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With the current state of the economy at the moment, saving money is a priority for most people. And let's face it, drugs are expensive. As a pharmacist, I've come up with a list of what I feel are the best ways to lower your prescription costs. I've arranged the list in descending order with what I feel are the best ways to lower your drug costs.

• Buy OTC. Many prescriptions are written for medication which you can just buy over-the-counter (OTC). There is a push in pharmacy to get more drugs that are available by prescription only into OTC status to make it easier for the consumer. The recent switch of the popular allergy drug Zyrtec is an example. If you are going to the doctor for the common cold or flu, most likely the doctor will prescribe you something that you can just buy over the counter. Ask your doctor if what he/she is prescribing can be purchased OTC. Better yet, check with the pharmacist first for an OTC recommendation and you may save the cost of a doctor visit.
• Ask for FREE samples. Drug companies are notorious for giving away free samples, among other things, to doctors. Why do drug companies give away free samples? To get you "hooked." Yes, they learned a thing or two from "real drug dealers." But every industry does this, don't get mad at the drug companies - just be aware. Be careful, most free samples are for the latest and newest drugs - which are the most expensive. So, when your samples run out, think about who will be paying for them afterwards. With that being said, sometimes a less expensive alternative therapy might be cheaper than a new drug where you can only get a few samples.
• Coupons. The next best thing to getting free samples are coupons. However, you usually need to provide the drug companies with your personal contact information. Here is a link to a website that maintains a list of drug coupons. The same disadvantages that apply to free samples apply to coupons as well.
• Consider mail order pharmacies. Mail order is a good option if you get a 3 month supply at a time. They send the medicine right to your door. You save money on gas. And with gas hovering at almost $4 a gallon here in California, we all know how much that can save us.
• Online Pharmacies. Canadian pharmacies created a big stir a few years ago with their lower prices. Many Americans who live by the border take a trip up to Canada to purchase the cheaper drugs. They often have field-trips just for this purpose. Can't visit Canada? Shop online. The most important issue with online pharmacies is to practice safety. If you think counterfeit drugs are not a problem - they are. I wouldn't buy from any other country except Canada. Mexico? Forget about it. Here is some information from the AARP to help keep you safe. Do your homework on this one.
• Ask for a 3 month supply. The bulk discount principle: the more you purchase at once, the cheaper the medication is. If you have insurance, you will lower the cost of your co-payments. Additionally, the insurance company saves money by not having to pay the pharmacy the extra dispensing fees. It is a win-win for you and your insurance company. If you pay cash for your drugs, most pharmacies you will give you a discount for buying more at a time. I see a lot of situations where people come month after month for the same drug. Ask your doctor to write for a 3 month supply. The only reason I see why a doctor would not do this, is to pad his wallet in extra office visits. Bottom line, if you are on a maintenance drug, make sure your doctor is writing for a 3 month supply.
• Assistance programs. Besides the state and federal assistance programs, medicare and medicaid, many drug companies also have assistance programs for low income individuals and families. However, this is usually not strongly promoted. The website needymeds.com helps you in finding which programs are available.
• Switch insurance companies. If you have the luxury, pick an insurance company wisely. Copays vary greatly between the different insurance companies. Also, what is covered vs. what is not covered differs widely as well. Each insurance company has their own "formulary" - a list of approved drugs. If you are on a medication which is not on your insurance company's formulary, maybe another insurance company will cover it.
• Shop around different pharmacies. In this market the consumer is king. If you have insurance, this shouldn't matter since your copay will remain the same anywhere you go. Shopping around is beneficial if you are a cash-paying customer. With the fierce competition going on between the major pharmacies, they are constantly lowering their prices to try to win your business. Walmart introduced the $4 dollar generic prescriptions over a year ago which caused a big scare among the major chains. Four dollars is often cheaper than the copays of most insurance companies. Of course, this only applies to certain drugs. Here is a link to Walmart for more information Walmart four dollar list Soon afterwards, Target followed suit with their own four dollar generics. Here is their list.

  What is usually kept secret, is that prices can vary, often dramatically, between different stores within the same chain! Yes, even checking drug prices between different stores of the company can save you money. This prices usually vary between cities or regions. I'm not sure how the companies determine the price differentials, but let's just say if people are willing to pay more, they will charge more. I know, it's not fair, but hey - remember, it's still a business.

