Dr. Leslie Hodge is our DOZ Show Preferred Guest for this issue of DOZ Magazine. She is a pharmacist and founder of Scripts and Beyond LLC. She successfully earned her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree in 2004 and holds the American Pharmacists Association Certifications in Delivering Medication Therapy Management and Pharmacist-Based Immunization Delivery.
She established her business, Scripts & Beyond LLC, in response to the changing patterns in health care, especially after she observed the devastating effects of people not understanding their medications. She seeks to bridge the gaps in information and understanding and to simplify the complex when it comes to medication lists. She is also a writer and has just released her first book titled, At The End Of The Day: Take It Personally. In this interview, Leslie shares with us her reasons for studying pharmacy and the challenges on her path to achieving her childhood dream.
Read her story and be inspired to pursue your dreams.
Leslie, what was it that attracted you to pharmacy?
That is actually a two-fold answer. I had two experiences that led me to becoming a pharmacist. The first one was actually my neighbour. When I was growing up, my next-door neighbour was a pharmacist, and believe it or not, she was the only person I knew who loved her job. She actually loved it. I remember talking to her as a young child and just really, really being captivated by her description of what she did and just having a love for pharmacy. So, I held onto that for a long time, and then the other side of that is my father was ill while I was growing up. And so, he was on numerous medications, and it was a pharmacist who really helped us manage that and manage his care and manage the medications and how to properly care for him at home. A pharmacist was very instrumental in that care. So, I will say it’s two-fold.
What challenges did you face and overcome to get to where you are now?
I think in college, probably the biggest thing was the transition from high school to college, the workload. And then being a very outgoing person and really having to have the discipline to say no to certain things even though I wanted to do things on a weekend it was – study. It wasn’t always study. But it required a little more study time and a little bit more discipline than some of the other majors that my friends were majoring in. And so, I really had to learn some discipline early on. I like to say that really staying motivated helped because sometimes when you don’t do as well on an exam, or you just feel like, oh my goodness, this is hard, should I just go on and change my major? And all those stuffs went through my head, but I think you have to go back to your passion. I knew I wanted to become a pharmacist, and there was only one way to do that at the time, and that was to push through and stay motivated. So again, I had to go back to discipline. It’s probably the biggest thing that I had to learn and just get over that obstacle of wanting to do what I wanted to do versus what I needed to do. And so I had to learn to do what I needed to do first. And when you do that, then what you want to do can happen. All you have to do is what you need to do. So I had to learn that. That would be my lesson.
Leslie, I understand that you’re the founder and CEO of Scripts and Beyond LLC. What is the vision of this business, and why did you choose to start it?
The vision of it is to help people not only properly manage their medication but either prevent disease development or prevent the progression of it through proper medication management and really help them achieve those health outcomes that they have for themselves or maybe their doctor has given them certain goals or certain points that they want them to reach. So I want to be a part of that equation with them and just really helping people understand their role in their healthcare. I think oftentimes, decisions are made for people and not with people and being able to have that discussion, have those moments, have those interactions, I think are a big key to their overall health improvement and just being properly managed.
Earlier on you talked about your father and his health management and I did wonder if that had influenced you staring Scripts and Beyond.
Absolutely. It’s coupled together because from that experience with my dad and seeing my mum care for him and just having caregivers, I understand first-hand the overwhelming feeling, the need to be included in those discussions with physicians and healthcare providers. I understand that from not only a caregiver aspect but also as a healthcare provider. So I am able to bring both of those experiences, emotional experiences together so that I can be a resource for patients. So, absolutely, I think my sensitivity to that, definitely comes from having to care for my dad and again being a part of that health process for him. Absolutely.
How and why did you pick the name Scripts and Beyond?
Sure. So, scripts is short for prescriptions and so, just a shorter way of saying prescriptions when you think about what your doctor gives you when you leave their office after an appointment. And the beyond part is helping people understand that in order to properly manage your health, it is going to take a lot more than just getting a prescription, or in this case, a script from your doctor. So, the beyond part is the lifestyle changes, keeping your doctor’s appointment, the exercising, the water intake, the getting enough sleep, the following the recommendations for follow-up visits and lab visits, it’s the beyond part. Because I think oftentimes, we are so fixated on, okay, I took my medication, and expecting medication to do everything and do it all. That’s not the case. There are some steps and some intentional efforts that have to be placed on the patients we have, or the clients we have, to ensure they are getting down that road of wellness and being healed and cured or well managed or whatever the case may be. But it’s more than just a prescription or a script. So, that’s the beyond part, the lifestyle changes and having that open communication about that and setting those goals, so they are achieved.
