| The National Center for Biotechnology Information | | | | that you are starting a new prescription medication |
| (NCBI) published a study on the effect prescription | | | | or changing to a lower costing medication, ask your |
| drug samples have on Medicare patients. The study | | | | doctor for samples of the new medication. This is to |
| found that 48.3 percent of Medicare beneficiaries | | | | ensure that you don't spend a lot of money for a full |
| take advantage of free prescription drug samples, | | | | prescription bottle to find out later that the |
| with most saying that they accessed these samples | | | | medication doesn't work correctly for you." Read the |
| due to cost issues. The study concluded that | | | | full article here: |
| "Accessing free prescription drug samples is prevalent | | | | Anne Zieger wrote an article for Fierce Healthcare on |
| among many categories of beneficiaries, especially | | | | the proposed ban of drug samples at the University |
| among individuals with cost-related medication | | | | of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The hospital even |
| non-adherence and poor health status. Policies | | | | suggested suspending the admitting privileges of |
| restricting or prohibiting drug sample distribution may | | | | physicians who break the rules if one was to be |
| adversely impact access to medications among | | | | enacted. Zieger argues that taking away drug |
| patients in high-risk groups." The abstract of this | | | | samples could hurt lower income patients would can't |
| study can be found on NCBI's Web site: | | | | afford the medication. She writes, "It doesn't seem |
| The Web site Reduce Prescription Costs agrees, | | | | fair to penalize the poor and struggling middle-income |
| prescription drug samples is a great way to | | | | patients who can't afford co-pays just on principle. |
| determine if your body will tolerate the new | | | | As a consumer, I'm all for knowing physicians are |
| medication. Often time's patients don't know how | | | | unbiased, but the reality is that samples bring some |
| their body will respond to new medication, so a | | | | pretty effective drugs to patients who wouldn't be |
| sample medication is often the best way of seeing if | | | | able to get them otherwise... |
| the prescription will work. From the article, "Anytime | | | | |