to be aware of that.
And, and the people that maybeare their children or
grandchildren or whoever that'shelping them navigate those
things and do that.
Kevin (33:39):
And that's where it goes back to get that team together,
find that team that's going tobe your care team.
And that can include people thatare, you know, that aren't, you
know, aren't necessarily skilledor, or educated in that
workspace, but that are going togo and try and work for you,
whether that's a family memberor a neighbor or whatever else
it is that kind of helps youalong in some of those aspects.
(34:01):
I'm fortunate enough to havethose resources built in just
with the community that I workin.
but if you ever have questionsabout it, please just reach out
to whoever you think you canreach out to.
most people are genuinely nicepeople and will try and get you
to the appropriate answer.
you know, you're smiling becauseyou know exactly what I'm
talking about, John, especiallyin the community that we're in.
(34:22):
if I was to ask.
Anybody in our community, forservices on, personal care or
something along those lines, Icould find dozens of different,
people that would help out inthat area.
So I would just say, don't bequiet about it.
just be vocal, be, a proponentfor yourself, but find that team
that can really, Really help youand assist you in that
John (34:42):
Yeah.
That's what it takes.
so many people, that I've heardof too, that they become really
reclusive.
So it is important to have thoseconnections, to have those
teams, to have a plan.
we're all about that with ourcompany here, just educating
people on the importance ofthat, because it's going to save
you money.
It's going to save time and itcould save your life really
honestly.
Erin (35:00):
What advice would you have for someone that is taking care
of a family member or someonewhen it comes to medications?
Kevin (35:07):
Oh, gosh.
there are resources out therefor you.
Like I said, I keep saying itand I'll say it over and over
and over again, find thatpharmacy or that pharmacist.
That's going to be.
of value to you.
just because grandma or grandpaor mom or dad or whoever else
has been getting theirmedication from Fred Meyer or
Walmart or whatever for 15years, doesn't mean that that's
(35:28):
where they have to get it forthe rest of their lives.
So, find those resources andfind those people that are, you
know, passionate about helping.
Gosh, caregivers for medication.
it's going to be daunting.
I mean, the first time you go inthere, I don't know if you guys
have ever done this, but thefirst time you go in there and
see all the different beds thatthey're taking, if they haven't
(35:49):
been keeping it under control.
It's going to be very daunting,and if they haven't been
destroying their medications,you're not going to be sure
what's going on or what whatthey should be taking or
anything else.
So get a hold of the physician,get a hold of the pharmacy, get
a hold of whomever else you can,and and figure out what the
patient or your loved one shouldactually be on.
would be a great first startingstep that way.
(36:10):
You can look at each individualbottle and each individual drug
and say, no, they don't needthis.
Throw it away.
No, they don't need this.
Throw it away.
and we can get down to kind ofthe nitty gritty of what the
patient should actually betaken.
But that would be my advice isjust get a hold of the people
that should know, get a hold ofthe physicians, get a hold of
the pharmacy, and go from there.
But it just goes back to thatcare team.
John (36:32):
Yeah.
Erin (36:33):
That sounds great.
John (36:34):
what about, technology?
Is there any type of technologyout there that can help support
medication management that yourecommend people
Kevin (36:43):
Yeah.
I mean, there's that's a goodquestion.
you know, technology is gosh,it's great when it works and
it's terrible when it doesn'tright.
So things like setting alarms onyour phone are always a great,
indicator.
there's definitely a lot of thatstuff out there right now, as
far as technology is concerned.
And The thing that I would sayis a lot of it can cost a lot of
(37:07):
money and still requires a lotof manual, input.
whereas if you, for instance,like our bubble pack or our
Mediset packs, They're very,rudimentary, if you will.
but you can still physically seethem and you can see what's
going on and you can set alarmson mom and dad's phone and then
you can check back on them.
whereas there's definitelydifferent medication dispensing
(37:30):
systems that are out there, butthen you still have to go out to
the.
home and pack everythingyourself and make sure that the
alarms are set and that it's alldialed in appropriately and
everything else.
So, yes, technology isdefinitely a positive thing in a
lot of ways.
especially since it allows usto, get that information from
those doctors and those kinds ofthings.
But as far as, actually aidingin giving people their
(37:52):
medications, I'm not sure it'sthere yet.
I think there's some really coolthings that are coming.
but I'm just not sure that I'mnot sure it's there yet.
It doesn't it, you know, there'sstill way too much manual and
potential for human error kindof things that are going on
right now with some of thosesystems.
So,
Erin (38:10):
be those little robots that are going to bring it to
you,
John (38:12):
right at the right time with a glass of water.
Erin (38:16):
Here you go.
John (38:17):
Yeah.
Kevin (38:18):
when it gets to that point, I'm all in.
Let's do it.
John (38:22):
Well, you know, I've been excited.
