• The Wall Street Journal , Friday, September 5, 2008 10:16 AM

Cash-strapped patients are skipping doses of their prescription medication, cutting pills in half and avoiding doctors altogether to save money, according to Walgreen CEO Jeffrey Rein. He says the market has never been tighter in his 27 years in the business.

A recent report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that 11% of patients are changing their medication dose in some way, and claims that Americans are cutting back doctors' visits by 25%. Rein says that Walgreen has seen the trend accelerate in the last six or seven months. Pharmacists have had some success in persuading patients to take their medication by making emotional appeals, such as asking them whether they want to be alive to see their children grow up.

In August, Walgreen put a lot of money into discounting and advertising items, but the chain didn't get the profit return it expected because customers lured to a store for advertised sale items are not making additional impulse buys, Rein says. Same-store sales for stores open at least a year increased a mere 0.9% in August.

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