Apparently doctors always have free samples of drugs they can give their patients if they ask for them. So if you have some prescription meds you take, you could ask your doctor if they have some free samples and they could save you some money. I've never asked my doctor for any because I didn't know they have these free samples? Has any of you ever done it?
In my opinion, doctors shouldn't issue drug samples since this would show partiality and they might be exposed to liability should something go wrong with the patient. The best people well placed to issue such drugs are medical sales reps of drug firms and should do so when a patient has proof of being under instruction to use these or similar drugs.
This is news to me and I have to say it doesn't seem very ethical and could lead to some nasty lawsuits, especially in such a litigious country such as the US. I guess it's the sort of thing they could do with their immediate family, maybe on the sly. But who knows what could happen if they're caught, because I'm willing to bet there are laws against it. Luckily for me, I wouldn't have a need for it anyway because the Botswana government offers free medical healthcare....it really comes to something when a small developing country such as Botswana offers free medical care to its people, and the US, arguably most powerful country doesn't! Most people here still get private medical cover for emergencies or specialist situations where they need to be seen quickly anyway, but even then it's usually a very affordable monthly plan. So we wouldn't need to go down the route of the samples.
Much as I would agree as with all things it always worth asking - in this instance I wouldn't be too hasty. As to be fair - although it could be said that around 10 -15 years ago some doctors - not all - did occasionally have a few free drug samples that could be given to patients as a trial - these days - it would be rare if not highly unlikely that you'll find many that do - simply because - since the board of ethics clamped down on receiving marketing products offered by pharmaceutical companies in the early 2000s and more importantly most drug samples don't carry the detailed patient information required by law - not many doctors accept them. Its also debatable whether doing this would actually save money - especially bearing in mind the fact that - as drug samples are usually only given out by drug companies on a one off basis - each time they launch a new drug onto the market. Not only would the few samples generally be for the latest most expensive brand name drugs - but as they are samples and not full size - meaning they are not enough for a full course of treatment - if given out they could land up being extremely costly - particularly as there would be no other option for the patient - than to bear the cost of making up the full prescription - by paying over the odds for the brand name drug - in order to complete the course of treatment - which compared to a tried and tested just as effective inexpensive approved generic equivalent - could mean paying up to 85% more than is necessary. Another thing worth considering - is that as the samples will only be for newly launched drugs and the majority of all new drugs - have from the time of launch - a 12 – 24 month report system in place - for adverse effects experienced by patients - the potential side effects are a bit of an unknown quantity - as they are not always fully known at this stage. To be honest the safest and most cost effective option - if trying to cut medication costs - is to always ask if there is a generic equivalent.
To be honest, this is how I survived graduate school. I have had health issues all my life, and when I left my full time job to enter graduate school, I also left my medical insurance behind. I signed up for medical insurance through the school, but there were no associated prescription benefits. Thankfully, the doctor at the school clinic was very understanding, and would squeeze me in at his regular office, and also helped me out several times with free samples of medication, to get me through a few illnesses, as well as flares of a few of my chronic conditions.
Nope I haven't done that yet, and I don't think any doctor will offer free samples over here, it's actually unheard of, maybe because I live in a 3rd world country.
Yes, I have seen where doctors have issued patients with drug samples. I see nothing wrong with this action. There have been many occasions when drug companies give out samples and advice at special events, Therefore, what the doctors are doing is just an extension of the drug companies promotional and outreach activities.
I have, and they are awesome. You can potentially save a lot of money too, some medicines are so expensive..that if a doctor can give you a supply for a week or two, you can really benefit. This is one great thing about medical samples from the doctor. They can give you some great savings.
I am fortunate to have a niece who is a medical representative. Her work is to visit hospitals and clinics to give drug samples particularly the medicines she is promoting. You can guess that I have an assortment of medicines courtesy of my niece, mostly paracetamol and other non-prescription drugs. My doctors don't usually give free samples of medicines, I have the suspicion that doctors here sell those drug samples.
My son's paediatrician always give us free samples of medicines. It's usually the most commonly used medicines like cough, cold or fever medicines though. Sometimes, she'd give us a free sample of my son's vitamins as well. I'm always thankful for that so if ever my son doesn't like the medicines, then we didn't spend money on it. We could just ask for another brand which he might like. As for me, I have never tried asking my doctor for samples of medicines. And she doesn't give them to me automatically as well. I think it depends on the doctor... Some doctors are willing to give out the free samples that they have gotten while others, as @Corzhens have said, usually sell it. On another note, sometimes, my son's paediatrician gives out full sized medicines as well. It can actually last for a long, long time. But also, there's these medicines that are also smaller sized which she gives out. But with these smaller sizes, she usually gives us more of them. I'm actually quite thankful that my son's paediatrician isn't selfish with samples.
Our family is close with our doctor so we do get free samples without needing to ask, fortunately. I like testing out the new medications especially ones like for headaches since that's the one I deal with the most, but for the most part I don't really get to try out most of them because it's really just migraines that I tend to get a bit more often. We used to get some for colds too but these free samples don't happen that frequently for me and I usually just stick with my original brands anyway since they work well enough and aren't that expensive anyway.
I've had this happen to me a few times. If my doctor knew that I didn't have insurance at the time, he would load me up with some free drug samples to take home and a prescription to fill out whenever I would have that option financially. I don't think there is anything wrong with this practice. Especially if they are providing you with the medication they prescribed to you anyway, it's not a huge difference between you getting it from the doctor or from the pharmacy. It would be different if doctors just threw a bunch of samples at you and told you to figure it out, but that doesn't really happen. They don't want malpractice lawsuits, so they act cautiously and responsibly when dispensing that medication.
