Crossing Borders
Drugs bought from Canada can save your money but may also risk your life. Here's how to save both
That sounds worrisome. But Goodno points out that of Hubbard's 15 violations, 12 applied to the pharmacies Minnesota rejected, not to the four they actually partnered with. As for unapproved drugs sent to Wisconsin, Sue Reinardy of the state health department says they were generics approved but not yet available in the United States, and the ban on them wasn't clear in the contracts; pharmacies stopped sending them as soon as this was clarified. "This actually contradicts the FDA objections that we're out of control," says Dave Robertson, president of Calgary's Total Care. "As soon as they told us to stop, we stopped."
The real thing? But what about counterfeit or faulty products? It doesn't appear to be a real Canadian problem. This spring, the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, ordered 11 different drugs from more than 60 different Internet pharmacies, including 18 Canadian ones. The GAO sent the medicines--such as the cholesterol drug Lipitor and the arthritis drug Celebrex--back to the original manufacturers to check their chemistry and activity. "In other words, we asked them to tell us if this was indeed their drug," says Marcia Crosse, who directed the study. None of the drugs from Canada were fakes. And the Canadian drugs had fewer problems in certain areas (specifically improper shipping or no pharmacy label attached to prescriptions) than did even the U.S. pharmacies. "I don't think you can say, based on our small sample, that it's absolutely safe," says Crosse. "But we certainly felt more comfortable with Canada."
To increase your comfort level, if you decide to go the Canadian route, it would be wise to take several steps. The FDA isn't wrong: There are bad guys out there. So deal with the pharmacies already vetted by states; you don't have to be a state resident to use these websites. Try a new drug first from a U.S. pharmacy, to check for side effects, and then use the Canadian pharmacy for refills. Don't order anything that needs to be refrigerated, like insulin, because you never know what will happen during shipping. And compare labels with your U.S. prescription. If the directions are not the same--and some Canadian labeling requirements are different--check with your doctor before using the drug. Don't order Canadian generics; because there's more generic drug competition in the United States, driving prices down, American generics are usually cheaper.
Cheaper and safer drugs, after all, is what this is all about.
MAPLE LEAF MEDICINES
At least seven states have started--or are about to start--programs to import prescription drugs from Canada because of their lower costs.
CANADA
NORTH DAKOTA
MINNESOTA
WISCONSIN
ILLINOIS
VERMONT
NEW HAMPSHIRE
RHODE ISLAND
ILLINOIS
Program, to be launched this fall, will allow uninsured Illinois residents to refill maintenance prescriptions from Canada and Europe.
www.affordabledrugs.il.gov
MINNESOTA
Website links patients to four Canadian pharmacies, vetted by the state health department, that refill prescriptions.
www.minnesotarxconnect.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Website links consumers to two Canadian pharmacies.
www.state.nh.us/governor/prescription/prescription.html
NORTH DAKOTA
State website first offers generic alternatives, then links consumers to two Canadian pharmacies.
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