In case you haven’t heard, Walmart has started offering certain generic prescription drugs at $4 per month supply. These are available at all Walmart pharmacies, so you can be assured that your patients can take advantage of this amazing deal wherever they are. As of this writing, these are the drugs covered under the plan.

SSRIs: citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil)

Tricyclics: amitriptyline, doxepin, nor- triptyline

Antipsychotics: fluphenazine (Prolixin), haloperidol (Haldol), thioridazine (Mellaril)

Anticholinergics: benztropine (Cogentin), trihexyphenidyl (Artane) Anti-anxiety/hypnotics: buspirone

(BuSpar), hydroxyzine (Vistaril), trazodone (Desyrel)

Mood stabilizers: lithium carbonate, carbamazepine (Tegretol)

Stimulants: methylphenidate (Ritalin)

As you can see, there are a few glaring omissions, including any benzodiazepines, sertraline (Zoloft), bupropion (Wellbutrin), perphenazine (Trilafon), divalproex sodium (Depakote) and zolpidem (Ambien). Don’t worry, you can bet that Walmart’s pharmacy purchasers are very busy negotiating with generic companies to bring them on board as well. It’s good news for our patients, but probably not great for neigh- borhood pharmacies. Expect to see fewer of them soon. You can get more informa- tion on the program and download the list of all medications covered at http://www.walmartfacts.com/articles/5314.aspx.