The Texas Boys Ranch

Ways to Save Time and Money on Pharmaceuticals

Texas Tech University

Chad Clark & Brittany Aaron

5/2/2011

Table of Contents

Our Vision....................................................................................................................................................3

What to Expect............................................................................................................................................4

Rxaminer.com.............................................................................................................................................4

Important Information on Rxaminer.com...............................................................................................4

Registration for Rxaminer.com................................................................................................................4

How to Use Rxaminer.com......................................................................................................................7

Quick Trick to See How Much Money You Can Save................................................................................7

PURCHASING IN BULK..................................................................................................................................8

Seasonal Trends.......................................................................................................................................8

Buy Before The Season............................................................................................................................8

CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................9

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How to Save Time and Money on Pharmaceuticals

Our Vision

When we decided to prepare a voluntary recommendation report for the Texas Boys Ranch, we had numerous ideas for the ranch and ways to help the families. We have spent many hours gathering information about the ranch and how it operates. Since researching and talking with The Texas Boys Ranch, we have put ourselves in the shoes of the families that live on the ranch to see what their daily and monthly activities consist of. Since The Texas Boys Ranch has been in operation for over 36 years, we understand that the ranch must be doing well and has a successful system in place. With this in mind, we tried to focus on recommendation ideas that are not vital to the success of the ranch, but rather ideas that the ranch can use to improve such areas.

Since we come from very large families, we have a good understanding of the many needs large families require. One area in general we have decided to focus on is the medication needs of large families. Children of any age require many different pharmaceuticals, both prescription and non prescription. In addition, medications are needed on a daily, monthly, and seasonal basis. The families of The Texas Boys Ranch can consist of up to 8 children and two parents. This many children in one household can be very demanding of these pharmaceutical needs. It can be hard for a family to gather the medications that 8 children require in a timely manner. Also, the cost associated with these medications can be extremely high. With this in mind, we have decided to prepare a recommendation report on how the families of The Texas Boys Ranch can save time and money on pharmaceuticals.

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What to Expect

The primary goal of this report is to inform the families of The Texas Boys Ranch a few different ways they can save time and money on pharmaceuticals. We have done extensive research and have come up with a few simple, but also effective ways to save money on pharmaceuticals. We wanted to offer some ideas to the families that are easy to do, but can save them time and money on gathering medications. We feel very confident that these tips and tricks can accomplish this goal, and be extremely helpful to the families of the ranch. Since we are not there to present this report in person, we have organized this report so that the information is simple easy to understand.

Rxaminer.com

Rxaminer is an online price comparative of brand name and generic pharmaceuticals. This search engine can offer many advantages to the families of the ranch. The main thing that makes it such a valuable tool is the vast amount of information it contains, and how easy it is to locate. This search engine allows the client to search by drug type, drug name, or drug category. Rxaminer is free, but requires the user to set up an account. This enables the user to save search information to their profile for later review.

Important Information on Rxaminer.com

In order to get you a little more comfortable with Rxaminer.com, we have put together some specific information on the site that may answer any questions. We understand that you may not be familiar with this type of site, and will have some concerns. Here are the major concerns that Rxaminer answered for us:

1. This service is free, but requires a user account which helps save your search information for a later review.

2. Rxaminer does not sell medications directly, only list different suppliers of the medications and the prices of each supplier. They do not receive any type of commission, so they are not obligated to push any type of pharmaceutical.

3. Rxaminer.com is an independent research source that has no affiliation with any pharmaceutical company.

4. Rxaminer.com has no affiliation with any insurance company.

We feel confident that Rxaminer.com can save you time and money on medications. This "one stop shop" is easy to use and is very effective. In order to accurately gage the effectiveness of Rxaminer.com, we signed up for the service and gave it a try. This way, we can show you the step by step actions to take when registering so you can see how simple it really is.

Registration for Rxaminer.com

We decided to sign up for Rxaminer.com to show you just how simple it is to use. This will enable us to show you the step by step process of registration so that there is no confusion on

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your part. In order to be a registered member for Rxaminer.com you need to have a few things. Here is the information Rxaminer.com requires:

1. A valid email address.2. A password of your choice.3. A small amount of voluntary personal information like your name, phone

number, and location.4. Must agree to the terms and conditions of the site.

Before you register for the site, be sure and have this information ready. We read the terms and conditions of the site and found nothing that was evasive or alarming. Now we will walk you through the step by step process of how to register for Rxaminer.com. Here is the list of the steps for a quick reference.

Step

1. Go to www.rxaminer.com2. At the top right click the "new user registration tab" (see pictures on pages 5-6).3. Fill in the required information.4. Read the disclaimer and click "I Understand and Accept this Disclaimer" if you

agree.5. If you wish to receive emails and notifications from RXaminer.com, check the

boxes that apply, if not, do not check them.6. Click "create account" and you are done.

Creating an account is simple, and will help you save information on your searches and keep you posted on the pharmaceuticals you consume. These pictures illustrate each step of registration:

Step 11

1 Photos obtained from www.rxaminer.com, copyright 2000-2012, DestinationRx, Inc., Chicago, IL.

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Step 2

Step 3

Steps 4-6

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How to Use Rxaminer.com

Once you are registered for the site, we suggest playing around with the many different features of Rxaminer.com and the different ways you can search for medications. You can search by drug name, heath condition, or drug category. We played around with different medications we consume and ended up saving a total of $37.68 and were only two people. A family at the Texas Boys Ranch demands many more pharmaceuticals than us, which will make this tool extremely valuable.

