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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 27, 2006 Shannon Hickman, a psychiatric nurse for Jackson County, is one of many mental health workers frustrated by the Medicare prescription drug program�s inability to provide medication for some Jackson County residents who are struggling with mental illness. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell ‘Catastrophic failure’ Troubles with new Medicare program put local mental-health clients at risk, county workers say By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Shannon Hickman will be glad to see January slip away. The first month of Medicare’s new prescription drug program has been a struggle for Hickman and her colleagues at Jackson County Mental Health Services. Many of their clients have had prescriptions denied because pharmacies had no record of their enrollment. Others have been required to pay large cash deductibles to acquire the drugs they need to live independently. The system’s failures make life particularly difficult for people who are struggling with depression, schizophrenia and other severe disorders, said Hickman, a psychiatric nurse. "It’s especially frustrating because a large number of our clients are so impaired," she said. "Most of them can’t advocate for themselves. They rely on us to do their advocating and make things work." Advertisement The county’s mental health staff serve about 1,800 people. The Medicare program was designed predominantly for seniors, but it also provides drugs for many younger people who are poor or disabled. State and federal promises last week to provide emergency 30-day drug supplies for people in need haven’t yet translated into quicker solutions for individual clients’ problems, said Lynette Van Dusen, one of the case managers who has been helping people try to get their drugs. "I’ve sat on the phone for two hours waiting to ask someone to fax me a form," Van Dusen said. "Sometimes it takes days to try and get something resolved," said Glenda Crenshaw, another case manager. "The person you’re talking to on the phone doesn’t always really know what’s going on." Hickman said some prescriptions for the most powerful anti-psychotic drugs have been denied to people who have been using them for years. "You can’t just stop taking them," she said, noting that correct dosages have to be carefully calculated over a period of days. Hickman said nurses have already given away most of their sample drugs to people who needed medication. Now they’re trying to switch people to drugs they still have to keep them from going entirely without medication. State officials say they’re trying to help. Oregon has set up a toll-free hotline (877-585-0007) for people who have can’t get their drugs. "If somebody’s in crisis they need to call us right away and not wait," said JaneEllen Weidanz, the Department of Human Services project manager for the Medicare drug program (formally known as the Medicare Modernization Act). Weidanz said about 2,500 people have called the hotline since it was activated, and DHS has been able to get medicine for abut 1,800 people so far. "We’re getting through the cases as fast as we can," Weidanz said. Weidanz said the system’s "catastrophic failure" could be traced in part to federal officials’ failure to anticipate the volume of computer traffic it would generate. "Everything in this system was dependent on computers talking to each other," she said, "but there wasn’t enough bandwidth." Insurance companies that have loaded inaccurate data into their computers have created additional obstacles, she said. "Getting the system up to speed and getting the pharmacies up to speed is much more (work) than we ever imagined." For local mental-health workers, the new drug program is the latest in a series of frustrations brought on by budget cutbacks, staff reductions and more requests for services. "I’ve worked here since 1998, and every couple of years we have some sort of crisis," Hackett said. "This is the most helpless we’ve felt." Whether February will bring better days remains to be seen. Weidanz said she hopes to see some of the basic problems resolved within the next two weeks. "People (in need) are going to need strong advocates to help them through these times." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail �Catastrophic failure� ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement