Cheap Prescriptions & Medicine Tricks to slash the cost

They may say "never scrimp on your health", but there are ways to save without compromising.

Whether it's NHS prescription season tickets, buying cheaper private prescriptions or slashing over the counter medicine costs by 90%, there are many ways to improve your health without injuring your bank balance.

Cheaper NHS prescriptions

The aim of the prescription system is simple: it's a flat fee, so that people can afford any necessary medicine regardless of its cost. Yet for those on regular prescriptions, it can quickly add up. What you pay depends on where you live ...

Can you get it for free in England?

All medicines administered in hospitals or NHS walk-in centres are free (not if they prescribe you something to take away). Also free are prescribed contraceptives, medication personally administered by a GP and sexually transmitted disease treatments supplied by a hospital or primary care trust.

Even if you live in a part of the UK which charges for prescriptions, there are still a host of people who are exempt from the charges.

The following factors qualify you for free prescriptions (it depends on when the prescription was dispensed):

• If you're under 16 or over 60
• If in full time education and 16-18 years old
• If you're pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months
• If you or your partner receive Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment & Support Allowance, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• If you have a war pension exemption certificate
• If you have a valid Medical Exemption Certificate (given for a range of illnesses, eg, epilepsy, cancer, severe disability)

If you qualify for free prescriptions, just fill in the back of the form at the pharmacist - but don't be tempted to lie. A false declaration can lead to a fine and prosecution.

Buy a season ticket
NHS prescription prepayment certificates

Anyone who regularly pays for prescriptions should consider buying a prescription pre-payment certificate, which covers all your NHS prescription fees for a set period.

On 1 April 2012 individual NHS prescriptions in England (they’re free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) will rise for those who pay by 25p to £7.65. But the cost of prepayment certificate isn’t going up.

The short three-month version costs £29.10 and is cheaper if you use four or more prescriptions in that time. The 12-month version is £104, which works out cheaper if you use 15 or more prescriptions. But you can pay for this by direct debit over 10 installments.

If your condition is consistent, the longer certificate is the better value of the two. Someone getting two prescriptions a month over a year would save £70.

England prepay NHS prescription certificate comparison

Prepay certificate		Without prepay certificate
		1 item a month	2 items a month	3 items a month
3 months	£29.10	£22.95	£45.90	£68.85
12 months	£104	£91.80	£183.60	£275.40
Based on 1 April 2012 prices

How to get a certificate

The easiest way to get a certificate is on the NHS Prescription Pricing Authority website. You can pay by card or, to spread the cost, direct debit. Forms are also available in main Post Offices and some pharmacies. Alternatively, call 0845 850 0030.

If you become eligible for free prescriptions after buying a certificate, you can reclaim the proportional cost for that time.

Backdate it up to three months

Normally certificates start on the day applications are received. However, you can request it's backdated up to one month earlier, a decent saving if you've just shelled out for a bulk of prescriptions.

If you have to pay for a prescription while waiting for your certificate, you can reclaim the cost up to three months after paying. You must ask for an NHS receipt (FP57) from the pharmacist at the time you buy the prescription(s) you want to claim back - they can't give you one later.

Over the counter can be cheaper

Some commonly prescribed medications, including painkillers, allergy tablets and dermatology creams, are also available over the counter without prescription. Often it's much cheaper just to buy them this way, rather than paying the £7.40 flat prescription charge (£7.65 from April 2012).

Some pharmacies, including all Boots stores, have policies to always tell you if you're better off doing it this way.

Prescription vs over the counter

Drug	Dose	Prescription cost (1)	Over the counter cost (2)	Saving
Glucosamine Sulphate	30 tablets	£7.65	£5.10	£2.30
Hydrocortisone (1%)	15g tube	£7.65	£3.49	£3.57
Aqueous Cream	500g	£7.65	£4.05	£2.80
1) Based on 1 April 2012 prescription prices. 2) Price from Boots, though often they'll be available even cheaper elsewhere.

However, there's no hard and fast rule. The prescription is sometimes cheaper, especially if the doctor provides a bulk prescription, eg, a one or three-month prescription for specific non-drowsy allergy tablets.

