University of Iowa pharmacy professor Dr. Bernard Sorofman, who played a key role in launching SafeNetRx’s Medication Voucher program that provides free behavioral health medications to offenders leaving prison or jail, is recognized in the most recent issue of Iowa Now. Dr. Sorofman also conducted nationwide research that led to the establishment of the Iowa Drug Donation Repository.
His contributions to improving health outcomes for Iowa’s offenders include leading efforts to streamline the pharmacy division of the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) and conducting research that led to the design and launch of the Medication Voucher Program that provides offenders with free mental health medications for up to three months after their release from Iowa prisons and jails.
The Medication Voucher program is a partnership between SafeNetRx and the Iowa Attorney General’s office, which provides the funding for the program. Since July 2013, the voucher program has provided free behavioral health medication to 1,851 justice-involved individual’s value at $140,862.
During the first year of the program, chronically mentally ill individuals participating in the DOC program had significantly lower number of new charges compared to individuals who did not participate in the program. Polk County jail inmates who participate in the Behavioral Health Medication Voucher program recidivate significantly less than non-participants – 8.4% return to jail in the first 90 days versus 22.8% of the offenders who don’t participate in the program.
SafeNetRx congratulates Dr. Sorofman for his pioneering work in Iowa to improve the access to medications for Iowa’s most vulnerable residents. Click here to read the Iowa Now article.
