Study: Some cutting back on necessary Rx drugs to save money
Most of us are making lifestyle changes to deal with these tough economic times -- flying less, eating at home and buying fewer clothes.
Some money-saving tactics make a lot of sense. Others, however, can be dangerous. I'm talking about cutting back on necessary medical care.
We know that some people are stretching their budget by putting off their regular dental checkups.
A new study by Consumer Reports released Tuesday shows a lot of people are doing some potentially harmful things to save money on prescription drugs. The editors call the results "alarming."
Consumer Reports surveyed more than 2,000 adults to see how they were coping with the cost of prescription drugs. It turns out a lot of people are taking steps that are inappropriate and possibly dangerous.
Twenty eight percent of those responding said they'd done one of the following to save money: not filling a prescription, skipping doses, cutting pills in half without the approval of their doctor or sharing drugs with someone.
Consumer Reports recently released a book titled Best Drugs for Less. It rates more than 200 drugs for more tan 20 conditions, including diabetes, depression and asthma, based on clinical evidence of safety and effectiveness.
Jim Guest, the head of Consumer Reports, says this information could literally save some people thousands of dollars a year.
"We're also trying to get this information into the hands of doctors themselves so they know and they can see which are equally effective drugs and which cost a whole lot less. So we're hoping to stimulate a useful, constructive and in many cases cost saving dialogue between patient and doctor," said Guest.
Guest says you saying you should talk to your doctor and ask if there is a cheaper drug you could possibly take that would do exactly the same thing.
"Absolutely, the patient should talk to the doctor. One of the things that's a real problem is we're used to thinking that doctors are like God or something else like that, or authority figures you don't talk to.
"We're really trying to encourage patients to have a dialogue with your physician and the same with doctors. We're trying to say, 'Have a dialogue. Don't just say do this, do that,'" said Guest.
More information:
Consumer Reports Best buy Drugs
Some money-saving tactics make a lot of sense. Others, however, can be dangerous. I'm talking about cutting back on necessary medical care.
We know that some people are stretching their budget by putting off their regular dental checkups.
A new study by Consumer Reports released Tuesday shows a lot of people are doing some potentially harmful things to save money on prescription drugs. The editors call the results "alarming."
Consumer Reports surveyed more than 2,000 adults to see how they were coping with the cost of prescription drugs. It turns out a lot of people are taking steps that are inappropriate and possibly dangerous.
Twenty eight percent of those responding said they'd done one of the following to save money: not filling a prescription, skipping doses, cutting pills in half without the approval of their doctor or sharing drugs with someone.
Consumer Reports recently released a book titled Best Drugs for Less. It rates more than 200 drugs for more tan 20 conditions, including diabetes, depression and asthma, based on clinical evidence of safety and effectiveness.
Jim Guest, the head of Consumer Reports, says this information could literally save some people thousands of dollars a year.
"We're also trying to get this information into the hands of doctors themselves so they know and they can see which are equally effective drugs and which cost a whole lot less. So we're hoping to stimulate a useful, constructive and in many cases cost saving dialogue between patient and doctor," said Guest.
Guest says you saying you should talk to your doctor and ask if there is a cheaper drug you could possibly take that would do exactly the same thing.
"Absolutely, the patient should talk to the doctor. One of the things that's a real problem is we're used to thinking that doctors are like God or something else like that, or authority figures you don't talk to.
"We're really trying to encourage patients to have a dialogue with your physician and the same with doctors. We're trying to say, 'Have a dialogue. Don't just say do this, do that,'" said Guest.
More information:
Consumer Reports Best buy Drugs