Name: John Whitkamp

Address: 6107 West Greenfield Ave., West Allise, WI

John Whitkamp is implementing a program to help asthma patients with their medication. He shows these patients how to use their inhalers and explains to them the medications they are taking. He also explains to his patients the drug related problems of these medications and what can happen if they are not taken properly.

Mr. Whitkamp charges his patients that have no insurance 5 dollars per session. His greatest resistance has come from the insurance companies and the HMO’s; who refuse to pay him. They claim that what he is doing is covered under his duties of counseling. The HMO’s and insurance companies say that they already have nurses that educate their asthma patients on their medication and monitor their progress. They refuse to pay him for what they feel is "double treatment". There is no documentation required for Mr. Whitkamp’s services.

There is no specialized training for the cash customers, but in order to be paid by the insurance companies and the HMO’s he must be certified in asthma treatment just as the nurses are. When Mr. Whitkamp went to be certified, he was denied certification because he was a pharmacist and not a nurse.

There is no special software used at this point; it is all done by manual data collection. Mr. Whitkamp hopes to have a system installed by next year from JASCORP. This new system will aid in collecting patient information and processing claims.

Interviewed By: Jon Mark Plummer