2 Responses to “Generics – Part 2”

1. 

   eimat says:
   

   June 9, 2010

   Anyone know of an online Canadian pharmacy that will charge my insurance for whatever their part is, that I could pay with Paypal or a credit card?

   I take (or rather was taking – they gave me a generic Friday) the same amount of Concerta (and Celexa) each day. I could just mail my prescription for their records, give my credit card number and they could automatically refill me every month by mail. The cheapest delivery method could be used as they’d know so far in advance, what I need.

   The big overhead of maintaining a store would be avoided. Seems there’s a nice little niche here for someone who’s entrepreneurial.

   Want to start an association/co-op of ADHD adults and parents of kids with ADHD, so we could get group insurance, and access to an online pharmacy that specializes in ADHD meds? I’ll bet we could do this a lot cheaper as a big group (economies of scale, buying in bulk, etc.) You could spend nothing on advertising, as you’d get tons of business from referrals.

   The coolest part, in the long run, is, if we keep track of the patients closely, after a while there would be a comprehensive database of what is working and what isn’t. When you log in to this online pharmacy, you would answer questions about your progress, your diet, sleep, etc. Your doctor could see how you’re doing, and the database could show how the whole group is doing. We might learn some significant stuff. For instance, if there is any truth to the theory that smoking during pregnancy increases the chance of the offspring having ADHD then the overall numbers should go down with time, as the number of smokers goes down. I know there are people who track this sort of thing, but this could still be a very interesting, centralized repository.

   The whole thing could run off a PHP or MySQL database with web front end on a raided drive at Canadawebhosting in Vancouver. Cheap. The meds could be shipped to and from any climate controlled warehouse anywhere in the country ( find the cheapest place.) You’d of course need a licenced pharmacist. I’d try to find one that wants to retire to oversee things, and some consultant who can tell you what you need in terms of a “clean room” where bulk meds would be unpacked, then repacked for shipping. This could be highly simplified if the meds come in blister packs or compliance packaging as nothing would be exposed to air/humidity, etc. & easier to inventory. You’d need to pass regular inspections re: labelling, cleanliness, record keeping, etc. Plus a couple of employees to pack & unpack, and a techie/office manager (my CV is available on request) and you’re done.

   You might even want to keep an online lending library of ebook and audio versions of good ADHD related books. This would give added value to your membership, and since it would be a private lending library, copyright issues would not be an issue. No shipping, minimal warehousing required.

   If the group eventually becomes big enough – you’ve got yourself a powerhouse of a specialized interest group. Of course this website could be that anyways…

   … just an idea..

2. 

   JayBird says:
   

   May 27, 2010

   As far as I know, that only happens in Ontario. I haven’t heard of anything like this in Alberta. At least, if a doctor here says no substitutions then there are no substitutions. I do know that my doctor has told me that generic Ritalin is in no way as effective as the brand name stuff. What the pharmacies do here, or at least the one I go to, is they don’t stock the brand name stuff as much so if you want the brand name stuff they make you jump through a bunch of hoops to get it until you are so fed up you just get the generic stuff so you don’t have to wait the extra time to get it.

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