ASHP Policy Positions on Patient Assistance Programs (PAP).

• Pharmacy Benefits for the Uninsured (0101)
  Source: Council on Administrative Affairs
  To support the principle that all patients have the right to
  receive care from pharmacists; further,
  To declare that health system pharmacists should play
  a leadership role in ensuring access to pharmacists’ service
  for indigent or low-income patients who lack insurance
  coverage and for patients who are underinsured; further,
  To advocate better collaboration among health systems,
  community health centers, state and county health
  departments, and the federal Health Resources and Services
  Administration (HRSA) in identifying and addressing the
  needs of indigent and low-income patients who lack insurance
  coverage and of patients who are underinsured.
  This policy was reviewed in 2005 by the Council on
  Administrative Affairs and by the Board of Directors and
  was found to still be appropriate.

• Standardization, Automation, and Expansion of
  Manufacturer-Sponsored Patient-Assistance Programs
  (0404)
  Source: Council on Administrative Affairs
  To advocate standardization of application criteria, processes,
  and forms for manufacturer-sponsored patient assistance
  programs (PAP); further,
  To advocate the automation of PAP application
  processes through computerized programs, including Webbased
  models; further, To advocate expansion of PAPs to include high-cost
  drugs used in inpatient settings.

• Medication Management for Patient Assistance Programs
  (0603)
  Source: Council on Administrative Affairs
  To support the principle that medications provided through
  manufacturer patient assistance programs should be stored,
  packaged, labeled, dispensed, and recorded using systems
  that ensure the same level of safety as prescription-based
  programs that incorporate a pharmacist-patient relationship.

• Manufacturer-Sponsored Patient-Assistance Programs
  (9703).
  Source: Council on Legal and Public Affairs
  To encourage pharmaceutical manufacturers to (1) extend
  their patient assistance programs to serve the needs of both
  uninsured and underinsured patients, (2) enhance access to
  and availability of such programs, and (3) incorporate the
  elements of pharmaceutical care into these programs.
  This policy was reviewed in 2001 by the Council on
  Legal and Public Affairs and by the Board of Directors and
  was found to still be appropriate.