As dermatologists, one of the most expensive medications that we prescribe is Accutane. Over the last few years we realized that many of our “self- pay” patients have been buying this medication at a very wide range of prices: anywhere from $120 to $450 for a thirty day supply. So we decided to use Accutane as our “barometer” drug to compare prices at local pharmacies.
Our findings:
In general, the least expensive large pharmacies in our area are Walmart, Target, and Costco pharmacies. The most expensive are Walgreens and CVS. The best price we found for generic Accutane was at Target pharmacy on Hollywood Boulevard. Thirty pills of 40mg Sotret (a generic for Accutane) was $260 at Walgreen’s and only $118.99 at Target. A price difference of $141 for a one month supply! (and Accutane is a drug you usually take for 5 or 6 months).
Four dollar prescriptions?
In addition to lower prices on our “barometer” drug Accutane, Walmart and Target have a fairly extensive list of generic drugs that are offered for a mere $4 for thirty day supply. That is even less than most copays with insurance. Costco also has decent prices but does not have a $4 generic drug program. However, Costco’s website, www.Costco.com was the only website to include the useful feature of pricing information for many prescriptions.
What about factors other than price?
Customer service is poor at many of the larger pharmacy chains. Smaller “no-name” pharmacies often offer more personalized service. Also, as dermatologists, we like pharmacies that will “compound”. (“Compounding” is the art of mixing several active ingredients into one custom medication.) Do not try to fill a compound prescription at a large pharmacy chain. In Hollywood, we use Post Haste pharmacy to compound certain dermatology medications. And although they lose on price, Walgreens wins on convenience: the Stirling Road Walgreens in Hollywood is open 24 hours.
One discouraging fact:
Even at Target, the pharmacy that ultimately had the lowest price on generic Accutane by far, getting that price was not straight forward. I asked for the price of their cheapest generic for Accutane and they gave me a quote for two generics, the cheapest of which was $180 Only on further questioning about the specific generic brand Sotret, did the pharmacy tech give us that price for $118 Their explanation was that the first two prices were for what they had in stock, while Sotret had to be ordered (however, it could be there next-day if ordered.) So the question to ask at any pharmacy is: What is the cheapest version of this drug (and please check everywhere, even if it is not in stock and you have to order it)?
Sincerely,
The Staff and Doctors at Minars Dermatology
email: tminars@hotmail.com
phone: 954-987-7512
In This Issue
Our findings:
Four dollar prescriptions?
What about factors other than price?
One discouraging fact:Year in Review
Next month we will review 2006: the year in dermatology. We will cover new products and procedures and other developments in the world of dermatology.
As always, we ask for your input and suggestions for future newsletters. Please email questions and ideas to tminars@hotmail.com
