Decreasing Medication Delays: Maximizing the Efficiency of Patient Assistance Program Applications Through an Electronic System at a Student-Run Free Clinic

Authors

  • Jasmine A. Liu-Zarzuela Third-year Medical Student. John Sealy School of Medicine, Galveston, United States. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3706-6076
  • Chelsea T. Nguyen Third-year Medical Student. John Sealy School of Medicine, Galveston, United States.
  • Dominique B. Johnson Third-year Medical Student. John Sealy School of Medicine, Galveston, United States.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.1902

Keywords:

Medically Underserved Area, Vulnerable Populations, Student Run Clinic, Free-clinic, Free clinic, Underserved Communities, Medical student, Clinical Volunteering, Physician Volunteer, Volunteering, MBBS student, MD-PhD student, MD-MSc student, MD, Healthcare system, Delivery of Health Care, Patient Care Management, Health Services Administration, Health Services Accessibility

Abstract

Patient outcomes are highly dependent on the accurate and timely receipt of medications. Patient assistance programs (PAPs) provide key medications to uninsured patients at little to no cost. In Texas and our county, nearly 1 in 5 people are uninsured. Approximately 3,500 uninsured patients over the past year have received care from our clinic. PAP applications require various administrative steps to obtain approval for medication assistance, resulting in delays for patients to receive their medications. To combat these delays, we implemented a new electronic system, which has significantly decreased all administrative steps in completing applications.

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References

Gellad WF, Huskamp HA, Li A, Zhang Y, Safran DG, & Donohue, JM. Use of prescription drug samples and patient assistance programs, and the role of doctor-patient communication. J Gen Intern Med. 2011;26(12): 1458–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1801-y

Colon C, Salas P, Díaz M, Cotto R, Martínez I, Hale GM et al. Patient assistance programs and technology in medication adherence. Innov Pharm. 2020;11(2):10.24926/iip.v11i2.3269. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v11i2.3269

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Published

2023-09-15

How to Cite

Liu-Zarzuela, J. A., Nguyen, C. T., & Johnson, D. B. (2023). Decreasing Medication Delays: Maximizing the Efficiency of Patient Assistance Program Applications Through an Electronic System at a Student-Run Free Clinic. International Journal of Medical Students, 11(3), 240–242. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.1902

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2023)

Section

Letter to the Editor

Categories

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Copyright (c) 2023 Jasmine Liu-Zarzuela; Chelsea T. Nguyen, Dominique B. Johnson

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