FARMINGTON – The cost of prescription medications can sometimes drive patients to not purchase the medicine or cut the dose in half. The doctor often doesn’t know that and health care costs rise when the patient doesn’t get better.

A new program, Franklin Health Access-Rx, focuses on improving access to medications for local residents. It was started by Healthy Community Coalition and Franklin Health Access.

The program has recently received a $125,000 grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation to expand services with a countywide prescription drug assistance program.

The grant will be used in three ways, Charlie Woodcock, director of Franklin Health Access, said Friday. It will help increase the number of uninsured individuals who access free and low-cost medications through the Access-Rx program and other discount programs. The grant will also help the program reach out to the community with education about affordable medication and other resources, she said. An electronic prescribing effort that helps doctors locate prescription prices and find less expensive alternatives will also benefit health consumers.

“Thanks to the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, our community will become one of the most advanced in the country in how we order prescriptions. Almost every provider and all our local pharmacies will use electronic prescribing, which reduces errors and improves safety for all patients,” said Leah Binder, vice president of Franklin Community Health Network, the parent organization of Healthy Community Coalition and Franklin Health Access.

There is a tendency for patients to not discuss medicine costs with their doctors, and when they find out it may cost a hundred dollars, they may not get it, Woodcock said. The doctor doesn’t always know they didn’t take the prescription.

The program has devised software that allows doctors to use hand-held devices to access information on costs, insurance coverage and alternative medicines then with a push of a button, the prescription is sent electronically to the pharmacy, she said.

“We’re the first community to set up electronic prescribing. For a small community, we have developed a lot of progressive programming to take care of people and help with affordable and high quality care,” Woodcock said.

The grant will expand the electronic prescribing through software and training to the hospital owned practices and the emergency room.

Over the past year, the program has helped people who couldn’t afford medications, she said. Many drug companies provide low or free medications but each has their own application process. In one year’s time, the program has seen $250,000 in free or low-cost medications from the drug companies, she said.

Employees of the program, including a recently hired full-time person, obtain physician prescriptions and use computer software to seek the best drug company offer and help with applications, she said. The medications are available based on income and household size.

While developing the program this year, promoting the program has been left mostly to word of mouth, she said. The grant will also help the program educate the public about programs and opportunities locally available to make medications more affordable. Education will also target medication safety and how to take it, and promote work with providers in terms of discussing medication opportunities with their patients.

More information about the Franklin Community Health Network programs and services can be found on its Web site, www.fchn.org