SIRUM

Patients in the U.S. face high medication costs – usually much higher than people in other countries. In the case of insulin, U.S. patients can pay 10x more for critical, life-saving medicine.  Why? SIRUM helped TED-Ed to dive into the complex U.S. drug supply chain and explain why medications are so expensive. 💊 Take a look: https://lnkd.in/gP2kYxdM

A 2018 study by Watanabe et al. found that the estimated annual cost of prescription drug-related morbidity and mortality due to poor medication adherence—cutting pills in half, skipping doses, or not filling prescriptions—was over $500 billion in 2016. (Source: https://bit.ly/3N0QHxE) At SIRUM, we’re on a mission to change that. We redistribute surplus medications to patients in need, partnering with recipient pharmacies such as Better Health Pharmacy and Good Pill Pharmacy to help more than 150,000 uninsured and underinsured patients get access to life-saving medicine. SIRUM reduces preventable health crises, diverts pharmaceutical waste from our airways and waterways, and reduces the financial burden on patients in need and the healthcare system. Together, we can bridge the gap in medication access and save lives. #MedicationAccess #PatientCare #SIRUM

Patient Spotlight: Makela A. Here’s a powerful story of how our partnership with Good Pill Pharmacy made a difference for Makela A., a mother of twins who faced a challenging journey with high blood pressure. Makela A.: "I would say Good Pill has saved my life. Because with my blood pressure being so high, [there's] no telling what would've happened if I never got the medication. I wouldn't have been able to get that blood pressure down to be here for my family." From the Morehouse School of Medicine Free Clinic: "I believe Good Pill is just an essential resource that can be used within our community, especially the underserved community here in Atlanta, to take off that burden for our patients and provide them with the basic essentials for medications and health maintenance." Thanks to our partnership with Good Pill Pharmacy, we’re able to help patients like Makela get the medication they need to stay healthy and be there for their loved ones. Watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/4dgUt0D #SIRUM #PatientStories

SIRUM's impact is possible through partnerships with pharmacies like Good Pill Pharmacy who serve patients in need. "Prior to Good Pill, it was a little bit more challenging being comfortable writing even the most generic medications. When you factor in people's utility bills, food bills, gas bills, childcare... even a nominal co-pay is a lot of money." - Dr. Christopher Ervin, Morehouse School of Medicine HEAL Clinic Since 2017, Good Pill has dispensed 1 million prescriptions from donated medication, valued at $80 million. Together, we're ensuring no one has to choose between essential expenses and their health. Watch the video to learn more! 🎥 https://lnkd.in/g2-cTB2Y Did You Know? Millions of Americans lack access to the medicine they need to stay healthy. Medication can manage conditions like hypertension and hyperlipidemia, which are crucial for preventing heart attacks and strokes. When people don’t take their medicine, it leads to higher costs like avoidable hospitalizations and emergency room visits. Americans spend more on prescription drugs than people in any other developed country in the world. Per-capita spending on retail prescription drugs has tripled in the last 20 years, yet millions still go without the drugs they need, leading to 125,000 deaths annually from not taking their medicine—more than opioid overdoses and car accidents combined. #HealthcareInnovation #AffordableMedication #SIRUM #GoodPill #NonProfit

SIRUM has officially surpassed $250 million in redistributed medicine! This represents nearly 40,000 donations and over 2.3 million prescriptions provided to people who need them most. 💙 With 1 in 4 Americans reporting difficulty with high medicine costs, while $11 billion worth of unexpired medicine goes to waste every year, we knew we had to do something. SIRUM is proud to be the nation’s largest distributor of recycled medications, bridging the gap between surplus medicine and patients in need. This milestone is just the beginning. There’s still more to do, and we’re excited to continue driving change. Learn more about our mission and how you can support us: sirum.org/

Co-founder George Wang was recently named a 2024 Obama Foundation Leader! ✨ Chosen from over 6,000 global applicants, George joins a select non-partisan group of 205 emerging changemakers working across public, private, and civil sectors worldwide to address pressing issues from civic engagement to healthcare access. Learn more about the Obama Foundation leaders here: https://bit.ly/3BjjGu4

With one more week of the Paris #Olympics to go, awesome to see SIRUM included in long-time supporter Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation's feature during NBC Olympics coverage! 🥇 We're proud to be one of DRK's "Champions of Change": https://lnkd.in/d_uH9Kxe

We’re proud to be one of eight tech nonprofits receiving support from Deloitte Health Equity Institute (DHEI) and Fast Forward. Over the next year we will have the opportunity to connect with DHEI, learn from fellow health equity tech nonprofits, and share more about our work. Thank you to DHEI and Fast Forward for making this collaboration possible!

SIRUM's work is possible through state policies allowing medicine donation and drug repository programs. We were proud to support Georgia House Bill 1072 to help make medicine more accessible for patients across GA. The bill expands the state's drug repository program run by Good Pill Pharmacy, one of our flagship community partners: ✅ Boosts access when patients need it most by requiring hospitals, pharmacies, and other state health programs to promote Good Pill when prescribed drugs are unaffordable (most Good Pill prescriptions are $2/month) ✅ Makes it easier for patients to fill their prescriptions at Good Pill by allowing easier substitutions of equivalent doses ✅ Increases the amount of affordable medicine available to patients by encouraging more organizations to donate (instead of destroy) eligible medicine ✅ And more! As the nation's largest redistributor of surplus medicine, SIRUM advises drug donation policies across the country. More meds saved = more lives saved. Let’s keep it going! >> Read the Georgia House press release: https://lnkd.in/gk7mfi-9

Our work to make medicine more accessible to patients in need starts with medicine donation. Pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes and other donors work with SIRUM to donate instead of destroy their unexpired, unopened surplus medicine. Donated medicine goes straight to our community partners who get it into the hands of patients in need -- more than 100,000 individuals in 2023 alone! Thank you PharMerica and all our other medicine donors!