Well, the 2012/2013 Flu vaccination season seems over, though the flu itself is still out there plaguing the public. We gave about 350 Flu Vaccines this flu season, which is a record for our pharmacy. We do have a few doses left, if you didn’t get yours yet.  The Flu is still out there and new infections are reported daily, so there remains a certain level of risk as you walk around town.

You may have heard lots of stories about this year’s vaccine.  Some of them are sort of partly true. Let me explain:

This year’s mix was considered a very good one: they managed to correctly predict which strains would be out there causing the flu and put together a vaccine that will help you build immunity to those strains and so give you good protection.  Some good points to know:

• It’s very hard to make predictions, especially when they’re about the future.
• Because of the vaccine manufacturing process, they have to start making it many many months before the flu season starts, so they build a mix based on their best guess of what will be the problematic strains of influenza.
• Even with a well designed vaccine, there is still a chance that you are one of the few people for whom vaccination does not prevent getting the flu, or for whom it reduces the severity of the flu but doesn’t stop it completely.  The estimate is that this year’s mix was about 56% effective overall. Considering that flu is fatal to some people, that’s actually a great result. It will never be 100%.
• A number of things can make that vaccine less effective for you, including age and certain disease states.  It is thought that the current flu vaccine, good as it was, is only about 27% effective in preventing flu in seniors 65 & up. 9% for the most virulent H3N2 strain.  That’s poor, but still better than no protection.
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  (In reality, the flu shot is only 1/60th of an ounce. And there isn’t a great cure for flu at any weight above or below a pound.)
• Besides vaccination, there are two other good ways to prevent the flu: wash your hands regularly and frequently clean shared surfaces with a disinfectant.  The other: stay clear of people who have the flu — the best way to reduce your exposure is to reduce their level of infection: make them get a flu shot! The more of us get the flu shot, the less of the disease out there to spread around and so the safer we all are.
• Did the flu shot “give you” the flu?  Nope. Remember it takes around 2 weeks for that immunity to build up. So if you fell ill a few days after the shot, it’s likely you already had it cooking in your system or that your exposure happened after the shot but before the immunity had a chance to take effect. Lesson:  Get your shot as early in the year as possible! We try to have it available in September.
• Common Myth: “don’t get your shot too early or it could ‘wear off’ too soon.”  Nope. Protection lasts almost a full year, so if you could get it as early as August, you’d still be in good shape for the entire flu season. This myth is sometimes circulated by older providers who have not kept up with current research and the current data on modern flu vaccines.
• Most flu infections do NOT require a doctor’s visit. There is no good cure available, but there are some supportive measures you can take to make it tolerable while you wait for the illness to run its course. For more information about flu symptoms and what can help you with symptoms, [Click Here].

Summary: No flu vaccine has a 100% prevention rate. This year’s was a good batch and prevented a lot of flu cases, but not all.  If we’d had a lousy batch this year, there could have been epidemic levels of infection and perhaps many more deaths. The flu is virulent and dangerous and to skip your flu shot is unwise.

GOOD NEWS: Our Online Refill Tool is new and improved!

• Use the same link on the Donlon’s website to get to the new refill page: The “PRESCRIPTION REFILLS” button with the paper & pencil just at the top of the gray bar at your right.
• You can choose the Express Refill option, which allows you to order a refill without signing in or getting an account. This is quick and easy, but does require you to have the Rx number.
• Or you can sign up for your own Account, which will give you a lot more access to your medication history, allowing you to see which medications are ready for refill and which are not. You won’t have to hunt down any old bottles or Rx numbers as all the details will display in your Account. Even better, you can manage your account to set up automatic reminder calls (or emails or texts) for when medications are due for refilling or are ready for pickup.
• This new system will automatically phone a reminder to you about 4 days after we fill your prescription, if you have not yet picked it up. The system will phone again on the 10th day, if you have not picked it up and if we have not returned it to stock. An Rx that has been waiting 7 days may be returned to stock.

