Prescription Mail Delivery = Equitable Access to Healthcare

 

There are many reasons why a person could have difficulty picking up their medications at a pharmacy. 

• Maybe they share a vehicle with other family members and lack consistent access to transportation. 

• Maybe they live in a pharmacy desert where traveling 30 minutes to and from their nearest pharmacy is too burdensome. 

• Maybe they’re immunocompromised and anxious about being exposed to illness. 

• Or maybe they’re worried about their personal safety when going out to public places. 

Rx Partnership believes in medication access for all — and this involves breaking down barriers to equitable access to healthcare. For the past six years, the RxP Prescription Mail Delivery Program has been helping the most vulnerable Virginians access affordable medications that treat chronic conditions. 

What is the RxP Prescription Mail Delivery Program?

The Prescription Mail Delivery Program (PMDP) allows partner clinics to mail RxP medications directly to patients’ homes, eliminating the need for in-person pick up. Rx Partnership offers the program at no cost to the clinic or to the patient, drawing on money it receives from foundations, individual and corporate donors, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Impact of Prescription Mail Delivery

• Fourteen of RxP’s partner clinics have participated in the program since its launch in 2020, with more than 11,000 packages mailed to patients’ homes. 

• Since the program’s launch, RxP has reimbursed participating clinics’ costs at 100%, funding more than $50,000 in shipping and supplies. 

Some of the clinics currently using the mail delivery program include Bernard Healthcare Center, Chesapeake Care Clinic, Living Water Community Clinic, and the Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinics. 

A Patient’s Story: The Impact of Winter Storm Fern on Medication Access

Wanda English, CPhT at Bernard Healthcare Center in Franklin County, shares that mail delivery was a godsend for one of their patients during Winter Storm Fern earlier this year. From January 23 to 27, 2026, the storm system caused widespread, dangerous ice and snow, with significant impacts reported in the Commonwealth. One of the clinic’s patients had traveled to Roanoke for work and got snowed in, unable to return to her home in Franklin County. She needed a refill of her medication, but because of the treacherous road conditions, she couldn’t get to the clinic before it closed for the weekend. 

Wanda used the RxP Mail Delivery program to ship the medication to the patient’s home, at no cost to the clinic or the patient. When she was able to safely drive home from Roanoke, her medication was waiting for her, ensuring she wouldn’t run out or miss doses.

How the RxP Prescription Mail Delivery Program Started

When COVID-19 disrupted in-person care in 2020, Rx Partnership moved quickly to design and launch the Prescription Mail Delivery Program (PMDP) to help ensure patients remained medication-adherent. Thanks to a proactive and quick acting Board of Directors, RxP announced the availability of the mail delivery program to clinics less than 30 days after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. During FY21 and FY22, more than one-third of RxP partner clinics were using the program. 

Connie Sheriff, CPhT at Chesapeake Care Clinic, shares that the clinic began using the Mail Delivery Program during COVID and because it was so successful, has continued using it to this day. Recently, one of their patients had car trouble and wasn’t able to pick up her prescriptions, so Connie used the PMDP to mail them out. Another patient started mail delivery because his work hours had changed, making him unable to visit the clinic during business hours. Connie notes, “I’m seeing that with mail delivery, they get their [prescriptions] on time. They’re not forgetting to order it; It’s delivered to them, and we’ve noticed that adherence is better with that.”

For Rx Partnership, what began as a rapid response to the pandemic has evolved into a long-term solution that continues to improve access and adherence today. The program supports patients facing social determinants of health challenges AND improves medication adherence by delivering a 90-day supply to patients’ mailboxes. There are community benefits, too: Consistent access to medication avoids the worsening of chronic health conditions that can lead to costly ER visits, preventing undue strain on the health system. 

Who Does Prescription Mail Delivery Help Most?

Some patients have recurring needs that can best be met with regularly scheduled prescription mail delivery, while others may have a one-time issue—like a bad weather event—that prevents them from getting to the pharmacy. An important factor to consider is whether a patient understands how to take their prescribed medication correctly (without needing an in-person consultation at the pharmacy). 

Prescription mail delivery often benefits: 

• Patients with transportation barriers 

• Patients concerned about visiting public spaces (elevated health risk, personal safety, or immunocompromised status) 

• Patients with mobility limitations or physical disabilities 

Mail Delivery Increases Medication Adherence 

Living Water Community Clinic in Orange County has been using the RxP Prescription Mail Delivery Program for three years. Executive Director Debbie McInnis recalls that when they first started with the RxP AMP program, patients had to come back in to pick up their prescriptions, which was very inconvenient. She says, “For many of them, just coming to the clinic once when they need to, on their financial resources, is tough. The mail delivery program has been really good for patients, not just for convenience but also for compliance.”

Lisa Burbee, RN and Clinical Manager at Living Water, elaborates on the benefits of mail delivery, stating, “It really helps with compliance, because if they can’t pick up their medication, they can’t take it.” She notes that patients get a 90-day fill and 1 refill, which means they’re set up to receive 6 months of medication very easily. 

Mail Delivery Helps Patients—Both Rural and Suburban—with Transportation Issues

McInnis appreciates that the RxP PMDP has made medication more accessible for their patients. She explains that Living Water serves patients from different counties, beyond just where the clinic is located in Orange County, noting “Some of [our patients] could be more than 25 miles away. Because we’re rural, we deal with people in other counties, so [being able to offer] mail delivery is huge.”

At the Mother of Mercy clinics in Manassas and Woodbridge, patients face different transportation issues. Executive Director Alexandra Luevano explains, “A lot of our patients walk [to the clinic] or take a bus; It could easily take them an hour or two just to get to the clinic, between hopping on and off different buses or walking.” She says that mail delivery has been extremely helpful, noting that it also increases compliance: “[Patients are] able to receive the medications and start taking them, whereas in the past it could take a few weeks after we got the medication for them to pick it up because they just didn’t have a ride or a way to get [here] quickly.”

Prescription Mail Delivery is a Safe Alternative for Patients with Illness or Limited Mobility 

Luevano recalls a situation from 2020 when Mother of Mercy first started using the RxP PMDP where the ability to mail medication made a huge difference. During COVID there was a patient who needed Albuterol, an inhaler for asthma. “She wasn’t feeling well; She didn’t have COVID at the time, but she just didn’t have anyone able to bring her to

 the clinic. So, we mailed [the medication] out to her and I remember her calling me and saying, ‘You saved my life.’ She got it the next day after we mailed it, and she was so grateful,” Luevano recalls.

Patients with limited mobility can also benefit from prescription mail delivery. Lisa Burbee at Living Water shares that one of their patients was having difficulty going anywhere because of a serious knee injury that she was waiting to get surgery on. She recalls, “Sometimes [the patient] would go to CVS and her prescription wasn’t ready for pickup. So, she would have to go back and forth, when even going once was really hard for her because she had difficulty just walking around because of her knee.” In this case, mail delivery was a big help for the patient in terms of convenience and minimizing fall risks.

The Need for Prescription Mail Delivery is Increasing 

Living Water has found prescription mail delivery to be a reliable, efficient system for getting their patients the medications they need. As they continue to increase their patient numbers from neighboring counties, McInnis anticipates there will be additional demand for mail delivery.

Chesapeake Care Clinic also anticipates an increased demand for mail delivery in the near future. They serve a diverse group of patients, some of whom are reluctant to leave their homes because of concerns about their personal safety. Connie Sheriff, CPhT, adds, “If it’s a question of, if they fail to pick up [their medication], then they’re going to have a gap, we’re going to mail it out to them.”  

At the Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinics, Luevano sees the state of the economy influencing the demand for mail delivery. “Many of our patients have lost their jobs, or they’re just barely making ends meet because of the increased crisis of everything, especially food,” she says. “In a lot of cases, our patients have to choose between buying food for their families or paying for their medications or paying for a ride to come to the doctor. So having these medications available to them is a huge impact, if they’re able to get [them] mailed home.” 

We Need Your Support: Help Fund Prescription Mail Delivery! 

Rx Partnership is proud to support our clinics with a Prescription Mail Delivery Program that helps the most vulnerable Virginians access affordable medications. We’ve shipped more than 11,000 packages to date. As our clinics prepare for rising numbers of uninsured patients, we anticipate an increased need for mail delivery. 

♥ You can help. Rx Partnership is hoping to secure: 

• A corporate or foundation sponsor to provide dedicated support for the RxP Prescription Mail Delivery Program 
  • $20,000 annually is needed to meet the rising needs and will provide nearly 5,000 packages of lifesaving medication.
  • For more information, contact Mary Beth Moody, RxP’s Director of Development & Marketing.
• Individual supporters to join our mission to increase medication access: A single $50 donation pays for 10 prescription mail delivery packages!

With your help, we can continue breaking down barriers to equitable access to healthcare, moving closer to achieving medication access for ALL.