North Dakota Telepharmacy Project
Many communities in North Dakota are too small to have their own pharmacy, forcing their citizens to drive for miles to get their prescriptions filled. In 2002, Senator Dorgan secured funding for innovative telepharmacy projects in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. The project uses high-quality and high-speed video conferencing technology to allow a pharmacist at one location to work with a pharmacy technician at another location to fill customer prescriptions. Customers can also interact directly with the pharmacist over the secured two-way video conferencing system for specific questions about the medication, such as dosages or side effects.
Since the program's inception in 2002, pharmacy service has been restored or retained in 57 communities serving more than 40,000 residents in 29 North Dakota counties. The funds were used to add new sites by helping to pay for the initial start-up equipment and connection expenses. After that, each site is responsible for maintaining its service and operating like a regular pharmacy business. In addition to restoring valuable access to health care in rural areas, the project has added more than $12.5 million annually in economic development to the participating rural economies.