In what ways are you and your business, Scripts and Beyond, making a difference and changing lives?
Oh wow! I like to say it’s coupled with a few things. So, changing lives, going back to including them in the conversation. I know I’ve said that several times but really that’s what it is. Again, so many decisions are made for people, but they’re not made with them. And so with Scripts and Beyond, our approach is focused or built on, I should say, three Rs. And the Rs are Review, Recommend, and Reach. So that’s reviewing the medication regiment. So that means whatever scripts or prescriptions your doctor has given you, any over the counter medications you may be taking, any herbal or supplements you may be taking. Reviewing that and making sure you understand what they’re being used for, what type of side-effects you can expect, what foods to avoid, what other medications to avoid, having that conversation. And then, recommending alternatives and lifestyle changes. Because sometimes, not all of the time, but sometimes, there may be some medications that are safer, there may be some medications that are appropriate that you don’t have to take as frequently, so maybe you’re taking something three times a day there may be an alternative that’s twice a day, right? So that’s an improvement from a patient’s standpoint. And then, reach. So, reaching that health outcome goals that they have set for themselves or maybe their doctor has given them and said I want to see you in six months, and I want your blood pressure to be here, or I want your blood glucose levels to be here, creating a plan, so those goals are met. So, I would like to say, using those three Rs is helping people live longer, live better, live well, improving their quality of life. If it’s not for the patient, then it’s for the caregiver, helping the caregiver understand their role so that that way they’re providing the best care and not just feeling like they are just passing medication. They’re actually involved in the process.
A major part of what you do is helping people understand their medications. How important is this service that you provide? How important is it that people understand their medications?
It’s very important. If you think about the power of medication when not taken correctly, the impact that can have, it can literally be the difference between life and death. And when I say correctly, I don’t mean just taking one a day or two a day. I mean correctly in the sense of, are they avoiding foods that have been known to interact with it? Are they avoiding over the counter medications that have been known to interact with that medication? It’s so important to know not only what you can take with your medications, but what you cannot take with them, what you cannot eat with them. And oftentimes for a lot of patients and clients, it’s, I didn’t know that. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do that. Or maybe they’re suffering or experiencing side effects that they think is another condition, instead of just the side effect and sometimes it can be something as simple as changing the time of day that it’s taken so they won’t have to experience that. So, it’s those types of important facts to know; how to store medication, sometimes we just think you just keep it in a bottle, but what happens if it’s supposed to be refrigerated? Or left in the freezer? Those types of key points can literally be the difference between a medication being effective and not effective. So very important.
What is it that sets you apart from other pharmacists? What makes you unique?
I think you spoke on it earlier; I think my experience caring for my dad makes that unique for me because I have that caregiver view and then I also still work in a retail setting. So I also have the access, and I’m very familiar with trends and what’s being used to treat certain conditions and what’s coming out or I should say being newly released as the medication of choice for certain conditions. So, having access to that makes it unique for me. And then going back to the caregiver. So I think it’s the combination of both, the caregiver view and then the healthcare provider view merging. And then having that access to the guidelines and the up and coming, and having immediate access. And so that can be something that is helpful to people. I think a lot of times when we watch TV, we see all these commercials about what not to take and if you’ve ever taken this what to do. I’m familiar with those; I’m familiar with the plan of action that should be put into place or the steps the patient needs to take if they have been taking that medication. I think that’s what makes me unique.
Leslie, you are also a writer, and you have a new book, titled, At The End Of The Day: Take It Personally. Will you please share with us what this book is about and why you wrote it?
Sure. My pleasure. This book is about taking the promises of God personally. Regardless of how your day goes, whether you experience triumphs or defeats, at the end of the day, whatever happens, take it personally because it’s all a part of God’s plan for your life. And the book is, I would say, a combination of journal entries I made over the last 15 plus years. I put them in a book, and I put a scripture with the story that I included in the book to show you that even though the day did not go the way I wanted it to go, it was all part of God’s plan. And then there’s a question for the reader to answer as well and it refers to them. So, it’s not just, read Leslie’s story; but read Leslie’s story, read God’s word, now apply it to your life and see just how God has orchestrated things personally for you. So, I want people to grow closer to Christ. I want them to see Christ, like never before. That’s the goal.
Thank you, Leslie. How can people contact you?
Sure. You can visit my website www.drlesliehodge.com, or you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram @DrLeslieHodge.
