Pharmacy In Planning For Indigent

Diabetes. Bipolar disorder. Arthritis. If you have a chronic illness but no money for medicine, where do you go?

That’s what Jamie Rogers is trying to figure out. She researched indigent pharmacy programs for Sacred Heart Medical Center. Now she’s drumming up support for Spokane’s first community-wide indigent pharmacy program.

“It’s something that health care providers have been talking about for years,” she says.

Public clinics provide many medical services to uninsured and low-income people. But low-cost health care often is not enough.

“They don’t have jobs. They live under a bridge or in transitional housing … Many of these people are not funded for the medications they need,” says Dr. Fred Price, a public health physician. According to Price, the indigent population lacks pharmacy services for a variety of medical concerns.

“If they can get the medication, their illnesses won’t progress to the acute state,” Rogers adds.

With the help of pharmacist Kim Hunter, Rogers organized a brainstorming luncheon last month to figure out what it will take to get the pharmacy up and running.

Compiling a list of services already available is the first order of business. Determining exactly who the pharmacy will serve is also important.

Deaconess Medical Center offered a building downtown that could house the pharmacy. People working on the project question whether a different location would be better, or if the pharmacy should be mobile. They are also trying to decipher what medications to offer, and find pharmaceutical companies to support the effort.

Before the pharmacy opens, it needs doctors to contribute medication samples and volunteer pharmacists and students who can staff it.

Rogers says community involvement can make this project a surefire success. “We need human and financial resources,” she says.

If you can help with the evolution of Spokane’s first indigent pharmacy program, call Jamie Rogers at 626-4518 or Kim Hunter at 458-7450, ext. 3025.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: Inspired by the Spokane County Health Improvement Partnership, Discoveries highlights people making a difference. If you have a discovery that deserves recognition, write to: Elana Jefferson, Editorial Department, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201.