Information about Generic Medications
Category: General News
Many medications are becoming available in generic form. This means the medication is manufactured by another drug company instead of the original brand name company. Once the Food and Drug Administration allows a medication to be produced in generic form, prices fall sharply after a few months, when multiple companies begin producing the drug.
ARE GENERICS SAFE? Although one of the larger domestic generic drug producers is located locally( TEVA Pharmaceuticals, formerly Barr Labs), more and more generic manufacturing is being done overseas. Without question this has caused some quality control concerns for certain drugs, because the FDA is not able monitor production as effectively overseas. What seems to happen now is that problems with generic medications are sometimes identified after these drugs are in the marketplace, leading to recalls until the problem is corrected. Considering the volume of generic medications in use today this does not happen often, but when it does, patient health is at risk. We are very concerned about this issue and do everything possible to steer our patients away from generic medications that are of concern. The reality of today’s medical practice is that almost all generic medications are safe, effective and much less expensive than brand name alternatives; we will prescribe generic medications in the best interest of our patients when we believe it is safe to do so. If our patients want only a brand name medication and accept the additional cost, we’ll certainly prescribe the brand name.
GENERICS AND INSURANCE COVERAGE. Most pharmacies now offer certain generic medications at a very low set rate. Walmart began this trend with its $4 per month generic medication list; CVS, Walgreen’s, Target and Kmart all do essentially the same thing. Frequently the price for these selected generic medications is so low that it is cheaper for an individual to pay for the medication out-of-pocket than to use their pharmacy insurance coverage. In essence, the patient co-pay is more than the cash cost of the medication. Remember that not all generic medications are available at such low prices, but when they are, it pays to shop around and to ask the pharmacy which option is cheaper.
We will be happy to discuss any concerns you may have about generic medications. Good doctor-patient communication means better health care.
