For 15 years, pharmacists at a Durham nonprofit have helped older, low-income people take the right prescription drugs, in the right amounts at the right times.

But the job of Senior PharmAssist doesn't end there. The agency also works to keep clients from taking prescription drugs in ways that can actually harm or kill them -- through bad interactions with other drugs, food or medical conditions.

Sounds pretty basic, but such precautions on a national scale could save more than $20 billion annually in unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency care, according to one estimate. That's the reason some advocates and health professionals say national health-care reform should include approaches like that of Senior PharmAssist, which coordinates clients' care with doctors and social workers. (N&O)

N.C. Sen. Bill Purcell rose to ask President Barack Obama a question about prescription drugs.

Purcell is a primary care physician and said his patients sometimes struggle to pay for the medicine they need to get better.

"What can we do about the high cost of medicine in America?" he asked.

Obama said that drugs cost 77 percent more in America than in any other country. Research and development as well as marketing costs play into that disparity, Obama said.

"Basically the pharmaceutical industry can get away with it," he said.

Obama said he would push for allowing Medicare to negotiate for the price of prescription drugs. He also said he would want to see debate about how long drug patents should last. Right now, pharmaceutical companies can hold a patent for 12 years. He would consider lowering that to seven years.

"There's no reason why we should not be able to at least pay in the ball park of what other countries are paying for the exact same drug," Obama said.

North Carolina is one of six states that do not have a "preferred drug list."

By setting limits on what drugs can be prescribed for Medicaid recipients, the measure would cost drug companies millions, but it would also save the state $28 million a year.

For years, attempts to create such a list have failed at the legislature, but the severity of next year's $4.5 billion budget shortfall may finally push for the change.

When the House Appropriations Committee unveiled its budget Tuesday, it included such a plan.

Adam Searing, director of the Health Access Coalition, says that he's lost many battles before when pressing legislators for the drug list.

"The pharmaceutical industry is enormously politically powerful in North Carolina," he said. (N&O)

A new grant will allow consumers to access prescription information online.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said today that a settlement with the world's largest pharmaceutical company will fund the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs program and Web site. The grant is the 29th in a series that attorney generals from across the country have made to give consumers balanced information about drugs.

The Web site will allow consumers to compare prices and safety ratings for drugs used to treat dozens of medical conditions.

"People need to know a lot more about prescription drugs than what TV ads tell them," Cooper said in a statement. "This will be a source for consumers to get drug information they can discuss with their doctor."

John Edwards wants to help older Americans.

Edwards this morning released his "Declaration of Independence" for older Americans, promising to protect Social Security and Medicare, make prescription drugs more affordable, protect seniors from predatory lending and offer more choices in long-term care.

Americans are living longer than ever before - but our social policies haven’t changed to reflect this shift. Our housing policies too often force seniors to choose between isolation or institutionalization and our health care system is set up to treat the worst problems instead of promoting health and quality of life. We must fix the broken system in Washington that has not done more to address these issues.

The full text of Edwards's "Declaration of Independence" after the jump.

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