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Prescription Drug Information
Canadian Pharmacies, Discount Drugs, Save on Prescriptions
There are a number of Canadian pharmacies where you can order prescription drugs generally at a substantial discount to the costs of these drugs in the United States; however careful evaluation of these pharmacies should be made prior to ordering..
Reputable Canadian pharmacies use the following safety and service standards:
- They display the pharmacy's license number and name of the authority that granted it. Canadian pharmacies are licensed and regulated by the College of Pharmacy in each province. Consumers can call them to verify pharmacies' status.
- They require patients to provide a doctor's prescription, which will be reviewed by a Canadian doctor as required by Canadian law. (Sites that say prescriptions are not needed are risky.)
- They require patients to submit details of their medical history.
- They provide the pharmacy's mailing address and a telephone number that patients can call to speak with a pharmacist or ask questions about the service. (Sites that allow only e-mail contact are suspect.)
Many seniors find prescription drugs are not covered or are only partially covered by their insurance. Information on Medicare approved prescription drug cards and Medicare Part D can be found on http://www.Medicare.gov. What is covered, what will be covered and how it will be covered changes depending on your plan. The easiest way to keep up with what is happening now is by going to the Medicare and Medicaid sites for up to date information.
You can also visit http://www.aarp.org/health/medicare/drug_coverage/ to check out the Guide to Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, and how the Medicare drug benefits work with other coverage. This free guide will help you choose or change from the many private plans approved by Medicare as well as give you information on the cost and benefits and whether you qualify for extra help. The plan currently offers an open enrollment period each November allowing you to enroll or switch plans. It is also necessary to enroll when you are first eligible for Medicare or your monthly premiums are likely to be higher.
Websites that you can use to learn about drugs you are taking:
http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/about.cfmmedlineplus.gov
DailyMed provides high quality information about marketed drugs. This information includes FDA approved labels (package inserts). This Web site provides health information providers and the public with a standard, comprehensive, up-to-date, look-up and download resource of medication content and labeling as found in medication package inserts.
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/
Internet gateway for timely safety information on drugs and other medical products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
http://meanwhile.com/?domain=mayoclinc.com&404=Y
Mayo Clinic information on prescription drugs and just about everything including allergies, diabetes, arthritis, etc.
www.medlineplus.gov
Information from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health including current health news a medical encyclopedia, interactive tutorials in English and in Spanish and much more.
Missing Out on Benefits?
BenefitsCheckUp helps thousands of people every day to connect to government programs that can help them pay for prescription drugs, health care, utilities, and other needs. Go to http://www.benefitscheckup.org/
AARP often changes its links to sites that offer information so if you can't get to this area using the link above, go to http://www.aarp.org/ and click on health.
New legislation is constantly being enacted and prescription drug coverage will change from time to time. AARP provides up-to-date information on its Website.
For information on Medicaid go to http://cms.hhs.gov. and click on Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage. You can also click on Medicaid under the "programs" listing. This most useful site also has a complete alphabetical list of topics related to Medicaid. Anything you want to know is likely to be on this list and it is updated regularly. To reach this list click on Medicaid Index (a topical listing of Medicaid subject areas).
The publisher of Consumer Reports has launched a free Web site, which gives information as to their rated "best buys" for prescription drugs and in some cases over-the-counter alternatives. Go to http://www.consumerreports.org/ and click on Best Buy Drugs.
Tips for savings on prescription drugs
- Always ask your physician if there is a generic equivalent. The savings over brand-name drubs are often as much a 70%.
- Check the costs of your prescriptions at several pharmacies as well as stores like Costco, Wal-Mart and Target. Even different stores in the same chain have varying prices. After collecting this information go to your local or most convenient pharmacy and ask to speak to the owner or head pharmacist. Show the lower costs and ask if they can be met.
- Ask your physician to prescribe a larger dosage of prescriptions that can be split.(some can and some can't). Buy a pill splitter and cut the pill in half. Often the cost of a higher dosage is only slightly more than a dosage of half the milligrams. . Some typical savings 33% on Lipitor, 46% on Paxial, 41% on Klonopin according U.S. News & World report research.
- Purchase mail order prescriptions from reputable mail order pharmacies. You will often have to order 3 month supplies, but the savings are usually worth it.
- Purchase prescriptions from reliable licensed Canadian pharmacies. There have not been any cases of bogus or unsafe drugs being shipped from licensed pharmacies in Canada.
According to the National Consumers League, four online pharmacies -
http://www.cvs.com/
http://www.drugstore.com/
http://www.medco.com/
http://www.planetrx.com/
have received NABP certification.
Comparison shopping for prescription drugs:
http://www.pillbot.com/
http://www.pharmacychecker.com/
http://corp.destinationrx.com/
http://www.safemedicines.org/issue.html
Drug interaction checker, search function on 24,000 drugs, drug news, FDA actions http://www.cornellcares.com/
This site also allows you to download information on psychosocial as well as financial issues related to the elderly. http://www.drugs.com/
Information on health: http://www.health.nih.gov/
Senior health issues: http://nihseniorhealth.gov/
Drug alerts: http://www.emedicine.com/
Symptoms: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/
A to Z index of health topics: http://www.cdc.gov/
List of resources on new Medicare drug benefit http://kff.org/medicare/rxdrugdebate.cfm
Lists patient assistance programs: http://www.needymeds.com/
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