In 2015, 1 in 10 Americans could not afford their medications.

In 2016, $3.4 million worth of unused and unopened prescription drugs in Iowa were redistributed to uninsured and underinsured patients.

In Illinois unused and unopened prescription drugs pollute the environment or are disposed of at a cost of up to $1 per pound.

The problem of redistributing unused medications to those who need it is solved, we just need to implement it in Illinois.

Bill SB 2849 in the 100th General Assembly would legalize Prescription Drug Respositories. This could give Illinois patients access to $14 million worth of prescription drugs.

Advocacy Plan

The advocacy plan for legalizing Prescription Drug Repositories in Illinois will require several partners:

  • Medical Schools
  • Pharmacy Schools
  • Physician Professional Societies
  • Patient Advoacy Socities

Legislator Finder

A tool for identifying the State Senator and State Representative in your District can be found here.

District Map

I have compiled a Google Map showing both the locations of Medical and Pharmacy Schools in Illinois overlayed with the Districts of Illinois Senators and Representatives.

Information

The Legislation

The latest iteration of the legislation to create Prescription Drug Repositories in Illinois, SB 2849 introduced by Senator Patricia Van Pelt can be found here.

Media Coverage of the Issue

Marshall Allen at ProPublica has an extensive in-depth look at the magnitude of the prescription drug waste problem in the U.S. and some innovative approaches to combat it.

SafeNetRx in Iowa

SafeNetRx in Iowa has one of the most success Prescription Drug redistribution programs in the country. Latest records show they have redistributed $3.4 million worth of prescription drugs to under- and uninsured individuals.

Slides

I created a short slide deck for dissemination of this advocacy to fellow medical students, which can be found here (PDF, PPTX).