Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) – Division of Ambulatory Health Services, Prescription Assistance Program
Title: Improving Care Accessibility Through Patient Assistance Programs
Student Interns:
Bani Bajaj
Drexel University College of Medicine
Nikki Holmes
Drexel University College of Medicine
Ellis McCarver
Drexel University College of Medicine
Rhema McGee
Drexel University College of Medicine
Ayaan Memon
Drexel University College of Medicine
Isha Singh
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Esther Chernak, MD, MPH, FACP
Drexel University College of Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Evan Kaye, MPA
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Community Site:
The mission of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) is to meet the health needs of Philadelphia residents, with an emphasis on medically underserved people. Across eight health districts, the PDPH provides a range of ambulatory healthcare services and public health initiatives tailored to each community’s specific needs, while supporting comprehensive, long-term care for its patients. As Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), each location provides services regardless of insurance status, with fees determined using a sliding scale based on patients’ ability to pay.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps interns worked as patient advocates at PDPH health centers. Patient advocates assist patients with enrolling in Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) offered by various pharmaceutical companies, which help uninsured or underinsured individuals access newer brand-name medications at no cost. Advocates help patients navigate medication costs more broadly by identifying options that allow them to obtain medications at the lowest possible cost. Tracking and updating applications, coordinating refills, and communicating with patients and pharmaceutical companies are all central day-to-day tasks. Advocates also support benefits counselors by identifying patients who may benefit from additional resources and assisting with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applications. Overall, advocates work closely with physicians and other health center staff to improve resource accessibility for patients from a wide range of backgrounds throughout the Philadelphia area.
Reflections
Working as a patient advocate at Health Center 9 and the Strawberry Mansion Health Center has been a meaningful experience because it has given me the opportunity to learn about and work firsthand in a community that I otherwise would not have had the chance to engage with. Additionally, this experience has given me a deeper understanding of the daily operations of a community health clinic, including the many people, programs, and services that are essential to supporting the health of underserved communities. Before this experience, I did not know that programs existed to help uninsured individuals gain access to necessary prescription medications, nor did I know how to help patients apply for SNAP benefits in Pennsylvania. Overall, my BTG CHIP experience has reinforced the importance of advocating for patients and providing them with resources that address barriers to care, and I hope to carry these lessons forward with me in my career as a future physician.
Bani Bajaj
I served as the patient advocate at Health Center 2 in South Philadelphia. A major program I oversaw, which was unique to our center, was enrollment in the Shingrix (shingles vaccine) Patient Assistance Program. I coordinated patient applications and scheduling for both doses, helping ensure eligible patients were able to complete this vaccine series and receive this important immunization. I was also given relative autonomy in developing a workflow to make the enrollment and tracking processes more efficient, demonstrating how my organizational skills will translate to improved patient care coordination. I appreciated the opportunity to work with a patient population I had not previously served and to learn more about engaging with immigrant communities. I have developed a deeper understanding of the specific health concerns and barriers to access affecting patients in this community. Prior to this experience, I was unaware that such programs existed to provide expensive medications to individuals without prescription drug coverage. As a future physician, I hope to incorporate my knowledge of these programs into my practice so that financial barriers do not prevent my patients from receiving appropriate medications and care. At a time when resources that support patients are limited, I helped play a crucial role in helping patients navigate the resources that remain available to them. The graciousness of the patients I met made the experience worthwhile and reminded me exactly why I want to become a physician who goes the extra mile for my patients.
Nikki Holmes
Working as a patient advocate at Health Center 10 in Northeast Philadelphia has been a highly educational experience that has given me a firsthand look at the barriers to healthcare access in urban areas, especially for people who are non-native English speakers and/or who are uninsured or underinsured. Most of the PAPs run through pharmaceutical companies require that the applicants are uninsured to qualify, so most people that I have worked with have no other way to access their life-saving medications than through these programs, which operate solely on the generosity of the pharmaceutical companies that offer them. My experience with BTG CHIP has made me more aware of the many faces that structural barriers to access can wear, some more subtle than others. In my future career as a physician, I hope to be better able to recognize these barriers and to use my status as a physician to advocate for societal-level changes that remove these barriers and improve access to healthcare for all members of my community.
Ellis McCarver
I had the privilege of working as a Patient Assistance Program (PAP) advocate at Health Centers 3 and 4, which are located in West Philadelphia. In this role, my primary responsibility was helping uninsured and underinsured patients gain access to life-saving medications they otherwise could not afford. This experience introduced me to a patient population I had not previously had the opportunity to serve and taught me the importance of ensuring that everyone has access to healthcare resources. Working in this position allowed me to witness firsthand the profound impact that patient advocacy can have on individuals and families. Many of the patients I served came from immigrant backgrounds and were not native English speakers, creating additional barriers to accessing healthcare. As a PAP advocate, I helped reduce those barriers by assisting patients with enrolling in pharmaceutical assistance programs that provide medications at no cost. This role reinforced how important advocacy is in improving health outcomes and ensuring equitable access to care. It has also inspired me to continue advocating for underserved communities throughout my career. Now that I am aware of the many assistance programs and resources available, I am committed to raising awareness and connecting patients with the support they need so they can receive the medications and care they deserve.
Rhema McGee
Being a member of the healthcare team at Health Center 5 was eye-opening and incredibly rewarding. My role involved enrolling people in programs hosted by pharmaceutical companies that provide free medication based on uninsurance/underinsurance status and other requirements. The applications are designed for patients to complete themselves but require a great deal of time and effort that patients may not have, necessitating our help. When PAP volume was low, I also assisted with Quest Lab reconciliations, prior authorizations, and A1C outreach. Assisting patients with their medications allowed me greater understanding of government insurance, safety net programs, and the opportunities that are available to patients who can’t afford care. I learned that these systems are often extremely difficult to navigate. As advocates, we have a 32-page community resource that provides us with guidelines and rules that advocates have prepared over the years. Without this document, and the training that I received from the previous navigator, I can only imagine how lost I would have felt entering this job. To be a patient with none of that training, trying to navigate access to medications alone, is unimaginable to me. In addition, the job rarely ends with the initial application submission. It can take weeks to even months for an application to be approved and, often, the processing is based on incomprehensible rules. This has provided me with a deep understanding of a patient’s perspective and will be invaluable to my future practice as a physician. I hope to be able to use this experience to better empathize and assist my patients with their own difficulties navigating this system.
Ayaan Memon
Working as a patient advocate at Health Center 6 in Fishtown has been an extremely rewarding experience that broadened my understanding of the challenges patients face in the healthcare system. Through helping patients enroll in prescription assistance programs, I have seen how financial limitations, insurance status, administrative barriers, and language barriers can delay or prevent access to treatment. This role has also given me a greater appreciation for the resources available to support underserved populations and the importance of guiding patients through often complex application processes. Assisting patients with SNAP applications also showed me how navigating public assistance programs can be overwhelming, especially to patients who are unaware of the requirements needed to apply. Beyond learning about these programs, my BTG CHIP experience has shown me how community health centers attempt to address both the medical and social factors that influence health. As I continue my path toward becoming a physician, I will carry these experiences with me and work to improve access to healthcare for every patient, whether through direct patient advocacy or efforts to address systemic barriers.
Isha Singh
