A grant of $75,000 will fund the establishment of four medication access sites in Tennessee, including one in Chattanooga, that will dispense free prescriptions to patients who can’t afford their drugs.
At a Wednesday news conference, the money from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s nonprofit health foundation went to the Dispensary of Hope, a Nashville-based nonprofit organization. The group collects and inventories medicines donated by drug companies and doctors and gives them to patients through a network of sites in 12 states.
The four Tennessee sites, including one now planned at Memorial Hospital, will expand access to medications that can be vital to ensuring that patients recover fully after hospital discharge, said Jim Hobson, Memorial CEO.
“This is about making sure we get the optimal outcome and success when taking care of patients,” he said. “Having access to post-discharge medications is oftentimes an important part of that care.”
Missing out on maintenance drugs means patients, particularly those with chronic illnesses, often end up right back in the health care system, BlueCross BlueShield CEO Vicky Gregg said at the news conference.
“When people don’t have access to the care they need, and particularly medications, they get sick,” she said. “We find them in the emergency room, and they end up in a much worse state than they would have if they simply had the care they needed to start with.”
PDF: 2010 Drug FormularyFINANCIAL QUALIFICATIONSTo qualify for free medicines through Dispensary of Hope, a patient must be uninsured and earn no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $44,100 for a family of four.ON THE WEBwww.dispensaryofhope.org
More than 1.7 million people in Tennessee are uninsured, said Jason Dinger, CEO of Dispensary of Hope, which has 26 sites in Tennessee. Over the last year, the group has provided more than 100,000 free prescriptions, he said.
The satellite sites for the organization all are licensed to dispense medications and usually are free clinics or other providers already working with patients who can’t afford their medications, he said.