Hospital cuts free OTC drugs

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — Beginning Monday, patients with the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation will no longer have the luxury of obtaining free over-the-counter drugs.

After signing a resolution that initially guaranteed the hospital a $5 million increase fell through at the federal government's end, the hospital had to re-examine its budget.

This week, staff determined that eliminating the free drugs was a necessary cost-cutting measure.

"We spent weeks negotiating a legal contract with the IHS, and it is not being fulfilled," said Grey Farrell, President of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation of Board Directors.

The hospital currently spends $300,000 per year on OTC medications, and $650,000 on pharmacy dispensing costs. In 2006, approximately 30 percent of all prescriptions at TCRHCC were for over-the-counter medications, with roughly 87,000 prescriptions filled.

By cutting the drugs, the hospital anticipates a savings of $80,000 from OTC drugs and $250,000 in indirect costs. Ultimately, officials said, the cut would enhance patient services and improve other hospital needs.

The decision to cut OTC drugs because of budget cuts is a new money-saving strategy. Over the past several years, the same decision was made by other Navajo IHS Service Units, such as Shiprock, Fort Defiance, Kayenta, Chinle. Gallup Service Unit also made the same decision.

In an effort to prepare for a tight budget, TCRHCC medical staff and pharmacists spent the last six months reviewing all OTC drugs available and created a list of essential drugs for patients. Officials said the list of drugs that will no longer be provided was based upon medical necessity and availability at retail establishments within the community. Staff also took into consideration the limited availability of OTC drugs in Tuba City, and said they are working with local retail establishments to carry additional OTC drugs.

In the meantime, the hospital has had to "roll with the punches," and plan carefully around the tight budget.

"That's a tremendous amount that was that taken," said Joe Engelken, Chief Executive Officer.

Officials have been operating on the same budget for the last two years.

Because of the unpassed budget, Scott Deasy, chief medical officer, said the hospital has between 140-150 vacant positions that cannot be filled because the money is not there. The hospital serves 75,000 people on the Navajo, Hopi, and San Juan Paiute Reservations and has over 800 employees.

Deasy said making plans for the hospital is difficult, and though they have been careful not to let the cuts affect emergency care, it is having an impact on non-emergency care.

"The saddest part of this inaction is that people who suffer the most are the ones who can least handle the impact," said Engelken. "It is the most vulnerable members of our communities that are most affected the poor, the abused, the sick, the elders, and the children."

Congress had not yet determined an amount that the hospital will operate on for the upcoming fiscal year.