Publix to offer 7 popular prescription antibiotics for free

By The Associated Press

 

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (AP) - Seven popular antibiotics will be available for free from Publix supermarkets for people with prescriptions, the company and Gov. Charlie Crist said Monday.

 

Fourteen-day supplies of the seven drugs, among the most commonly prescribed, will be available at all 684 of the chain's pharmacies in five states.

 

The prescription antibiotics available under the program include amoxicillin, cephalexin, penicillin VK and erythromycin.

 

The company joins other retailers that offer discounted drug programs, including K-Mart and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., but Publix Super Markets Inc. officials say the company is the first large regional chain to offer certain drugs at no cost.

 

Story & Video: http://www.winknews.com/news/local/8934007.html

Big ups to Publix

It's about time. It's disgusting how seniors or those on a fixed income are forced to choose which medications they can afford to take. Some compromise their own health by cutting their pills in half because they cannot afford a 30 day supply.

 

I will continue to patronize any business who does this or something of the ilk.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

i will grow frog legs before this would happen in massachusetts

Antibiotic misuse is a growing public health problem in the world right now.

That's one thing I'm worried about. There has been a rising number of drug-resistant strains of diseases and viruses appearing over the last 5 years or so. I find that pretty troubling. For now, most of them seem confined to hospitals.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but these aren't sustained necessity drugs, are they?

 

It really doesn't alleviate the pocketbook crunch for those dependent on, say coumadin (sp?) or lotrel.

I remember when my mom was hospitalized before she passed away. One of the big concerns was them running out of antibiotics because she was getting resistant to some of them. The good part (if this can be a good part) is that she passed away quitely and peacefully. I would hate to imagine her body ravaged by an infection they couldn't fight because they ran out of antibiotics.

Most of these problems arise from the fact that the general public is uneducated on these issues and think that antibiotics can be used to treat viral infections. Some might argue that we are losing the fight against infection, and I find little reason to disagree.

I really can't believe that most people think you can treat a virus with an antibiotic. Moreover, doctors' misuse of them is even more baffling. The habit of prescribing z-packs prophylactically is probably one of the most asinine practices of modern medicine, and I cannot understand it one bit. I had an immune difficiency when I was young, where I persistently contracted infection after infection that were rarely responsive to antibiotics. As my immune system gained strength, though, I became sick less and less. Now, I rarely get sick. Why? My guess is that my body built up its own antibodies.

 

(I probably shouldn't have written that as I don't want to tempt fate)

It's about time. It's disgusting how seniors or those on a fixed income are forced to choose which medications they can afford to take. Some compromise their own health by cutting their pills in half because they cannot afford a 30 day supply.

 

Medicare part D covers people not only on a fixed income with 'hard choices' but persons making upwards of $50,000/year, which for those who don't realize it means that it covers fixed-income millionaires.

 

http://www.medicare.gov/medicarereform/drugbenefit.asp

Most of these problems arise from the fact that the general public is uneducated on these issues and think that antibiotics can be used to treat viral infections. Some might argue that we are losing the fight against infection, and I find little reason to disagree.

I really can't believe that most people think you can treat a virus with an antibiotic. Moreover, doctors' misuse of them is even more baffling. The habit of prescribing z-packs prophylactically is probably one of the most asinine practices of modern medicine, and I cannot understand it one bit. I had an immune difficiency when I was young, where I persistently contracted infection after infection that were rarely responsive to antibiotics. As my immune system gained strength, though, I became sick less and less. Now, I rarely get sick. Why? My guess is that my body built up its own antibodies.

 

(I probably shouldn't have written that as I don't want to tempt fate)

 

I had a similiar experience. My doctor kept giving me antibiotics for everything. It never made things better and probably made things worse. It wasn't until I got to college and figure out a system of basically drinking a lot of gatorade, sleeping, and eating chicken, and riding things out that was most effective against getting a virus. How he got through medical school baffles me. It isn't isolated either.