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American Consumers Have Variety of Domestic Options for Savings on Safe, Effective Prescription Drugs

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 December 2004, 12:00 CST

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Partnership for Safe Medicines, a coalition of patient, physician, pharmacist, university, industry and professional organizations, today released a guide to educate consumers on ways to find drugs that are safe, effective and affordable.

Recent reports have shown that Americans looking for better prices on prescription drugs can find them in American pharmacies, without facing potential risks that accompany buying from beyond U.S. borders. But to benefit from lower prices at home, consumers need to become better educated about their options for finding safe, untainted and regulated drugs for themselves and their families.

Marv Shepherd, Ph.D., an expert advisor to the Partnership for Safe Medicines and the director for Pharmacoeconomic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, said Americans have more options than they know for purchasing safe, life-saving drugs.

"Prescription medications are technologies that affect how our bodies work," Dr. Shepherd said. "Making sure we take the right ones and take them correctly is critical. Patients need to talk with their pharmacist and their physician about saving options like generic or over-the-counter drugs."

The Safe Savings guide was released concurrent with a much anticipated report from the U.S. Surgeon General that looked at the safety of imported prescription drugs. The report found that the safety risks are high and that any savings realized would benefit middle men, not consumers. "There are plenty of options for saving on drugs that do not involve opening our medicine cabinets to foreign threats," Shepherd added.

As a positive, domestic alternative to risky importation schemes, Dr. Shepherd and the Partnership released a prescription drug "Safe Savings" guide that offers American consumers tips on accessing safe and affordable drugs. The guide includes information on private patient assistance programs, comparison shopping and safely buying drugs online.

* Government Assistance Programs -- Medicare Approved Drug Discount Cards

are saving seniors 10-25 percent off drug bills. Seniors and people

with disabilities can call 1-800-MEDICARE (633-4227) or log onto

http://www.medicare.gov/ for information on these savings, plus an extra

$600 discount for low-income seniors. Many states also offer free

discount programs. A complete list is available at

http://www.safemedicines.org/.

* Private Assistance Programs -- Pharmaceutical companies offer deep

discounts and sometimes free brand-name medications to people who cannot

afford them. Sites like HelpingPatients.org and TogetherRx.com compile

pharmaceutical patient assistance programs that offer deeply discounted,

or free, prescription drugs. RxOutreach at http://www.rxoutreach.com/ or

1-800-769-3880, is a prescription assistance program providing

discounted access to generic medicines.

* Comparison Shopping -- Many consumers are largely unaware that prices

for medications vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, city to city. Patients

can take their list of medications to multiple pharmacies to find the

best price. For a single medication, there are online price comparison

tools like http://www.pillbot.com/ and http://www.destinationrx.com/.

* Buying online -- Research shows that consumers can save between 20-50

percent off retail prices when purchasing medications online, but it's

important to look for the VIPPS safety seal that guides consumers to

safe online pharmacies. Several states also offer online comparison

shopping tools that help patients find the price of popular medicines at

pharmacies across a state. Log onto http://www.safemedicines.org/ for

links to these sites.

A complete copy of the "Safe Savings" guide is available on the Partnership's Web site at http://www.safemedicines.org/. It will also be distributed by Partnership members at upcoming conferences, through local senior and community centers and state departments of aging.

About the Partnership for Safe Medicines

The Partnership for Safe Medicines is a coalition of patient, physician, pharmacist, university, industry and other professional organizations committed to the safety of prescription drugs and protecting consumers against unapproved, counterfeit, substandard, mishandled or otherwise unsafe medicines. For more information, visit us online at http://www.safemedicines.org/.

Partnership for Safe Medicines

CONTACT: Jonathan Osmundsen, +1-202-339-0111, orjosmundsen@ignitioncom.com, for Partnership for Safe Medicines

Web site: http://www.safemedicines.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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