Annual Pharmacy Update
Section titled “Annual Pharmacy Update”Pharmacy practices and prices are always changing. When people ask me what's the best pharmacy, I can only say, that depends.
- Need a prescription on a Sunday? In Port Townsend, that's Safeway - the only pharmacy that's open.
- Looking for personalized service or a compounded custom pharmaceutical? In Port Townsend, that's Don's Pharmacy.
- Taking a generic medication long-term and price is critical? Try Costco. You don't need to be a member, they will mail your medications postage-free, and you can check prices online here.
- Taking a brand-name medication long-term and price is critical? Try Canada Pharmacy. They charge a $10 shipping fee and may take a couple of weeks to get your prescription to you.
Price Comparisons
Section titled “Price Comparisons”Costco
Prozac (branded fluoxetine) 20 mg, 100 caps $493.36
Fluoxetine (generic alternative) 20 mg, 100 caps $10.00
Canada Pharmacy
Prozac (branded fluoxetine) 20 mgs, 90 caps $221
Fluoxetine (generic alternative) 20 mgs, 90 caps $39.00
The key point is that branded drugs are currently less expensive at the Canadian pharmacy than at US pharmacies; generics are less expensive in the US. As well, Costco prices generally beat prices at other US pharmacies. For now. Prices and availability are always changing. Keep us posted and we'll pass on what we learn.
Free Pharmaceuticals "Bad news and Good news"
Section titled “Free Pharmaceuticals "Bad news and Good news"”You've know about "bad news and good news." When your income is "bad news," the "good news" can be free medications from the pharmaceutical companies. In 2004, major pharmaceutical companies gave away $4.7 billion retail value of drugs to low-income patients. Some critics charged that the programs were difficult to access. Each company, for instance, had its own program, so that patients on drugs from several companies had to go through the cumbersome process of application and income verification several times. The industry has responded by forming a centralized access point, the Partnership for Physician's Assistance. Now patients can go to this one site to discover what programs are available.
I hope you don't qualify.
Medicine Far From Home - Three Short Takes
Section titled “Medicine Far From Home - Three Short Takes”Better Medicine Overseas? Maybe
Section titled “Better Medicine Overseas? Maybe”A number of our patients have obtained medical care overseas. Doing some research to check on the reliability of off-shore care, I discovered a whole world of medical tourism. People are traveling abroad for lower-cost care or procedures not easily available in the US. One company specializes in arranging overseas care. Sometimes insurance will even pay. For instance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina now covers treatment at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Thailand.
Better Medicine Through Business-as-Usual? No way
Section titled “Better Medicine Through Business-as-Usual? No way”Today I reviewed the records from an East Coast specialty clinic regarding one of our patients and was appalled to see almost every report from the specialist to the referring physician end with the sentence "I hope this report contributes to your chart." Translation: These tests look good on the record.
The specialist noted on one occasion that the patient was in treatment for substance abuse, then later prescribed a federally controlled (potentially habituating) drug!
What is happening here? It looks to me as if the many thousands of dollars of tests performed were done largely to make the medical record look good. Even worse, it seems clear that the clinic is just going through the motions with no real recognition of this person as an individual with a distressing medical problem. Why not end the report with "I hope our work has benefited our mutual patient"?
Better Medicine In Cuba? Not either
Section titled “Better Medicine In Cuba? Not either”Reviewers tell me that a recent movie holds up the Cuban system as a model for us to follow. As pointed out in the British Medical Journal in 2001, and by many other reliable sources, Cuba has two systems, one for the rich, which includes journalists and film makers, and one for ordinary citizens. The Canadian National Post reviews the experiences of working-class Cubans.
Movies that make us laugh are good for our health. But not if we don't do our homework afterwards. Check out article on Solutions to Healthcare Reform from August 2007 for a more useful under-the-hood look at the US medical system and how we can improve it.