More than 40,000 Knox County residents don't have health insurance -- and many can't afford prescription medication they need to stay healthy.

Karen Eschman, director of pharmacy for the Knox County Health Department, hopes to help at least some of those people.

She and Health Educator Beth Overbay Trumbull are overseeing the health department's Dispensary of Hope, where low-income, uninsured Knox County residents can get some, if not all, of their prescriptions filled, as well as referrals to other programs that can provide long-term health-care assistance.

Modeled after a program in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Dispensary of Hope opened quietly in March and has filled about 120 prescriptions so far, Trumbull said.

Most of the medications in stock are samples donated by area doctors, so availability isn't always the same, Eschman said. There are 20 drugs on a formulary -- meaning those 20 drugs will always be in stock, though brand names may vary.

They include eight antibiotics, three blood-pressure medications, three diuretics, two medications for inflammation, a respiratory inhaler and an antihistamine. There's also diabetic medication -- one of the most-requested types of prescription, Eschman said.

The pharmacy doesn't dispense controlled substances (such as Oxycontin or hydrocodone).

"We looked at the kind of things we see coming out of the emergency room," Eschman said. "Our goal, just as with our (adult primary-care) program, is to keep people out of the hospital."

Initially, the health department had requested some prescriptions from Murfreesboro's Dispensary of Hope. Open since 2004, that Dispensary now gets enough donations to "share" with other agencies.

Then last year, Nashville physician Dr. Bruce Wolfe, the Dispensary's founder, visited the Knox County Health Department administration to suggest a Dispensary here.

His vision is for a statewide network, with satellite Dispensaries in metro areas sharing with the rural areas around them.

The health department installed software to streamline patients' applications to drug companies' assistance programs. It also began collecting samples from doctors.

"We'll accept anything that's in date," said Eschman, and medicine that's about to expire on the shelf will be shared with other agencies, such as Interfaith, Mountain Hope Good Shepherd and Good Samaritan clinics. "The idea is not to waste medication, and rather than throw it away, it makes sense to get it to people who need it," Eschman said.

The health department can fill multiple prescriptions for a patient, as long as the medication is in stock, she said. Getting the word out to specialists will increase the variety of medicine the pharmacy can offer, she hopes.

And as the word starts getting out to patients, Eschman said, the Dispensary hopes to find volunteers willing to pick up medicine from doctors, sort and stock in the pharmacy, and write thank-you notes.

To donate samples or volunteer, call 865-521-5141.

Kristi L. Nelson may be reached at 865-342-6434. She is health writer for the News Sentinel.

Author:
KRISTI L. NELSON
Staff Health Writer
Original Source:
The Knoxville News Sentinel
Media Contact:
Lauren Fulton
(615) 254-0575
lfulton@jarrardinc.com