This is a new system and there may still be a few little glitches: if you find one, please give me a call. I signed myself up for the first Donlon Account and I think it’s pretty easy to use. The password doesn’t have to be fancy, but has to be at least 7 characters long.

Oh, and before you ask: No, there is no way to pay for anything through this website. It’s about simplifying communication and your ability to manage your medication profile.

IMPORTANT NOTE: While you can update your phone numbers and such on the account management page, it will only make changes on that web page and will only affect how the automatic notification calls go out. You cannot update any of the information in our secure pharmacy software from there: our pharmacy software is completely isolated from the web-based refill tool. If you need to change the phone or address we have on file in the pharmacy, you’ll need to call us or stop by to let us know directly.

The Donlon Pharmacy website will still allow you to email us at this address (medication@donlonpharmacy.com) and if you’re in a spot where it seems easier, you can still just email us your full name, which drug you want, and any instructions and we’ll refill it for you.

And of course you can also still send us text messages at 563-265-1774.

Matthew, Stan, Anna

 Anna Kim, PharmD

Anna comes to us from a busy urban practice where she was frustrated by the lack of patient contact. Her training and values brought her here, where she can spend time getting to work closely with patients on their needs.  She’s the perfect addition to a healthcare team that is focused on the needs of the patient above all else, just the way a trusted pharmacy should be.

Anna has previous degrees in Biology and Pathology and has experience traveling in various other countries. Experience that clearly contributes to her professionalism and her communication skills.  Please stop in at the store to welcome her to Decorah.

Donlon Pharmacy has added this new payment option and we’d be glad if you would skate over to Dwolla.com and see what it’s about, then maybe consider signing up.

photo credit: Alex E. Proimos

Prevent & Protect!

Get a Tdap booster at Donlon Healthmart and stop Whooping Cough before you pass it on to others!

That little girl in the photo is too young to have finished the vaccine series that will protect her from Pertussis (Whooping cough).

The man holding her hand may not know that his immunity has probably faded and he could easily carry the disease to her without having any symptoms that suggest whooping cough.

We now offer this important vaccine right here at the pharmacy!  Boostrix (Tetanus, Diphtheria & acellular Pertussis vaccine) is approved for use in all patients above age 10.  It is partly covered by your Medicare D pharmacy benefit.

This vaccine is recommended by the CDC for anyone who has or expects to come in contact with pertussis infected individuals and/or children vulnerable to such infection.  A single booster like this is recommended for all adults, including those over age 65.

Remember that an adult may have whooping cough without having the classic “whooping” symptom which is most pronounced in babies.  Adults may also be carrying the infection without even realizing they have anything at all.  Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to prevent this illness and prevent its spread.   Contact Matthew at the pharmacy if you have questions about it.  Or stop by any day to get the vaccine:  just ask your doctor to send us a prescription first!

More details in the Vaccines Section.

Take the Blue Zone pledge for your town!

Learn more about the origins of the Blue Zones Project.

Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative

I heard this episode recently, even though it is from a few years back.  It’s really excellent:  talks about insurance,  drug company coupons, a sick hedgehog, a mistaken Obama and the ridiculous influence of medical coding. Not in that order.

Someone Else’s Money

Click on the link above to go to their site where you can play it directly.  It’s also available as a podcast.

Thanks to This American Life for producing such a great piece.

Locally Owned & Operated.

Serving Decorah for 80 years.

So far.

Consumer Reports did a gigantic survey asking people to rate all the pharmacy options, from independents to big boxes to chains & mail order.  The results showed an “eye-popping” lead held by Independent pharmacies like Donlon Healthmart!  Here’s what the results showed about Independent Pharmacies, compared to all the rest:

• Fewer Errors & fewer order mix-ups
• Swifter Service = less waiting
• Honored promises
• Fewer delays or out-of-stock problems.  And faster restocking when out of stocks happen.
• Better Personal Service
• Greater Pharmacist Accessibility
• Best value, including lower cash prices than most chain stores.
• Common Weakness of Independents?  Websites.  So I guess we’re ahead of the curve on this too!
  

