2007 Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Award           Lutheran Magazine Article             Informative PowerPoint presentation:  Click here

Prescription Medication Cost Assistance Options 2009                                                                   

                                                                            2009 Fact SheetI

Hours of Operation:  8:30 AM to 4:30 PM;  Monday through Friday
Location:  HCMAP (Patient care office is located in Hunterdon Medical Center in the Patient Accounts Area off the Main Lobby)
Mailing Address:  P.O. Box 2156, Flemington, NJ
Paid Employees:  2 Nurse Educators 40 hours per week, 1 retired nurse volunteer and 20 other community volunteers that act as a steering committee

 

Credentials of Key people 

• Karen Kallens RN,  is a licensed nurse in New Jersey
• Mary Zetterstrom, RN is a licensed nurse in New Jersey 
• Terry Shlimbaum, MD who oversees her activities is a licensed physician, Medical Director, Phillips Barber and Delaware Valley Family Health Centers. 
• Mark Peters, PharmD who is one of the lead volunteers for HCMAP is a licensed NJ pharmacist
• Mark Summer, PhD is a one of the lead volunteers of HCMAP is the Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Oldwick.
• Carolyn Swithers, RN is the Director of the Diabetes Health Center for Hunterdon Healthcare System and provides consultative services to the program and is a key HCMAP volunteer.

Lead Agency is Institute for Medication Access and Compliance:
501 (3) C Status:    The initial funding for HCMAP was provided by the Institute for Medication Access and Compliance (IMAAC) which is a 501c3.   Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership is a service of IMAAC and operates under IMAAC's 501c3.

Program Operation:

• Patients in need of prescription medicine assistance are referred to the nurse from a number of different sources including but not limited to

• Community (congregations)
• Hospital Emergency Department
• Hospital owned physician practices
• Physician offices
• Pharmacies
• County Social Services
• County Health Department

• The nurse sets up a visits with the patient to assess the specific medication, and education needs of the patient, collects pertinent demographic (i.e. medication allergies, intolerances) and economic data (required for the Pharmaceutical company patient assistance forms).
• The nurse also provides health and/or disease information and helps to insure that the transitions of care occur smoothly (i.e. medication reconciliation).
• The nurse fills out the forms using a number of different programs.  The forms are then signed by the patient and the physician and mailed/faxed to the respective company.
• If the application is approved for free medicine the company sends the medicine either to the physician's office (majority of cases) or directly to the patient.  This process can take 2 to 6 weeks.
• The nurse then follows up with the patient to insure the medication was received, that the patient understands how to take the medicine, reviews how the medicine works and the common side effects.
• The nurse then reschedules follow up visits based on when the patient will require their next refill.
• A complete medication profile is tracked in a database.  This alerts the nurse to when the refills are due, tracks the cost of medicine provided, types of conditions the medicine is used for.
• The nurse communicates all pertinent health information back to the physician to insure the best possible healthcare for these patients.

Program Accomplishments:

Patient Impact

• Providing medication access, health education, and medication management services to over 225 active patients and have served thousands more
• Actively assisting over 40 physician practices in obtaining medication assistance for their patients
• Evaluated the impact of program on Hunterdon Medical Center Emergency Department
  • 30% reduction in emergency department visits and admissions in a subset of the patients helped
  • Patients’ health improved (measures for diabetes and cholesterol control)

Community Impact

• Provided over $600,000 (wholesale value) of free prescription medicine to Hunterdon County residents in 2008 and over $2,000,000 since the inception of the program

Recognition

• Received the 2005 Outstanding Service Award from the Community Services Council of Hunterdon County
• Received the 2007 Edward J IIl Excellence in Medicine Community Service Leader Award
• Media Coverage
  • Part of Expert Panel discussion at National Patient Assistance Conference in Baltimore, March 2007
  • Participated in Patient Assistance Webinar June 6, 2006 by CBI
  • Program reviewed in the The Lutheran and Heart Beat (Summer 07 issue) magazines and the a medical journal MD Advisor (Spring 08)
  • Numerous articles in the Hunterdon Democrat and Express Times (Easton, PA) and Courier News

    Key Community Organization Support

    We are deeply grateful to the 30 plus community organizations and sponsors who support the work of HCMAP

How do I join, make a donation, or learn more about the Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership?

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©Copyright 2010. Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership