Ohio hospital offers unused drugs to poor patients

[The Straight Story]

Ohio hospital offers unused drugs to poor patients

OBERLIN, Ohio (AP) -- Low-income patients at one northern Ohio hospital soon will be able to save hundreds of dollars on prescription medicine thanks to donations from nursing homes.

The pilot program will provide medicines that can cost hundreds of dollars for a 90-day supply for just $13.

The medications could be for diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure or other illnesses for patients at Allen Memorial Hospital. Until now, free medicines have been handed out through county programs, not hospitals.

"They are very excited about it," said Tanas Wilcox of the Lorain County General Health District. "We want to start small and expand it in other parts of the county."

Patients who can't afford the $13 won't be denied the medication, Wilcox said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OH_DONATED_MEDICATIONS_OHOL-?SITE=WBNSTV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Olney Blue]

1. This is very interesting...l hope this program succeeds!

[Rick Myers]

2. That's interesting...

When my mom passed away last September we called hospice and were told they couldn't take any meds due to prescriptions, etc....

They did take bandages and other medical hardware that was still sealed in packages...

[sandnsea]

5. My mom too

She had had a transplant and had thousands of dollars of medication. I don't know whatever happened to them. My cousin is a nurse and thought she might be able to get them to some people, but probably would have been in huge trouble if caught. It's really a shame.

[Warpy]

7. The hospice nurse when my mother died was delighted

to have another RN (me) present when we flushed the drugs.

I didn't regret the narcs at all, but I really wished the very expensive antidepressant and antidiabetic medicines could have been recycled somehow.

She did, too, but the law was specific and favored the drug companies.

[Donnachaidh]

3. watch big pharma go apeshit over this humanitarian effort

Hey now -- you're f*cking with their profit margins! Can't do THAT.

There was a study recently that brought up the fact of prescription drugs being found in the environment, because people are taught to flush drugs rather than keep them around. Wouldn't it be nice if there could be some form of recycling of un-used drugs - so that the poor could actually get help?

[Richard Steele]

6. You know it. nm

[Auggie]

8. Just big pharmaceuticals? What about the government officials they own?

[angrycarpenter]

4. mom is a nurse

they have always flushed the extras. I thought it was a tragedy back when I was a teen Stupidly experimenting with drugs.

[BrotherBuzz]

9. My oncologist's office does it on the quiet

Some of us have moved past certain drugs and have a supply left. My doctor's RN collects and redistributes then to people that are strapped and need them. Only restriction is that the prescription has to originate from his office, and still have an active shelf life. I don't think it is legal, but it is most certainly moral, and I applaud it, especially when some of the damn pills exceed 40 dollars a pop.

[Rick Myers]

10. I think that's great...

The amount of those high-end drugs that get tossed is worth millions, and people can use them if someone can get them to those in need...