To search for a drug, click the home tab and you will see the section to enter the search criteria. Search by drug name, your condition, or drug category. Once you find the drug, click on the link and Rxaminer.com will show you alternate drugs in the same category. Also, Rxaminer will show you where to buy the drugs and how much money you can save on each unit of drug. Once you are done, you can save the drug to your "medicine cabinet" for a later review. 2

Quick Trick to See How Much Money You Can Save

When you are researching Rxaminer.com and trying to see how much money you can save, we recommend you do a few things to get the full effect of the research tool. You can do this many different ways, but we feel like this way is one of the easiest yet most effective. Here are the steps:

1. Jot down a list of your families commonly used over the counter medications2. Next to each list write down the estimated number of units of each medication your

entire family consumes in a year. 3

3. Search Rxaminer for each drug and record the price savings next to each drug you have listed.

4. Multiply step 2 times step 3 and that is your savings.

This may seem really simple, but rxaminer.com reports that many people fail to understand that the savings number that is listed is on a per unit basis. Since The Texas Boys Ranch consist families with multiple children, it is safe to say that you must consume multiple types of medications throughout the year.

Rxaminer is a great tool that is free and easy to use. They update their site weekly to show consumer tips and tricks that others have found. Besides saving money on the pharmaceuticals themselves, Rxaminer.com can also save you money by not having to drive store to store to search for the best prices. Also, the site offers some online retailers that sell OTC4 medications. With the raising gas prices, this aspect of Rxaminer.com is something to take into consideration. Lastly, Rxaminer will save you time on gathering pharmaceuticals in a few different ways. Rxaminer.com will show you places you can buy medications from the comfort of your own home. Whether you buy online, or a physical retail location, Rxaminer saves you time on finding the best prices on pharmaceuticals.

2 Rxaminer.com recommends asking a doctor if you plan on switching drug types. 3 A unit can be a single box of the drug, a bottle, or any other unit size for reference.4 Over The Counter

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PURCHASING IN BULK

In order to save time and money on purchasing medications for children at the ranch, we suggest purchasing your over the counter medications and common drugs- such as Claritin and Allegra-all at one time and in large bulk. In doing so, our research suggests that you will save not only time, but money as well. In this section of our report, we will give you a few brief recommendation tips on how buying in bulk can accomplish these goals.

Seasonal Trends

After doing extensive research on different medications, we have concluded that OTC medications are largely consumed on a seasonal basis. This should be no shock, as most people wait to buy medications until they are needed. For example, during periods of cooler weather, such as during the season of winter, flu season tends to be more prevalent and cases of influenza increase substantially worldwide. This causes medications like Thera Flu and Nyquil to be highly demanded. During early springtime, cases of the common cold are frequent. As a result of many people contracting colds during this time period, cold medications such as Mucinex, are bought in high demand. Spring and summer is a time of year the prevalence of allergies arise among many people. Springtime stimulates the growth of flowers and pollen, which causes allergy problems. In such cases, people demand many different over the counter allergy medications, such as Allegra, Zyrtec, and Claritin.

Buy Before The Season

What we have found from this research is that when someone gets sick, it can be a huge hassle to have to go out and purchase every day “feel better” medications on the spot when you are not feeling well. Instead of purchasing medications every few months, why not purchase them in yearly bulk, so you will have them on a needed basis and at the same time, be saving your own precious time? Purchasing OTC medications in bulk can save you time in a couple of different ways.

1. Since The Texas Boys Ranch is located outside of Lubbock, this will cut down on travel time

2. You will not have to wait in long lines or have trouble finding the medications when the seasonal trend hits

We used MapQuest to calculate the travel time to a few of the closest pharmaceutical retailers. The closest round trip travel time that we could find was an estimated total travel time of 27 minutes and 39 seconds.5 This doesn't represent the time spent in the store, only the travel time. If you add up the number of trips you take on average, you can easily see how much time this can take. Money can also be saved by purchasing your medications in bulk. When purchasing in bulk, you can make fewer trips to the drug store. A round trip for families of the ranch is around 18 miles. Limiting these trips as much as possible can help save money spent on

5 Travel time obtained from MapQuest, www.mapquest.com, copyright 2011, MapQuest, Inc.

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fuel to pick up the medications. You will also find better prices by purchasing in bulk. Common retailers offer bulk packages of two or more at prices cheaper than buying them individually.

Having common medications readily available around the ranch without having to make several trips to the store, will save the families, volunteers, and ranch directors time and money. We understand how saving money can be very important at The Texas Boys Ranch, and with these suggestions on purchasing in bulk, we hope to provide you with a more efficient way to purchase your everyday medications in a way that compliments your active and busy lifestyle.

CONCLUSION

Our sincerest hope in providing this recommendation report for The Texas Boys Ranch is that you have found a more cost and time efficient means of providing the children at the ranch with everyday, necessary medications.

We intend for this recommendation to provide you with an easier way to find and compare medications online at your convenience with Rxaminer, and to also get them at a more cost efficient price, saving you time and money with every trip to the store. With the provided step by step pictures on how to use Rxaminer, we hope that you will be able to use the online website with ease. We have found Rxaminer to not only be useful, but reliable as well. Rxaminer helps people to find out where to get the cheapest and best brand of any certain prescription or over the counter medication. Rxaminer is for anyone, and is free of charge. With this website, we hope to provide The Texas Boys Ranch with an easier means of locating the best and cheapest brands, right from home.

In writing a section in our report over “purchasing in bulk”, we found it very easy to relate to the ranch, in that we both come from large families. We realize that picking up and leaving to go to the store in an instant can be a hassle and is not always necessary. Another factor in our suggestion in purchasing in bulk, is that driving to and from places often is costly. Purchasing medications in bulk and all at one time, can save time and money. Driving to and from the store can lead to costly fuel expenses and be very time consuming. With this report, we hope to reduce these problems and hassles.

Thank you for taking the time to read over our recommendation report. We hope the information we provided you with was useful and informative.

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