Prescription Drugs
What are prescription drugs? Prescriptions drugs are licensed medications that you can only get through the direction of your doctor or a nurse practitioner. This prescription from your doctor must be filled by a licensed pharmacist by dropping if off at your local pharmacy or ordering your medication online. This latter option has become increasingly popular, with some people even ordering their medications in other countries to save some money.
Prescription drugs differ from over the counter-medications in that you generally don’t need to visit a doctor to treat the conditions that over the counter drugs try to cure. Sometimes lower doses of a particular drug will be found in over the counter varieties, whereas higher doses are deemed prescription drugs and left up to a doctor’s discretion.
Most health insurance programs have some kind of prescription drugs payment plan. Usually the patient pays a small amount and then the insurance company takes care of the rest. This makes getting the medication you need much more affordable.
Many consider the prices in the United States inflated to other countries so those without a drug plan, do look elsewhere for the filling of their prescriptions. Legislation has been proposed that would reduce or eliminate people’s abilities to fill prescriptions outside of the country. Many countries are looking at ways to make prescription drugs affordable for all, particularly senior citizens with limited incomes. The most important thing is that people get the medication they need when they need it, regardless of price.
It is important that you get your medications through a licensed professional. Though online ordering may save you some money, you need to make sure that you are dealing with a pharmacist that is qualified and knows your medical history. You also need to ensure that your pharmacist knows which prescription medication you are currently on to avoid any sort of bad reaction or improper mixing of medications.
Disclaimer: Cliff Schaffer does not personally endorse or support any of the comments made within the writings of this article.
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