Apr
29
DuPage Medical Group Supports the Prescription Drug Repository Program Act
Filed Under DuPage Medical Group News
DMG is a 270 physician multi-specialty group with 36 locations throughout DuPage, Will and Kane Counties. We are very active in the DuPage Health Coalition, an organization that provides free healthcare services to the working poor in DuPage County. The DuPage Health Coalition is a partnership between all of the DuPage County hospitals, many physicians, the DuPage County Health Department and many other organizations and business leaders. We estimate that in 2008 over 9000 DuPage County residents were served by this organization. House Bill (HB) 277 would provide a safe mechanism for healthcare safety net programs like the DuPage Health Coalition to obtain additional medications for their patients as well as preventing these drugs from being disposed of in the sanitary system.
Dr. Brian O’Leary, Vice President DuPage Medical Group recently wrote the following letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune in support of House Bill (HB) 277.
April 29, 2009
I am writing to urge all Illinoisans to support HB 277, the Prescription Drug Repository Program Act, now pending in the Illinois Senate. This legislation provides a process whereby unused medication from healthcare facilities can be safely dispensed to patients being served by free clinics or other health care safety net programs. The bill would ensure that only individually bubble-wrapped medications no longer needed by the patient are re-deployed from a healthcare facility, such as a nursing home, to a pharmacy for verification and then re-distribution. This legislation would extend the resources of our healthcare safety net programs at a time when State resources are scarce. It would also decrease the amount of harmful environmental waste from unused medications being disposed into the sanitary system. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 37 states have enacted similar laws and programs to date. We believe this legislation is an outstanding example of public policy that can have an immense benefit to Illinois citizens, particularly during these tough economic times. Please contact your State Senator to ask them to vote “yes” on HB 277.
Sincerely,
Brian O’Leary, M.D.
Vice President DuPage Medical Group
Board Member DuPage Health Coalition
Click to view The Wheaton Sun’s May 8, 2009 article or Chicago Tribune’s May 14, 2009 article.