Have you ever received free samples of medication from your doctor's office?

Many doctors hand out free samples of prescription medications at their office. For example, consider Jane. Jane was just diagnosed with mildly high cholesterol. Instead of first starting her out on a low cost, equally effective, generic version  of a cholesterol-lowering drug, the doctor gave her samples of a highly expensive, newer, brand name drug that the drug company representative had just dropped off at the office.

This scenario happens all too often. The problem comes when the free samples run out and one must go to the pharmacy to fill the prescription for the drug. Many times, insurance companies will not cover the newer, more expensive drug. They will only cover the equally-effective, generic medication. Drug companies know this. This is why they go through the trouble of handing out free drugs in the first place.

Free samples are not always a bad thing, however, one must empower themselves so it can be discussed with the doctor if the free sample being dispensed is the most cost-effective medication for one’s condition. If a doctor uses evidence-based medicine, he will consider what the official, published guidelines recommend for a particular condition before dispensing free samples.

You see, there are reputable organizations that have put forth treatment guidelines for many of the conditions out there today. These guidelines reveal which medications have been shown to be the most cost-effective way to treat a given condition. These guidelines are published in medical journals. Examples of these guidelines include the 'ATP III' guidelines for high cholesterol or the 'JNC VII' guidelines for high blood pressure. The problem is, to have access to these guidelines, one would need to subscribe to these journals and be able to read medical jargon.

At Empowered Medicine, all of the information presented on our site is based on these guidelines and evidence-based medicine. Here, this information is presented in plain, simple terms we can all understand.

Afterall, these guidelines are considered to be the ‘standard of practice' for physicians. Physicians who use evidence-based medicine reference these guidelines. They don't prescribe medications just because the drug company representative dropped off some free samples at the office. When a physician practices evidence-based medicine, the patient can rest assured that they are receiving current, high quality health care based on sound scientific evidence.

We hope you enjoy the information we have put together for you on our website.   

Author: Christi Larson, Pharm. D.

Dr. Larson is a Clinical Infusion Pharmacist, author of Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers and creator of www.empoweredmedicine.com. You can read more about her by visiting www.EmpoweredMedicine.com and clicking on the 'About Us' tab.  EmpoweredMedicine.com is committed to providing evidence-based medical information.