It is not hard to get prescription drugs from Canada. Contrary to popular belief, Canadian drugs are not inferior in quality to those sold here, and there is nothing illegal about buying them. It is no more difficult than using a United States mail pharmacy. You do not need to take a bus trip there.

You can get them by mail, within 10 days in most instances, up to a 90-day supply, of as many prescriptions as you need. Shipping costs between $5 and $10 per package (a package contains as many prescriptions as you purchase). You do need to give your credit card number, which is then billed in American dollars.

Your savings? In Canada, Prozac is $1.05 per capsule generic, $1.75 each, brand; here: $2.78 each, brand. Prilosec is $1.96 there, here is $4.14. Pravachol is $1.19 there, generic, or $1.64 brand; here is $3.71 brand. The general rule is that you will save the most on brand name drugs that are not yet generic here. When a drug is generic here, it is sometimes not much less expensive in Canada.

Here is what you do. If your doctor does not have a “Border Area License” from New Brunswick or another province, ask him or her politely if they would consider getting one. They cost several hundred dollars the first year, then $90 yearly. The contact to get one is:

New Brunswick Medical Society

176 Rue York St.

Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 3N7

Phone: 506-458-8860

Fax: 506-458-9853

Web: www.nbms.nb.ca

If they have the license, or once they get it, they just need to write their Canadian license number on the prescription, and you mail it or fax it to a Canadian pharmacy of your choice. If your doctor does not seem interested, you can get a listing of Maine physicians licensed in New Brunswick by calling the number above.

My patients have been doing this for more than six months, without difficulty. I do recommend to them that they call the Canadian pharmacy before sending their prescription, to ensure they know how much it will cost them. Certain drugs are not cheaper, and occasionally they are more expensive there.

There are two pharmacies I am familiar with. McAdam Pharmacy, at 506-784-3480, is the one I usually use, because they have been so helpful. The other is an Internet site at www.RxNorth.com. It is pretty nice, because they list every drug available alphabetically, with American prices. I receive no benefits from McAdam, RxNorth.com, or their affiliates.

There is a crisis in prescription drug affordability for those who have no insurance coverage for prescriptions. The Canadian option is a viable one for these patients. In general, it is not desirable to send business to another country, but for these relatively few people, it is hard to justify doing otherwise.

Bob Lodato, M.D. is affiliated with Dexter Internal Medicine.