The annual Department of Human Services survey of pharmacy prices is conducted by the state’s Bureau of Elder and Adult Services.

The bureau sent out a survey this summer to 207 pharmacies in Maine that are primarily retail pharmacies.

Each pharmacy was asked to send its retail price, less any discounts provided to senior citizens, for 15 different drugs. This year’s survey also included several Canadian and Web-based mail order pharmacies.

Doreen McDaniel, a community program specialists for the bureau, said she selected 15 different drugs to treat different illnesses from a list of the 40 most frequently used drugs by people 60 and older.

This year 90 Maine pharmacies responded to the survey. They include both independently owned to chain-owned stores. Four Canadian pharmacies and one Internet-based order service also responded.

The survey is intended to increase consumer awareness to help people make informed choices when buying their medication, McDaniel said. It is not to encourage people to change pharmacies, she said.

People automatically assume that the prices could be lower at larger chains, McDaniel said, but that is not necessarily true.

Generally speaking, the survey showed as a total, drugs have been cheaper at locally owned stores, she said.

“We work hard to be there, to keep our costs down,” said John Bartash, of the Rumford Drug Store.

Bartash has owned the Congress Street, Rumford, business for 40 years. He said he treats his customers fairly, keeps overhead down and relies heavily on buying drugs through a wholesaler that allows independent drug stores to join together to buy prescription drugs at bulk costs.

His store, as well as Jim and Robert Witt’s Rexall store in Farmington, made the state’s Top 10 list for the second year in a row.

The survey showed that Howard’s Rexall Drug in Farmington provided the 15 drugs for $627.64; Bartash provided them for $665.01, and McFalls Pharmacy in Mechanic Falls provided the drugs for $717.95.

Some drug stores would have charged more than $800 for the same drugs, the survey found

Also listed in the state’s Top 10 are Downeast Pharmacy, Sanford; Goodnow’s Pharmacy, Rockland; Unity Pharmacy, Unity; Variety Drug, Skowhegan; Kennebec Professional Pharmacy, Augusta; Wal-Mart, Skowhegan; and Target, South Portland.

Staff writer Eileen Adams contributed to this report.

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