Hey guys, Sheriden from #Kingston Pharmacy here. I wanted to throw out some ideas on how to save money at the #pharmacy. There has been confusion or lack of understanding of how generic drugs can help save you money. Some people think if there is not a #generic #drug for the medication, that there are not any other options.
Well, I've got good news for you! There may be a drug in the same class of drugs as your prescription that has a generic alternative which is worth a try. Simply stated, this is a great way to cut costs at your drugstore, before trying the high-cost brand named medications.
When I say “class of drug”, I mean prescriptions that have the same mechanism of action or work the same way. Drugs in these classes may be more potent than others. If you have not tried a drug in this class before, then it is worth your time and money to try a generic alternative that is less expensive.
For example, patient John Doe heads to the doctor’s office with GERD or severe acid reflux and has never had a problem with it before. The provider on staff prescribes Dexilant ( a brand name PPI). *
Here is an example:
The Rx that the provider wrote has a $150.00 #copay for a one month supply for the patient. However, the patient doesn’t know that there are multiple drugs in the same drug class as #Dexilant that are much cheaper (always ask your pharmacist for alternatives).
Keep in mind the drugs listed below are in the same class as Dexilant, typically covered on insurance, and much cheaper!
Alternativesnaitives to Dexilant:
Protonix
pantoprazole
Prilosec
omeprazole
Prevacid
lansoprazole
Nexium
esomeprazole
Pros to Generic Medication: cost-efficient, carried by the pharmacy at all times (not a special order drug), still works well for the majority of people with acid reflux.
So what happens if you try these and none of them work and then your provider wants you to try the brand name drug? You still have options to save money. If you do not have federal or state-affiliated insurance, you can go online to the drug’s website, for instance, www.Dexilant.com, and they will usually have a coupon savings card or promo code that can help bring your copay down to be more affordable if you qualify.
Once again, I only recommend doing this if you have tried the other generics first. In addition, you can also talk to your provider and see if they have samples that you can use.
If there are questions about different generic alternatives for different drugs of different classes, please do not hesitate to reach out to your local independent pharmacy.
Sheriden Franks, PharmD
Kingston Pharmacy & DrugStore2Door
*Side note: PPI stands for Proton-Pump-Inhibitor, this is how the drug works- or is its mechanism of action. It works by inhibiting a pump in your stomach that stimulates the release of acid. Increased stimulation of that pump increases the amount of acid floating around which leads to acid reflux. Inhibiting or stopping that pump, stops the increased release of acid which helps decrease the exacerbation of acid reflux.
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