Please note that the Seattle Times now requires you to register to view archived material. It does not take much time, and it is worth the effort. For convenience, links will open in a separate window.

• NAMI -- Access to Medications is a comprehensive page about concerns and legislation that relates to mental health care medications maintained and updated by the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

• New York Times article posted July 31, 2004 -- How Schering Manipulated Drug Prices and Medicaid.

• Seattle Times article posted October 27, 2003 -- Analysis cites savings in importing prescription drugs from Canada.

• Psychiatric News opinion posted September 19, 2003 -- Formularies Nothing but Trouble.

• Psychiatric News opinion posted April 4, 2003 -- The Realities of Today's Formularies.

• Psychiatric News article posted August 2, 2002 -- Patients Paying Price for Medicaid Savings Scheme.

• Get the pharmaceutical corporation view of medication cost reduction initiatives at Phrma.org. HelpingPatients.org is Phrma.org's newest project to help consumers find patient assistance programs to help them with obtaining medications.

• Washington Institute for Public Policy and their project entitled "Expanding Access to New Medications for Schizophrenia." A report is available at their Web site.

Please visit our Medicare and Medicaid news page to find more information about the 2003 Medicare legislation.

• MSN's Drug Reference (Prescription Drugs) Page.

• National Library of Medicine Drug Information.

• The Virtual Library Pharmacy (Pharmacy.org) has a comprehensive list of Links to Pharmaceutical Companies.

• Public Citizen has been informing us for 30 years about important health, safety and democracy issues. Check their Drug Information Center for links to articles, news, and their "Worst Pills, Best Pills" newsletters, books, and links.

• The Washington State Prescription Drug Reform Web site is a great place to get information on Washington State medication issues. The site also provides links to Canadian pharmacies and offers some suggestions for when their use might be appropriate.

• The VIPPS program has a list of Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites.

• The most well-known online drugstore is at DrugStore.com.

• NeedyMeds.com is probably the number one place on the Internet to learn about financial assistance and other programs designed to help those who can't afford their medications.

  Although NeedyMeds.com is not a program itself, it contains very comprehensive information about such programs. It is the place to start your search for assistance with medication costs and supplies.

• HelpingPatients.org is Phrma.org's newest project to help consumers find patient assistance programs to help them with obtaining medications.

• Medicare Drug Assistance Programs.

• Seattle Times article posted June 11, 2002 -- Prescription treasure hunt: Where to search for medications you can afford.

• Seattle Times list -- Resources for getting free drugs.

• Join the fight for fair drug prices at FairDrugPrices.org.

• Check in with Families USA to find out more about prescription drug prices. Families USA is a strong health care advocacy organization.

• No Free Lunch offers help for health professionals addicted to pharmaceutical company handouts.

• Boston University Medical School maintains a U.S. Health Reform Page which provides links to several articles and reports about medication cost concerns.

• Check Universal Health Care Action's Winning Affordable Prescription Drugs for All Americans Web page.

• Public Citizen has been informing us for 30 years about important health, safety and democracy issues.

• A must read! Check Public Citizen's 82-page .pdf document (247KB - 1 minute download time for 56K modem) -- America's Other Drug Problem: A Briefing Book on the Rx Drug Debate.

• Check Public Citizen's Drug Information Center page.

  Wait, there's more!

  • Check this 6-page .pdf file (Adobe Acrobat) excerpt from the Public Citizen Briefing Book on the Rx Drug Debate which has active links to over fifty bibliographic citations.

  • State Prescription Drug Price Surveys.

• The Seattle P-I's latest report on the death of Senate Bill 6368 to help reduce medication costs to Washington State can be found at Why state's prescription drug bill died. This article describes the tactics that The Consumer Alliance used in Washington State. See the link directly below for more information about The Consumer Alliance and how it operates.

• Families USA recently notified members of its e-mail alerts listserv about a new pharmaceutical industry tactic. Click Here to view an Adobe Acrobat copy (small 3-page .pdf file) of the article that originally appeared in the News Observer on March 19, 2002, entitled Grass roots -- bought, paid for: Drug makers fight Medicaid cutbacks. Consider signing up for e-mail alerts from Families USA by going to their Health Action Network Sign-Up page.

• For the latest from Dr. Torrey see The Going Rate on Shrinks -- Big Pharma and the buying power of psychiatry.

• On May 1, 2002, the Seattle Times offered a commentary about the relationship of the prevalence of side effects of medications which have been rapidly approved for use in Report cites side effects seen after drugs get OK.

• The New York Times, March 8, 2002, spotlighted the relationship between advertising and the sales and use of medications in TV Ads Spur a Rise in Prescription Drug Sales.

• Montana Sues Drug Companies.  Please go to Press Release McGrath Sues Drug Companies Over Prescription Price Fraud to read a short notice about Montana's recent lawsuit against many drug companies and view a Summary of Montana Drug Pricing Lawsuit Charging Drug Companies with Consumer Fraud and False Claims, dated February 25, 2002.

  You can also read a summary about a recent Montana settlement with a pharmaceutical company -- STATE RECEIVES SETTLEMENT MONEY IN DRUG PRICE-FIXING CASE.

- Best wishes, Ron Sterling M.D. (Seattle, Washington, USA)