Special Reports

(WCCO) The $4 dollar-a-month generic drugs at places like Target, Wal-Mart and Snyder's have helped a lot of people. Pharmacists say even if a drug doesn't have a generic equivalent, there may be another generic in that class of drugs.

For instance, there is currently no generic for Lipitor, the cholesterol lowering drug, but there is for Zocor. Ask your doctor if it's possible to take a drug that has a generic.

There are lots of other ways to save on your prescriptions that you may not have thought about.

Benita Kirschbaum takes so many prescriptions, she has to keep a list of all of them and when she's supposed to take them. She has pretty good insurance, but still pays thousands each year to keep healthy.

"This has been on my mind for a long time," said Benita Kirschbaum.

If your doctor can prescribe a higher dosage, you may be able to just split the pills. Some people have saved a considerable amount of money doing this. Remember though, you can't split capsules or time release tablets.

If you are having trouble paying for your pills, the first thing you should do is talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

"I would suggest that we get into a patient assistance program through the drug company," said Molly Ekstrand, a Fairview pharmacist.

Nearly all the major manufacturers have patient assistance programs and the web is a really great source to find them. The ones WCCO contacted say more people than ever qualify for the discounts. Links to some of them can be found on Terri Gruca's Consumer Blog.

You can also do your own price comparison online. Minnesota has put together a website to help you compare prices on about 400 different brands of medicines. You can search by city, county or zip code.

At places like PharmacyChecker.com or OptimizeRx you can save as much as $70. But keep in mind, many of the deals offered there are rebates. That means you'll have to save your receipt and file the paperwork in the time allotted. And these discounts are not available to patients on Medicare, Medicaid or state sponsored programs.

One other thing to take note of, the site's privacy policy. The website can and may share your information with outside marketing companies.

BidRX.com lets pharmacies bid for your business.

What about Canada?

"The ones (pharmacies) that are approved by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, they've been inspected. They are providing quality medications," said Ekstrand.

The state has put together a site for those interested in ordering prescriptions from Canada. Pharmacists employed by the state of Minnesota visited these pharmacies.

Deb Leyes, a pharmacist at Trumm Drug in Parkers Prairie, Minn. warned that patients should be careful of buying medicines from overseas.

"Some pills may not have enough of the active ingredient or they may contain contaminants," she said.

The FDA has put together some tips for those of you looking to buy your medicines online.

Then there's medication therapy management. It's another idea that's catching on at doctor's offices and hospitals across the Twin Cities. Ekstrand has being serving in this capacity at Fairview for 12 years.

"We go through all of the prescription, non-prescription, vitamins, herbal medications that a patient might take," she said. "Oftentimes we can suggest changes to medicines to help them being used more effectively."

She also consults directly with people's doctors.

Not all insurance companies cover the cost of these consultations. Kirschbaum pays $150 an hour for this service. But she said it's worth it. Ekstrand has helped her knock out a vitamin and two drugs. It may not seem like much, but when you take 15 medications every day, it can make a huge difference.

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