Slash private prescription costs

With private prescriptions - unlike the NHS deals' flat fee, which ignores cost and volume - you stump up the medicine's full cost as set by the pharmacist. You get a private prescription in one of two events:

• If the NHS doesn't cover the medication

  If you want a drug the NHS doesn’t hand out in your region, but don’t mind paying for the benefit, you get a private prescription.

  It could be a drug for a lifestyle-enhancing purpose, such as sexual aids Cialis and Viagra, (although this can be on the NHS if you've had a kidney transplant), or antimalarials, such as Malarone for holidays, or anti-baldness drug Propecia.

• Private GP prescriptions

  If you go to a non-NHS doctor (for emergency weekend diagnosis, or simply if you're a member of a scheme), they can't give NHS prescriptions. Everything is done as a private prescription.

Slash the cost of private prescriptions
Cheap Viagra, Malarone and more

Unlike the world of NHS prescriptions, it's an open marketplace and pharmacies can set their own prices, meaning costs vary hugely. For example, four Viagra tablets cost £32 at Boots, but can be as little as £20.

In our research, we found for the mainstays of private prescriptions, online pharmacies and supermarkets tend to be cheapest. Yet it's mainly a question of leg work. Call up or ask in a few places. If you're looking for allergy relief, read the full Cheap Hayfever Remedies guide for the latest top deals.

Private Prescription Costs

Pharmacy	Viagra (Erectile dysfunction) 50mg 4 tabs	Malarone (Anti-malaria) 16 tabs
Lloyds online	£25.43 (1)	£39.83 (1)
Lloyds in-store	£21.44	£50.42
Sainsbury's	N/A	N/A
Superdrug	£21.27	£36.48
Tesco	£26.55 (4)	£47.04
Boots	£31.91	£50.40
Asda	£20	£40
Pharmacy2u	£24.73 (2)	£45.53 (2)
Chemist Direct	-	£40.77 (3)
Updated March 2012. 1) Includes £3.95 delivery. 2) Includes £3.45 delivery. 3) Includes £3.45 delivery. 4) Based on price for pack on 8 at £53.10 - it doesn't sell 4-packs.

Cheaper medications: go generic

Brands are big business in the medical world. Drugs companies spend millions promoting an 'only use the name you know' message. This seems eminently sensible - after all, health isn't something we take short cuts with. Yet, quite simply, it's a load of marketing baloney.

When a company develops a drug, it's given unique rights to sell it for a number of years. Once that ends, any company can make the drug, providing they meet regulations.

The key is the 'active' ingredient - the stuff that actually does the business. And there are many generic products, ie, unbranded or own-brand, which have the same stuff, but cost much less. Protections and quality control apply equally to all branded and generic products.

Of course, my expertise is money, so why take my word for it? Dr Hilary Jones, the resident Doctor on Daybreak, agrees:

Is there any difference at all?

While there isn't a medical difference, the packaging and the design usually differ substantially. Branded drugs are often better packaged, with nicer-coloured tablets and better-tasting coating.

However, swallow a pill with orange juice and you shouldn’t notice the difference (although doctors warn against taking pills with grapefruit juice as that can counteract some medications).

The only other thing to note is, if you have any allergies, always check the other non-active ingredients too. Don't automatically assume they're the same in a generic product as a branded one.

Where should you buy them?

The biggest saving is in switching to generic from branded products, regardless of where you shop. However, to finesse even bigger price cuts, try your supermarket. Tesco and Asda especially have steamrollered into the pharmaceutical world in the past few years, with cheap prices undercutting most of the high street pharmacies.

Do remember though, if the price difference isn't too great, buying generic at your local independent pharmacy may help it remain open in the face of stiff competition.

The size of the saving

Branded Product	Active Ingredient	Branded	Cheap Generic	Saving
Nurofen 16 tablets	Ibuprofen 200mg	£1.70	41p	£1.29
Panadol 16 tablets	Paracetamol 500mg	£2.28	15p	£2.13
Zirtek 7 tablets	Cetirizine 10mg	£2	60p	£1.40
Total	-	£5.98	£1.16	£4.82
Prices from Asda - updated March 2012.