Key Post How can I cut the cost of my regular prescription?

Brendan Burgess

Founder
Messages
51,904
We don’t allow the discussion of medical issues on Askaboutmoney but we do allow the discussion of the financial aspects of healthcare.

I am not an expert on this topic, so please treat the following information with caution. Corrections are welcome. I have highlighted in red the areas where I would like further information.

Example from Conor Pope’s article in the Irish Times
Official name of drug: Omeprazole for ulcers.
Branded name: Losec – cost €840 per annum (€70 per month)
Generic name available in Ireland: Ulcid – cost €580 per annum
Generic name in Spain: Pensa – cost €42 per annum.

Note: Under Irish law, the maximum prescription is for 6 months. If you buy a generic drug abroad, you should check with your doctor if this is ok.


Ask your doctor to prescribe a generic drug instead of a branded drug
When a pharmaceutical company invents a new drug it charges a very high price for it. After its patent runs out, other companies can copy the drug. A generic drug will do exactly the same but will be much cheaper.

Your doctor will probably prescribe a branded drug.
Your pharmacist is not allowed to supply a generic substitute. In most other European countries, the pharmacist is obliged to supply a generic substitute.

Apparently, some pharmacists won't stock generic drugs

Ask you doctor to prescribe a generic drug instead. Some new drugs do not have generic drugs available.


Generic drugs are more expensive in Ireland than in other countries, so buy them abroad.

Generic drugs are much more expensive in Ireland due to Irish regulations, so check out the price abroad. Source: [broken link removed]

In Spain, pharmacies are allowed to substitute generic drugs for brand drugs so bring your prescription with you on holidays.

Buying your prescription medicine abroad

Are generic drugs just as good as branded drugs?
Yes. They are exactly the same. All generic drugs must be approved by the Irish Medicines Board and the European Medicines Agency

[broken link removed] is an American article on the VHI website

If there is no generic version of my prescription available, can I do anything?
Branded drugs should still be cheaper in Spain.
All Irish pharmacies tend to charge the same price, so there is no point in shopping around.

Which countries are the cheapest to buy drugs in?

Can I buy drugs cheaper in Northern Ireland?

What about buying drugs online from a reputable pharmacy in, say, the UK?
Responding to unsolicited emails is obviously dangerous.
Importing drughs is illegal but some sensible Askaboutmoney contributors seem to be doing this.

Can I come to an arrangement with a Spanish pharmacy to order drugs by mail order?

Can a friend get my prescription for me while they are holidaying in Spain?
While a pharmacist in Spain may fill a 3rd party prescription, the person carrying the medicines to Ireland may have the medicines confiscated, pending investigation by the Irish Medicines Board.

As they will not have the prescription (the pharmacist in Spain probably will) and as they are not the person named on the precription, and presumably not a pharmacist or doctor, having the medicines in their possession is legally questionable.
(Source: mathepac)

My (elcato) experience recently was to go into the chemist for a friend's (prescribed drug) with the generic name and mg required and I did not need any prescription. I use some generics myself which I buy over the counter without prescription also. I also had no problem getting large quantities (Spain and Andorra).


Why is Spain in particular so cheap?

Which countries are actually more expensive than Ireland?
 
The purpose of this Key Post is to summarise the information and to help people cut the costs of their drugs.

If you wish to rant about prices in Ireland, you are welcome to do so in some other thread.
Why is there no price competition in Irish pharmacies?

This thread is about individuals buying drugs for themselves. Feel free to raise issues about the cost of drugs on the GMS in An Bord Snip.
 
Use a pill splitter to cut the cost of your medication - see [broken link removed] for more details. This is practised widely in the USA, and is mandatory in certain HMOs or insurance schemes. Your GP should help in getting the right prescription.
 
Thanks Complainer

I had never heard of a pill splitter before.

I checked with my pharmacy.
28 10 Mg Lipitor costs me €40
7 40 mg Lipitor will cost €27.50

So I am saving €12.50 per month.

I bought a pill splitter for €7.50.

I owe you a pint.

Brendan
 
Pill splitters do not work with all drugs. Ask your pharmacist if they are suitable.
Indeed. I understand that not every tablet is suitable for splitting, which is why I had suggested checking with the GP as the first port of call, as they have no vested interest in the cost of the medication.

While I don't disagree with the recommendation to check with your pharmacist, it is worth remembering that it may not be in your pharmacist's financial interests to assist you in 'pill splitting'. When I brought my script for 80mg Micardis at 1/2 tablet a day to the pharmacist, they packed the (more expensive) 40mg Micardis for me. When I queried this, they said that 'but that's what you usually get', and I had to push them a bit to get the cheaper 80mg tablets.

