Urgently needed prescriptions can be filled sooner now for many uninsured and underinsured patients on Orcas Island, thanks to a six-month trial program created by Orcas Island Medical Center Association (OIMCA) in cooperation with Ray’s Pharmacy and all three medical practices on Orcas.

This program will help pay for the initial dosages of medications prescribed for uninsured or underinsured patients, when those medications need to start immediately. The idea is to give the patients a little time to find an affordable way to pay for the balance of their prescriptions.

Here’s how the program works: patients let their physicians know that they need assistance at the time medications are prescribed. Physicians write the prescriptions for qualified patients accordingly. Then Ray’s Pharmacy provides the initial course of medications at cost plus a modest fee, and OIMCA pays that amount to help the patient get started with treatment.

Currently, many uninsured or underinsured patients delay filling their prescriptions until an affordable source can be found, usually off-island or by mail. This delay can postpone or prevent a patient’s recovery.

The trial program, made possible by the generosity of Ray’s Pharmacy and an OIMCA member and donor, is not limited to patients of Orcas Medical Center (Dr. Anthony Giefer and Dr. Tom Frazer), for which OIMCA is the non-profit support organization.

Patients of the other two major island practices may also access the assistance to get started on urgently needed medications, simply by applying through Orcas Family Health Center (Dr. David Shinstrom) or Orcas Island Family Medicine (Dr. David Russell).

An OIMCA spokesperson emphasized that this trial program is only for medications that are urgent for treatment of an illness. Long-term or chronic-condition medications are already available from one of the larger chain pharmacies or pharmaceutical companies that provide low-cost programs.