These days, for people using drugs, about half the population in the US as I posted two days ago, the need to save money on these chemicals of often questionable value is necessary.
Here are some tips from a book by a medical doctor. I suggest it is good advice.
From The Consumerist - It's no secret that prescription drugs are expensive, but it is a bit of one that they don't have to be. Dr. Edward Jardini's book, How To Save On Prescription Drugs, has 20 methods that anyone can use to drastically cut the costs of long-term medications, without sacrificing quality. Here's 14 of them:
ELIMINATE NONESSENTIAL PRESCRIPTIONS
1. Eliminate medicines that are no longer needed
2. Eliminate medicines that no longer work
3. Eliminate medicines that have never worked
4. Eliminate medicines that were never needed
THINK OUTSIDE THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BOTTLE
5. Treat with lifestyle changes
6. Use nondrug treatments
7. Prevent disease naturally
STEER CLEAR OF OVERPRICED REDUNDANT DRUGS
8. Don't "Ask Your Doctor" (for Advertised Drugs)
9. Insist on generic drugs
10. Insist on cheaper medicines with the same class
11. Insist on a cheaper class from the same treatment goal
PLAY IT SMART!
12. Cut costs by splitting tablets
13. Don't treat side effects of one drug with another
14. Comparison-shop
Be sure to talk to your doctor before changing anything about your medication. In fact, that's the very first thing Jardini wants you to do, schedule a "treatment review" visit where you discuss the efficacy and cost and ask the right questions about the treatment you're getting. "It is not just tough luck if your doctor chooses costly medicines for you," writes Jardini, "The system is designed this way....a health care revolution...needs to take place in the United States...but it will only start when patients enlist physician support and refuse to be denied affordable care...prohibitive cost is an intolerable side effect too."
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