As medication costs continue to rise, pharmacists and technicians are challenged to not only make sure medications are safe and effective, but affordable for patients. For patients without prescription insurance, financial barriers can make it challenging to adhere to drug therapy regimens. Ascension Wisconsin’s retail pharmacies’ partnership with Dispensary of Hope has created a patient assistance program to provide eligible patients medications at no charge. Dispensary of Hope is a charitable medication distributor that provides participating pharmacies and clinics with access to medications donated by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Ascension pays the fees and labor costs to participate in the program. The Dispensary of Hope program is key to reducing avoidable hospital readmissions and emergency room use that often results from lack of access to affordable medication.

The past few years, the pharmacy team greatly impacted people in need at Ascension Medical Missions at Home in Racine and Milwaukee, filling hundreds of prescriptions for people in need, which was largely made possible through its partnership with the Dispensary of Hope, as well as other programs designed to help reduce medication access related issues. To date, Ascension Wisconsin providers have connected 1,456 low-income patients in need of critical medication with 6,791 free prescriptions through the Dispensary of Hope.