WANTED: HIV BIZ

By JEREMY OLSHAN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 19, 2004 -- From cellphones to cash kickbacks and free
fax machines, independent pharmacies all over the city are rolling
out the red carpet to win the lucrative business of AIDS patients
away from the big drug chains.

"At Rite Aid, I had to actually pay $5 when I picked up my pills,"
said HIV-positive Christine Avilas, 36, who lives in Jackson
Heights. "But at my last pharmacy, they gave me a new hair
dryer. It was worth $75."

All Avilas has to do is dangle her prescription for retroviral
medications, she says, and otherwise subdued druggists will
fawn over her like the pill paparazzi.

Six months ago, Avilas switched to Vital Drugs in Flushing, after
being told she would receive a free fax machine to start. Each
month, when her medication was delivered, she would also
receive a $20 MetroCard.

"When they came to my home, I couldn't believe it," she said.
"I thought [the fax machine] was going to be secondhand. But
it was a brand new Sharp. I called all my girlfriends and said,
'Guess what, I have a fax machine.' "

More than 100 customers have taken advantage of the
under-the-counter offer at Vital Drugs and at nearby
Campus Drugs, said manager Shelly Malik.

"We're just meeting the needs of our customers," Malik said.
"Sometimes their doctors or nurses are too busy to fax a
prescription over."



But a fax machine is really of no use, charged Rosemary Lopez,
associate director of the AIDS Center of Queens County. "The
pharmacies all just want to get in on the action because there is
a tremendous amount of money in this."

Retroviral medications can cost between $15,000 to $20,000
a year - and that means big bucks for the pharmacies that sell
them.

"Honestly, I haven't used my fax machine yet," Avilas said. "But
I've lived with this disease for 10 years and it can get a little
depressing. I'm not a materialistic person, but if someone can
bring you some joy - even material joy - what's wrong with that?"

AIDS advocates say patients should not choose a pharmacy
based on a free fax machine any more than they should choose
a bank for a free toaster.

"Ethically, the whole thing sounds crazy," said John Wright, a
lobbyist who represents the New York AIDS Coalition.
"Clearly there is not enough monitoring of their business practices."

Fair Pharmacy in The Bronx offers HIV-positive customers
free beepers when they bring in their prescription. Patients
are paged whenever it is time to take their medication,
pharmacist Danny Deng said. "We will also remind their
doctors when it is time to renew."

Kings Pharmacy in Brooklyn prefers to focus on free services
rather than free stuff.

"We go out of our way to educate our patients, and we provide
guest speakers and sometimes water and food at support-group
meetings," pharmacist Joel Weiner said.

WANTED: HIV BIZ

By JEREMY OLSHAN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 19, 2004 -- From cellphones to cash kickbacks and free
fax machines, independent pharmacies all over the city are rolling
out the red carpet to win the lucrative business of AIDS patients
away from the big drug chains.

"At Rite Aid, I had to actually pay $5 when I picked up my pills,"
said HIV-positive Christine Avilas, 36, who lives in Jackson
Heights. "But at my last pharmacy, they gave me a new hair
dryer. It was worth $75."

All Avilas has to do is dangle her prescription for retroviral
medications, she says, and otherwise subdued druggists will
fawn over her like the pill paparazzi.

Six months ago, Avilas switched to Vital Drugs in Flushing, after
being told she would receive a free fax machine to start. Each
month, when her medication was delivered, she would also
receive a $20 MetroCard.

"When they came to my home, I couldn't believe it," she said.
"I thought [the fax machine] was going to be secondhand. But
it was a brand new Sharp. I called all my girlfriends and said,
'Guess what, I have a fax machine.' "

More than 100 customers have taken advantage of the
under-the-counter offer at Vital Drugs and at nearby
Campus Drugs, said manager Shelly Malik.

"We're just meeting the needs of our customers," Malik said.
"Sometimes their doctors or nurses are too busy to fax a
prescription over."



But a fax machine is really of no use, charged Rosemary Lopez,
associate director of the AIDS Center of Queens County. "The
pharmacies all just want to get in on the action because there is
a tremendous amount of money in this."

Retroviral medications can cost between $15,000 to $20,000
a year - and that means big bucks for the pharmacies that sell
them.

"Honestly, I haven't used my fax machine yet," Avilas said. "But
I've lived with this disease for 10 years and it can get a little
depressing. I'm not a materialistic person, but if someone can
bring you some joy - even material joy - what's wrong with that?"

AIDS advocates say patients should not choose a pharmacy
based on a free fax machine any more than they should choose
a bank for a free toaster.

"Ethically, the whole thing sounds crazy," said John Wright, a
lobbyist who represents the New York AIDS Coalition.
"Clearly there is not enough monitoring of their business practices."

Fair Pharmacy in The Bronx offers HIV-positive customers
free beepers when they bring in their prescription. Patients
are paged whenever it is time to take their medication,
pharmacist Danny Deng said. "We will also remind their
doctors when it is time to renew."

Kings Pharmacy in Brooklyn prefers to focus on free services
rather than free stuff.

"We go out of our way to educate our patients, and we provide
guest speakers and sometimes water and food at support-group
meetings," pharmacist Joel Weiner said.

This articles says it all. 'AIDS' is simply a money making scam with
puritan underpinings.