Interview with Dr. Richard Sagall

Rich Sagall, MD is a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo. After completing his family practice residency at the Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, ME, he practiced family medicine and occupational medicine there for nearly 20 years. During that time he began NeedyMeds. He and his wife moved to Philadelphia where he practiced occupational medicine and ran NeedyMeds. Rich has written articles on assistance programs and occupational medicine topics for a number of publications. He has given presentations on patient assistance programs and occupational medicine throughout the country. In addition to directing NeedyMeds, he runs the Pediatrics for Parents website (www.pedsforparents.com), a website on children's health, and publishes Pediatrics for Parents. He now lives in Gloucester, MA. In this short, 30 minute interview, you will learn: - How and why Dr. Sagall started Needymeds.org - The type of information available at Needymeds.org - Why drug manufacturers have these programs - What a patient assistance program is - How to qualify for patient assistance programs - How the medication gets to the patient - How to get on to a patient assistance program - How to gain access even if you don’t have a computer - How to get help filling out the applications - What to do if you are turned down by the assistance program - How to get your doctor to help you fill out the forms - Can you use a patient assistance program if you have Medicare Part D - How to locate free or low cost clinics