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Interesting article in today's Buffalo News: Finding relief online --Despite safety concerns, many Americans buy prescription drugs from Canada over the Web because it is cheaper By HENRY L. DAVIS News Medical Reporter Buffalo News 11/9/2002 Full story available at: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20021109/1038164.asp a few excerpts: "With soaring costs for prescription drugs, thousands of Americans are buying cheaper medications in Canada and never crossing the border to do it. Quickly and easily, they're finding huge savings over the Internet. Technically, it's against the law, despite claims otherwise at many Web sites. But the federal government looks the other way for the most part, while issuing warnings about the practice. Neither the Clinton nor Bush administrations, citing safety concerns, has been willing to support measures that would legalize the importation of medications from Canada for personal use. At the same time, no one is prepared to arrest ailing senior citizens at home and confiscate their blood pressure medicine. " ..."Canadian pharmacies are generally ... trustworthy, but it's like getting anything else over the Internet - buyer beware," said Michael Montagne, professor of social pharmacy at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He advises Americans to buy only from a pharmacy that requires a prescription from a U.S. doctor and that allows them to speak with the pharmacist filling their prescription." ..."Over the Internet, patients can buy most drugs in Canada in one of two ways. They can surf directly to a Canadian Web site. By law, they must be licensed and connected in some way to an existing pharmacy. Or, they can shop through a U.S. intermediary like Medicine Express in Webster that handles the paperwork for them. Charles Bell started the Medicine Express Web site last year after he turned 65, when he discovered that Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly, and his private supplemental insurance would not cover his prescription costs of about $6,000 a year. In his operation, patients have their physicians fill out forms, which are mailed to Medicine Express with $95 for the Canadian physician's services and $45 for courier fees. The Canadian physician calls the U.S. doctor to verify the information. The Canadian physician then rewrites the prescription and sends it to a Canadian pharmacy, which charges the patient's credit card and mails a 90-day supply to the patient." price comparisons: "...You can pick up the cholesterol drug Lipitor, the top-selling medication in the U.S., for $142 for 90 doses instead of $332. Tamoxifen, a popular breast cancer medication, costs $18 instead of $134 here for the same quantity and dosage. ... Canadian drugs are less expensive because of government price controls and a favorable exchange rate. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn