PPA helps two million Americans in a year

The USA's Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a national program sponsored by America's research-based drugmakers to help patients in need access prescription medicines, this month commemorated its one-year anniversary by launching the first annual "Patient Assistance Day" and enhancing its services. Educational activities took place across the country to raise awareness of, and help boost, enrollment in patient assistance programs. The PPA has helped more than two million uninsured and underinsured patients, but millions more are expected to benefit.

"The PPA is an enormous success," said Billy Tauzin, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. "However, we realize that millions more need assistance. That is why we are doing everything we can to improve the PPA so we can continue to identify and assist patients in need," he added.

The newest feature of the scheme connects patients with free health clinics in their community. Over its first year of operations, the PPA learned that access to a physician was often the greatest obstacle to completing applications for prescription assistance programs. It hopes that the free clinic database will alleviate that challenge for millions of patients in need.