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4 Buck Prescription Drug Program Levels the Playing Field for Independent Pharmacies!

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 April 2007, 09:00 CDT

Affordable Quality Pharmaceuticals (AQP) is introducing a program that allows independent pharmacies to effectively compete against retail giants who recently announced low-cost generic prescriptions for four dollars. The AQP 4BuckDrug program offers over 300 popular generic drugs at commonly prescribed dosages for four dollars for a 30-day supply in a consumer-ready package.

"It is challenging to sell any prescription for four dollars and break-even, let alone cover your costs and make a small profit," says AQP Founder and CEO, Tracy Nguyen. "Independent pharmacies don't have the buying power that big chain drug stores have," she adds. AQP, fully licensed by the U.S. FDA and the State of California to re-pack prescription drugs in its Garden Grove, CA, facility, takes advantage of its highly efficient re-packing facilities and buying power and passes the tremendous savings on to independent pharmacies. AQP's re-packed drugs meet all U.S. FDA regulations.

A re-packer since 2000, AQP offers the cost-saving advantages of high-volume prescription drug fulfillment by eliminating the labor-intensive elements of the retail pharmacy's dispensing process. AQP buys in large volume, maintains low overhead, and runs a highly efficient re-packing facility, which makes this program possible. "This program levels the playing field for independent pharmacies by allowing them to offer the same four dollar prescription drugs as the large chain drug stores, so pharmacists can spend less time dispensing and have more time with their customers," adds Nguyen. "The AQP 4BuckDrug program also leads to a leaner inventory and improved cash flow because pharmacists are no longer required to carry inventory in inconvenient large packages."

There is another reason why pharmacies, large and small, should take advantage of pills professionally re-packaged. As recently highlighted on ABC TV's "20/20" news magazine show on March 30, big-name pharmacies handle billions of prescriptions each year. One of the show's chief investigative correspondents exposed potentially dangerous errors that can sometimes have devastating consequences.

They went undercover and named some of the country's largest and most popular chain pharmacies. They reported that some people fear there is an unreported epidemic of pharmacy error in this country's fast-growing chain drugstore industry.

During a four-month "20/20" investigation, they found out "it's all about the bottom line." Overworked pharmacists are pushed to fill prescriptions at a fast food-like pace. Some of these large pharmacies are filling as many as 350 prescriptions per shift, with not enough time to do it.

What most consumers do not realize is that not everyone behind the counter in a white coat is a pharmacist. Many are called pharmacy technicians. Some are high school students as young as 16 years old, filling prescriptions. This is a disaster just waiting to happen, and many already have. In one case, cited on the show, a high school student whose previous job was selling popcorn at a movie theater, was now working behind the counter at a major pharmacy filling prescriptions, which resulted in a terrible mistake of giving the incorrect dosage of pills to a customer who put in a prescription for a blood thinner. The teenager put down 10 times the amount to be taken on the label. This innocent woman suffered a massive stroke and had to stop her chemotherapy treatments for her cancer. She unfortunately died soon after that incident.

This emphasizes the need for pharmacies of all sizes to purchase pre-packed prescription pills from a reputable U.S. FDA-approved pharmaceutical company, such as Affordable Quality Pharmaceuticals.

AQP's 4BuckDrug program is available through wholesalers and pharmacy buying groups.

Contact Twee Pham at AQP for more information at (714) 903-1000 or visit aqpharmaceuticals.com and 4BuckDrug.com.

Source: Business Wire

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