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Florida Clinic Provides State-of-the-Art Pharmacy Services to Low-Income Patients
Providing pharmacy services in a clinic for low-income, uninsured adults
During 2002 and 2003, the Neighborhood Health Clinic in Naples, Fla. created a new state-of-the-art Medication Room to improve the delivery of medications to its 12,000 clients.
Established in 1999 by a largely volunteer staff, the Neighborhood Health Clinic is a safety net facility for uninsured and working poor adults, who make up 15 percent of the population in the surrounding Collier County.
In June 2002, the clinic moved into a larger facility, which can accommodate three times the number of patient visits. The clinic needed a comprehensive pharmacy program to handle a growing number of clients and to insure efficiency and accuracy.
With the new Medication Room, the Neighborhood Health Clinic is able to:
- Dispense an average of 730 prescriptions per month, doubling its previous volume.
- Maintain a larger inventory of medications, valued at between $350,000–$400,000.
- Access over $34,000 per month in free or low-cost medications, by submitting a greater number of requests to the compassionate care programs of pharmaceutical companies.
- Increase accuracy and reduce risk of medical errors by printing prescriptions and patient instructions in three languages.
Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported the project with a grant of $88,460 to the Neighborhood Health Clinic from April 2002 through March 2003.