Is this money-saving medicine strategy safe?

It sounds simple enough: Cut your pills in half to cut your prescription costs in half. The do-it-yourself practice of pill splitting is one that many doctors and health plans support.

It’s a way to counter rising drug prices and encourage people to take their medications if they’re likely to skip doses and refills because of high costs, notes Consumer Reports. And those who have trouble swallowing medicine might find a smaller pill easier to manage.

How it Works

Your doctor will prescribe a higher dose of medication, often double. (Sometimes the higher dose is the same price as the lower dose.) At home, you cut the pills in half and take one half each day, ending up with two doses for the price of one.

But deep discounts aren’t guaranteed, so first ask your pharmacist what you’ll save, advises Barbara Young, Pharm.D., editor of consumer-medication information for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in Bethesda, Md.

Note that the Food and Drug Administration has called pill splitting a “risky practice” and doesn’t encourage it unless a drug’s package insert specifically says it has been approved for splitting. But Consumer Reports’ medical advisers say it’s safe if you follow the guidelines below.

Four Smart Steps

1. Get your doctor’s OK first. According to an April 2015 poll by Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, 8 percent of consumers trying to save money on medications admitted to cutting their pills in half without a doctor’s or pharmacist’s approval. Many drugs – notably most cholesterol-lowering statins, and those to treat high blood pressure and depression – can be split without losing effectiveness or causing a negative health impact, but it can be dangerous to divide others.

Your doctor may have other reasons to warn you about splitting pills. It’s not advised if you have dementia or memory problems, for example, or if you have a condition that makes it physically difficult, such as arthritis, hand tremors, or poor eyesight.

2. Only split pills that can be divided accurately. Most time-released, long-acting and combination drugs shouldn’t be split because it’s difficult to make sure that you’ll get the proper amount of the active ingredient in each half.

Pills that are coated to protect your stomach, such as enteric-coated aspirin and ibuprofen, shouldn’t be split, either. Those with a hard coating and capsules of any kind are best swallowed whole because they can easily crumble, leak or crack into pieces. Chemotherapy drugs and those that require stable daily blood levels, such as antiseizure medication, birth-control pills and blood thinners, should never be split.

3. Use the right tool. Get a pill splitter, a small device that cuts with a sharp blade or by pressing pills between two opposing edges. Studies have found that pill splitters come closest to dividing medication into precise halves. They’re usually inexpensive and widely available at most pharmacies and large discount stores. Never use a knife, scissors, a razor blade, a box cutter, an X-Acto knife or any other sharp tool for the job, since they can create unequal parts.

4. Split pills one at a time. Some pills deteriorate when exposed to air, heat or moisture after being split. So cut a pill just before you take it, then take the other half as your next dose. That helps ensure that you compensate for any deviation in size. And split pills in half – not into smaller portions, such as quarters. When in doubt, Consumer Reports recommends asking your doctor or pharmacist to show you how to do it properly.

To learn more, visit ConsumerReports.org.

2016 Consumers Union Inc.