Jill ender, pharmd, bcps, dpla, director of pharmacy at winona health.
Community members who cannot afford their prescription medication may have a new source of financial relief. Winona Health is now part of RoundtableRx, Minnesota’s new prescription drug repository. This resource is for Minnesota residents who are uninsured or underinsured. It is intended to be a safety-net for people during insurance coverage lapses, the Medicare donut hole or other short-term challenges. Eligible patients may have access to prescription drugs, if they are available in the repository, at no cost to them. “This is a wonderful resource for our patients. We recently helped an eligible patient who was facing a $3,000 copay for a cancer medication,” said Jill Ender, PharmD, BCPS, DPLA, director of pharmacy at Winona Health. “As a partner with the RoundtableRx program, we were able to check the repository inventory. When we found that the prescribed medication was available, we provided it at no cost our patient. As you can imagine, it was such a relief to them – great news all around!” How it works: Minnesota’s Medication Repository Program accepts donations of medication that otherwise would have been discarded. They are mostly from skilled nursing residences where residents’ medications are individually packaged by a pharmacy. When a resident’s medications change, instead of discarding unused doses, they may be donated to the repository. Requirements for donated medications: – Unopened, tamper-evident packaging. – Not expired, altered or misbranded. – Not a controlled substance. – Must be a room-temperature product unless donated by the manufacturer. Medications are checked for quality and safety and then entered into the repository inventory. Partner clinics and pharmacies, like Winona Health, are considered Local Repositories that can access that inventory and order medication to dispense to patients. Those who have questions about eligibility to receive medications through this program may contact their healthcare provider at Winona Health or the Winona Clinic Pharmacy, 507-457-7688. Pharmacy hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.; Saturday 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. To learn more about Winona Health, visit
winonahealth.org. To learn more about RoundtableRx, Minnesota’s Medication Repository, visit
roundtablerx.org.
