A tip from the risk management experts at American Physicians

In these difficult financial times, many patients face hardships which could influence them to make unsafe decisions regarding their medications. Too often these decisions are made without consulting their physician. Sometimes patients even purposely conceal their decisions from their doctor.

Examples of unsafe decisions include:

• Not filling prescriptions
• Skipping doses to make medications last longer
• Splitting pills and taking half the recommended dose
• Purchasing medication from an online pharmacy (“cyber pharmacy”) outside the US in order to save money
• Saving medication to use “in case they need it later” (e.g. self-diagnosis; not taking the entire course of an antibiotic as directed)
• Using expired medications
• Sharing medications or samples with family members, friends or neighbors

It is imperative that physicians and office personnel ask patients about the above practices at every office visit as well as educate them regarding the possible dangers. Opening this dialogue also allows you to assist patients experiencing financial hardship by providing information about available community and pharmaceutical manufacturer resources.

American Physicians Assurance Corporation (American Physicians) is the exclusively preferred professional liability insurer of the Michigan Osteopathic Association. For information about the company, visit their website at www.apassurance.com.