Medicines can be cheaper if you know how to buy them. It may be hard to believe, but when you buy 60 ibuprofen tablets on a prescription (100%), you pay PLN 7 (with a refund - about PLN 3), and for 10 tablets without a prescription - as much as PLN 6! Find out how to buy drugs cheap.
Is it possible to buycheaper drugs ? Yes, althoughreimbursed drugshave fixed prices and it is not worth running around pharmacies, wisely choosing drug packages and asking your doctor for some over-the-counter drugs, you can save a bit.
Larger packaging - cheaper drugs
Painkillers and proton pump inhibitors (for heartburn, reflux, gastritis and duodenitis) constitute a large group of over-the-counter medications. They are sold in smaller doses and packages. We are happy to reach for them, because when we have a headache or gastric problems, we do not have to waste time queuing to the doctor. Sometimes, however, it is better to wait for a prescription than to spend several dozen zlotys unnecessarily.
For example, 14 tablets of the original drug for heartburn with pantoprazole without a prescription cost as much as 28 tablets prescribed by a doctor (PLN 18). It may be hard to believe, but when you buy 60 ibuprofen tablets on a prescription (100%), you pay PLN 7 (with a refund - about PLN 3), and for 10 tablets without a prescription - as much as PLN 6! When you buy an over-the-counter medicine, sometimes you need to take a double dose, so you need the medicine for less time than with more powerful pills.
Combined drugs more expensive than their ingredients
You will pay more for combined cold and flu medications than if you buy individual ingredients separately, e.g. for such a preparation you need to spend PLN 20, and for the paracetamol it contains - PLN 3-5 and vitamin C - 3-5 PLN.
Supplement cheaper than the original drug
Different prices have vitamin and mineral preparations. The preparation with magnesium - the original drug - costs almost PLN 30, another, sold as a dietary supplement - PLN 15. Dietary supplements are cheaper, but do not have the tests required to register the drug.
Pharmacy promotions
As in any other store in a pharmacy, you can find promotions. Among the most often discounted are cold remedies, painkillers, vitamins and minerals. Such occasions need to be approached with caution, because they are usually a marketing ploy (companies give discounts, so pharmacies,to attract a customer, they drop prices).
Cheaper drugs mean shopping in several pharmacies
If you have the time and will, check the prices in several pharmacies. You can save a lot with big purchases. However, this only applies to specifics that are not reimbursable, i.e. regardless of whether they are prescription or OTC (i.e. over-the-counter drugs), you have to pay 100% for them. But some manufacturers have not put their drugs on reimbursement lists, so they can dictate prices. By giving discounts to wholesalers or pharmacy chains, they lower prices and it may happen that you pay less for the original drug than for the reproductive drug.
Cheaper drugs: be careful
Before you buy the recommended preparation, read the information on the label, and when in doubt, ask your pharmacist for a leaflet and learn more about the medicine you need. Be sure to check the content of the active substance, dose, manufacturer, whether it is a drug or a dietary supplement, and the expiry date. Never treat an advertisement as medical information.
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