For those new to Medicare’s Prescription Drug (Part D) Plans, the “Donut Hole” is the common term for what is officially known as the “coverage gap”. Many Medicare Part D plans have a coverage gap, though not all do. Here’s how it works: Once the combined prescription costs to the insurer and the beneficiary reach $3,750 for calendar year 2018, the beneficiary will experience a gap in prescription drug coverage.
Pharmacogenetics (PGx)– the study of how genetics affects a person’s response to drugs — is an exciting new field in healthcare. In the third article of this series on Personalized Medicine, we talked about the nuts and bolts of PGx and why it can improve the treatment of some health problems. To recap, genetic differences can change the way people respond to medication. The result? Some people get little or no effect from
Everybody is unique. We all have our own personalities, lifestyles, environments, and genetics. We may enjoy the same things as someone else, or not. Our bodies may respond to a particular medical treatment more efficiently than someone else’s, or not. It’s important that healthcare providers see each patient as an individual rather than as a disease that needs treatment. But how do we make that happen? Personalized medicine allows the
I’m one of the nearly 3/4 of adults in the US taking at least one dietary supplement. Dietary supplements include vitamins, botanicals, herbals, and other substances that are extracted from food sources or made synthetically to mimic chemicals contained in foods, and are intended to increase the quantity consumed in the diet. So, does that mean that if we all ate a well-balanced diet, we wouldn’t need to use supplements? Well,