trends Smart Prescriptions On A Budget (NAPSA)—Even in an economic downturn, there are ways to afford the medications you need. Before you start skipping medicines or splitting pills, review these three tips for making smart choices and saving money on prescriptions: 1) Review insurance coverage—ask your doctor to check for lower-cost alternatives covered by your health plan. Free drug resourceshelp cut costs while keeping you healthy. 2) Request generics—many brand-name drugs have a generic equivalent at a significantly lower cost that you can request from your doctor or pharmacist. Also check on $4 generic drug programsfrom retailers. 3) Check drug interactions— whenvisiting your doctor, provide a list of current medications and ask him or herto check for interactions. When some drugs are taken in combination, harmful adverse reactions can occur and lead to additional medicalcosts. Many physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals use resources, such as Epocrates, to ensure they are pre- scribing cost-effective medications for their patients. It’s free and readily available online or for download to your iPhone, BlackBerry or Palm device. These types of free drug resources help reduce medical costs while keeping you healthy. For more information, visit www.epocrates.com.
