Elaine Eisen, CORBETT WORLDWIDE HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATIONS

Elaine Eisen

PRESIDENT | CORBETT WORLDWIDE HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATIONS

Ironically, pharma has many patient assistance programs already firmly in place (established well before the current economic downturn). There is probably no other industry in America that has as many established initiatives to assure continuity of care for the customer.

Virtually all pharmaceutical manufacturers have robust policies to place needed medicines in the hands of those who cannot afford to pay for them. Although this is certainly not an exhaustive list, what follows is merely a portion of the programs that pharma has sponsored to safeguard the health of patients: the AstraZeneca Prescription Savings Program, the Merck Patient Assistance Program, the Alcon U.S. Patient Assistance Program, the Pfizer Friends Program, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Patient Assistance Foundation, the Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals Patient Assistance Program, and the Sanofi-Aventis Patient Assistance Program. Perhaps pharma needs to "toot its own horn" a little more loudly and recognize that those of us who work in the pharmaceutical industry are dedicated to extending and enhancing human life.

Elaine Eisen