Highly Trusted Medical Professionals Include Pharmacists
Pharmacists have always ranked very high on the list of Trusted Medical Professionals. Almost 73% of a recent survey’s respondents listed pharmacists as a very trusted professional. Only nurses were ranked higher.
Since the late 1980’s Gallup has created a poll asking the public to rank the most trusted professionals. As one might expect, Congress and car salespeople ranked the lowest. Why would pharmacists be so highly trusted?
A pharmacist that actually sits on a state review board said that most people will tell their pharmacists things they may not even tell their physician, spouse, or clergy. According to this article, pharmacists:
- Usually have a long patient-professional relationship with their customer
- Are much more accessible than most medical professionals, most are available 24 hours a day
- Weigh out the cost of medications for a particular customer
- Are very unbiased in their opinions on medications and ailments
- Spend longer with their customers than the average 12 minutes that a physician spends with their patients
How does this relationship affect Workers Comp?
123RF Mail order is great for cost savings but has the pharmacists at a distance
- It may be wise to authorize a local pharmacist to fill prescriptions
- Introduce or maintain an element of trust while disabled or treating for a WC injury
- Claims staff and employers should look to work with the pharmacist especially when receiving an authorization call from a pharmacy
- Pay RX reimbursements from injured workers ASAP
- Find out if the local pharmacist is part of a WC network.
- Claims staff can ask for generic equivalents when the pharmacy calls for authorization.
One final note is there is nothing wrong with mail order prescriptions. However, the face-to-face interaction between an injured worker and their pharmacist is very important in their recovery.
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