Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Prescription for Savings

When the price of simple prescription seems preposterously high, Ray calls his doctor and makes a surprising discovery.

3 comments:

Bruce said...

Ray ,

Was this a new Dr.? You mentioned Dr and not emergency room.

A relationship with a promary care physisian 's office is important . He would have had the history indicating any allergies.
Everytime I have gone to my Dr.. When i have had my bp and weight checked the asistant or nurse has always asked if anything has changed like new allergies or reconfirm that i have an allergy.

As a conservative, you along with Collins want Dr"s and patients to be able to make medical decisions,not beaurocrats. This takes a little participation on the patients part also.
Many, especially the under educated are reluctant to question Drs.
Asking questions is welcomed by my Dr.
There is plenty of advice on the internet already for just about any drug or illness.
I was prescribed a new drug 2 years ago. I looked it up on the internet and found out some things about it that concerned me I also asked the pharmacist who I have dealt with for many years.
I was assured by him and the Dr office that there was such a low amount of the thing I was allergic to that it would be a very small chance to have a reaction.
Guess what. Thank goodness for benadryl.

So back to my original question . Was this your regular family dr.?
If it was, then it is time to have a talk with him.

Ray Richardson said...

No, it was a Doctor in the regular practice, not her regular doc who was not in that day.

This is one of the reason I support the idea of websites that promote compatible drugs and area pricing where some prices can vary widely within just a few miles for the same drug.

Jeb Bush in Florida did this and it has made a real difference. We in Maine have gotten a federal grant (DHHS) to begin a pilot program on this issue.

This transparency in the medical field would be a great cost saver.

You are right. Many people are unwilling to question their medical professional. Asking questions about legitimate issues is the only way to know if you are being given the correct treatment.

Bruce said...

Our pharmacy on Main Stret in Farmington has been in business as a family store for over a hundred years. They finally sold to rite aid. Closing sep 22

Even though it has been proven through many surveys that the independent pharmacy has cheaper prices, people believe they will get a better deal at the chains.

This is a sad day for Farmington downtown, we are basically losing our last store that sells things people gotta have.