161 - My Loss Is Your Gain! How Drug Repository Programs Are Helping Patients Afford High-cost Medications

HelixTalk - Rosalind Franklin University's College of Pharmacy Podcast

In this episode, we interview Dr. Shannon Rotolo and Dr. Alex Berce regarding Illinois and Wisconsin drug repository programs – these are programs that allow certain medications to be donated to participating sites and then redistributed to patients at a very low dispensing cost.

Key Concepts

1. Drug repository programs allow participating sites to accept certain donated medications and redistribute these medications to needy patients at a very low dispensing cost.
2. Drug repository programs are regulated by state law and the specifics of the process do vary by state. In Illinois and Wisconsin, donated medications must be in their original containers with tamper-evident packaging, cannot be controlled substances, and must have a 90-day expiration window at the time of donation.
3. Pharmacists can play an important role in advocating for patients and the profession of pharmacy. The involvement of pharmacists in legislation is critical to make sure that new laws are actually “functional” and can achieve their intended purpose.

References

• Illinois Prescription Drug Repository Program. https://www.ilrxdrugrepository.org/
• Illinois General Assembly - Illinois Drug Reuse Opportunity Program Act. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=4192&ChapterID=35
• Wisconsin Drug Repository Program. https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/guide/cancer-drugrepo.htm
• Wisconsin State Legislature - Drug Repository Program. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/dhs/110/148
• State Prescription Drug Repository Programs. National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-prescription-drug-return-reuse-and-recycling.aspx

For additional information about our guests, contact Dr. Shannon Rotolo at [e-mail] or Dr. Alex Berce at [e-mail].