You've your wealth of knowledgeand I appreciate all the
information that you've sharedwith us today.
So, so thank you for your time.
Kevin (38:31):
Yeah.
Erin (38:32):
there any other tips or anything maybe that we didn't
discuss that you feel are superimportant?
Kevin (38:38):
no, I think we hit pretty much everything that I would
suggest.
One thing that I just I feellike I've gone back to a couple
different times is that itdoesn't have to be with our
pharmacy.
It doesn't have to be, in Boiseor in Idaho find that pharmacy
or find that pharmacist that'spassionate about your care, that
you will find a lot of success,In your treatment and your care.
(39:00):
If you just find those peoplethat want to help you as best as
possible and that don't let youjust be another number.
It's something that happens inour realm.
Sometimes we allow patients tobecome numbers and to become.
just different fills ordifferent appointments or
different, whatever else it is,find those good, those good
(39:21):
people.
And if you don't feelcomfortable with the people that
you're with, go to anotherperson.
There's nothing that says thatjust because I've seen this
doctor since I was 25 years old,that you have to continue seeing
that doctor.
If you feel like your care isnot there, you feel like their
passion is no longer there.
Find those people that arepassionate about your care and
about your success.
Erin (39:43):
well, I'd say what you said is very powerful and aligns
with us.
You need to advocate foryourself.
You need to know what's best foryou.
And if at any point you're notcomfortable or you don't feel
you're getting the service thatyou need for your life, it's
okay to leave.
It's okay to search elsewhere.
And we encourage you to do so.
(40:03):
So thank you for saying that.
On to my
John (40:06):
favorite question.
your life, your choice.
Erin (40:09):
Well, that's not my favorite question.
Kevin (40:11):
Oh, look, that's a weird question.
Erin (40:13):
I was like, wow.
John (40:14):
your life, your choice is our tagline and going back to,
being able to advocate foryourself, you know, and not
being just a number.
So on to Erin's favoritequestion,
Erin (40:24):
So your favorite place you've traveled to or someplace
that is on your adventure listof where you want to go.
Kevin (40:35):
gosh.
so I actually majored inpolitical science when I was in
college.
so we had the opportunity.
With some of my kids to go backto Washington, D.
C.
for a soccer tournament.
And I tell you what, I think wespent probably two or three days
going to different museums anddifferent, that kind of thing.
I could spend years, I mean,legitimately like years being in
(40:58):
that space and going to all thedifferent locations and things
and spaces.
it was fantastic and I would, Iwould do that again in a
freaking heartbeat.
It was awesome.
John (41:08):
So a history history guy you loved
Kevin (41:11):
Yeah,
John (41:11):
that history and being part of it very cool
Erin (41:14):
It is cool.
I lived right outside of DC andso it is a lot of fond memories
of the amazing things that arethere to do.
Kevin (41:20):
Oh, yeah.
So you know what I'm talkingabout.
You could go, I mean, you couldliterally go to something new
every single day for, I mean, itseems like forever.
John (41:28):
Yeah.
Yeah.
We were just in London and, itwas neat to, to see a lot of
their history and thearchitecture and the bill old
buildings and just sit there andgo, wow, I'm staying in a place
that's been here for 300, 400years,
Kevin (41:42):
Mm hmm.
Yeah, we don't have a lot ofthat around here,
John (41:44):
No, no.
Kevin (41:45):
especially not in Idaho.
Erin (41:48):
Well, maybe the rocks, right?
The city of
Kevin (41:50):
you go.
John (41:51):
Yeah.
well, well, thank you for yourtime today.
And yeah, it's, it's been funand you're an amazing guy.
Erin (41:59):
Thank you, Kevin.
Kevin (42:01):
Awesome.
I appreciate that.
John (42:02):
Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Connect
Empower.
We want to express our gratitudeto you for being part of our
community, and we hope today'sepisode has provided you with
valuable insights andinspiration to enhance your life
and that of a loved one.
Erin (42:17):
We are more than just a podcast.
We are a community dedicated toenhancing the lives of our aging
adults and their support system.
We encourage you to visit ourwebsite now at www.
connect empower.
com.
Explore more information aboutour guests from today's episode
and to access our freeresources.
John (42:38):
resources.
Our mission doesn't end at theconclusion of this episode.
We invite you to take action nowby sharing the knowledge you've
gained today with someone whomay benefit from it.
Whether it's a family member,friend, or colleague, your
influence can spark positivechange.
Erin (42:53):
Remember, Subscribing to our podcast ensures you never
miss an episode and we have moreincredible guests and resources
in store for you.
So hit that subscribe button andstay connected with us.
Your commitment is the drivingforce behind our mission and
together we can create amovement for a brighter future
as we age.
John (43:13):
I'm John.
Erin (43:14):
I'm Erin.
Until next Wednesday.
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