Mississippi Drug Card Media Center

The Mississippi Drug Card was the first of its kind introduced to the state nearly five years ago. The free card providing discounted prescriptions and less expensive medications has provided millions of dollars of savings since its inception.

"Whenever other companies see you're doing well, they try to duplicate your service. We've found there are several impostor programs that have recently sprung up selling people's information to mail order companies. We're a pharmacy-friendly program that wants to support local pharmacies," said Lila Cedotal, program director of the Mississippi Drug Card.

The Mississippi Drug Card is accepted at more than 50,000 pharmacies across the nation and has no limit as to how many time it's used. To obtain the card, people can visit www.mississippidrugcard.com and fill out a query with their first and last name and the optional email field.

For those without access to the internet, preferred pharmacies that can process patients' information and fill the prescription in-house include CVS Pharmacy, Fred's and K-Mart.

"We want to help provide patients with a means of frequenting local pharmacies and because we have the biggest network, we can offer the deepest discounts," Cedotal said.

With the impending flu season nearing, the Mississippi Drug Card can offer as much as 43 percent of savings on Tamiflu among other medications such as Doxycycline, Ciproflaxin, Azithromycin and Sulfa/Tmz versus the retail cost.

While last year's flu season was mild, officials are anticipating an unpredictable season this year.