What is WPRN?

The Wisconsin Pharmacy Recovery Network is a voluntary program intended to serve chemically impaired pharmacists, students and technicians.

Who Does it Help?

As structured, the Network is designed to provide confidential assistance to the primary impaired pharmacist, pharmacy student, pharmacy technician, and the family or significant others affected by the impairment.

What can WPRN Provide?

• Confidential referrals to primary and regional contacts.
• Intervention services to assist the pharmacist and family in facing the problem.
• Support of the impaired pharmacist’s treatment, after care and rehabilitation to reentry into the profession.
• Advocacy for the pharmacist with employers and the Pharmacy Examining Board.
• Self-reporting procedures.

Is There a Charge for Services?

There is no fee for referral, recovery assistance or rehabilitation support services offered by WPRN. When a referral is made for evaluation and treatment, the cost of treatment services, including drug screening, will be the responsibility of the individual participant. Most of these services are reimbursable through health insurance plans.

Educational Services

• To employers and EAP programs.
• Professional Associations
• Students
• Educational programs on addiction, intervention, aftercare, and re-entry issues

Why is WPRN Nessesary?

Estimates place the incidence of alcoholism and other drug dependency in pharmacists at about 10-15% for alcohol and about 3% for other drugs. If these figures reflect the incidence of substance abuse in Wisconsin, we may have as many as 500 to 600 impaired pharmacists in this state.

The Wisconsin Pharmacy Recovery Network (WPRN) is a network of volunteer recovering and non-recovering pharmacists and their families organized to provide early detection, intervention, aftercare support and education to pharmacists and their families in the area of drug and alcohol dependency.

Help is Only a Phone Call or E-mail Away

If you would like more information about the program, if you personally have a problem, or you live or work with a pharmacist who does, call the Network Information Line at (608) 827-9200. All inquiries will be referred to a primary or regional contact within the network.

Meetings

WPRN meets at the PSW offices (701 Heartland Trail, Madison).

The first half of the meeting is open to discuss the Wisconsin Pharmacy Recovery Network. The second half is an International Pharmacists Anonymous meeting and is designed for individuals who are recovering from chemical dependency.

COVID-19 UPDATE
Until further notice, all future meetings will be held in a virtual format. If you are interested in joining a meeting, please contact Tracy Head at tracy.head@gmail.com to request an invitation. Access to the meeting will be provided via an email invitation with password protected link to the meeting.