Comments for Consumers
This page/column contains information which may be of interest to consumers. The information is based on articles which appear in Australian Prescriber. As Australian Prescriber is written for health professionals, you should discuss any issues raised by this page/column with your doctor or pharmacist. They will be able to give a more detailed answer to your questions by reading the main article.
Australian Prescriber is unable to comment on individual cases or give second opinions.
Australian Prescriber Vol. 30 No. 2 2007
Generics
Some drug companies make copies of the medicines made by other companies. These copies are called generics.
The company making a generic has usually not had to do any research to discover the medicine. This means it can sell the generic for a lower price than the company which has a lot of research costs.
The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme encourages the use of generic medicines. Patients may have to pay an extra charge if they do not get a prescription for a generic medicine. The patient can ask the pharmacist if a generic is available instead of a more expensive medicine. The pharmacist cannot change the brand without the patient's agreement.
Good quality generics work just as well as the medicines they copy. Before generics can be sold in Australia they are checked to make sure they are a close copy of the medicine. The safety of all of the ingredients in generic medicines is also checked.
Some popular medicines have many generic copies. As each copy has a different brand name, it is important not to get them mixed up.
Sometimes different brands of the same medicine are not interchangeable. For example the Coumadin brand of warfarin should not be swapped for the Marevan brand.
