The United States had surprisingly spent around $350 billion on prescription drugs in 2018. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48% of Americans aged 20 and 59 use at least one prescription drug, and 76% of Americans aged 60 and above use two or more prescription drugs. (1)
Are you facing it difficult to pay for your medicines? This happens when your doctor prescribes you a brand-name drug, which is pricey and is not covered under your plan.
Do you know about patient assistance programs? Are you getting discounts? Can you shift to generic medicines? You may have to ask your pharmacist many such questions to get your medication for a better price. There are several ways you can reduce the price of the prescribed drugs, and stay healthy at a low price.
Experts say that pharmacists are the easily accessible members of your health care team. Pharmacists are the best members who can help you to save money and time. Hence it's important to get to know your pharmacist and to ask questions. (2)
Here are the best questions to ask your pharmacist to save your money.
1. With Prescribed Drugs Ask if you can Stop the Other Drugs
If you are on any medication, ask your physician and pharmacist whether you can stop taking any previous drugs. Reducing your prescribed drugs will help you save money because you won't pay for unnecessary drugs. Having less medication also reduces the risk of taking the wrong medications or overdosing and ending up in a high-risk health emergency.
When you are discharged from a health emergency, you are prescribed new drugs. You are on medication during the hospital stay, and these new medications might cause certain changes. Hence, It is very important to stay in touch with your pharmacist after your discharge to consult if you have a query regarding medications.
2. Fix an Appointment With Your Pharmacist to Review Your Medications
It is very important to ask your pharmacist about medication and treatment plans. During the consultation, your pharmacist can help you review all your medications and suggest ways to save your money. (3)
Your pharmacists may suggest you switch to generic medicine, which might save almost 80% on medicine cost. He may also recommend taking some health insurance plans which are within Medicare to save more money on your prescribed drugs. You can choose to go for a 90 day supply if you are suffering from chronic diseases. Switching to 90 supply can save more money. Some potent drugs can be advised with the consent of your doctor to reduce the total number of drugs you are taking.
The Affordable care act also known as Obamacare, was signed as a law in the US in march 2010. This care act was designed to extend health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, this act prevents insurance companies from rejecting coverage due to the pre-existing terms and conditions and includes all the essential health benefits. (4)
Hence, it is essential to discuss with your pharmacists regularly and get you medications reviewed.
3. Ask Pharmacists for Ways to Reduce the Price of Your Medicines
There are many patient assistance programs available globally; your pharmacists would be the best source for information on such events. Remember to ask your pharmacist if there are any patient assistance programs you can avail in your area.
In recent times, many companies help patients remove barriers of medicinal cost, with numerous patient assistance programs that have been established. These programs play a very important role in facilitating access to medications and therapies for many uninsured and underinsured patients. They reduce the time consumed due to the lengthy authorization process and provide support and care to the patients who may have a gap\ coverage in a job change or any other life events. (5)
Your pharmacist may also know the NGO workers and social workers helping people who cannot afford their medicines. They can recommend patient advocates for filling up the forms for you.
4. Ask for Generic Drugs
Ask your pharmacists regarding any generic drug that can replace your prescribed drug. Generic drugs would cost 80-85% less, and these drugs are equally effective and safe as the branded drugs. (6)
Always ask your pharmacist for an FDA approved generic drug, these drugs will always have the same active ingredient as the branded drug. The differences in the composition might be because of inactive ingredients.
Generally, these inactive ingredients will not cause any side effects in many people. Few people are allergic to these inactive ingredients, so ask your pharmacist about the side effects of the generic drugs.
5. Ask if you can Switch to 90-Day Supply
You cannot opt for a 90-day refill if you are suffering from a chronic long-term disorder like thyroid, blood pressure, diabetes, etc.
Ask your pharmacists if you can switch yourself to a 90-day prescription. A 90-day refill is the best way to save money and time. The extended stock will never let you go out of stock with your important medicines.
A 90-day refill is the best option during the pandemic and best to avail of the discounts. A 90-day refill prescription is generally not recommended for common cold, flu-like symptoms, antibiotics, and antidepressants.
Your pharmacist helps you to choose a 90-day refill if you are;
- Suffering from a long term disease,
- Not having any side effects with current medicines, which you have been consuming for more than a year
- Maintaining gradual improvement in your health
6. Check for Drug Interactions
Ask the pharmacist if over the counter drugs or any non prescribed drugs will interfere with the prescribed medications. Many people experience the side effects caused due to overdose. For example, vitamin E has properties such as blood-thinning, and combining it with the prescribed blood thinner such as coumadin may cause severe bleeding, which might lead to a health emergency.
Here are a few tips for developing a good and healthy relationship with your pharmacists:
- Talk to your pharmacists regularly, always engage yourself with the pharmacists who are interested to listen to you.
- Always select a recognized and legalized pharmacist.
- Use one pharmacy and one pharmacist for all of your drug needs.
- Be flexible and considerable; your pharmacists may be busy and would not be able to attend you.
- Always call your pharmacists for their available time visit.
- Ask your pharmacist to update you regarding discounts, patient assistance programs, or any other financial support you could get.
Final words.
Pharmacists are the most accessible members of our healthcare system. It is essential to have a healthy and flexible relationship with them. They also help us to save our money in many ways.
Having a reliable pharmacist and a pharmacy for all our medicines helps to build good relationships and save more money.