Chronic Back Pain - The Generic Pain Med

Illustration: Anne Asher 2007

If you are uninsured and your doctor gives you free pain med samples, you may be setting yourself up for higher drug costs down the line. A new study done at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and published in the Southern Medical Journal found 30% of uninsured patients who take the samples later continue with the brand, rather than the generic version.

In the study, the researchers looked at a pharmacy database that contained almost 2,000 prescriptions, and covered 4 medication classes, one of which was non-narcotic pain meds. (NSAIDs are an example of non-narcotic pain medications.) The drugs were from a drug sample closet. The medications were dispensed only to Medicaid patients, and to those with no insurance at all. The clinic relocated 9 months after the study began, closing the drug closet in the process. After that, the use of generic medications rose 18%.

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_{Source:
Press release. Free Drug Samples May End Up Costing Uninsured More. Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Sept 1 2008.}