Be prepared for a bit of pushing. There is a great opportunity for pharmacist(s) here to show that they have the patient's best interests at heart by encouraging pill splitting and pro-actively advising patients to go down this road (where appropriate).
 
My doc changed my meds, so I'm now on Amlodipine 10 mg tablets. I didn't have time to shop around, so a month's supply cost me about €30 in a Dublin pharmacy. It looks this would cost me about £2 from http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/, plus £7 shipping!

I'd be very interested to hear an explanation for this cost difference from a pharmacist.
 
There doesn't seem to be any restriction on importing over the counter medicines from abroad and the saving can be substantial on even the simplest things = even from new zealand.

example flixonase alergy relief - Irealnd €13.50 for 60 sprays. New Zealand nz$16 (€8) for 120 sprays.

utterly crazy.
 
"I'd be very interested to hear an explanation for this cost difference from a pharmacist. "

The government sets the prices of drugs not the pharmacist, generics will be vastly cut in price over next few months which can only be a good thing, pharmacist makes same margin from a generic vs brand so in their interest to give cheapest option available, just not allowed to by law at the minute
 
"

The government sets the prices of drugs not the pharmacist

Just to be clear, the Govt sets the price of drugs on the GMS scheme and the DPS scheme - but the Govt have no role in the price of private subscriptions - right?
 
Just to be clear, the Govt sets the price of drugs on the GMS scheme and the DPS scheme - but the Govt have no role in the price of private subscriptions - right?

Yes, but the mark up for DPS is huge compared to GMS. Anyone not entitled to GMS card can get a DPS card. The private buyer subsidises the GMS buyer. Slim
 
Just to be clear, the Govt sets the price of drugs on the GMS scheme and the DPS scheme - but the Govt have no role in the price of private subscriptions - right?

Not right. The government sets the price at which pharmaceutical manufacturers sell their product into the Irish market to wholesalers at. This affects all drugs on the Irish market, irrespective of what scheme they are eventually supplied on.
 
I'm just back from Spain where I stocked up on -
the generic version of Ponstan at €1.67 for a pack of 20. To buy that here I need to get a prescription every 6 months at a cost of €50 then pay 4 times the price for the tablets.
For €2 I got 40 Ibuprofen 600mg tablets (I never saw 600mg here, you take 3 a day pharmacist in Spain told me)
And for €3 I got a tube of Fucidin cream, again to get it here you would need a prescription.
I bought my Dad's blood pressure tablets at a fraction of the cost aswell.
The savings from the medicine alone covered the cost of the flight!
 
Not right. The government sets the price at which pharmaceutical manufacturers sell their product into the Irish market to wholesalers at. This affects all drugs on the Irish market, irrespective of what scheme they are eventually supplied on.
This seems crazy - would you have a link to the relevant legislation or policy so I can dig into this a bit more?
 
This may seem obvious, but check if you need a presciption for the medication.

A Dr once gave me a presciption for Clonfolic, which is folic acid, which is over the counter and many generic equivalents exist.
 
This seems crazy - would you have a link to the relevant legislation or policy so I can dig into this a bit more?

IPHA represent the big pharma companies/originators. AMPI is the representative body for the generics manufacturers. A google of "IPHA agreement" should give you some information on it.
 
Search www.hse.ie for "drug prices".


Here is an explanatory note about the new drug pricing regime:

[broken link removed]

This is about the generic drug price suts in 2010:

[broken link removed]

 
Ex-factory prices set by Govt and suppliers, with reference to a basket of other countries.

Then a wholesale mark-up of 10% is added. That used to be 17.65% and the 3 wholesalers would give half of it as a discount to pharmacies.

The "reimbursement cost" of ex-factory +10% is what the HSE pay the pharmacy, under both the DPS and the GMS schemes.

Then the pharmacy adds a retail mark-up of:

0% - GMS scheme
20% - DPS (was 50%)

The recent RTE consumer show was about pharmacies sticking to the old 50% retail mark-up.

Plus they get a dispensing fee of 5 euro for the first 20,000 transactions.

So a pharmacy can make 3 incomes from a DPS patient.

(1) a discount from the wholesaler
(2) the 20% or 50% mark-up
(3) the dispensing fee of 5 euro (or 4 or 3.50 if over 20,000 transactions)
 
Back
Top