40 Years of Patients by Diplomat

40 YEARS OF PATIENTS.

“Take good care of patients and the rest falls into place.” —DALE HAGERMAN, DIPLOMAT CO-FOUNDER

Our patients. They are why we come to work every day, and why we dedicate ourselves to their journeys. Every day, patients face a struggle, a battle, a chronic condition. And every day, they rise to the challenge—often with grace, courage and a passion for life. They are why we began 40 years ago, and why we’ll continue for decades to come. We won’t stop because our patients won’t stop. And we’ll be right here, every step of the way.

“I am an athlete first and foremost and not defined by my illness.” —VICKI, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS PATIENT

ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR OUR PATIENTS. ALWAYS.

A 33-year-old patient diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had an issue. His insurance said they wouldn’t cover the $10,000 medication, and there was no option of prior authorization. The patient had been sent to the manufacturer but denied, due to the household income being too high. The patient was distraught—he couldn’t afford $10,000 a month. Diplomat’s Melissa Evans inquired if there was anything further we could do, and asked our Prior Authorization Team if they could double-check with the insurance. They took that patient from the funding specialist as their own and teamed up with a prior authorization specialist to fix the script for the insurance to consider coverage. In the end, the insurance covered the medication, leaving a $50 copay for the patient. The funding specialist then added a copay card and brought the copay down to $25. The patient was overwhelmed with joy. Pancreatic cancer is usually a bad prognosis with short expectancy, but we may have just given this family a few more months with a loved one. That’s the Diplomat Difference.

—DIPLOMAT EMPLOYEE

“I finally found a treatment that works. I know the Diplomat Difference.” — JACQUELINE, PSORIASIS PATIENT

“Diplomat cares—they make sure the customer is happy and taken care of. You are not just a number or an email; it’s the personal service that makes the difference.” —JEWELLS, A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

40 YEARS OF MAKING A DIFFERENCE

“The people at Diplomat—they’re tremendous. From the first day I was introduced, the professionalism that they gave me was outstanding.” —JOHN, A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

“I would highly recommend Diplomat as a specialty pharmacy. They are more efficient and more prompt than my old pharmacy, and I’m glad I made the switch.” —DIPLOMAT PATIENT

“I never dreamed such help was available.” —C.P., A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

“Since being regular with my meds, my numbers have gone up almost 200 points. Thanks, Diplomat.” —PATIENT RESPONSE TO DIPLOMAT SURVEY

“I’m a very hard guy to impress. I am extremely impressed with Diplomat. They call themselves partners. I call them family.” — JAY, CANCER PATIENT

DIPLOMAT STORY

A five-year-old boy living with severe hemophilia had just spent the last five days in the hospital, recovering from his second surgery that month, to replace his port catheter. The family got the green light to go home and was discharged. The month preceding this surgery had been a very emotional one for this family, filled with highs and lows, worries, anxiety, uncertainty about factor levels and a possible inhibitor. So when they received the news that he was finally able to go home, they were beyond ecstatic. The rigorous home treatment plan that the doctors had given him was going to require twice as much clotting factor he normally received, infusing twice a day, for seven days straight. So a large prescription needed to be filled immediately. This family, like most of AHF’s families, has a very close relationship with their client relations advisor; theirs was a woman named Lianne Lapierre. Normally, a quick phone call to Lianne, and an updated faxed-in prescription from their hematologist, was their usual way of getting more factor. But since Lianne was already at the hospital with them the day they were released, Lianne called AHF’s pharmacist Jeff to let him know that a large factor order would need to be shipped out to this family first-thing Monday morning, for overnight delivery on Tuesday. Lianne helped the family pack up their hospital room, and load their car for their hour-long drive home. She then proceeded to drive back to her own house, three hours in the opposite direction.

That evening, weather stations from Connecticut to northern Maine were reporting a large snow storm that would be starting early Monday, and not letting up until sometime Thursday. And by Monday morning, it was apparent that no delivery service would be able to get ANY overnight shipments out of the Enfield area. By 9:00 Monday morning, with an impending snow storm only hours away, Lianne was already in her car, driving southbound to Portland, Maine (a five-hour drive), to meet Joel Budd, another AHF employee, who was driving five hours northbound, to personally deliver this five-year-old’s life-saving clotting medication. This medication was needed to keep post-surgery bleeding under control. Once Joel handed over the order, complete with factor and all necessary supplies, to Lianne, she then drove another three hours north, to the family’s home, to personally deliver their shipment. By 6:00 Monday evening, roughly 24 hours after their discharge from the hospital, not only did they receive their son’s medication, with snow falling all around them, but they received it with a warm smile and hot cocoa and the helpful support from Lianne. The next morning, Lianne woke up to the following email from the boy’s mother: “Every day, AHF proves to be the right choice for our family. We had other home care companies to choose from and AHF has just been so good. I just couldn’t imagine doing any of this without them.”