  Additionally, pharmacies have recently jumped on the coupon bandwagon, at least here in California. The big players will often give you a coupon for free in-store money just by transfering over prescriptions from a competitor. I believe Walgreens started it, but CVS upped the ante by giving away upwards of $30, I believe for EACH transferred prescription. It was crazy. With a promotion like this, obviously people were taking advantage of it, transferring prescriptions back and forth just to get the free money. Needless to say, the pharmacists weren't too excited - it's a hassle transferring prescriptions.

  A personal note regarding switching pharmacies. While I am not against the idea of saving money or taking advantage of the promotions the pharmacies offer, I do want to say that price is just one factor for why you choose one pharmacy over another. When it comes to your healthcare a good pharmacist can save you more than just a few dollars in the long run.

• Switch to a cheaper therapeutic alternative drug. This is an excellent way to lower your prescription costs. You can find a lower priced drug within the same "drug class" or in a different class, but used for the same indication. Just because a drug is the most expensive or the newest doesn't necessarily mean it is the best one. We always said in pharmacy that the "best" drug is the one that works for you. If a cheaper drug works just as well as a more expensive drug, why not use it? If your doctor has no good reason why he/she wants to prescribe you the newest drug available, instead of a cheaper alternative, then most likely he/she has been "visited" by a drug rep. Drug reps love to push the latest and greatest. Why? It's their job. Usually, the latest is just the most expensive and not the "greatest."

  This is where education and having an open mind as a consumer, plays an important role. People have a firm belief on the correlation between price vs. effectiveness. It is in-grained into our minds that the cheaper something is, the worst it is. As a pharmacist, this is one of the toughest beliefs to over-come with a customer.

• Switch to generic. Drug companies hate generic drugs. They will fight tooth-and-nail to postpone generics from entering the market. Often tying up the approval process in court for years after a generic is introduced. The more generics that enter the market, the cheaper the price of the drug. It's called competition. And it saves you money. What you may be surprised to hear, is that the major drug companies have gotten into the generic game as well - offering their own generic drugs, under a different label. Yes, some generic drugs are made by the exact same drug company that makes the name-brand version. You are getting the identical drug! But at a lower cost. Ah, the beauty of capitalism.

  Read more about generics from the FDA here.

• Free drug discount cards Are you a cash paying customer? There is absolutely no reason why you need to pay FULL price on prescriptions. Cash paying customers get "raped" when it comes to paying for drug costs. I don't know about you, but I hate feeling violated. The solution: get a free drug discount card. When I was in the pharmacy I would constantly tell my cash paying customers to sign up for a free drug card. Heck, if I had the time, I would sign them up right there on the spot. The savings could be tremendous, up to 75% off. And it is so easy to get one. My favorite is freedrugcard.us. Most major chains accept this card.

  Why are they offering free drug cards? The reason of course - money! Just think of it like why businesses offer coupons and discounts, and it'll make sense. But the way I see it, it is a win-win for everyone. So, if you are a cash paying customer, there is no excuse to not get one.

• Decrease the amount of your prescriptions. If you don't need the medication anymore, don't buy it. You would be surprised by how many duplicate drug therapies people are on. There are a number of possible reasons for this. The most guilty culprit - seeing different doctors. One doctor prescribes something; you visit a different doctor who prescribes you a therapeutically equivalent drug. Another reason is old prescriptions. Consider the following scenario: you run out of refills for a medication, you call the pharmacy to request a refill from your doctor. The doctor, nurse, or secretary authorizes a refill. You take the medicine. Everything sound good right? However, for whatever reason, you refilled an old prescription bottle. Your doctor had switched your depression med last month. You are now taking two drugs for the same condition. If you are not sure whether or not you should still be on a medication, check with your doctor. Yet another reason is that some medications are prescribed just to combat the side effects of a drug you are on. If you stop taking the first drug, you don't need the other one either.

  The other benefit to this? Besides, lowering costs, safety is an important issue. We all know the dangers of excess drug therapy. Consider what happened to Heath Ledger as a reminder.

• Eliminate your medications Of course the best way to save money is if you don't have to buy prescriptions in the first place. Remember, prevention is the only proven cure. This is what I'm striving to do for you - empower you to make healthy lifestyle choices. To give you information and knowledge. The more you know, the more choices you have. The more choices you have, the more power you have. The more power you have, the more freedom you have.

I hope this list gives you some valuable insight on how you can save money on your prescriptions. Now, if I can just find a good way to save money on gas.

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