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Thanks to assistance from
Health Kentucky and various drug manufacturers
thousands of patients at the University
Hospital are able to obtain much needed
medications, free of charge. Last year Health
Kentucky Trust provided 3.4 million dollars
worth of drugs to indigent patients in Kentucky.
The University of Louisville handled over
10,000 claims, more than anyone else in
the state with a value of over 1 million
dollars to the community.
At UofL HealthCare, University
Hospital serves a diverse population, many
of which are uninsured or underinsured.
It is the primary adult teaching hospital
for the UofL School of Medicine and is located
in the heart of downtown Louisville. Our
main focus is in training the next generation
of healthcare professionals. Since our beginning,
University Hospital has provided many inpatient
and outpatient services and created dozens
of resource centers to help our patients.
We have also responded to the community's
need for high-quality healthcare by instituting
relationships similar to the one we have
with Health Kentucky.
Health Kentucky is a privately
funded, non-profit organization that has
offered services available statewide since
1984. Health Kentucky has coordinated access
to free health care for more than 34,000
Kentuckians this year who live below the
poverty level, do not qualify for government
programs and cannot afford health insurance.
Once a person is approved, he or she has
access to Health Kentucky's entire network
of volunteer health care providers and remains
eligible for one year. This network includes
over 2,000 physicians, 145 dentists, over
500 pharmacies, and all 127 acute-care hospitals
in Kentucky and every home health agency
and hospice in the state.
Currently, seven drug manufacturers-Abbott
Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson
& Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Pharmacia
and Merck- have joined with Health Kentucky
in providing their portfolio of medications
to eligible patients. The program establishes
agreements with drug manufacturers to provide
specific medications to pharmacies to dispense
free of charge to qualifying patients. Manufacturers
restock the pharmacy with drugs that are
distributed through the program. The medications
provided through Health Kentucky are 100
percent brand name drugs. The drugs are
free of charge, and the pharmacy provides
the labor to process and fill the prescriptions.
As the Administrative Director
of Product Resource Management at University
Hospital I expect the overall prescription
volume to increase by about 10 percent in
2003. The expense of the program is far
less costly than not offering it to the
patients. It will be a cost savings in the
long term. By providing medication that
would otherwise be unavailable, along with
our pharmacist counseling, the patient has
a greater likelihood of compliance. This
decreases the chance of being hospitalized
which in itself is a cost savings. We are
happy to be a part of Health Kentucky and
look forward to promoting the benefits to
other organizations.
Don B. Kupper, R.Ph., M.B.A.
Administrative Director, Product Resource
Management
UofL HealthCare
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