Sunday, May 9, 2010

Safety tip: Have a PRIMARY pharmacy for all NEW medications

If you do play "Rx Ping-Pong" -- transferring prescriptions from one pharmacy to another to maximize the number of times you can use Rx Coupons, please take this word of advice:

* Have a PRIMARY pharmacy -- one where you feel most comfortable, respect the pharmacists the most, and feel they are always vigilant about making sure you understand new drugs and asking about whether you're still taking something (from a year or so ago) that might badly interact with a new drug prescribed.

* Make sure ALL of your medications have been filled there at least once.

* Any time you have a NEW MEDICATION prescribed, send it to that PRIMARY or "main/home" pharmacy.


WHY?

There are some dangerous interactions that can happen between some drugs. Your own primary care doctor or specialist may not realize you are taking a drug that will badly interact with the new one they are about to give you.

The pharmacist is the LAST line of defense to protect you from this. But if you're taking your newest drug to a pharmacy that doesn't know about all of your drugs, they may not have a RED FLAG pop up in their system to warn about this dangerous interaction. A person can die as a result. And this has happened at least once in Ohio.

So, be careful. Getting a $10 or $25 gift card to help you better afford the cost of your medications is certainly not worth endangering your health.

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