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New Web Tool Helps Consumers Uncover Generic Drug Alternatives

Posted on: Thursday, 28 September 2006, 00:00 CDT

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With more than $10 billion in brand drugs going generic this year, consumers and health plans are cutting drug costs by as much as $60 on each prescription where a new generic is available.

Consumers using brand drugs that aren't available as a generic can also get in on the savings. Potential alternatives to brand medications are often available and achieve a comparable therapeutic result to the brand at a lower cost.

Uncovering the generic alternatives to discuss with a physician can be a problem, which now has a solution -- a new interactive web service from DrugDigest.org called Check for Savings.

The new service generates a list of generic and over the counter savings alternatives upon clicking the name of a brand drug in a format suitable for printing and taking to a physician. It is available at http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/CheckForSavings .

Used by more than 9.8 million visitors in 2005, DrugDigest.org is a cooperative effort between the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Express Scripts.

In addition to Check for Savings, DrugDigest offers other tools to empower consumers to make informed choices about drugs and treatment options.

-- Drug Interaction Checker provides consumers with access to approximately 13,000 easy to understand drug-drug, drug-food, and drug- alcohol interaction messages covering prescription and over-the-counter products, herbals and dietary supplements. -- Drug Comparison allows consumers to compare the efficacy of drugs that are either within the same class or used to treat the same conditions. -- Side Effect Comparison provides consumers with specific side effect information about a drug or a side-by-side comparison of side effects for that drug versus another drug in the same class. -- Care Pathways for asthma, diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) helps consumers learn about proper management of these conditions and participate in their own care. -- Health Risk Assessments allows consumers to learn about conditions such as alcoholism, anxiety, depression, osteoporosis, sleep disorders, and coronary heart disease and provides the information needed to initiate a conversation with their doctor about their risk for developing these conditions and possible prevention strategies. -- 7 Steps to Safety provides practical, pharmacist recommended strategies to improve medication safety. Included are recommended ways to use DrugDigest as well as a medication awareness checklist and printable emergency contact and medication card.

DrugDigest.org is certified by the Health on the Net (HON) Code and has been listed as one of the Best Medical Websites by "Business Week." It has also been featured as a top drug information website by "Readers Digest" and was touted by the "Wall Street Journal" as a site that dispenses impartial advice about drugs.

DrugDigest provides one of the most comprehensive sources of noncommercial, evidence-based, consumer-oriented drug information on the Internet. Doctors of pharmacy from St. Louis College of Pharmacy, staff clinical pharmacists and physicians, along with medical editors review DrugDigest materials for accuracy and timeliness, with a commitment to maintain a Web-based resource that educates and empowers consumers to make informed choices about drug therapy.

About Express Scripts, Inc.

Express Scripts, Inc. is one of the largest pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies in North America, providing PBM services to over 55 million patients through facilities in 13 states and Canada. Express Scripts serves thousands of client groups, including managed-care organizations, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, employers and union-sponsored benefit plans. Express Scripts is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. More information can be found at http://www.express-scripts.com/ .

About St. Louis College of Pharmacy

Founded in 1864, St. Louis College of Pharmacy is the oldest college of pharmacy west of the Mississippi River. The College admits students directly from high school and integrates the liberal arts and sciences with a six-year professional curriculum leading to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. The College offers a full student-life experience, including professional and fraternal organizations, theater and intercollegiate athletics. More information can be found at http://www.stlcop.edu/ .

Express Scripts Media Contact: Rita Holmes-Bobo 314.702.7584 rholmesbobo@express-scripts.com St. Louis College of Pharmacy Media Contact: Patti Fernandez 314.446.8393 pfernandez@stlcop.edu

Express Scripts, Inc.

CONTACT: Rita Holmes-Bobo of Express Scripts, +1-314-702-7584,rholmesbobo@express-scripts.com , or Patti Fernandez of St. Louis College ofPharmacy, +1-314-446-8393, pfernandez@stlcop.edu

Web site: http://www.express-scripts.com/http://www.stlcop.edu/http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/CheckForSavings

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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