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Medicines and costs: the slides.

A 14-slide deck with speaker notes, for a 60-minute session. Present it from this page, or print it to PDF with one slide per page. The run sheet says when to show each slide.

While presenting: → or Space next, ← back, Home and End, S speaker notes, F full screen, Esc to stop.

Moraph for Good · Reach

Medicines and costs

A Reach session from Moraph for Good

A free session kit · moraph.org/commons/sessions/reach/medicines-and-costs

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Speaker notes

Welcome everyone. Say this one-hour session is about the cost of medicines and the questions to ask, not about which medicines to take.

Before we start

How today works

  • General information, not medical advice
  • Nobody will be asked what they take or pay
  • Decisions about medicines stay with you and your prescriber
  • Take-home handout for where you live

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Speaker notes

If someone starts asking about their own medicine, thank them and suggest they ask their pharmacist.

Generics

What a generic medicine is

  • Same active ingredient as the brand-name medicine
  • Same strength and the same way of taking it
  • Must meet the regulator’s quality standards
  • Fillers and coloring may differ

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Speaker notes

The country block has the regulator’s own wording for where you live.

Why it costs less

Generic makers don’t repeat the original research, and competition tends to bring prices down.

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Speaker notes

That is why generics are usually cheaper, not because they are lower quality.

A made-up example

Same ingredient, different price

  • Say a brand-name medicine costs 40 for a month
  • Say a generic with the same ingredient costs 10
  • Over a year that difference adds up
  • Ask whether a generic exists and suits you

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Speaker notes

These numbers are invented and in no currency. Real prices depend on where you live and how you pay.

At the appointment

Questions for the prescriber

  • Is there a generic or lower-cost option that would suit me?
  • Is this covered by my public program or plan?
  • Is there anything I should know if I can’t afford it?
  • How long will I need it?

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Speaker notes

Encourage people to ask before leaving the appointment, when it is easiest to change the prescription.

At the pharmacy

Questions for the pharmacist

  • What will this cost me before you fill it?
  • Is there a generic or another brand that costs less?
  • Is there public help or an exemption I might qualify for?
  • Why does this look different from last time?

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Speaker notes

Pharmacists can often answer cost questions on the spot and advise free on many everyday questions.

Activity

Try it: the cost conversation

  1. Pairs: one collects a new prescription, one plays the pharmacist
  2. The price is more than expected (a made-up situation)
  3. Use the script on worksheet exercise 1
  4. Swap after five minutes

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Speaker notes

Remind people not to use their own medicines or figures.

After the role-play

Pick your two best questions

  • Circle the two you would really use
  • Add one question of your own
  • Keep the sheet with your prescriptions

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Speaker notes

Then run the debrief questions from the kit.

Help exists

If you can’t afford a medicine, say so before you stop taking it.

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Speaker notes

Skipping doses without telling anyone can be dangerous. There may be a cheaper option or public help.

Where to look

Kinds of help with medicine costs

  • Public drug programs and subsidies
  • Exemptions, caps or safety nets for people who need many medicines
  • Help for people on low incomes
  • Your handout lists the official ones where you live

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Speaker notes

Walk through the country block now. Don’t recommend any commercial discount scheme.

Buying online

Warning signs of an unsafe seller

  • Sells prescription medicines without a prescription
  • Offers a prescription from an online questionnaire alone
  • Prices that seem too good to be true
  • No street address, phone number or license details

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Speaker notes

These come from regulators’ guidance. The country block says how to check a pharmacy is licensed.

Stay safe

Before you buy

  • Check the pharmacy is licensed where it operates
  • Only take medicines prescribed for you
  • Tell your pharmacist about everything you take, including vitamins

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Speaker notes

Mention that fake medicines can contain the wrong ingredient or none at all.

Thank you

Questions?

  • Ask about cost at the appointment and at the pharmacy
  • Check the official help on your handout
  • Talk to your prescriber or pharmacist before changing anything

This kit, the worksheet and the handouts: moraph.org/commons/sessions/reach/medicines-and-costs

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Speaker notes

Take questions. Thank the host. Remind people the question script on the worksheet is theirs to keep.