“I made the decision to live, and I will keep doing my best to stay that way.” — VALERIE, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENT

I would be happy to be your “poster child” for any future promotional activities MedPro Rx may undertake. That is the least I can do to repay you for your efforts on my behalf.” —MEDPRO RX PATIENT

40 YEARS OF MAKING A DIFFERENCE

“I don’t miss any of my medications now—I used to miss about half of my A.M doses.” —JOHN, A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

“The patient care coordinator I spoke with was wonderful. She walked me through the process and made sure I understood what to expect from your service and the medical side of my treatment as well. I could look forward to receiving phone calls . . . just to check and see how I was” —P.F., A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

“I know that as receptionists and customer service you don’t get accolades that you so richly deserve, but everybody in the refill department, the pharmacy, you guys are just absolutely wonderful.” —T.H., A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

“My myeloma is in complete remission, thanks in part to you folks. You are making a difference in helping people to beat this disease and have full, happy and productive lives.” —D.M., A DIPLOMAT PATIENT

DIPLOMAT STORY

Diplomat received a call from a patient stating that they needed to start their medications and wanted to pick them up that day at the Flint Pharmacy. It was noted that the medication would be available after 2pm; however, Diplomat received a call from the Flint Pharmacy stating that the patient had arrived to the store at 12pm to pick up their medication. Roxanne picked up the medications and personally delivered them to the Flint Pharmacy so the patient would not have to return later that same day. This is a reminder that it’s the small things that make a huge impact on someone.

—ROXANNE MCFALL BAM WINNER

“Diplomat cares—they make sure the customer is happy and taken care of. You are not just a number or an email; it’s the personal service that makes the difference.” — J EWELLS, MULTIPLE MYELOMA PATIENT

“From the first day that I was introduced and made contact. the professionalism that they gave me was outstanding. I felt that people generally cared about my situation. They were proactive. They had everything set up. They did most of the leg work and came to my home.” — J OHN, CIDP PATIENT

DIPLOMAT STORY

One employee saved my life at work. I had just come back from lunch, and one of my other co-workers offered me jelly beans. I ate a few, and on the third one, I started to choke. I couldn’t breathe. Luckily this person, Jessi, was working nearby. She recently passed the exam to become an RN, so knew how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think that I would be around to be writing this. She is an all-around great person to work with, always has an upbeat attitude and is always willing to help. Diplomat should be very proud that we have people like Jessi on our staff.

—DIPLOMAT EMPLOYEE

“When I think of Diplomat Pharmacy, I think of three words: service and quality and commitment. Their service is firstrate. Timely delivery of a person´s critical medication brings peace of mind and saves multiple trips out of the house. This not only saves time, but also money for the patient. Diplomat´s quality is beyond question.” — M AURIE, KIDNEY TRANSPLANT PATIENT

“I have been married for 52 years. I have 14 grandchildren. I am a breast cancer survivor. I believe prayers are answered. I know the Diplomat Difference. — L INDA, DIPLOMAT PATIENT

DIPLOMAT STORY

We were presented with a patient living in Thailand (her husband was involved with the military). Because we do not usually ship outside the country, we were forced to think outside the box to take care of the patient and make sure she could receive her medication. One employee worked with her to formulate a plan: We would ship it to her APO box (her military PO box), at which point the postal service would take over and deliver the package to a military base in Thailand. The medication made it to the APO box in California as scheduled, but after a week, the patient still hadn’t received her treatment. Even though we were no longer legally or financially responsible for the package, this employee continued working closely with the patient. They were able to locate the package in Bangkok, and the patient was able to take a 9-hour train ride and pick up her meds at a government facility. The employee went above and beyond to care for the patient and made a great impression on the patient and her health plan. They have truly exemplified the Diplomat brand. In the patient’s words, “I cannot thank you enough for all your help.”

—DIPLOMAT EMPLOYEE

The next 40 years. They will be like the first 40: a collection of stories. Stories of triumph. Stories of help. Stories of small heroic acts happening daily. Stories of health and wellness. In the end, that is what Diplomat is and what it has always been: a collection of very human stories. We salute our patients and all your stories over the last four decades. We are honored and humbled to have been able to play a part in them.

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