Wal-Mart gets it right
I'm not a Wal-Mart fan. K-mart with it's messy empty aisles is quiet and more my taste in department stores. But I'm not anti-Wal-Mart either, and their pharmacy has figured it out. Leave it to the "dime-store" genius to take over the pharmaceutical world too.
As far as pharmacies go, Wally has been second rate; an "also-ran". It hasn't the reputation or prestige for most Americans to put their health in Wal-Mart's hands. But financial forces are becoming even more important to the American patient. Prescription medicines have been exploding for the past twenty years. It's wonderful. We can live better and longer with the medical revolution. It comes with a price that the patient usually pays.
Really, it's understandable. Medicines are expensive. Think about this. Every diabetic in this country should be on at least 3 drugs. One for sugar, one for kidneys, and one for cholesterol. That's the standard of practice. Most diabetics are on more. Everyone with heartburn or reflux can completely control their symptoms with meds. The rate of heart attacks and strokes is greatly reduced by controlling blood pressure and taking cholesterol meds. Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has never been bigger. Depression and anxiety have many medicines with few side effects that really help people feel better. There's even two new meds for restless leg syndrome, several for leg cramping, one to rub off warts, five to treat cold sores and your choice of three for male sexual difficulties! You got a problem, there's a medicine.
Listen, I'm not a drug pusher. I'm all for non-medicinal treatments. My point is simply that there are many, many new medical treatments and the list is growing. So how do pharmacies handle this? They make a ton of money. Is it any wonder we have a new Eckerds, Riteaide and Walgreens on every corner?
I practice financially responsible medicine for the good of all. We have to be financially responsible. Don't tell me it's okay to prescribe only the brand names because your insurance covers it! That's probably the number one reason your copays and premiums are sky rocketing. Expensive brand name meds are one of the biggest reasons so many can't afford to even have insurance. I write for generics every chance I get. But it doesn't always help.
Cefuroxime is a good antibiotic for sinusitis and ear infections. It is now available as generic. I paid about $20 for a prescription last fall. I wrote the same prescription for a patient the next week and they told me it came to $150! I bought Doxycycline a year ago for almost $20 dollars...it really only costs pennies and should have been $5 or less. Many big name pharmacies just don't get it. They gauge patients with minimum fees for some generics and charge very high prices depending on the insurance. I really can't figure it out. Why would Amoxicillin ever cost more than $5?
Wal-Mart quit playing the pricing game and came up with a $4 generic drug list. Every med on the list is $4 for a month supply. There are a couple hundred very good, useful meds on the list. Almost every category of medicine is on the list. It's simple. Patients no longer have the anxiety of wondering, "What in the world will this med cost me?". I've already switched some cash strapped seniors to all meds on the Wal-Mart list. They like it. One patient had four meds that totaled over $300/ month as branded meds. All switched to generics at Wally World...$16.
If you don't want to support the department store giant, I suggest you go to your favorite pharmacy and ask them to do the same thing. They can if they stop playing the game and charge only what it really costs. You will also do your part to slow down medical inflation in this country.
As far as pharmacies go, Wally has been second rate; an "also-ran". It hasn't the reputation or prestige for most Americans to put their health in Wal-Mart's hands. But financial forces are becoming even more important to the American patient. Prescription medicines have been exploding for the past twenty years. It's wonderful. We can live better and longer with the medical revolution. It comes with a price that the patient usually pays.
Really, it's understandable. Medicines are expensive. Think about this. Every diabetic in this country should be on at least 3 drugs. One for sugar, one for kidneys, and one for cholesterol. That's the standard of practice. Most diabetics are on more. Everyone with heartburn or reflux can completely control their symptoms with meds. The rate of heart attacks and strokes is greatly reduced by controlling blood pressure and taking cholesterol meds. Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has never been bigger. Depression and anxiety have many medicines with few side effects that really help people feel better. There's even two new meds for restless leg syndrome, several for leg cramping, one to rub off warts, five to treat cold sores and your choice of three for male sexual difficulties! You got a problem, there's a medicine.
Listen, I'm not a drug pusher. I'm all for non-medicinal treatments. My point is simply that there are many, many new medical treatments and the list is growing. So how do pharmacies handle this? They make a ton of money. Is it any wonder we have a new Eckerds, Riteaide and Walgreens on every corner?
I practice financially responsible medicine for the good of all. We have to be financially responsible. Don't tell me it's okay to prescribe only the brand names because your insurance covers it! That's probably the number one reason your copays and premiums are sky rocketing. Expensive brand name meds are one of the biggest reasons so many can't afford to even have insurance. I write for generics every chance I get. But it doesn't always help.
Cefuroxime is a good antibiotic for sinusitis and ear infections. It is now available as generic. I paid about $20 for a prescription last fall. I wrote the same prescription for a patient the next week and they told me it came to $150! I bought Doxycycline a year ago for almost $20 dollars...it really only costs pennies and should have been $5 or less. Many big name pharmacies just don't get it. They gauge patients with minimum fees for some generics and charge very high prices depending on the insurance. I really can't figure it out. Why would Amoxicillin ever cost more than $5?
Wal-Mart quit playing the pricing game and came up with a $4 generic drug list. Every med on the list is $4 for a month supply. There are a couple hundred very good, useful meds on the list. Almost every category of medicine is on the list. It's simple. Patients no longer have the anxiety of wondering, "What in the world will this med cost me?". I've already switched some cash strapped seniors to all meds on the Wal-Mart list. They like it. One patient had four meds that totaled over $300/ month as branded meds. All switched to generics at Wally World...$16.
If you don't want to support the department store giant, I suggest you go to your favorite pharmacy and ask them to do the same thing. They can if they stop playing the game and charge only what it really costs. You will also do your part to slow down medical inflation in this country.
posted by Toby Taylor MD | 7:22 PM
1 Comments:
If you tell Rite Aid you want the Walmart pricing, they will give it to you. If you do not, they will not. That is wrong, but Walgreens does the same thing. A word to the wise
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