June 2008
America's best drugstores
40,133 readers rate service, speed, and advice (but too few ask for it)
Shop around Prices for the same bottle of pills can vary by more than $100.
Illustrations by A.J. GarcesAs new prescription drugs, over-the-counter remedies, and dietary supplements migrate through the drugstores and into medicine
cabinets across the U.S., consumers should be asking pharmacists more about dosage and interactions. Yet many aren't talking
to pharmacists at all, according to a survey of more than 40,000 readers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
Readers sought pharmacists' advice about prescription drugs at just 38 percent of walk-in visits during the course of a year, and they asked about over-the-counter remedies at just 29 percent. That's far less than in our 2002 survey, when the figures were 50 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
The potential for problems is huge. In any given week, four out of five adults take medicine or supplements, and nearly one-third of all adults take five or more daily. Allen J. Vaida, executive vice president of the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices, estimates that 18 million people go to an emergency room every year because they've taken medication incorrectly.
The evolving relationship between consumers and pharmacists is one of several findings that indicate a shift in how people are finding the best drugstore for their needs, how they are buying medicine, where they're shopping, and what they're paying. The highlights:
Readers sought pharmacists' advice about prescription drugs at just 38 percent of walk-in visits during the course of a year, and they asked about over-the-counter remedies at just 29 percent. That's far less than in our 2002 survey, when the figures were 50 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
The potential for problems is huge. In any given week, four out of five adults take medicine or supplements, and nearly one-third of all adults take five or more daily. Allen J. Vaida, executive vice president of the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices, estimates that 18 million people go to an emergency room every year because they've taken medication incorrectly.
The evolving relationship between consumers and pharmacists is one of several findings that indicate a shift in how people are finding the best drugstore for their needs, how they are buying medicine, where they're shopping, and what they're paying. The highlights:
- Cost is a bigger burden. In 2007, Americans spent $287 billion on prescription drugs, about five times as much as in 1993
but only about half the amount forecast for 2017. Sixty-five percent of prescription-drug buys we asked about in 2002 were
mostly or entirely covered by insurance, vs. 33 percent this time. Five percent of purchases weren't covered at all.
- Paying cash? Compare prices. Our national study of prices for four common drugs found average total differences of as much
as $340, or 26 percent, between the cheapest source, Costco Wholesale, and the priciest, Rite Aid. Even prices within a chain
often differed: A Shopko in Omaha, Neb., charged $160 for alendronate (the generic version of Fosamax, for osteoporosis);
a Shopko in Billings, Mont., charged $257. Prices also varied greatly from one independent pharmacy to another. Wal-Mart,
Publix, and Costco were most likely to have consistent prices.
- Most readers still use walk-in chain drugstores for prescriptions, but other options are worth considering in the search for
the best drugstore. Many supermarket drugstores and several mass merchants received higher Ratings than the biggest chains.
- Online buying has gone mainstream. Only chain drugstores ring up higher sales of prescription drugs.
- Independent drugstores, which number about 23,000 nationwide, were a reader favorite. As a group, they were in a statistical
tie with the Medicine Shoppe (a chain of about 700 independently owned stores), several supermarket pharmacies (Publix, Hy-Vee,
Hannaford, and Wegmans), and two discount-store pharmacies (Kmart and Shopko).
- Pharmacies scored higher than most services we measure, and far fewer readers found problems than in years past. Still, in
29 percent of visits over the course of a year, readers said the drugs they sought were out of stock; in 14 percent there
were long waits for help at the pharmacy, and in 14 percent prescriptions weren't ready when promised.
REMEMBER CANADA?
Not long ago, older Americans were clamoring for the right to buy cheaper drugs from Canadian Web sites. No more. With the advent of the Medicare Part D prescription benefit in 2006, they're buying American again. It's a matter of economics. The U.S. government won't factor Canadian purchases into a Part D deductible.
Not long ago, older Americans were clamoring for the right to buy cheaper drugs from Canadian Web sites. No more. With the advent of the Medicare Part D prescription benefit in 2006, they're buying American again. It's a matter of economics. The U.S. government won't factor Canadian purchases into a Part D deductible.
