Prescriptions May Cost Less on Web

By getting drug prescriptions filled over the Internet, you can save 10% or more over the price charged at your local pharmacy, according to the newsletter Bob Carlson’s Retirement Watch. The newsletter surveyed pharmaceutical Web sites and found that while not all offer discounts on all items, consumers should be able to get the prices they want by comparison shopping. Shoppers still need to exercise the same caution they would in dealing with other online retail sites, and the newsletter advises consumers to buy only from sites that have seals from the National Assn. of Boards of Pharmacy. It also notes that online pharmacies generally shouldn’t be used for drugs that are needed immediately, such as pain medication or antibiotics, although some sites do allow prescriptions to be physically picked up from a local drugstore.