In Tough Times, Patients Seek Alternatives

For acute and chronic care patients, the economic downturn has prompted really tough choices. Some who make frequent trips to the doctor or to treatment facilities—such as those undergoing chemotherapy or dialysis—are skipping weekly treatments or even stopping their medications to cut transportation costs and save money. Others are turning to community transportation instead of driving to appointments.

LogistiCare, a transportation management company with centers in 37 states, has seen a 12 percent increase in service requests so far this year, which may amount to 22 million rides provided in 2008. CEO John Shermyen says gas prices are the biggest reason for the increase. The service is free to patients.

Climbing gas prices led Brenda Craddock, 54, of Dallas to look for an alternative to her multiple trips to the pharmacy. Craddock, a three-times-a-week dialysis patient who needs several medications daily, now uses DaVita Rx, a mobile pharmacy that comes to her treatment facility.

“What we’re hearing is that patients need to consolidate their trips so that they can save on gas and other expenses,” says Josh Golomb, general manager of DaVita Rx. The average dialysis patient can take eight to nine medications daily, he says, and can require four or five trips a month to the pharmacy. “The bad news is, when you’re out of medication and you delay that medication, there are consequences,” Golomb says. “Those consequences ultimately are passed on to taxpayers.”