The Official Medtipster Blog

Tired of paying the highest brand co payment on your prescription drug plan! Ask your retail pharmacist for alternatives to discuss with your doctor at your next appointment. We are pretty friendly people and love to talk with our patient/customers. Here are just a few:

Brands without generics/therapeutic alternatives with generics
Uroxatrol. Vs. Tamsulosin (Flomax)
Prevacid sol tab vs. Lansoprazole caps (Prevacid)
Nexium vs. Omeprazole(Prilosec)
Ambien CR vs zolpidem (Ambien)

Want to save money on your prescriptions? Take my challenge and let me know how much you save.

In the spirit of sharing, I have to admit that I was taking a “Brand Name” cholesterol drug in the statin class. And switching to a generic statin drug found on Medtipster – I will save over $500.00 in co-payments this year.

And with the assistance of the therapeutic alternatives option on Medtipster, you can save too.

Please share your savings stories with me.

PharmaSue Ann

As children our mothers taught us to share with others. Well not everything can be shared. I just read an article about people sharing Insulin and other medications – this is not a good way to share. Taking your medication every other day or once daily instead of twice a day or cutting tablets in half is dangerous. Please contact your doctor if you are having trouble obtaining your medications – many therapeutic alternatives are available, you just need to ask.

What is a Therapeutic Alternative and How do they work with the $4 Type Discount Programs?

Let’s start from the beginning, therapeutic alternatives are drugs that provide the same effect but are chemically different from one another. If you are considering a therapeutic alternative to your current medication you will need to discuss the change with your doctor and get a new prescription.

Many brand name drugs have therapeutic alternatives available. In reviewing the Top 50 prescribed drugs many were identified as having possible therapeutic alternatives.

Example of brand name drugs with generic therapeutic alternatives – some of the alternatives are available on the $4 Discount Programs:

Lexapro
Lipitor
Nexium
Prevacid
Crestor
Valtrex
Fosamax
Zyrtec
Aciphex
Coreg
Imitrex Oral
Ambien
Nasonex
Actonel

The economic climate in our country is something many of us have never seen.
Recent surveys say that 40 million adults are not filling their prescriptions and another 13 million are stretching their medication supplies by skipping doses. This is a trend I do not want you to follow.

As a pharmacist I am proud to say that my profession has been among the top 3 most trusted professions for the past 27 years. Kudos to my colleagues. This does not come easily, we prove this every day by helping you choose and use medications correctly and safely. Today there are many generic drugs that are suitable “therapeutic alternatives” to the newer more expensive drugs. Let us help you navigate through this.

PharmaSue

A therapeutic alternative has different active ingredients which are in the same drug class as the original drug, and has similar therapeutic effects. Many therapeutic alternatives are also available as discount generic drugs. To switch to a therapeutic alternative, you must first discuss it with your medical professional. A new prescription will be required.