Psych Patient, MD

Straddling the border of sanity

Beat the high cost of meds

Prescription medication cost is a joke in the United States. Consumers demand state-of-the-art medicine. The pharmaceutical industry delivers with no holds barred on the cost of development. The people who suffer the most, I believe, are psychiatric patients. The armory of psychiatric meds is expanding rapidly, vastly improving care and management of the psych patient. But psychiatric patients are probably the least likely to be able to pay for the new medications that are coming out onto the market.

As a psychiatric resident, I learned that many pharmaceutical companies have "patient assistance" programs. These programs are designed to give FREE medications to those who meet defined financial qualifications. All kinds of medications can be obtained in this way, not just psych meds. Usually, you and your doctor fill out forms to send to the company. If you qualify, the medication will be sent to your doctor to give to you, free of charge.

Here is one place where you can look for patient assistance programs:

http://www.needymeds.com/