Has anybody managed to purchase INRatio test strips locally?

[CATDOG]

Just wondering if anybody has managed to buy their strips locally, or if we are all stuck with ebay and amazon when they have them? I have been using INRatio test strips for INRatio2 meter.

One particular medical supply distributor seems to have a monopoly on the market in my area. All the local pharmacies are contracted with them, and the supplier doesn't put the test strips on the websites /contracts for the pharmacies.

In terms of working to make products more available to the public, I'm wondering where we need to write to petition for better access to medical supplies. Seems like as a group we'd all have more clout than as individuals.

Is it just that the distributor has decided they won't make enough of a profit to bother listing it on their website? It is a CLIA-waived item per the distributor's catalog, and approved for home use, and I have found item 0100139 in a pdf online catalog from the distributor, but no luck with the local pharmacies yet.

 

[tom in MO]

I believe the manufacturers want to restrict access to INR home testing machines and supplies. I believe this is first a hedge against liability. If someone were to home test and screw things up, a lawyer could make a case that the supplier was negligent in providing material w/o some assurance of proper use. Ebay and Amazon provide a legal buffer that would not be available through other avenues.

Second, I believe they also want to maximize sales. My recent exprience with a new supplie was they rejected my prescription because it did not require testing every two weeks. My doctor wrote it for every two weeks, they shipped. However we still only test every 3 weeks Restricting the access to the materials helps limit supply, does not affect demand (too much) thus keeping prices high. My 10% copay makes the strips about the same price to me as on-line, but the insurance kicks in the 90% extra profit for the supplier.