No Wonder Seniors Buy Canadian Drugs

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No Wonder Seniors Buy Canadian Drugs

The Canadian cross-border trade in pharmaceuticals continues to expand with the opening of a Web site for doctors willing to act as go-betweens for their elderly patients.

Some older Americans have for years headed across the United States' northern border to buy the medicines they need but can't afford. Drug prices there can be half or a quarter of prices in the United States.

Canadian drug prices are so much lower because the country's system of socialized medicine keeps a tight hold on pharmaceutical costs. In addition, U.S. drug prices are high because companies add the cost of research and development as well as the price of lobbying and expensive advertising campaigns.

A Vermont woman who paid $95 a month for the tamoxifen that kept breast cancer at bay now goes to Canada, where the drug costs her $125 a year.

Some charitable organizations sponsor drug-buying trips, and a small industry has sprung up to help seniors.

Using a fax machine, a standardized prescription form and the patient's credit card number, doctors can have drugs shipped to their office, where patients can pick them up.