Today we had a patient that had been sent to us from the ED to have his glucose managed to a more normal level so that he could be discharged back to his facility. Upon getting ready to discharge him, he made it known to Christine that he could not afford his medication because he had no money or insurance and wanted to know if we could give it to him.
The NP was informed by Christine about the situation so she provided him with a script for Lisinopril which is free at Publix. Then the NP purchased this gentleman's Novolin 70/30 for $163 out of her own pocket; Christine purchased the insulin needles for him until he could get further assistance. Christine even took it as far as contacting the hospital through the Diabetes educator to gain a glucometer for him and was able to get one that had a coupon for low-cost test strips.
The patient was so emotional for the help. Christine provided the patient with the Angel Center in Eagle Lake to seek further assistance for future prescriptions. She printed off the application for the patient to fill out to see if he could qualify for assistance from the manufacturer.