With the cost of prescription drugs skyrocketing, some can't even
afford to get the medicine they need to live.
But a 5 On Your side investigation has found that millions of dollars
in expensive drugs, enough drugs to fill a warehouse, are simply being
wasted.
Investigator Ron Regan reported that the sheer volume of wasted drugs
is stunning, and they could go a long way to ease the pain and
suffering of more than 1 million patients in Ohio who have no medical
insurance.
Some cancer drugs can cost as much as $10,000 a month, but the
investigation found millions of dollars of perfectly usable
medications all over Ohio are never reaching the people who need them
most.
NewsChannel5 checked with the Ohio Pharmacy Board, the state agency
that regulates how drugs are stored and dispensed, and found out how
millions of expensive drugs are going to waste.
Expensive, life-saving medicine that's never been opened, drugs that
ease pain, treat cancer and fight heart disease, is never reaching the
sick and dying.
And that's not all. Many more are simply tossed in the furnace,
incinerated by licensed disposal companies.
The medicine is still in tamper-proof packages, with expiration dates
that are years away.
But here's the worst part. The investigation found an Ohio law that
could save millions of lives is simply being ignored.
"It's hurting the community, the American people who need this
medication to survive," said patient Joanne Brunner.
Despite a law that's been on the books for three years, there's only
one spot in the entire state of Ohio that's benefiting.
At the Western Stark Clinic, donated drugs are saving lives like Brunner's.
"The doctors told me you need this medication and you must take it
every day," said Brunner.
"It's unconscionable that in this day and age we're destroying
medications when we have people who are forced to go without
medication," said clinic director Diane Daniels.
Instead, nearby Absolute Pharmacy donates drugs that are leftover or
no longer needed from nursing homes it serves.
"We're looking at donating approximately 4,000 prescriptions per
month," said Absolute Pharmacy founder Tim Tannert.
So why is the law being ignored by others, such as one huge company
near Cincinnati?
Omnicare is the nation's largest provider of pharmaceuticals to
nursing homes, but it refused to donate a single pill to the poor and
dying.
Instead, the medicine is destroyed. NewsChannel5 wanted the ask them
why, but the company only provided the following statement:
"Omnicare supports the concept and the program's goals, but the
particular legislation does not offer relief from serious liability
issues."
State Sen. Kirk Schuring said that's not true: those donating drugs
are protected from lawsuits.
"It's a tragedy to think that when we have so many folks, that we're
depriving them of the opportunity and actually destroying these
drugs," said Schuring.
For an idea of how much could be save, more than $3 million worth of
medication is being donated to the Stark Clinic alone, and that's by
just one pharmaceutical company.
Labels: No Prescription, Online Pharmacy, Prescription Drugs
# posted by Network @ 2:34 AM
