CEO Corner with Robert Ingala

It is hard to believe that it was six years ago when we first began to explore the viability of opening a Health Center-based pharmacy. At the time, medication affordability and the lack of insurance were major obstacles for our patients, many of whom relied on sample medications or went without filling their prescriptions.

Educating patients about the importance of compliance with their medications is always a challenge. This is especially true for those diagnosed with chronic illnesses, such as hypertension and diabetes; it is critical to their care that these patients comply with their maintenance prescriptions. Non-adherence with medication regimens escalates emergency room usage and hospital admissions, which ultimately increase health costs. Access to affordable medications can have a significant impact both in the overall health of patients and in the reduction of health care costs.

Fortunately, as a federally qualified health center, GLFHC has access to a federal pharmacy purchasing program offering significant discounts. Thus, after more than a year of planning, GLFHC began our pharmacy service with one goal: to improve access to affordable medications for our patients.

Since opening our first Family Pharmacy at our Haverhill Street site in January of 2005, our pharmacy program has achieved several milestones:

• GLFHC became the first organization in Massachusetts to be approved for telepharmacy technology.
• Within the past year, we expanded pharmacy services to all four of our primary care sites.
• Last fiscal year alone, 18,000 customers were able to fill more than 235,000 prescriptions.

Our Pharmacy team’s commitment to expanding access is making a difference in the lives of our patients.