Cutting up higher dosage pills can save patients hundreds of dollars, according to UBC researchers. (CBC)

Researchers at the University of B.C. are recommending more people consider a novel way to cut drug costs — by using a razor blade to cut up their pills.

The scientists studied patients taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, and found those who split their pills in half saved hundreds of dollars a year.

In 2007, British Columbians spent $162 million on statins, more than any other drug, according to UBC research analyst Richard Morrow.

But a small percentage of patients and doctors caught on to the fact that a bottle of higher-dose statins cost about the same as the lower-dose ones, so they started buying the more potent pills and cutting them in half, said Morrow.

The study found that even though only five per cent of British Columbians on statins were pill splitting in 2006, the practice saved up to $400 per person, for a total of more than $2 million each year.

Morrow said pill-splitting could work for other medications as well, including some blood pressure medications and some antidepressants, and recommended Pharmacare launch a campaign to educate doctors and patients.

"With drug costs escalating high above the rate of inflation for the last decade, I think it only makes sense to look at different ways that we can control drug costs, without sacrificing patient care," said Morrow.

Patients should talk to their doctors before making any changes in the way they take their medications.