“Each year, six to seven billion dollars of perfectly useable pharmaceuticals and medical supplies are destroyed” laments Adam Kircher, founder of the Supporting Initiative to Redistribute Unused Medicines or SIRUM, an award-winning online network facilitating medical donations to free clinics throughout the United States. SIRIUM is a business-to-business medicine redistribution exchange emerging from Mr. Kircher’s experiences helping disaster relief efforts around the world.

“It can take up to six months for a donation to reach a clinic. By that time it’s too late, and often the medicine is expired.” Kircher and his colleagues, hoping to improve upon the conventional model, designed a central hub in which donors are automatically matched with clinics that have requested medicines or supplies. Their web-based approach offers users a real-time database of available donations, immediate shipping, and social networking tools.

Based at Stanford University, SIRUM relies on a team of 20 volunteers including Stanford students, faculty, alumnae, and Silicon Valley veterans from McKinsey, The Boston Consulting Group, Hewlett Packard, and the CEO of Network Consulting. In 2010, SIRUM launched a pilot program in the San Francisco Bay Area which successfully redistributed $300,000 worth of needed medications to 20 clinics in four months. Clinics and donors across California have registered with the network and are benefiting from more efficient and reliable donation processing.

Kircher continues recruiting facilities. “The first question people ask is, ‘Is it legal?’ We’ve spent the last two years working with California lawmakers and the Department of Public Health to pass California Senate Bill 798, which permits counties, manufacturers and health care facilities to donate and receive medications.” San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have already enacted Senate Bill 798 and Alameda County is considering ratifying the ordinance. The SIRUM team’s ability to blend classic political advocacy and outreach with online social networking places them at the forefront of organizations providing more health care for less money.

SIRUM’s target for the coming year is to increase the network to 100 clinics and exchange one million dollars of worth of medicine. The continued success of SIRUM depends on their ability to increase the amount of medication and supplies available on the exchange. Although this program is not designed for individuals to donate medicines, individuals become involved by donating shipping credits to clinics that use the network. An average medicine donation costs $15 to ship; SIRUM is exploring ways to keep shipping costs low enough to make the program of value for both donor and recipient. Kircher encourages Californians to, “Take local action! Contact your local political representatives to let them know about SB 798 and safe pharmaceutical donations.”

SIRUM’s model of pharmaceutical redistribution represents the next generation of Green Health Care; integrating technology, philanthropy, and economic efficiency. In creating this network, SIRUM, has opened a channel for health care facilities and manufactures to collaborate on one common goal increasing access to life-saving medicines for those in need. Teleosis welcomes collaborating with SIRUM, reducing pharmaceutical waste and improving the lives of people.