Health

Splitting Pills to Save Dollars May Instead Cost Health

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:43 AM EST / CBS

The cost of prescription drugs is driving patients to desperate measures. A growing practice is pill splitting, in which patients buy double-strength medicines then cut them in half. The Medicare Rights Center says one in four seniors or disabled New Yorkers splits pills to save money.

But health experts say that while splitting pills saves money, it can be a health hazard.

"They're not only risking the effectiveness of their medications, but they also may cause injury to themselves," says Dr. Arthur Hayes, who is with the Council on Family Health.

In spite of the risks, the practice is rampant because of the potential savings. For example, a 3-month supply of 40-milligram tablets of Lipitor, the popular cholesterol medicine, costs about $332. The same number of 80-milligram tablets cost only about $30 more. Once they are split, the supply would last 6 months and yearly savings are close to $600.

But there are pills which should never be split: slow-release medications, which include products that are controlled-release, extended-release, long-acting, and limited-release and enteric-coated medications.

Breaking or crushing these drugs destroys the mechanism that prevents patients from getting too much medication all at once, increasing the likelihood of side effects.

Doctors also say pill-splitting carries the risk of excess breakage, especially for patients who split their pills by hand. Even if the pill breaks cleanly in two, there is no guarantee patients will get exactly half the dosage because the active drug is not always evenly distributed.

"There may be some pieces or crumbs that break off," Dr. Hayes explains. "Now you're not getting the appropriate dose."

Pills that are usually safe to split are scored, with a groove down the center and break more cleanly when using a pill splitter.

Proposals to lower drug costs for seniors have not been enacted. They are expected, but the Bush administration acknowledges it will take years before any meaningful prescription drug coverage is in place.