Baton Rouge, LA (PRWEB) May 27, 2009 Many Americans are struggling. They're losing their homes. They can't afford routine expenses. Some can't even afford the prescription medications necessary to their basic health. Too many Americans are either uninsured or under-insured, and they can't afford the retail prices of prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies are already doing their part to help by offering patient assistance programs to provide discounted or free medications to those in need. PatientAssistance.com, a nonprofit that connects patients with these patient assistance programs, invites them to do more. "So far we have managed to save patients over $1 million on prescriptions by joining those in need with patient assistance programs that can help them ," says Rex Bowden, President of PatienceAssistance.com, Inc. "We fully appreciate the existing efforts of pharmaceutical companies, but we'd like to encourage them to take another step--to work with us to ensure patients have access to all medications and assistance programs they need, even if the company itself doesn't offer a particular drug." Patient Assistance partners with pharmaceutical companies to make enrollment forms available to patients from a single location. They also work with other organizations with a mission to help those in need--their patient assistance services are distributed by 159 chapters of the American Red Cross. Pharmaceutical companies can work with Patient Assistance by doing any, or all, of the following: 1. They can agree to make their enrollment forms available through PatientAssistance.com. 2. They can spread the word to their customers who may need medications they don't provide by mentioning Patient Assistance in their press releases or through a link on their Web site. 3. They can become an official sponsor of Patient Assistance. 4. Pharmaceutical company reps can publish joint content with Patient Assistance or take part in podcasts on PatientAssistance.com. "A little goodwill can go a long way," says Bowden. "That's especially true when the customers we're talking about are people who are suffering and frustrated by the existing system. They need help, but they also need that help simplified--not being forced to visit site after site just to find and fill out enrollment applications. If someone needs a half dozen medications, and only two are with a particular company, they're going to be understandably grateful if that pharmaceutical company directs them to Patient Assistance in some way, showing them that they care more about the patient's overall needs than solely their self-interests. It's good for the community, but it's also good business. We hope to see more pharmaceutical companies reaching out more aggressively to the patients who need them most." Patient Assistance currently connects patients to more than 1000 patient assistance programs. The free service enables patients to browse for programs by medication or the pharmaceutical company offering it. When companies make them available, Patient Assistance also provides online enrollment forms, allowing visitors to apply for patient assistance programs from a single location. About PatientAssistance.com PatientAssistance.com is a nonprofit organization providing information on thousands of patient assistance programs to help users better manage, and reduce, prescription drug costs. Users can search by medication or for specific patient assistance programs, which are updated on a regular basis. The site offers patients a variety of tools including local drug pricing information, the ability to track programs the user is currently enrolled in, and reminders when patients need to resubmit enrollment forms to the pharmaceutical manufacturers. PatientAssistance.com helps consumers find patient assistance programs, supply enrollment forms, and track their re-enrollments all in one place. For more information about PatientAssistance.com, please visit http://www.PatientAssistance.com, or contact Rex Bowden at 225-266-7941.