Veronica Phaikoh and her husband are both self-employed. While they
have always worked hard to provide for their family, their budget never
allowed for health insurance. That left Phaikoh without adequate resources
to control her diabetes.
Years passed without proper treatment for her diabetes. Then one day in
May 2009, she had to have emergency surgery at Methodist Dallas Medical
Center for a condition called perforated diverticulitis. As she recovered, her
physician discovered Phaikoh had extremely high blood sugar and counseled
her to get her diabetes under control. That required medications costing upward
of $1,000 a month — money the Phaikohs didn’t have.
Bridging the gap
The hospital referred her to the Methodist Dallas Golden Cross Academic
Clinic, home to the MedAssist Program. Fully funded by the Golden Cross
Division of the Methodist Health System Foundation, this program provides
uninsured and low-income patients with medications free of charge while a
social worker applies to pharmaceutical companies for long-term prescription
drug assistance. The program also employs a clinical pharmacist and dietitian
to help patients manage their chronic diseases.
Through the MedAssist Program, Phaikoh received insulin shots and testing
supplies, as well as health education to learn how to better manage her diabetes.
“
I didn’t even know that a program like MedAssist existed, that would give you
so much help if you didn’t have insurance,” says Phaikoh, 47, who has lived in
Oak Cliff most of her life. “It was like a crash course in diabetes.”
The power of knowledge
Three years later, the discipline of managing diabetes comes easily to Phaikoh,
thanks to the assistance she received from the MedAssist Program. She monitors
her diet, checks her blood sugar regularly, and never misses a dose of insulin.
“
People go without medicine because they don’t have the funds to get
everything they need,” Phaikoh says. “MedAssist changes your life, in a
sense. Having the knowledge and supplies I need to control my diabetes —
it changes everything.”
2012
Crossroads Annual Report
Page 14
life change
a
IN 2012 ALONE,
MEDASSIST
PURCHASED
MORE THAN 1,200
PRESCRIPTIONS
AT A COST
OF ALMOST
$29,000 AND
ACQUIRED FREE
MEDICATIONS
ESTIMATED AT A
MARKET VALUE
OF $493,000.