January 11, 2012 - Welcome to the Prescribing Guide (Jan 2012 v18a). Major news - Since Liptor went generic recently (i.e. atorvastatin), it is now covered by HMSA (~$5 copay) and HMSA Quest ($0 copay). It is not yet covered by AlohaCare, Evercare, or Ohana but we'll let you know when it is. The Costco retail price for generic Lipitor is $87 (for 10mg)and $123 (20mg,40mg,80mg)for one month supply. December 13, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (Dec 2011 v17b). There were no significant changes to the health plan formularies. There were a lot of changes in retail prices. Avandaryl and Avandamet can no longer be filled at Long's, Costco, Times or the usual pharmacies. The FDA now requires they be filled through special mail order programs. November 9, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (Nov 2011 v17a). We updated the Costco retail prices. There were no significant changes to the health plan formularies. October 25, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (Oct 2011 v16d). We updated early since HMSA/HMSA Quest, Evercare, and Ohana changed their formularies. Most changes for HMSA/HMSA Quest were minor. Ohana - Januvia & TZDs now require patient to fail metformin first. Evercare - Diovan, Micardis now need prior authorizations. Cozaar is generic and covered by all health plans in the Prescribing Guide at generic copays ($0-$5). October 3, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (Oct 2011 v16c). Hi folks - Walmart took Ventolin HFA off of their $4/$9 list (Albuterol nebs are still $4). If there's any other drug classes that you'd like us to add, just let us know. August 18, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (Aug 2011 v16b). Just a heads up that AlohaCare updated their formulary by adding step therapy requirements for Singulair, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Effexor XR, Wellbutrin XR/SL, Diovan, and Micardis. July 27, 2011 - Hi folks - we are redesigning the website over the next few weeks and apolgize for any inconvenience in advance. We'll work on getting it wrapped up as quickly as we can. July 14, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (July 2011 v16). EXCITING NEWS- we've added INSOMNIA and ANTI-PSYCHOTIC drugs. Mahalo to Dr. Ben Chavez, Han Duong, and Marisa Schroeder at the UH Hilo College of Pharmacy for putting this together. Great job! Also, we give a big welcome to Lola Colombe, our new coordinator. May 16, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (May 2011 v14c). We welcome the pharmacists who have just started using the Prescribing Guide website or have signed up to receive the Prescribing Guide by mail. NOTE - the Prescribing Guide does NOT cover Medicare Part D formularies. For those of you who also receive the Prescribing Guide by mail, we ask your help in sending back the stamped yellow postcard to let us know if you still need the printed version or if we need to update your address. April 13, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (April 2011 v14b). We are now making the Prescribing Guide available for free to Hawaii's pharmacists as well, because of their important role in helping patients get the medications they need. We would especially like to thank the Hawaii Pharmacists Association for their help in getting the word out and the National Institute of Health for our grant funding. March 24, 2011 -Prescribing Guide (March 2011 v14a). There haven't been too many changes from the last version. For those of you who also receive the Prescribing Guide by mail, we ask your help in sending back the stamped yellow postcard to let us know if you still need the printed version or if we need to update your address. Mahalo. January 31, 2011 - Prescribing Guide (January 2011 v13b). Good news for those with asthma - Walmart now has Ventolin HFA for $9 (albuterol nebs $4 still). For those with hypertension, Cozaar and Hyzaar are now available as generic ARBs. Heads up that AlohaCare, Evercare, and HMSA formularies have made some changes. Also, as of January 1st, 2011, Evercare will no longer cover OneTouch glucometer/supplies. Patients who are using a OneTouch glucometer will need to call to switch to a covered monitor for free. To get the Accu-check Aviva or Accu-check Compact Plus, call 1-877-411-9833. To get the Bayer Contour or BREEZE 2, call 1-888-877-8306. December 3, 2010 - Prescribing Guide (December 2010 v13). Evercare has made major changes which are now included. Great news, we have a new grant from the National Institute of Health to continue the Prescribing Guide and talk with providers about how to improve it. Thanks for all your support. October 19, 2010 - Prescribing Guide (October 2010 v12c). HMSA and Ohana made minor updates which are now included. The anti-migraine drug naratriptan (Amerge) is now generic and is better covered. Sumatriptan (Imitrex) is the other generic in the same class. September 28, 2010 - Prescribing Guide (September 2010 v12b). We're featured in today's Star Advertiser article which encourages people and their doctors to talk about drug costs in order to choose the best medication at affordable cost. September 16, 2010 - Prescribing Guide (September 2010 v12b). AlohaCare and Walmart have made minor updates but these haven't affected the drugs in the Prescribing Guide. If there's any drug class or health condition that you think would be useful to add (e.g. smoking cessation drugs), just send us a quick email (click "contact"). August 24, 2010 -Prescribing Guide August 2010 v12. AlohaCare and Evercare updated their formularies but there's no major changes from the July 2010 version. Good news - thanks to additional grant funding, the Prescribing Guide is now available to all providers and the general public. Usernames and passwords are no longer required. July 11, 2010 - Prescribing Guide July 2010 v11c. Changes from June - HMSA/HMSA Quest now covers Lipitor 10mg, 20mg, & 40mg at preferred-brand copays. Cozaar (Losartan) and Hyzaar (Losartan/HCTZ) are now generic and have generic copayments. June 9, 2010 - We updated the Guide today. Changes from May - AlohaCare now requires a PA for Rhinocort. Else, no other changes. We are now updating the Web version of the Guide at the beginning of each month. Those on our mailing list will still get quarterly updates. May 12, 2010 - Welcome to the Prescribing Guide v11. Good news - Cozaar and Prevacid are now available as generic drugs. December 4, 2009 - Hello everyone, we've updated the Prescribing Guide (v.10). You can now print complete copies ! Just click on "health plan formularies" and follow the directions. We've also added a link to "www.q1Medicare.com", a free website that lets you check stand-alone Part D formularies like AARP. September 3, 2009 - Hello everyone, quick correction on the August 2009 v.9 of the Prescribing Guide: AlohaCare - Nasacort is NOT covered and needs a prior authorization. Thanks for letting us know with a quick email if you think a correction is needed! August 14, 2009 - Hello everyone, the August 2009 v.9 of the Prescribing Guide is here and we've added a DERMATOLOGY section with steroid creams. If you're using this website and don't need the hardcopy anymore, send us a quick email (Contact Us) to let us know so that we can go "green" and save some trees. July 13, 2009 - We've updated our "Other Resources" with useful websites such as: Epocrates - a free prescribing resource www.TheUnadvertisedBrand - gives information on generic drugs Consumer Reports - Best Buy Drugs - compares drugs on effectiveness, cost, and side-effects. April 23, 2009 - We've added EverCare and Ohana to the Prescribing Guide. A note of caution, the Evercare website has two ways of looking at formulary coverage which do not always agree on whether a drug is covered. In the Guide, we've put "covered?" for these drugs. We'll go back to working on steroid creams again, and hopefully can add these before the next update in August. February 10, 2009 - Hawaii's new Medicaid program - QUEST Expanded Access started 2/1/09. Medicare-Medicaid FFS patients are now enrolled in either EverCare or Ohana December 28 2008 - Welcome to the Prescribing Guide. The December 2008 v.7 has been mailed out to everyone. We've had on average 160+ unique users each month on the website and appreciate everyone's feedback. We're working on a "steroid creams" section by request which should come out mid-February on this website for folks to try out. We've also had a request for ophthalmology medications, which is next on our list. All the best wishes to everyone for 2009. September 2008 - We'd like to thank Hawaii Public Radio for doing a feature on the Prescribing Guide website.