What really SCARES us!

It's that time of year when ghosts and goblins and zombies abound.  But do you want to know what really scares us?

The HIGH prices some pharmacies are charging for prescription drugs!

It is absolutely HORRIFYING what some pharmacies are charging!  Even though these other pharmacies source their medications from the same manufacturers and suppliers that we do, they may charge double, triple, or even ten times what we do.  Why do they do this? The simple answer is:  "because they can."  For too many years, we have never bothered to question how much our prescriptions cost us.  We just handed over our insurance card and our hard earned money as well.  Now that the economy looks scarier that a Lon Chaney movie, people are starting to take a hard, close look at what they're spending.  So are we!

We compared our prices for many prescription drugs with those of our competitors using their "drug savings" plans.  If these results don't SHOCK you, nothing will!  We think it's time to stop letting these other pharmacies TRICK us.  It's time to let HealthWarehouse.com TREAT you to affordable pricing, fast delivery, and award-winning customer service.  Let us know what you think and what you were paying before you found HealthWarehouse.com.

Drug name    Generic name            HW.com   drugstore.com   Walgreens  CVS Caremark
Arimidex         anastrozole 1mg           $ 25.00          $ 436.90          $ 324.99       $ 167.16
Imitrex            sumatriptan 100mg       $ 27.00          $ 199.97          $   94.99       $   96.01
Flomax           tamsulosin 0.4mg         $ 30.00          $ 120.99          $   89.99       $   56.08
Cozaar            losartan 100mg            $ 16.00          $   86.66          $   81.99       $   88.71
Norvasc          amlodipine 2.5mg          $  3.50          $   15.99          $  24.99        $   26.25

Healthcare 2010: Filling The Gap

While the healthcare debate rages in Washington, ordinary Americans continue to suffer from the lack of affordable choices.  The gap between between insured and uninsured Americans continues to widen as the economy struggles.  Even the security of having health insurance from employers is beginning to wane as companies reel under the weight of high health insurance costs.

In terms of prescription drugs and choices to purchase them , the gap has grown into a chasm.  On one side, we have the legal established players who continue to overcharge consumers for prescription medications.  On the other side lurks the murky world of illegal online pharmacies which continue to boom due to lack of affordability in the legal channel.  Many of us who had never thought about purchasing medications from a Canadian or overseas pharmacy are now faced with just this dilemma. 

While HealthWarehouse has come a long way in bringing much needed change to the prescription drug landscape, our work is far from finished.  In 2010, we look to focus on the following:

1.  Continue Lowering Prescription Drug Costs by relentlessly sourcing FDA-Approved medications legal for sale in the US at lower prices, remove inefficiencies which contribute to high drug costs, and bring a wider range of medications within reach of all Americans.

2.  Bring Unparalleled Convenience To Consumers by improving our processes for delivering medications safely, reliably, and quickly nationwide with 100% free shipping.  While we are known for exceptional shipping times, we're never satisfied and continue to look for ways to get medications to customers more expeditiously.

3.  Improve Our Award Winning Customer Service by implementing new systems to remove the drudgery of picking up and refilling prescriptions at pharmacies.  We'll continue to offer "real people" rather than overseas call centers or computer voices.

In the greatest, most prosperous country in the world, forcing our own citizens to shop overseas for medications shouldn't even be an option, but the lack of affordability is driving Americans to risk their lives and do just that. 

Our goal is to fill the void by making the legal route affordable and provide a safe, reliable way for Americans to shop in American again.  We don't think that is too much to ask.

The Twelve Days of HealthWarehouse

On the twelfth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me "first month free" prescriptions, savings on OTC items, low-cost syringes, mobility aids, daily Twitter deals, "Facebook only" discounts, diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the eleventh of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me savings on OTC items, low-cost syringes, mobility aids, daily Twitter deals, "Facebook only" discounts, diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the tenth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me low-cost syringes, mobility aids, daily Twitter deals, "Facebook only" discounts, diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the ninth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me mobility aids, daily Twitter deals, "Facebook only" discounts, diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the eighth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me daily Twitter deals, "Facebook only" discounts, diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the seventh of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me "Facebook only" discounts, diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the sixth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me diabetic supplies, FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the fifth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me FDA-approved medications, 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the fourth of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me 90-day returns, $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the third of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me $3.50 drugs, live phone support, and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the second of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me live phone support and FREE shipping in the U.S.!

