Prescriptions are not a commodity.
The same pills cost wildly different prices.
The same five generic medications cost $107 at an independent pharmacy and $928 at a national chain. Consumer Reports proved it. Most patients never check. We will tell you what your medication actually costs at Fairview, in plain text, usually within 30 minutes.
Same prescriptions. Same month.
8.7x price difference.
Consumer Reports priced a basket of five common generics (Pioglitazone, Celecoxib, Duloxetine, Atorvastatin, Clopidogrel) at major retailers. The cheapest was an independent pharmacy. The most expensive was a national chain. Same exact medications.
Source: Consumer Reports investigation of common prescription drug prices nationwide.
Patient Guide
How to actually price your medication.
Most patients assume cash prices are the same everywhere. They are not. Here's a one page guide to checking, including a script you can use when you call a pharmacy.
GoodRx is built for the chains.
GoodRx is a referral business. It gets paid when you fill at one of the chains it partners with. That is why most coupons point you to a Walgreens or a CVS, even though independents are often dollars cheaper on the same generic.
We do not pay for referrals. We do not advertise on coupon apps. We just charge what we can charge while still keeping the lights on and the pharmacist behind the counter. Sometimes that beats GoodRx by a wide margin. Sometimes it does not. We will tell you the truth either way.
Pricing transparency was never going to come from the chains.
The chains have no reason to tell you a prescription costs $928 in their store when it costs $107 across town. We do. Independents have been the cheaper option for years. We just have not been the louder one. That ends here.