Medical News

June 26, 2004 — For about three months, Charles Wingfield has been ordering his prescription drugs through Discount Medicine of Canada, a store located off Grant Line Road in New Albany, Ind.

The Louisville retiree said he figures that buying Canadian drugs for his breathing and blood pressure has saved him about $100 over that period.

“I am delighted with it,” said Wingfield, 76. “That fits very well in my wallet.”

Dot Atkins, 67, a New Albany housewife, sent off a prescription for arthritis medication through Discount Medicine on Friday, and said that by doing so she saved about $100.

“I checked around for prices,” she said, adding that she had wondered about the safety of medications from Canada but has been pleased with the way her prescriptions have been filled.

“So far, so good,” she said.

Atkins and Wingfield are among a growing number of people across Kentuckiana and the nation who are turning to Canada for less expensive medications.

IN ADDITION TO those who travel north in search of savings or use stores like Discount Medicine, governors in several states and some mayors say they’re thinking about buying in Canada to save money for their employees and citizens.

Discount Medicine, which opened in May 2003, serves about 550 people from Indiana and Kentucky who come to get their prescriptions filled by CanAmerica, a pharmacy company in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Another Southern Indiana store, Discount Drugs from Canada, located in Clarksville, has a similar arrangement with a Canadian supplier and a similar number of customers, according to Jon Hallis, its manager.

In Louisville, U.S. Canadian Connection, another business that was selling drugs from Canada, closed in March. Co-owner Larry Brodt said it wasn’t attracting enough business but would continue to serve customers by phone and mail.

U.S. LAW prohibits the “re-importation” of medicine from Canada, but the office of Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has said it is awaiting guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on how to react to Discount Medicine, Discount Drugs and similar businesses.While the FDA has acted to close some stores that order Canadian drugs, it has not pressed forward with efforts to shut them all down. Congress is considering legislation that would legalize re-importation.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has said, “I think Congress is going to pass it.”

William Hubbard, a spokesman for the FDA, which is responsible for enforcing the law against drug re-importation, said he doesn’t know how many U.S. stores make arrangements for customers to buy Canadian drugs.

LISA HAYES, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Health Professions Bureau, said her agency knew of five stores in the state, including the Clarksville and New Albany operations, but she cautioned that there might be others unknown to the bureau. She said federal officials closed another store, RX Depot, in Indianapolis several months ago.

Government officials as well as individuals have shown interest in saving money by buying in Canada.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he plans to start bringing in drugs from Canada for city employees in July.

Craig Benson, governor of New Hampshire, has posted a link to a Canadian online pharmacy on the state Web site. Alicia Preston, a spokeswoman for Benson, said that in April 3,500 people bought drugs through that link.

Wisconsin has a similar Web site.

Steve Yount, the owner of Discount Medicine in New Albany, said his store is under contract with CanAmerica, which fills the orders and sends them in sealed containers to U.S. and other customers. Some of the savings can be substantial, Yount said, although he added that not all medications from Canada are cheaper than in the United States.

A Bluegrass Poll conducted May 5-11 by The Courier-Journal showed that 63 percent of people surveyed favored making it easier to buy cheaper drugs from other countries, but only about 4 percent said they or someone in their household had purchased prescription medicines across U.S. borders.

Yount contended that pharmaceutical companies have exerted their influence to raise questions about the safety of buying drugs overseas, making some people reluctant to do so.

Yount also claimed the medications he arranges for customers to get from Canada are safe, although representatives of pharmacists say there’s no way to be absolutely sure about purchases from other countries.

His customers, Yount said, fill out a medical history form, and their prescriptions are faxed to the Canadian pharmacy, where the information is reviewed by a physician before the order is filled.

Viv Pands from www.listrxmedical.com says that by offering medicines from Canada have really boosted their business in recent times.

Businesses like Yount’s, along with online ordering services offered by such groups as United Senior Action of Indiana, an advocacy group based in Indianapolis, apparently have diminished some people’s interest in traveling to Canada to buy medications.

Michelle Robertson, office manager for United Senior Action, said it has not conducted a bus trip over the border since June 2002. With the online ordering service, she said, “we don’t have to take the time to go up there.”

