Effect of a pharmacist-run call center on medication access for ambulatory care patients

Abstract

An outreach program created to assist an outpatient hospital pharmacy with helping patients unable to afford the cost of prescriptions and to increase patient access to medications is described. The MassMedLine pharmacy outreach program operates as a pharmacist-run call center that provides Massachusetts residents with information about appropriate medication assistance programs based on each patient's needs. A collaboration between the UMass Memorial Medical Center outpatient pharmacy and MassMedLine was established to help outpatient pharmacy patients afford needed medications and educate the outpatient pharmacy staff about the various medication assistance programs available. In this collaboration, MassMedLine's goals were to identify patients needing assistance with access to medications, develop a process to ensure that these patients received information on all eligible programs, follow up with patients to obtain feedback on recommendations, and determine the cost savings to the outpatient pharmacy for patients no longer relying on the "goodwill" stock supply. According to data collected between July 9, 2007, and November 9, 2007, MassMedLine staff found that 43 patients taking a total of 174 long-term medications were appropriately enrolled and benefiting from long-term prescription coverage programs. According to the outpatient pharmacy, the average price for a one-month supply of a dispensed prescription is $66.87. With this information and the confirmation of successful enrollments, the cost saving obtained through the MassMedLine program was estimated to be $139,629 per year. The collaboration between the MassMedLine outreach program and the outpatient pharmacy at a teaching hospital provided patients with long-term solutions for accessing and affording prescribed medications.