YOUR PHYSICIAN CAN SAVE YOU MONEY ON DRUGS
Filed Under Medication Costs |
Your physician plays a maj or role in the cost of drugs by choosing the drugs to be prescribed. For example, if you have an infection due to bacteria, you may be given tetracycline or erythromycin. Tetracycline costs about three cents a capsule, while erythromycin costs about twenty-five cents. If you are given a steroid prescription for asthma, at the physician’s option this may be prednisone at two cents per tablet or methylprednisolone at twenty cents per tablet. Medically, such drug choices are between agents of similar effectiveness. If your physician prescribes a drug by its trade name, in most states the pharmacist must fill the prescription with that particular brandname product. The brand-name product frequently has a cost many times that of its “generic” equivalent. Does your physician know the relative cost of alternative drugs? Many doctors do not.
The drug-prescribing habits of different physicians can be divided into two groups: the “additive” and the “substitutive” prescribers. With an “additive” physician, each visit you receive a medication in addition to those which you already have. With a “substitutive” prescribing physician, the medication you were previously taking is discontinued and a new medicine is substituted. Usually, the “substitutive” practice is advantageous to your health as well as your pocketbook.
Most of the time, medication can be taken orally. The common reason for requiring medication by injection is the physician’s uncertainty that you will take the medication as prescribed; by injecting it, the medication certainly has been taken. As a thoughtful and reliable patient, however, you can assure your physician of compliance with an oral regimen. Taking medication orally is less painful, less likely to result in an allergic reaction, and far less expensive. There are exceptions, but you should seek oral medication when possible.
If it is clear that you must take a medication for a prolonged period, ask the physician to allow refills on the prescription. With many drugs it is not necessary to be charged an additional physician visit just to get a prescription written. Under other circumstances, the physician may wish to examine you before deciding whether the drug can be safely continued or is still required. Ask your physician if refills on the prescription are permitted. The careful physician will ensure that you fully understand each drug that you are taking, the reasons you are taking it, the side effects which may possibly arise, and the expected length of time that you will be taking the medication. A medication schedule will be arranged during the day so that it is convenient as well as medically effective. 1£ the program is confusing, ask for written instructions. It is crucial that you understand the why and how of your drug therapy. Do not leave the physician’s office for the pharmacy without understanding your medications.