SIRUM

SIRUM (Supporting Initiatives to Redistribute Unused Medicine) is a social enterprise committed to expanding healthcare access for those in need. Incubated at Stanford University, SIRUM leverages the power of technology to save medicine to save lives. As the nation’s largest redistributor of surplus medicine, SIRUM enables pharmacies and health facilities to donate their unused medicine and redistributes them to those in need.

GreenLight Chicago led conversations with community and healthcare leaders, who identified the drastic impact of healthcare costs on families, especially those with lower incomes. In Chicago, medication markups can range from 5% to 500% depending on the drug and pharmacy. One in four Americans don’t refill the prescriptions they need to stay healthy, and Chicago is no exception. In 2020, 28% of Illinois adults reported rationing or going without medication due to skyrocketing prescription costs (Altarum, 2020).

SIRUM has already helped more than 500,000 uninsured and underinsured patients nationwide access nearly three million prescriptions. Over 600 medications are available, many for only a $2 monthly administration fee through SIRUM’s pharmacy service, Good Pill, which can mail prescriptions directly to patients’ homes with automatic refills. In Chicago, SIRUM aims to serve 60,000 patients over the next four years, saving individuals and families an estimated $8 million, while partnering with local hospitals, clinics, and health centers to expand medicine access across the city.