Consumers have many choices to save money on prescription drugs

From 2011 to 2012 prices for brand name drugs increased in price by an average of 13 percent. As healthcare costs continue to rise, all indications are prescription drugs will rise in cost as well. The good news is consumers have more resources than ever to help them save money on their prescriptions. The easiest way consumers can save money is by finding out whether a generic or non-brand name drug is available.  Generic drugs contain the same active ingredients in the same dosages as brand name drugs, but they cost far less.

Another resource available to consumers is co-pay cards. The co-pay on any prescription is a fixed amount of money that insurance companies ask consumers to pay for a specific drug. By using a co-pay card that sum of money can be greatly reduced or eliminated. There are a variety of co-pay cards available. Consumers can also save money using drug discount cards which are often available online. These cards are offered by state governments, pharmacies, non-profit groups, pharmaceutical companies or large retail chain stores. To compare prices and see which medications are covered by which cards you can visit freecopay.com, needymeds.org, or familywize.org.

To find out more about discount and co-pay cards visit the National Consumers League Web site at nclnet.org. Be wary of any discount card that requires a fee up front because those fees may cost more than the prescription itself.

Medication adherence challenge live today

By Rebecca Burkholder, NCL Vice President for Health Policy

Today marks the launch of the 2013 Medication Adherence Team Challenge, a month-long competitive outreach project to engage student pharmacists and other health care professional students and faculty in coming up with creative solutions to raise awareness about medication adherence as a critical public health issue. With nearly three out of four Americans not taking their medications as directed—which results in serious health consequences, especially for people with chronic diseases—it will take a team of health care professionals to moved the needle on adherence.

The Challenge is just one part of the National Consumers League’s Script Your Future campaign, a 3-year program to raise awareness of the importance of medication adherence. Launched in 2011, the campaign has more than 130 public and private stakeholder organizations, and provides tools to help patients and health care professionals better communicate about ways to improve medication adherence.

During the month of February the Challenge will engage interdisciplinary student teams from pharmacy, medicine, nursing, and other health professions to tackle the problem of poor adherence.  The teams will be implementing creative solutions and outreach in their communities to raise awareness and improve understanding about medication adherence, using Script Your Future materials.  At the end of the Challenge, select schools or colleges will be recognized nationally for their efforts to improve medication adherence.

“One of the best hopes we have for changing our culture of nonadherence is to train the next generation of health care professionals to be proactive about engaging their patients, and that starts in the classroom through the innovation brought forward by health professions faculty,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director.

The Challenge is returning to university campuses across the country after a successful first year of student innovation. To learn more about last year’s winners visit the Script Your Future Web site. The winners of Challenge 2013 will be announced later this spring.

This year’s Challenge is sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).

For more information on the Challenge visit the Challenge Community at http://syfadherencechallenge.ning.com/. Follow the challenge on Twitter at #SYFchallenge.  To learn more about the campaign, go to www.ScriptYourFuture.org.

 

Glitch Over Allergy Meds

Itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing aplenty – do these symptoms sound familiar to you? Allergy season is here, and people are suffering! The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recently issued the nation’s new top 100 “spring allergy” capitals, and Washington, DC, where NCL is based, is ranked 51st.

One of our colleagues recently hit a snag at the pharmacy when she requested a refill of her allergy prescription in advance of a business trip. Upon returning home, and running out of her meds, our staffer realized that the refilled pills were a different color and size – she had received the wrong drugs! The pharmacist was extremely apologetic, and issued the correct pills on the spot. Fortunately, since our colleague hadn’t taken any of the wrong pills, or had to suffer without them, all ended well.

This is a lesson for us all though: whenever taking drugs of any kind, prescribed, behind-the-counter, or over-the-counter, we need to pay attention! If something seems off to you—with the drugs themselves, if you notice any new side effects, or if you have any questions—talk to your doctor or pharmacist!

Have you experienced any hiccups at the pharmacy? Are you a fellow allergy sufferer? Feel free share your story here!