For members of BMC HealthNet Plan BMCHP.org Check it out now In October, the Plan relaunched its Web site, www.bmchp.org. If you haven’t visited recently, please come by for a look. The new site is better organized and easier to navigate so you can find just what you’re looking for. There is important information, and there are documents like your Member Handbook and Covered Services List. You can also order a member ID card and find answers to questions you may have about the Plan. Keep checking our Web site as we add even more features and information, including the ability to search for providers in your area. February 2007 Prescription drug errors: here's how to avoid them A bout one and a half million people in the United States are hurt by preventable drug mistakes each year. • Ask your doctor or the pharmacist about the side effects of the drug and what you should do if you have side effects. Here’s what you can do to help prevent drug errors: • Keep a list of prescriptions, over-thecounter drugs, vitamins and supplements you take, and bring the list every time you visit any doctor. Also, keep a list of any food or drug allergies you may have. • Check the label! Make sure that the drug name, amount and dosage given to you by the pharmacy is the same as what your doctor prescribed. If a medication you have taken before looks different in any way, speak with your pharmacist right away. • Ask your doctor to write down the brand name and generic names of medications he or she is prescribing for you. Remember to ask if a new prescription replaces any of your current medications. If you’re ever in doubt about any drug you’re taking, always call your doctor. Talking to your doctor before, during and after your regular visits can help prevent these harmful drug errors from happening. continued on page 2 1 Prescription drug errors continued from page 1 Your Frequently Asked Questions What do I do if my name is misspelled on my ID card? When you get your BMC HealthNet Plan ID card in the mail, make sure your name appears correctly. If there’s something wrong, call the Member Services Call Center. They can have a new ID card with the correct information sent to you. Do I need to notify you of my new address? Yes. It’s very important that you let us know whenever information about you changes. Please call BMC HealthNet Plan’s Member Services Call Center when you move or change your phone number. You also need to tell MassHealth your new address. You could lose your eligibility if MassHealth does not have your current address. You can call MassHealth at 1-800-841-2900. BMC HealthNet Plan's Member Services Call Center: 1-888-566-0010 REMINDERS ABOUT BMC HEALTHNET PLAN MEMBER BENEFITS We are providing the following information to help explain benefit changes that took effect July 1, 2006. • MassHealth CommonHealth members who are under 21 years old are eligible for EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment) services. 2 • MassHealth Standard members are eligible for non-emergent transportation (outside a 50-mile radius of the MA border). Family Assistance and Basic members are not eligible for this benefit. • As part of the tobacco cessation benefit, all MassHealth members are allowed a total of 16 individual or group counseling sessions (or any combination of the two) over a 12-month period. For more information on prescription errors, the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors has brochures available in both English and Spanish. You can view them at the following addresses: www.macoalition.org/documents/ ConsumerGuide.pdf www.macoalition.org/documents/ ConsumerGuide_Spanish.pdf Your Pharmacy Benef its BMC HealthNet Plan members are covered in full for prescriptions written by their doctor. You can have your prescriptions filled at more than 1,000 pharmacies in our network all over Massachusetts, including all the major pharmacy chain stores. To search for a pharmacy in your area, visit our Web site, www.bmchp.org. You can also call our Member Services Call Center. Members pay small copayments at the pharmacy when they get prescriptions filled. The copays are just $3 for covered brand-name prescription medications and $1 for covered generic prescription medications. You also pay $1 for certain over-the-counter products with a prescription from your doctor. These copays are for first-time prescriptions and refills. For a list of the covered over-the-counter products visit our Web site at www.bmchp.org/pages/ pharmacy_home.aspx. HPV Vaccine Can Prevent Cervical Cancer Lead poisoning: what parents need to know Lead dust and lead paint in older homes can poison young children. Lead dust is caused when lead paint peels and cracks. It can also come from opening old windows or doing repair work to older homes. The dust can get on your child’s toys and the floor where your child crawls. Lead can also be found in water and soil and even toy jewelry. Children can breathe in lead dust and become sick. Make sure they get tested Children should be tested for lead at ages 1, 2, 3, and even 4 years, depending on where you live. If you have a young child, talk to your doctor about having your child tested for lead. You can protect your child against lead poisoning by making sure he or she is eating healthy foods, with calcium, iron and vitamin C. Also, make sure you wash your child’s hands often and clean off their toys. More Information BMC HealthNet Plan recently sent out brochures about lead poisoning to members with young children who may need to be tested for lead. These brochures were created by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP). To print a copy of the brochure go to BMC HealthNet Plan’s Web site, www.bmchp.org. You’ll find the brochure on the Personal Health Programs page. Make sure your toddler is eating right continued from page 4 new foods. If you’re having that problem, offer your child two choices and ask him or her to pick one. If your toddler chooses not to eat, then he or she may be more hungry at the next scheduled snack or meal—and more willing to try something new. Children learn by example. So it is important for parents to eat nutritional foods too. Keep offering new foods -- don’t give up. What if your child doesn’t eat a balanced diet each day? Most kids don't eat a balanced diet every day. Watch your A new vaccine has been approved for females ages 9-26 to help prevent cervical cancer. This vaccine is called the HPV vaccine or Gardisil. This vaccine helps protect women against the HPV virus that causes seven out of every 10 cases of cervical cancer. The vaccine is most effective when given to females before they become sexually active because they have not been exposed to any of the four types of HPV that are in the vaccine. It is given in three shots over a six month period. BMC HealthNet Plan covers the HPV vaccine. For more information about the vaccine, talk with your physician, your child’s pediatrician or family practitioner. You can get more information on preventing lead poisoning by calling CLPPP at 1-800-532-9571 or through their Web site, www.mass.gov/dph/clppp. child’s diet over a week or two. It may help to write down what your child eats each day to see if he or she is getting enough different foods. Talk to your child’s doctor about healthy eating. Tell the doctor about what your child eats and ask for ideas on nutrition. 3 NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO. 56027 Two Copley Place Suite 600 Boston, MA 02116 Make sure your toddler is eating right Lead Poisoning: What Parents Need to Know page 1 page 3 Boston Area Main Office: Two Copley Place Suite 600 Boston, MA 02116 Western Massachusetts Regional Office: 354 Birnie Avenue, 3rd Floor Springfield, MA 01107 Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Office: Bourne Counting House One Merrill's Wharf New Bedford, MA 02740 Berkshire Regional Office: 66 West Street, Suite 205 Pittsfield, MA 01201 www.bmchp.org What foods should you feed your child? A healthy diet is rich in grains (like cereals and whole wheat breads), vegetables, fruits, milk/dairy, meats and proteins, and a limited amount of fats and sweets. A common mistake that parents make is giving their children too much juice or milk and not enough solid foods. Four cups of milk and three cups of juice per day can add up to 1,350 calories. That’s more calories than your child should have in a day and they haven’t eaten anything solid yet! What if your child doesn’t like a lot of foods? Toddlers can be fussy about the foods they eat. It may be hard to teach them to eat the right foods or have them try continued on page 3 Este boletín de noticias esta disponible en español. Si usted quisiera una copia de la traduccion en español, llame el Centro de Llamada de Servicio de Miembros al 1-888-566-0012. 02/07 98.1M Prescription Drug Errors Eating a healthy diet is important for all of us. For young children, helping them eat nutritional foods will teach them to eat healthy throughout their lives.