As the economy worsens and our patients pay for more prescriptions out of pocket, here are some tips that may help you better serve your patients: 1) Ondansetron (zofran) is now off patent. Write generic on your script for zofran - for pediatrics the ODT (dissolving tablets) - are all much cheaper ($0.50 to $1.00 per pill or ODT). IV formulation is now cheaper than phenergan. Reglan is probably still the cheapest in most pharmacies. 2) Typical $4 antibiotics are the following: SMP-TMZ (Bactrim), Cephalexin, Amoxicillin, Penicillin, Ciprofloxacin. 3) Albuterol MDIs are now much more expensive because they have to be CFC free. Unfortunately, after this federal regulation, patients will have difficulty getting these inhalers which can be quite expensive. If you write a script and the patient is self-pay, they are going to have difficulty. Hospitals are beginning to discourage "to go" inhalers and even pills due to the fact that insurance companies DO NOT reimburse these costs - only IV meds.