If you’re interested to read more about this, [Click Here] to read the Consumer Reports article

Or [Click Here] for a summary and description of some Maine research on prices.

[Click Here] for even more about Independent Pharmacy

So you’re on your way to the pharmacy but you forgot to call in your refill?

• No worries!  Just text us at 563-265-1RPH  (1774).
• You can text us the Rx numbers you want filled,
• or you can text in your full name & tell which medications you need refilled (good spelling optional),
• or you can text us a question and wait for the answer to show up on your phone.
• Only during open hours: if the store is closed, no one will receive your text until the store re-opens the following business day.

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Or let’s say it’s Thursday night and you’re trapped in a church supper, sitting next to the pastor’s sister Bertha, who is telling you all the details of her recent trip to Branson.

1. You remember you need to pick up your medicine before the pharmacy closes at 6:00 but you didn’t call in for your refill.  You won’t get out of here until 5:45, at best.
2. Bertha is the sweetest old lady, but she was also your kindergarten teacher decades ago and she always makes you feel tiny and awkward.
3. She’s real big on courtesy, so there’s no way you can make a call while you’re with her, but luckily you have learned to send text messages without looking.
4. Carefully you reach into your sweatshirt pocket while making a comment about how much you agree that Johnny Mathis is better now than when he was young.
5. Using the hyper-sensitive thumbs that you have trained to work from instinct alone, you dial 563-265-1774 for Donlon Pharmacy’s Texting service.  You really need to put the number into one of the auto-dial spots someday soon.
6. Those miraculous thumbs then type in your name perfectly.  You pause to hum along with Bertha for a few bars of a song you’ve never heard in your life.  A song you feel sure Johnny Mathis hates singing as much as you do.
7. Next those clever thumbs add the name of the medication you need, although you’re pretty sure you spell it wrong.  Doesn’t matter: this is a crisis & the Donlon staff will rise to the occasion!
8. Hit ‘send’ and breathe a sigh of relief:  Mission Accomplished and she never even noticed your clandestine activities.  You wonder if you will need a triple dose of whatever medicine it is, once this dinner is finally over.
9. Easy.  Now you can relax and wait for the ordeal to end.
10. Sudden Panic! From your pocket comes the most awful noise!  It’s your cellphone ringing!
11. You hurriedly reach into your pocket to get the darned thing and turn it off.
12. Bertha is already starting to scowl and then her expression changes, just as your own mouth falls open in stunned horror.  As you pull the phone from your pocket, its full volume floods the room and makes heads turn all the way at the other end, and now you recognize that song!
13. It’s impossible, but suddenly your ring-tone is playing the Johnny Mathis song that Bertha was just humming!  Her old face breaks into a smile at the mischievous kid you always were.
14. She thinks you’re great, you feel sick to your stomach from that terrible song but you try to smile anyway, even as your memory brings up that one time she caught you eating paste after recess.
15. You check the message and it’s from Donlon Pharmacy and it just says “OK”.  Short & sweet.
16. After the dinner’s over, you scuttle over to the pharmacy and there’s your stuff, already filled and ready.  Nice!
17. You’ve got a few minutes before the store closes and you find yourself in the school supplies aisle, looking at the paste. Hmm, only $1.49 . . . .   No!   Stop! It’s time to go home.  Will power!
18. How can one old woman have such an effect on you?  It’s scary!

A little poke in the arm can protect you and the fragile ones around you from The Flu.

• Flu shots become available in September or October and it’s best to get one as early as you can.  The protection will last you about 10 months,  so the earlier you get it, the less chance you’ll catch the flu.
• This year we offer three types of flu shot & we are billing Medicare for the vaccine.
• We can also help you select the right products to treat your symptoms. Stan and Matthew are always ready to talk with you about the right over the counter products to help you through whatever’s slowing your family down.
• For information about the other vaccines we offer, [Click Here]

Page Contents

• Is it the Flu or a Cold?  What about H1N1
• Three Flavors?! What the Heck?!?
  
