By: Tracy Davidson
02/14/02

Everyone complains about the cost of medicine. On a Consumer Alert, NBC10’s Tracy Davidson has found a way some people are saving money. One local woman says she saves about $2,000 a year on her prescription medicine and you could too. Here’s how.

WHITEMARSH TWP., Pa. - Like many of us, Emilie Higgins from Whitemarsh Township has medicines she must take, some for the rest of her life.

“I take the statin drugs,” Emilie said. “I take heart medicine, two forms of that. I take a very effective drug for women for the back.”

But unlike most people, Emilie doesn't get her prescriptions around the corner. She gets them halfway around the globe, over 1,600 miles away in Winnipeg, Canada. She says prescription drugs have become too expensive here in the U.S. But now, to get her cheaper prescriptions, Emilie doesn't even have to leave her home.

“The prices were up to half,” she said. “Most of them were half. Some of them were 35 percent off the price that I pay in the U.S.A.”

Prilosec is one of the most widely prescribed drugs for stomach ailments. At local pharmacies, it costs about $65 for a typical two week supply of 20 milligrams. In Canada it costs about $23.

Lipitor is one of the most popular drugs for high cholesterol. For a typical three month supply of 10 milligrams Lipitor, it costs about $188 here. In Canada, the cost is $112.

Dr. Dan Hussar is professor of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He worries there can be problems with buying prescriptions from an Internet pharmacy.

“If that pharmacy is not in a position to identify potential drug related problems, because of the remoteness of the patient from the pharmacy and from the services, that individual could actually be very poorly served if the medication provided, even if they couldn't afford it otherwise,” Dr. Hussar said.

They admit that a face-to-face contact with the patient would be better but do everything they can to make sure their patients get quality service.

“The bottom line is if a person isn't going to take the therapy because they can't afford the drug versus getting a little less face to face conversation but actually getting the therapy, then I think the person's actually better off," Jorgenson said.

“If I wasn't getting it the way I’m getting it now, then I would have to borrow from my daughter,” Emilie said. “I would probably do without it or take half of it, I know some people who do that.”