by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Nov 27, 2013 | Online Pharmacies
Mail order pharmacies, including online pharmacies, have their benefits; your medicine comes right to your doorstep, you have more privacy regarding your medication, and, usually, you don’t have to spend as much as you would in a brick-and-mortar pharmacy. A new study of diabetic patients, “Safety and Effectiveness of Mail Order Pharmacy Use in Diabetes,” finds that using mail-order pharmacies may actually prevent negative health outcomes more so than walk-in pharmacies.
The study focused on diabetics because they are at high risk of being prescribed contraindicated medications (ones that would interfere with their normal drug regimens) and often require laboratory work to monitor the effectiveness of their medications. Some may think that patients using mail order pharmacies will experience more negative health outcomes than those using walk-in pharmacies because they do not have face-to-face interactions with pharmacists.
The study found that use of mail order pharmacies “was not negatively associated with patient safety outcomes overall, suggesting that mail order use does not serve as a barrier to receiving primary and preventive care services for most patients.” In fact, the study showed that mail order pharmacy users under 65 were less likely than local pharmacy users to visit emergency rooms. However, mail order pharmacy users under 65 on a subset of diabetic medications were more likely to forego a recommended serum creatinine lab test within 30 days. Patients over 65 who used mail order pharmacies were also less likely than local pharmacy users to have preventable emergency room visits. Despite the health benefits of mail order pharmacy, the study cautions that preventive and primary care must be kept in mind when encouraging their use.
We’re pleased to see the health benefits of mail order pharmacies highlighted in this study; after all, reputable online pharmacies are mail order pharmacies that allow patients to access medication safely and affordably.
Tagged with: diabetes, health outcomes
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Nov 12, 2013 | Drug Safety, Online Pharmacies
“Is it safe to order prescription drugs from online pharmacies in Canada?”
Since prescription drug prices are much lower in Canada and other countries than in the U.S., Americans frequently ask this question. The New York Times’ Well Blog provides a simple and well-written answer that helps consumers find safe international online pharmacies that require a prescription and protect your privacy.
The answer to the question is, of course, yes, as long as the medications are regulated and dispensed from licensed pharmacies. The article “Ask Well: Buying Cheaper Drugs Online” notes that there are thousands of rogue sites pretending to be safe Canadian pharmacies. To avoid these rogue sites, simply shop from credentialed online pharmacies, including those listed on PharmacyChecker.com.
Tagged with: New York Times, Well Blog
by Gabriel Levitt, Vice President, PharmacyChecker.com and Sam Werbalowsky, Pharmacychecker.com | Oct 11, 2013 | Medicare Drug Plans
October 15th is just around the corner, which means that it’s time for open enrollment for Medicare Part D drug plans. If you are eligible and want to sign up for or change your plan, you have until December 7th to do so.
Comparing plans is no easy task. First, you need to consider a plan’s drug coverage to make sure it covers the meds you take, and then its costs. Then there are monthly premiums and deductibles. And then there’s the stuff you can’t figure out based only on numbers: Is your plan accepted at your local pharmacy? Do you need to use a mail order pharmacy? How is the customer service?
Luckily, our sister site MedicareDrugplans.com can help you evaluate those questions. It lets you compare deductibles, monthly premiums, and coverage during the “donut hole”. More importantly, you can look at drug plan reviews and ratings written by your peers, which can reveal more subtle problems with plans, such as poor wait times for customer service, unexpected formulary changes, or dissatisfaction with mail-order pharmacy options.
For some examples, read what consumers in Florida are saying in Florida about the AARP MedicareRx Enhanced plan:
2011: “Medication I need was suddenly pulled from the formulary and AARP won’t even consider it with doctor’s intervention. They care less about patient care and more about the bottom line.”
2012: “The co-pay is more than what I would pay with plain medicare.”
2013: “Takes too long to get prescriptions from mail order; too many additional authorizations from doctors who are too busy to deal with this extra paperwork.”
Please know that these are just a few examples of reviews and that some people may have benefited greatly from this plan. It could be no worse than most others and better than some, but the complaints are representative of those we’ve found written about many plans.
Once you’ve viewed ratings and reviews, and even written one yourself, head over to Medicare.gov to make sure the plan covers your meds, compare final costs, and then sign up for the right plan. The average premium nationally is $53.80, and the maximum annual deductible is $310, down $15 from last year.
Research and choose your plan carefully. Whatever plan you go with will start January 1st, 2013 and last for a full year – so make it the right one for you! Visit MedicareDrugPlans.com today.
Tagged with: Medicare Part D