• Who should get the Flu shot?
• What complications and risk factors are there for people who get the flu?
• Which OTC (Over The Counter) products can best help relieve symptoms?

See below for our chart to help you with all the questions of flu season.  You can also pick up the handout at the pharmacy next time you stop by.  Click on any item of the page contents to jump down to that section.

Is it Flu?

• Flu is very contagious: close exposure to those diagnosed with flu increases your risk.
• H1N1 (swine flu) is often indistinguishable from the regular seasonal flu.
• Flu vaccine is the best prevention for any type of flu. Good nutrition, rest & hygiene are also key
• Final diagnosis & treatment should be handled by your doctor, if your symptoms become severe

• All colds & most cases of flu (either type) will resolve without medical care or medications: Take care of yourself, avoid infecting others and be patient.
• Flu shots are available at Donlon Healthmart Pharmacy anytime. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost: $25.

Flu Complication Risk Factors

Persons with the following issues are at an increased risk for complications if they get the flu.

• Children under age 5, especially under age 2. Adults age 65 or older
• Pregnant women
• Asthma, COPD or lung disease
• Any neurological or developmental disorder, such as epilepsy, stroke, etc.
• Heart, kidney or liver disease
• Diabetes or other endocrine or metabolic disease
• Any other chronic illness that is debilitating, weakens the immune system, or which could increase the danger of a respiratory problem.

Prevention is more important for these people and medical treatment may be suggested earlier if their flu seems to be worsening.

What do I mean by 3 flavors of Flu Shot?

Starting in 2012, we carry 3 different types of Flu Shot, outlined below.  Good news!  Each of these may be given at the same time you get your Tdap (whooping cough) vaccine or your Shingles vaccine. Ask the pharmacist for more information about these vaccines we also offer here.

Stop by anytime that’s convenient to you: we offer Walk-In Service: no appointment is necessary.

1. Regular Flu Shot goes in the arm muscle and is available to all: this is the one we’re all used to.  Medicare will usually pay 100% of this shot.  A very few private insurance plans give a better copay than our $25 cash price.
2. Intradermal Flu Shot has a very tiny micro-needle that puts the vaccine just under the skin, so it won’t make the muscle sore.  It may still be uncomfortable in the area where it is given.  This vaccine has been shown to be just as effective as the regular shot but it is limited to ages 18 – 64.
3. High-Dose Flu Shot for Seniors is limited to ages 65 & up:

• The High-Dose vaccine contains 4 times as much antigen in order to compensate for the lowered immune response of seniors. Use is restricted to patients age 65 or more.
• It has not yet been fully proven to be more effective than the Regular shot: the extra benefit is still theoretical.  There’s no downside to this shot (unless you have to pay cash for it: it costs more) and many pharmacists expect the research to eventually prove a greater benefit.
• Medicare will usually pay 100% of this shot.
• Note: We are currently out of stock of the High-Dose shot (10/2012): it has been very popular!

Who should get the Flu Shot? (combined seasonal/ H1N1 vaccine)

• Everyone. 2010 CDC recommendations call for all persons aged 6 months or more.
• If age 18 or more, we can administer the flu shot right here at the pharmacy, without a prescription.

People in the following groups are at higher risk and should be first in line:

• Age 50 or older or any child between 6 months and 19 years of age
• Anyone who works or lives with children or with people at risk for complications (see above) or anyone who lives or works in a nursing home
• Health care workers
• Pregnant women
• Those with chronic disorders such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, etc. (See above)

Over The Counter (OTC) products that may provide symptom relief

• Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen for fever, headache, body aches & pains.
• Pseudoephedrine or oxymetazoline spray for nasal or sinus congestion.
• Diphenhydramine may help with runny nose and can help with getting better sleep. Loratadine is a non-drowsy option. Both are antihistamines designed for allergies.
• Guaifenesin can help with chest congestion/ productive cough.
• Dextromethorphan can help suppress persistent daytime coughing.
• Please ask one of our pharmacists for suggestions or assistance anytime.
• If your symptoms become severe, do not hesitate to see a doctor.

photo credit: Hygiene Matters