# Presentation: 160864

## Greene Morgan Putnam Community Health Care Council, Inc.

- Collaborating
- 	  Health  Service  Resources
- 		       To Meet Community Needs

- GMP Health Network
- 403 Alice Walker Drive, Bldg C
- Eatonton, GA 31024
- (706) 923-0701

- January 2004

## Where...is GMP Health Network

## What...are we doing as a regional community?

- Prescription Assistance – standardized policy and procedure, coordinated services, and sharing of information and resources.
- Health Education – standardized health
-     curricula, coordinated class scheduling,
-     and maximizing consumer impact.

## Why...do we work together?

- Pooling of resources
- Economies of scale
- Larger population = Louder voice
- Regional health planning
- Access to non traditional solutions

## Who...is at the table?

- Local Hospitals
- City and County Officials
- Physicians
- Public Schools
- Public Health
- Universities
- Technical Colleges

- State and Federal Representatives
- Sheriffs and Police Departments
- Civic Groups
- Faith Communities
- Concerned Citizens
- State Agencies
- Medical Societies

- Signed memorandums of agreement to support the regional network include:

## How...did we begin to work together?

- We asked our Network Partners “What are your priorities for Network services?”
**=**
- Over whelmingly they said; “Get patients their medications and then get them off their couches!”

## How...did we start our Rx Program?

- Identified our target population and their barriers to access
- Inventoried our community for all resources pertaining to Prescription Assistance
- Coordinated the resources
- Standardized access to resources
- Took ACTION!

## Who...are we targeting

- 48,000 residents of Greene, Morgan, Putnam Counties
- 3 of the worst 50 of 159 counties concerning measurable health status
- High risk populations
- Populations with significant health disparities: Black, Hispanic, women, and the un-insured / under insured

## What...are their barriers?

- 30% Adult illiteracy
- Complicated applications
- Little or no transportation
- Uninsured
- Under insured
- Dementia from age, disease, medication
- Lack of Rx resources

## What...are the Rx resources?

- -	Affordable
- -	Income Based

- Public Health – 340B program

-  Only maintenance medications
-    for Diabetes and Hypertension
-  Only for patients actively participating in S.H.A.P.P. (Stroke Heart Attack Prevention Program)

_**BENEFITS**_**	****	****	**_**RESTRICTIONS**_

## What...are the resources?

- - Free
- - Income Based
- - Covers larger variety of Rx

- INDIGENT CARE TRUST FUND (ICTF)

-  Income Based
-  Not all Hospitals have ICTF
-  ICTF Rx only available to
-   residents of Hospital ‘s County

_**BENEFITS**_**	****	****	**** **_**RESTRICTIONS**_

## What...are the resources?

- - Sliding Fee Scale
- - Income Based
- - Covers larger variety of Rx

**FEDERALLY QUALIFIED **
**HEALTH CENTER – 340B**

-  Income Based
-  Must be a patient of Record

_**BENEFITS**_**	****	**** ****	**_**RESTRICTIONS**_

## What...are the resources?

- - FREE

**COMMUNITY CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS**

-  Eligibility determined by  the
-    contributing organization
-  Sporadic availability

_**BENEFITS**_**	****	**** **_**RESTRICTIONS**_

## What...are the resources?

- - Free

- MANUFACTURER’S FREE DRUG PROGRAM

-  Enrollment  Access is Obscure!
-  Income Based
-  Variety of available Rx is limited
-  Complex / Confusing Forms
-  Patient eligibility varies among mfr
-  NO Industry Standardization!

_**BENEFIT**_**	****	**_**RESTRICTIONS**_

## What...are the resources?

- MEDDATA SERVICES – Rx Tracking Software

-  Monthly fee
-  Requires Internet access
-  Does not provide all
-   needed reports like cost
-   savings

_**BENEFIT**_**	****	****	****	**_**RESTRICTIONS**_

-  Improve Efficiency
-  Patient Status updates
-  Evaluation
-  User friendly

## How...did we coordinate?

- To reduce duplication while increasing access
- to resources, we formed a coalition of
- prescription assistance providers from the
- community: Minnie G. Boswell Hospital,
- TenderCare Clinic (FQHC), and GMP Health
- Network. Every patient is classed into three
- eligibility categories and then referred to the
- appropriate provider.

## How...did we coordinate?

- _Provider_		_Eligibility_			_Resources_
- M.G.B. Hospital	Greene County 		ICTF,
- 				Residents	 		Mfr free Rx
- TenderCare		Patient of Record	      	340 B,
- 								Mfr free Rx
- GMP 			All Remaining Patients  	Mfr free Rx
- 				in service area

## How...did we standardize access?

- _All_ Healthcare providers and community agencies refer patients to the three Rx Assistance Providers
- The 3 Rx providers have standardized policy and procedure and utilize MedData software
- The 3 Rx providers use Mfr free Rx resources first before using limited local resources

## Accomplishments:

_**2003 Prescription Assistance Program**_
- - 3 Providers served over 1,000 patients
- - Accessed an average of 3.79 free Rx / patient
- - Each Rx had an average rural retail price of $73.00 per month
- 1,000 x 3.79 x 73 = $ 276,670.00 / MONTH
**MORE THAN $ 3,320,040 MILLION**
**PER YEAR in FREE MEDICATIONS!**

## The Future...

- The future is always uncertain!
- We will continue to tailor our regional program to meet growing demands while coordinating diminishing resources!

## SUMMARY...

**WE ARE **
**A COMMUNITY IN ACTION**
**PROVIDING **
**BETTER HEALTH**
**	****	****	****FOR MORE PEOPLE**
**	****	****	****	****	****FOR LESS MONEY!!!**