By DICK KAUKAS
dkaukas@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

June 26, 2004 — For about three months, Charles Wingfield has been ordering his prescription drugs through Discount Medicine of Canada, a store located off Grant Line Road in New Albany, Ind.

The Louisville retiree said he figures that buying Canadian drugs for his breathing and blood pressure has saved him about $100 over that period.

“I am delighted with it,” said Wingfield, 76. “That fits very well in my wallet.”

Dot Atkins, 67, a New Albany housewife, sent off a prescription for arthritis medication through Discount Medicine on Friday, and said that by doing so she saved about $100.

“I checked around for prices,” she said, adding that she had wondered about the safety of medications from Canada but has been pleased with the way her prescriptions have been filled.

“So far, so good,” she said.

Atkins and Wingfield are among a growing number of people across Kentuckiana and the nation who are turning to Canada for less expensive medications.

IN ADDITION TO those who travel north in search of savings or use stores like Discount Medicine, governors in several states and some mayors say they’re thinking about buying in Canada to save money for their employees and citizens.

Discount Medicine, which opened in May 2003, serves about 550 people from Indiana and Kentucky who come to get their prescriptions filled by CanAmerica, a pharmacy company in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Another Southern Indiana store, Discount Drugs from Canada, located in Clarksville, has a similar arrangement with a Canadian supplier and a similar number of customers, according to Jon Hallis, its manager.

In Louisville, U.S. Canadian Connection, another business that was selling drugs from Canada, closed in March. Co-owner Larry Brodt said it wasn’t attracting enough business but would continue to serve customers by phone and mail.

U.S. LAW prohibits the “re-importation” of medicine from Canada, but the office of Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has said it is awaiting guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on how to react to Discount Medicine, Discount Drugs and similar businesses.While the FDA has acted to close some stores that order Canadian drugs, it has not pressed forward with efforts to shut them all down. Congress is considering legislation that would legalize re-importation.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has said, “I think Congress is going to pass it.”

William Hubbard, a spokesman for the FDA, which is responsible for enforcing the law against drug re-importation, said he doesn’t know how many U.S. stores make arrangements for customers to buy Canadian drugs.

LISA HAYES, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Health Professions Bureau, said her agency knew of five stores in the state, including the Clarksville and New Albany operations, but she cautioned that there might be others unknown to the bureau. She said federal officials closed another store, RX Depot, in Indianapolis several months ago.

Government officials as well as individuals have shown interest in saving money by buying in Canada.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he plans to start bringing in drugs from Canada for city employees in July.

Craig Benson, governor of New Hampshire, has posted a link to a Canadian online pharmacy on the state Web site. Alicia Preston, a spokeswoman for Benson, said that in April 3,500 people bought drugs through that link.

Wisconsin has a similar Web site.

Steve Yount, the owner of Discount Medicine in New Albany, said his store is under contract with CanAmerica, which fills the orders and sends them in sealed containers to U.S. and other customers. Some of the savings can be substantial, Yount said, although he added that not all medications from Canada are cheaper than in the United States.

A Bluegrass Poll conducted May 5-11 by The Courier-Journal showed that 63 percent of people surveyed favored making it easier to buy cheaper drugs from other countries, but only about 4 percent said they or someone in their household had purchased prescription medicines across U.S. borders.

Yount contended that pharmaceutical companies have exerted their influence to raise questions about the safety of buying drugs overseas, making some people reluctant to do so.

Yount also claimed the medications he arranges for customers to get from Canada are safe, although representatives of pharmacists say there’s no way to be absolutely sure about purchases from other countries.

His customers, Yount said, fill out a medical history form, and their prescriptions are faxed to the Canadian pharmacy, where the information is reviewed by a physician before the order is filled.

Viv Pands from www.listrxmedical.com says that by offering medicines from Canada have really boosted their business in recent times.

Businesses like Yount’s, along with online ordering services offered by such groups as United Senior Action of Indiana, an advocacy group based in Indianapolis, apparently have diminished some people’s interest in traveling to Canada to buy medications.

Michelle Robertson, office manager for United Senior Action, said it has not conducted a bus trip over the border since June 2002. With the online ordering service, she said, “we don’t have to take the time to go up there.”

By DICK KAUKAS
dkaukas@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal