Complaint Review: Rite Aid - Morgan City Louisiana

Pharmacy Drug Pricing is an interesting topic for dicussion. However, what is most important as a response to this overcharging complaint is regarding: "Why differenet drug stores price the same medication at different prices." The following can contribute to a flux in prices for the same medication. Different manufacturer (Sandoz, Teva, Mylan, Ivax, Greenstone, Endo, Forest, McNeil, Par, etc.) Different wholesaler (DIK Drug, Amerisource Bergen, H&D, Morris, Mckession, Cardnial, etc.) While the preceeding list contributes to different prices for the same medication, one would expect that the prices would be more-or-less relatively close among its competitors. For example let's say Sandoz and Teva made a common medication. The cost to manufacture the medication might be identical, however one has a higher production rate and therefore gets discounts on packaging materials and is able to charge less for the same product. Now, these two identical products are sold to the drug wholesalers at their respective price points from the manufacturer based upon the number of bottles each wholesaler purchases. Under the Sandoz label, we shall say Mckesson (wholesaler) gets a better deal since they purchase more products from Sandoz than does DIK Drug (wholesaler). And, let's also say that DIK Drug gets a better deal from Mylan than Mckesson does for the same reason. At this point they are sold to the individual pharmacies. Each pharmacy will usually only carry one manufacture for any particular medication unless specific requests are made. Thus, one drug store (let's use Rite Aid) likes the Mylan brand of generic medications; and the other drug store (let's use Clinic Pharmacy) likes to use Sandoz. Further, let's say Rite Aid uses Mckesson to purchase the Mylan generic medication, while Clinic Pharamcy uses DIK Drug to purchase the Sandoz generic. Notice, at each step of the distribution a differenet cost is occured for the same product. The only difference is who manufactured, distributed, stocked, and sold the product. At the end of the day, in this situation, Rite Aid would be purchasing the same medication for a higher cost than would Clinic Pharmacy. Now that we know a little more about Pharmacy Drug Pricing and the supply chain, what can we do to take advantage of the free-marketplace? If you do not have any type of prescription insurance: 1. Pick a pharmacy where you can trust the staff (Pharmacist, Technicians, and Clerks). It is always nice to build some rapport with your chosen pharmacy - they are after all the final check to make sure the medication prescribed do not interact negatively to any other medications you may be currently taking... and it is very important to stay at one pharmacy so all your medical records are current. Your Pharmacist can be your first contact if you have any medical questions regarding medications and more. 2. Always call other local pharmacies to get a price quote (make sure you know the correct spelling of the medication name, strength, and quantity you are requesting the price to - sometimes the quotes can be for another medication that the person on the other side thinks you said). 3. Notify your pharmacy if another nearby pharmacy offers a better price on a medication, and see if they would be willing to work with you and match the other pharmacy's lower price. - Since you built some rapport with your pharmacy they will be more willing to go out of their way to accomadate you. And, at the same time it identifies that they need to refine their purchasing in a better way so they can negotiate for better rates or change the manufacture of the generic medication or change their wholesaler to get better prices.