How to Save on Prescription Drugs: 20 Cost Saving Methods [Paperback]

Edward Jardini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2008

New physician-recommended ways to save thousands of dollars per year on prescription drugs.

With the pharmaceutical industry spending $8 billion per year on direct marketing to physicians, everyone winds up paying the bill through escalating prescription costs. This handbook gives patients the tools they need to become informed consumers and work with their doctors to reduce their prescription drug regimen expenses. Providing useful tips like eliminating unnecessary medications, resisting samples, substituting generic drugs, and splitting higher-dose tablets, physician Edward Jardini helps patients take charge of their own health, prescriptions, and wallets. Reviews

Read what Consumerist.com has to say! http://consumerist.com/5032933/14-ways-to-save-on-drugs-big-pharma-doesnt-want-you-to-know-Consumerist.com

 

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book is replete with insider information exposing pharmaceutical industry practices that make most prescription treatment unnecessarily expensive or simply unnecessary. Dr. Jardini gives patients the principles to become active participants in treatment decisions that promote good health instead of drug company profits. According to the ABC News/Kaiser Family Foundation/USA Today Health Care in America Survey, 25 percent of Americans have difficulty paying for prescription drugs. Sixty-nine percent of these respondents are insured. How to Save on Prescription Drugs guides those strapped by exorbitant prescription drug costs into a new alliance with their doctors to reduce costs, improve compliance, and promote better health.

About the Author

EDWARD JARDINI, MD, is a family physician at the Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, California, where he served as chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and chief of family practice.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Celestial Arts; 1 edition (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158761331X
• ISBN-13: 978-1587613319
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,978,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Early in his medical career, Dr. Jardini became sensitive to the plight of patients struggling to afford the cost of medical treatment. After years of applying basic principles of affordable drug therapy to his own patients, he sought to expand his influence. With completion of HOW TO SAVE ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, he has become even more of an advocate for the 25% of patients who presently cannot afford their medications.

Dr. Jardini lectures regularly on affordable drug therapy, and has been featured in many periodicals, including WOMAN'S WORLD, BETTER HEALTH AND LIVING, ARTHRITIS TODAY, WOMAN'S DAY, SHAPE, and FIRST MAGAZINE. He has been a guest on radio interview programs heard in 75 countries around the world, and was interviewed on NBC's TODAY SHOW.

In developing his unique program of Cost-saving Methods, Dr. Jardini draws upon the experience of over 75,000 outpatient visits logged over a twenty-year medical practice. His background in biochemistry and his tenure as chair of the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee of Twin Cities Community Hospital also contribute to his ample scholarship and credentials. Research for this work included interviews of pharmacists, pharmaceutical representatives, colleagues, and allied health professionals.

He has independently studied industry pricing, patent laws, and retail and discounted drug costs. He has also examined patient assistance programs, government health care agencies, and structuring of insurance formularies. He continues to apply his cost-saving methods extensively in his own practice with unmitigated success, saving patients thousands of dollars in prescription costs. A survey of his colleagues has shown overwhelming positive physician attitudes toward assisting patients with the program.

Dr. Jardini's first publication appeared in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1981, stemming from research he performed at the National Institutes of Health. After receiving his degree in Biochemistry from the University of California, he worked with N. H. Colburn, Chief of the Laboratory of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute. There he co-authored the paper, "Retinoids inhibit promoter-dependent preneoplastic progression in mouse epidermal cell lines."

His research experiences cemented his commitment to the field of Medicine, drawing him to the opposite coast and the University of Southern California. He received his M.D. degree in 1984 and completed a three-year specialty program in Family Medicine in 1987. He remains a diplomat of the American Board of Medical Examiners and is certified by the American Board of Family Practice. He has served on the Governing Board, Medical Executive Committee, and as Chief of Family Practice at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, California, where he continues to practice family medicine.

Dr. Jardini lives with his wife, two children, and an evil cat named Cattivo on the California central coast. When he is not writing or practicing medicine, he can be found chasing Cattivo out of some mischief. The doctor also enjoys surf sailing and plays electronic keyboards with a local physician ensemble.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Medications I've Read, August 18, 2008

By 

D. Ferrini "Medical Assistant" (Paso Robles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Save on Prescription Drugs: 20 Cost Saving Methods (Paperback)

Long known as a patient advocate in his home town of Templeton, California, this busy family doctor has a special interest in the subject of medication and a passion for helping his patients keep drug costs to a minimum. The son of a physician, with three brothers who are also physicians, he has been well-steeped in pharmacological and medical issues for most of his life. This book is an exceptional bounty of knowledge written for the common patients' pharmacy needs in an inflationary economy in which many people have little income and no health insurance. On a personal level, this book has changed how my husband and myself talk to our physicians about our medication issues and has help cut our drug expenses in half.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Save on Prescription Drugs Book Review, August 30, 2009

By 

Valerie Garner - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Save on Prescription Drugs: 20 Cost Saving Methods (Paperback)

Wish I had read this book years earlier!
A must read for people especially using monthly medications on a consistent basis.

I learned some tips that really helped save out of pocket money (which is what really counts), and great advice for some needed conversations with my doctor.

Everyone should read this!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DO YOUR POCKETBOOK A FAVOR, BUY THIS BOOK., March 9, 2009

By 

Louis Vincenti "LouisVincenti" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Save on Prescription Drugs: 20 Cost Saving Methods (Paperback)

Nobody should be trying to navigate today's prescription drug costs without having access to the kind of information contained in this book. It is appropriate for Medicare patients, people in group health plans and individuals just trying to get a fair break on buying the medicines they need. As a Medicare patient the methods in this book saved me about 50% over the cost of buying a Part D drug plan. My son, recovering from encephalitis and without drug insurance coverage or the ability to work was able to reduce his cost for very expensive maintenance medicines to practically zero through the drug manufacturer programs identified and explained in this book. A real Godsend to my family!

The book is specific, timely, well written, easy to read and contains most, if not all, of the information you will need to be a better buyer when it comes to the medicines you need. It brings together in one place a wealth of information that would take someone like me weeks or months to search out on the web. And, that's even if I knew the right questions to ask (I don`t). This book provides you with tools you need to work more effectively with your doctor, to save on the prescriptions you need and in a multitude of ways to be a more actively engaged patient and an advocate for your own better health care.

I give it five stars and think this is an extremely informative must-buy book that should be on every health care consumers shelf.