On the first of these holidays, HealthWarehouse gave to me FREE shipping in the U.S.!

3 Common Pharmacy Tweets From PharmacyWatcher On Twitter

We've been monitoring pharmacy "tweets" for some time on the micro-blogging site Twitter.  It's fascinating to watch how people feel about their pharmacy experience in a real-time unedited format.  In fact, the format is so unedited, we've removed the expletives from the tweets.

3 Common Tweets From Pharmacy Watcher (@pharmacywatcher) on Twitter

1.  "The pharmacy line was longer than the post office.  That is wrong."
This is probably the most common theme we see.  While drive-thru windows help to alleviate some of the crowds during rush hour, the small size of pharmacy windows makes it difficult to physically fit more people behind the counter which leads us to the next tweet.

2.  "Asking stupid ?'s will get you slapped. "Do u guys have a pharmacy?" Ugh!?! Read the sign outside. "XXXXX!!! PHARMACY!!!"
As many of us have experience, the pharmacy counter itself is often an afterthought to the rest of the store.  Chances are you've had to work your way through the maze of aisles guessing on which corner the pharmacy counter is located at.

In addition to the difficulty experienced finding the pharmacy counter itself, this tweet highlights the arrogant attitudes we see when speaking with transfer customers on the phone.  This is a common theme in healthcare since patients have little choice but to purchase their medications every month.  Customers feel as though they are taken for granted and this tweet highlights why that might be the case.

3.  "Was just attacked by a crackhead in a XXXXX pharmacy and yes the police got involved."
Unfortunately in today's society, pharmacies have become focal points for trouble.  With large inventories of expensive, addictive drugs, there's no telling what can happen while waiting for your prescriptions.  

While many pharmacies take safety into consideration by providing on-site security, the lure of medications and sadly the addiction which causes it can create an unsafe environment when shopping.

To follow @pharmacywatcher, click here.  Just a small disclaimer, the content here is unedited and raw.  If you are offended by offensive language, etc., we recommend you not follow this link.

For a more "sanitary experience" you can also follow our official Twitter feeds at @healthwarehouse and @hw_deals (for specials).  We are also active on Facebook at http://facebook.com/healthwarehouse.

We look forward to connecting with you.

How Fast Is "Fast Shipping"?

We're often told we ship fast, but how fast is fast?   Fast doesn't necessarily mean we're fast, but probably means we're faster than most people are accustomed to in our industry.

Our stated delivery time is 2 - 9 business days and sometimes it takes all 9 business days to get there.  Unfortunately, we can only control the order process from the time the order received to the time it is picked up by USPS or UPS.  Once it is in the hands of the mailman or the brown shorts, we can only guess when it will arrive.

However, the part we can control (picking and packing) often results in our fast delivery times.  On average, the majority of our 100% Free Shipping orders arrive in 2 - 5 business days even all the way out to California.

While it sounds basic, here is why we are so fast at getting our orders out:

1.  We are located in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This puts us within reach of 80% of the US population in 2 to 3 days.  Sorry California, but your times are averaging 3 - 5 days with some packages arriving as fast as 2 days.  We're working on making your delivery times faster too.

2.  We work every minute of the day, as fast as possible, packing your orders until the US Postal Service or UPS shows up at our door to pick up packages.  Keep it a secret, but if it means making a little small talk with the mailman, we'll do it. Anything to buy us a little more time to get a few extra packages out. ;-)

3.  Anything we can't get out before we run out of things to say to the mailman, we do the old fashioned way.  We load up a truck and drive it down to the main post office in Cincinnati to ship the last remaining packages. 

We're obsessed with shipping every single package possible the same day down to the last hour, minute and second.  We don't relax for one second until every single package has been shipped or the post office is closed.

Of course, all the speed doesn't mean we're sloppy.  All orders are barcode scanned and triple checked to make sure every customer is getting exactly what they ordered.  Accuracy cannot be sacrificed for speed, after all, we're talking about medication here.

Why do we go through such extra lengths to get orders out the same day?  The answer is simple:  Buying medications is not like buying books or a tv.  Buying medications is often a life or death situation, and any delay can be life threatening.  Every order must be accurate and shipped in a timely manner.

If you shop with us, you probably already know this, which is likely why you shopped with us in the first place.  That and we offer 300 prescription medications for $3.50, free shipping, 90 day returns, no restocking fees, friendly customer service. . . .OK time to stop.

Tell us what you think? What do you consider fast shipping when ordering online?