With increasing costs in medicines, consumers are asking how can they cut their prescription bills. An effective cost saving technique is by splitting pills in half. This can be accomplished because different strengths of a medicine are sometimes about the same price. For example, from our affiliate pharmacy, a 90 day supply of Avapro at 150 mg, commonly prescribed for blood pressure costs $107.80, while a 90 day supply at 300 mg costs $107.81. You could save about $215 a year by buying the 300mg pills and splitting them in half!

With many medicines, it is perfectly safe to split pills as in the case above with Avapro. Some pills already have a grooved line (called scoring) on them where they break most easily. Pills are scored so doctors can prescribe doses that are not otherwise available. When pills are scored, you will know that they are safe to be split.

However, not all medicines are safe to be split. Medicines that come in a capsule are difficult to divide equally as well as medicines that require a precise dose. Timed-release medicines are long-acting, controlled release, or extended-release medicines and have a special coating. If these pills are split, the medicine gets out too fast and you could get too much medicine at once. Enteric-coated medicines are designed to release after it passes the stomach and it should not be split. As in the controlled release medicines, you could get too much medicine at once.

If you are thinking about splitting your pills to save money, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor and pharmacist the following questions:

· Can the medicine I am taking be safely cut in half?
· Does my medicine come in a strength that is twice the dose I take?